Dean Ashton facts for kids
Ashton in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dean Ashton | ||
| Date of birth | 24 November 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Swindon, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Stoke City | |||
| –2005 | Crewe Alexandra | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2005 | Crewe Alexandra | 158 | (61) |
| 2005–2006 | Norwich City | 44 | (17) |
| 2006–2009 | West Ham United | 46 | (15) |
| Total | 248 | (93) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | England U17 | 1 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | England U19 | 5 | (5) |
| 2002 | England U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | England U21 | 9 | (4) |
| 2008 | England | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dean Ashton was a talented English footballer born on November 24, 1983. He played as a striker for several clubs, including Crewe Alexandra, Norwich City, and West Ham United. He also played for the England national team. Dean Ashton was known for his amazing skills as a forward. Sadly, his career was cut short by injuries. He had to retire from football on December 11, 2009, when he was only 26 years old, because of a serious ankle injury.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting at Crewe Alexandra
Dean Ashton grew up in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. He started his football journey at Crewe Alexandra as a young player. Crewe was famous for helping young players become great. Dean signed up when he was 16 in 2000.
He played his first game for the senior team on October 28, 2000. He was one of the youngest players ever for the club. Dean scored his first goal in a 4–2 win against Burnley. In his first season, he scored eight goals, helping Crewe stay in the First Division.
His second season was a bit tough due to injuries. But he still scored ten goals. He also started playing for England's youth teams. In the 2002–03 season, Dean scored 16 goals. Crewe moved back up to the First Division that year. His manager, Dario Gradi, said Dean had a "bright future."
In the 2003–04 season, he scored 19 league goals. This included his first hat-trick in a 3–2 win against Wigan Athletic. He also started playing for the England Under-21 team. Dean scored 20 goals for Crewe in the 2004–05 season. After this, he moved to Norwich City.
Time at Norwich City
In January 2005, Dean Ashton joined Norwich City for £3 million. This was a record amount for Norwich at the time. He scored in his first home game for Norwich against Middlesbrough. It was an exciting 4–4 draw!
He scored an amazing goal against Manchester City in February. Many experts thought Dean would help Norwich stay in the Premier League. He scored important goals against Newcastle and Birmingham. However, Norwich was relegated in 2005.
Even though other Premier League clubs wanted him, Dean decided to stay with Norwich. He wanted to help them get back to the Premier League. Later that year, he scored his only hat-trick for Norwich against Southampton.
There was a lot of talk about Dean leaving Norwich. Many clubs, including Manchester City and Charlton Athletic, were interested. Dean signed a new contract with Norwich until 2009. But in January 2006, he moved to West Ham United. The transfer fee was £7 million. He played 46 games for Norwich and scored 18 goals.
Playing for West Ham United
Dean Ashton joined West Ham United on January 22, 2006. He was very happy to be back in the Premier League. He said he wanted to play in the Premier League regularly.
He started well at West Ham. His first game was a 3–2 win against Arsenal. He scored important goals, including two in the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. In the FA Cup semi-final, he accidentally hurt Middlesbrough's goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer. Dean apologized, saying it was an accident.
Dean scored a goal in the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. The game ended 3–3, but West Ham lost on penalties. Even though he had a hamstring injury before the final, Dean played very well. He scored 6 goals in 16 games in his first half-season with West Ham.
In August 2006, Dean broke his ankle while training with the England team. This meant he missed the entire 2006–07 season. West Ham struggled without him.
Dean returned to play in July 2007 in a friendly game. He was very excited to be back. He scored his first goals in a year during pre-season matches. He played 35 games in the 2007–08 season, scoring 11 goals. One of his most famous goals was an overhead kick against Manchester United. In June 2008, Dean signed a new five-year contract with West Ham.
He started the 2008–09 season well, scoring two goals against Wigan. But he soon got another ankle injury. Dean did not play any games in the 2009–10 season.
On December 11, 2009, West Ham announced that Dean Ashton had retired. He was only 26 years old. He could not recover from the ankle injury he got in 2006. He played 56 games for West Ham and scored 19 goals. His former manager, Dario Gradi, hoped Dean would join Crewe's coaching team.
Playing for England
Dean Ashton played for England's youth teams, scoring many goals. In August 2006, he was called up to the senior England team for the first time. This was for a friendly game against Greece. But the day before the match, he broke his ankle in training. This injury kept him out of action for over a year.
He was called up again later but got another injury, a sprained knee ligament. This meant he missed his chance to play for England again. In May 2008, he was called up to the England squad for games against the USA and Trinidad and Tobago.
Dean finally made his debut for England on June 1, 2008. This was more than two years after his first call-up. He played in the match against Trinidad & Tobago.
Life After Football
After retiring from playing football, Dean Ashton became a commentator for televised football matches. He often shares his thoughts as a co-commentator on talkSPORT. On March 28, 2016, he played in a special game for Mark Noble at Upton Park. He even scored an overhead kick in that game!
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crewe Alexandra | 2000–01 | First Division | 21 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 8 | |
| 2001–02 | First Division | 31 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 10 | ||
| 2002–03 | Second Division | 38 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 44 | 16 | |
| 2003–04 | First Division | 44 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 47 | 20 | ||
| 2004–05 | Championship | 24 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 27 | 20 | ||
| Total | 158 | 61 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 177 | 74 | ||
| Norwich City | 2004–05 | Premier League | 16 | 7 | — | — | — | 16 | 7 | |||
| 2005–06 | Championship | 28 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 30 | 11 | ||
| Total | 44 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 46 | 18 | |||
| West Ham United | 2005–06 | Premier League | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 16 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 31 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 35 | 11 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 19 | ||
| Career total | 248 | 93 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 279 | 111 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Awards and Achievements
Crewe Alexandra
- Football League Second Division runner-up: 2002–03 (This means they finished second in the league.)
West Ham United
- FA Cup runner-up: 2005–06 (They reached the final but didn't win.)
See also
In Spanish: Dean Ashton para niños
