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) | ||
| Playing position | 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 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) |
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Dean Ashton (born 24 November 1983) is a former English professional footballer. He played as a striker. He made over 240 appearances in the Football League and Premier League. He played for Crewe Alexandra, Norwich City, and West Ham United. Ashton also played one match for the England national team.
He was known as a very talented striker. However, his career was cut short by injuries. He had to retire on 11 December 2009, when he was only 26 years old. This was because he could not recover from a serious ankle injury. He got this injury while playing for England.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting at Crewe Alexandra
Dean Ashton was born in Swindon, England. He grew up in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. He started his football journey in youth teams at Stoke City and Crewe Alexandra. Crewe was famous for helping young players become professionals.
He signed a youth contract when he was 16 in 2000. His first game for the senior team was on 28 October 2000. He came on as a substitute in a 1–0 win against Gillingham. This made him one of the youngest players to play for Crewe.
Ashton scored his first goal for Crewe in a 4–2 win against Burnley. He finished his first season with eight goals. These goals helped Crewe stay in the First Division.
His second season was tough due to injuries. But he still scored ten goals. He also started playing for England's youth teams. In the 2002–03 season, Ashton scored 16 goals. Crewe moved back up to the First Division that season. 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 played for England's under-21 team. He scored against the Netherlands and Sweden.
Ashton scored 20 goals for Crewe in the 2004–05 season. After this, he moved to Norwich City.
Moving to Norwich City
In January 2005, Dean Ashton joined Norwich City. The transfer fee was £3 million. This was a record amount for Norwich City at the time.
He scored in his first home game for Norwich. It was an exciting 4–4 draw against Middlesbrough. Ashton scored an amazing goal against Manchester City in February. Many experts believed he was key to Norwich staying in the Premier League.
Ashton scored important goals in Norwich's fight to avoid relegation. These included winning goals against Newcastle and Birmingham. However, Norwich was relegated in 2005. Even though many Premier League clubs wanted him, Ashton decided to stay. He wanted to help Norwich get back to the Premier League.
Later that year, Ashton scored his only hat-trick for Norwich City. This was in a 3–1 win against Southampton.
Because Norwich was no longer in the top league, people wondered if Ashton would leave. Many clubs like Manchester City and Charlton Athletic were interested. Norwich's manager said Ashton would only be sold for a very high price. Dean Ashton signed a new contract until 2009. But by December, it seemed likely he would move.
After playing 46 games and scoring 18 goals for Norwich, he moved to West Ham United. This happened on 22 January 2006. The fee was £7 million.
Playing for West Ham United
Norwich accepted West Ham's offer. Dean Ashton was very happy to join West Ham. He said it was a great chance to play in the Premier League again. He wanted to play in the Premier League regularly.
Ashton started well at West Ham. His first game was a 3–2 win away to Arsenal. He scored important goals, including two in the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. This helped West Ham continue their FA Cup journey in 2006.
In the FA Cup semi-final, Ashton accidentally hurt Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Ashton apologized and said it was not on purpose.
Ashton scored a goal in the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. The game ended 3–3, but Liverpool won on penalties. Even though he had a hamstring injury, Ashton played very well. He scored 6 goals in 16 games in his first half-season.
In August 2006, Ashton broke his ankle while training with the England team. This meant he missed the entire 2006–07 season. West Ham struggled that season, but they avoided relegation.
Ashton returned to play on 14 July 2007 in a friendly match. He was very excited to be back. He scored his first goals in a year during pre-season games. He played in the Premier League again on 11 August 2007. He made 35 appearances that season, scoring 11 goals. One famous goal was an overhead kick against Manchester United.
Ashton signed a new five-year contract with West Ham in June 2008. He started the 2008–09 season well. He scored two goals in a 2–1 win against Wigan. But he soon got another ankle injury.
Ashton did not play any games in the 2009–10 season. On 11 December 2009, West Ham announced that 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 last game was on 13 September 2008.
After hearing about his retirement, his old manager Dario Gradi hoped Ashton would join Crewe's coaching team.
Playing for England
Dean Ashton played for England's youth teams. He scored many goals for them. In August 2006, he was called up to the senior England team. This was for a friendly game against Greece. But the day before the match, he broke his ankle in training. This meant he missed his chance to play for England.
He was called up again later but got another injury. He finally made his debut for England on 1 June 2008. This was more than two years after his first call-up. He played against Trinidad & Tobago.
After Football
After retiring from playing football, Dean Ashton became a commentator. He talks about football matches on TV. On 28 March 2016, he played in a special game for Mark Noble. He even scored an overhead kick in that game.
You can often hear Ashton as a co-commentator on talkSPORT radio.
Honours
Crewe Alexandra
- Football League Second Division runner-up: 2002–03
West Ham United
- FA Cup runner-up: 2005–06
Images for kids
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Ashton in 2008
See also
In Spanish: Dean Ashton para niños
