One to Watch - Dean Bowditch

Name: Dean Bowditch

Date of Birth: 15/6/1986

Nationality: England

Former Clubs: Ipswich, Burnley, Wycombe, Brighton, Northampton, Brighton, Brentford, Yeovil

League Appearances (Goals): 253 (58)

International Appearances (Goals): 0 (0)

Player Profile: Only last week when detailing the exploits of Joe Cole did I allude to the unfortunate regular occurrence of promising players failing to live up to the hyperbolic rubbish put about by the media. Dean Bowditch was revered as the next big thing to come out of Ipswich, with Manchester United trying to lure the striker away as a young boy, however ultimately failed to live up to the colossal expectations put upon him by others. Still only 26, Bowditch has already played for nine different clubs and would be best described as a steady League 1 striker. Despite being utilised as an attacking left winger under Karl Robinson, the Englishman is MK Dons top scorer this season and having netted in the repeat FA Cup fixture last season, Bowditch is certainly the Dons one to watch.

Player History:

Dean Bowditch graduated through the Ipswich Town Academy making his debut for The Tractor Boys aged just 16 when he came off the bench against local rivals Norwich City. The following season he became their youngest ever hat-trick scorer when he netted a treble on his full home debut in a 4-1 win over Watford. He picked up the Dale Roberts award as the best performer from the academy in 2003/2004.
A series of injuries saw Bowditch`s opportunities for Ipswich limited and despite spending seven years at Portman Road he spent numerous loan spells elsewhere. Stays at Burnley, Wycombe, Brighton, Northampton and Brentford profited a further 49 league appearances yet only seven league goals. Ipswich eventually released Bowditch at the end of the 2008/2009 season, where he signed a one year deal with League One club Yeovil Town.

He managed to score on his debut at Huish Park and went on to finish as Yeovil`s top scorer for the 2009/2010 season. He was awarded a new contract at Yeovil, having scored 25 league goals in 75 appearances, however rejected the new deal and signed for MK Dons in 2011. He already has 18 goals to his name as an MK Dons player and was the top scorer during his debut season at stadiummk.

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