Former Arsenal and West Ham academy player George Dobson, who once played alongside Declan Rice, is now making waves at Wrexham.
Dobson joined the Welsh side owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in July last year, ahead of their first season in League One in nearly two decades. The midfielder was part of the starting eleven as Wrexham climbed above Wycombe into second place in the third tier with a 1-0 away victory over their promotion rivals on Saturday.
The only goal of the match came from Sam Smith, in a game that was delayed for almost 50 minutes due to a medical emergency involving a Wrexham supporter. Smith found the back of the net shortly after play resumed, once it was confirmed that the fan was stable and could be transported to hospital.
Manager Phil Parkinson praised Dobson, among others, at the final whistle after the player overcame injury worries to make a vital goal-line clearance just before Smith scored the decisive goal.
Parkinson said: "There's players out there like Dobbo and Ollie (Rathbone) who have been playing with knocks but they've shown terrific character to carry on, and you need that at this stage of the season. We've asked the lads to go out there when they're not quite right and it shows the character in the group.
"We had to defend a corner when we came back out, which is always nervy after such a long break and Dobbo's goal-line clearance was outstanding. Then, after the goal, the save by Arthur (Okonkwo) was absolutely top class and it's a great credit to those two.
George Dobson and Louie Barry
George Dobson (left) has been an important figure for Wrexham this season
"Sam will rightly get the headlines with a great finish because you need goalscorers to take their opportunities, but it was also (thanks to) the Dobbo clearance and Arthur save." The win propelled Wrexham to second place in the standings, three points ahead of Wycombe, though the Chairboys have a game in hand.
Dobson began his football journey at Arsenal as a youngster, having joined the club at just eight years old. Nearly a decade later, he moved on to West Ham United, the team he supported as a boy, in 2015.
While at West Ham, he played with Declan Rice in the academy, transitioning from defence to midfield. In his earlier years, he encountered another burgeoning talent, Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, in youth matches.
Recalling those encounters, Dobson told talkSPORT in 2023: "I played against Rashford in the youth teams, and I just remember him being so sharpy. He wasn't the tallest but I remember him being so sharp. Then he obviously broke through and has done what he has done. He obviously had a dip in form for a period of time but he is an unbelievable footballer."
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Dobson opened up about his departure from West Ham, attributing it partly to the rise of teammate Rice. Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, he said: "I made the decision to leave West Ham when I was 18.
"I could obviously stick it out in (under-)23s football and progress into the first but realistically you're only going to get one who's going to do that and for West Ham it was Declan Rice, who's now England's No.4. That kind of shows how tough it would be to progress there."
Dobson's journey after West Ham saw him join Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands before returning to English football with Walsall. His stint at Walsall lasted 18 months, following an earlier loan period.
In July 2019, he made a move to Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, where he worked under current Wrexham boss Parkinson. The midfielder's career continued to flourish as he joined Charlton Athletic in mid-2021, earning player of the season honours in his debut season and later taking on the captaincy.
A potential transfer to Hungarian outfit Fehervar fell through last summer due to personal reasons, paving the way for his switch to Wrexham. With 33 league appearances for the Red Dragons this term, Dobson is aiming to contribute to an extraordinary third consecutive promotion as they sights on the Championship.
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