Dean Ashton – a talent never reaching its potential

Rumours are aplenty that 25 year old Dean Ashton is on the brink of retirement. I think that football is unfortunately losing one of its most promising stars.

Previous to the eighties you would often see players having to retire with relatively minor injuries – but this comes as quite a shock, especially with the wonders medical equipment can do nowadays.

Ashton is a product of the famous Dario Gradi academy at Crewe, who have produced other technically gifted players such as Danny Murphy. His career was bright from the offset and Gradi tipped him to play at a high level, and when Norwich brought him to the Premiership in 2005 his talent was there for all to see.

In my opinion he could have gone on to achieve great things. When he signed for West Ham he enjoyed a rich vein of form that even caught the eye of Sir Alex, who was rumoured to make a big offer to take him to Old Trafford.

He sustained his main injury set-back whilst training with the England squad – hoping to earn his first cap. A rough tackle from Shaun Wright-Phillips broke his ankle and niggles here and there have meant that he hasn’t really recovered since.

I have seen Ashton in action a couple of times and, in my opinion, he is a class act. His movement, positioning and awareness was akin to an early Alan Shearer. I know that mentioning him in the same breath as Shearer may come as a surprise but, given time, I think that he could have replicated some of his success.

Fantastic in the air and equally adept with his feet – he could complement Wayne Rooney up front for England very well. But, alas, it seems we will never see if that partnership would have flourished. I think that he would have definitely been a worthy shout for the World Cup squad this summer as, when he briefly made a comeback, Capello included him in his squad – and Ashton eventually made his one and only appearance in an England shirt.

He was a great number 9 with a great first touch and an eye for goal. What he also possessed was a real footballers brain – with the ability to always pick the right option. Its unfortunate that his playing career has come to end and I, for one, will certainly miss his presence – not only on a Saturday afternoon but at this summer’s World Cup.

Harry Hesp