The youngest of the three Dawson brothers, and the most talented by a large distance (it is rumoured that Forest signed all three sloely in order to get their hands on Michael, though that seems abit harsh, especially on Andy). This kid was already a special player at the age of 19; if he avoids injury (a persistent problem in his time at Forest), he could yet become the best defender of his generation and a future England captain.

Academy player of the year for 2 seasons in a row, his rate of development was rapid - he went from early promotion to Under-19 when still only 16, to his first team debut, in only a couple of years. A stong, tall, committed defender, he already looked a good player on his first day, winning the man of the match award after his debut (though Forest lost the game!). He can also pass the ball out of defence and scored a bag of goals at reserve level.

As Paul Hart had suspected, once in the team Daws became utterly impossible to dislodge, producing a string of masterful displays which made it important to remind yourself that he was a teenager with a handful of appearances under his belt - obviously he made the odd mistake, but they were rare even at the start, and the influence of Des Walker alongside him rapidly made them even rarer.

When he was asked to train with the full England squad having played under 10 games in the first team, it was clear that we weren't the only people to sit up and take notice. Sure enough, the rumours immediately started - the one that suggested that Alex Ferguson had a £10M offer for him refused might even have had some basis in fact. His first season ended in disappointment, as he was (harshly) sent off in the Play-Off semi-final against Sheffield United. All the same, the fact that we considered the suspension of a teenager with under 50 games to his name as a handicap tells you all you need to know about his quality as a player.

In truth, though he remained an obvious talent, Forest were never really to see him consistently at his best again.

After establishing himself as a big star of the future, Daws' fitness became more of an issue than we'd have liked - he contracted glandular fever during the close season after the 2002-2003 play-offs, was brought back too soon and had a strong of niggly leg injuries as a result. Once Joe Kinnear arrived to replace Paul Hart, he quickly realised that Dawson was crucial to his plans (and had the fortune to take over just as the boy was finally becoming fit again), and was able to build a defence around him and the emerging Wes Morgan.

However, further injuries in the close season led to a very bitty time during late 2004. By the time he returned to the side Forest were in real trouble - once again the temptation to play him well before he was fully fit proved irresistible for the management, and once again Dawson's performance suffered as a result.

All the same, sooner or later he was always going to move on - the days of players of his quality staying at clubs like Forest for ever are long gone, even if we were in the Premiership, let alone when we were staring old-style Division 3 in the face!. Eventually Spurs took the plunge, signing him for £8M in a joint deal with Andy Reid on transfer deadline day in 2005.