702 Simon Dakin

Biography

Nottingham-born defender Simon Mark Dakin was a young professional at Derby County who was yet to make his first team debut when he joined Hull City in March 1994 to add pace to Terry Dolan’s defensive line. He enjoyed a run of starts at right back the end of the 1993/94 season and opened the following season as first choice in the number 2 shirt. However a heavy opening day defeat at Oxford prompted Dolan to shuffle his defensive assets and Dakin spent two months on the first team fringes. He returned in mid-September in a midfield role and scored the only senior goal of his career in a 2-1 win at Wycombe Wanderers. Dakin played a supporting role for the rest of the season, accumulating appearances at both right back and centre back.

While holidaying in the summer of 1995 Dakin had an unfortunate accident that led him to fall down a lift shaft and receive significant injuries. This kept him out of the first team for five months and when he returned in November 1995 Dolan’s plucky triers had been transformed into doomed losers hurtling towards relegation. Simon made a handful of appearances during the remainder of the season but was unable to continue as a professional and left the Tigers in the 1996 close season.

Over eleven years Dakin played for a number of East Midlands and East Anglian non-league clubs, including Grantham Town twice, while he retrained as a solicitor. He qualified in 2003 and took a job in corporate and commercial law at Actons Solicitors in Nottingham. Over the next 16 years he climbed through the ranks at Actons to become the firm’s Chairman in 2019.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 30 November 1974, Nottingham
Hull City First Game: 26 March 1994, Bradford City A (League Division 2), 19 years, 116 days old
Hull City Final Game: 30 March 1996, Shrewsbury Town A (League Division 2), 21 years, 121 days old

Clubs

Derby County (1992-1994), Hull City (1994-1996), Arnold Town (1996), Grantham Town (1996-1999), Kings Lynn (1999-2002), Hinckley United (2002-2003), Grantham Town (2003-2006), Gedling Town (2006), Sutton Town (2006-2007)

Hull City Record

Career: 42 apps, 1 goals

Simon Dakin
SeasonLGE
App
LGE
Gls
FAC
App
FAC
Gls
FLC
App
FLC
Gls
EUR
App
EUR
Gls
OTH
App
OTH
Gls
1993/948 (1)0--------
1994/9519 (2)11 (0)01 (1)0--1 (0)0
1995/962 (4)00 (1)0----1 (0)0

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