Peter Swan believes Michael Dawson is a “weak link” that “Hull City will exploit” when Nottingham Forest lock horns with the Tigers on Saturday. Forest (7th) travel to the KCOM Stadium to face Hull (22nd) and will fancy their chances of picking up all three points given the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs this season.
Hull aren’t in bad shape of late, however, winning two and drawing one of their last three games, so they should be competitive. Forest have dropped points in six of their eight away games in the Championship too, so Saturday’s meeting isn’t a foregone conclusion. Swan believes City stand a chance of beating Forest if they target former Tigers defender Dawson.
In a column for the Hull Daily Mail, he wrote: “I say this with the greatest of respect, but I think if he plays on Saturday he could well be the weak link City will look to exploit. At 34, his best days are well and truly behind him. He wasn’t signed to be regular starter and City will know all about his weaknesses as a player.”
Dawson has made seven league appearances for Forest this season and is yet to be on the losing side since returning to the City Ground on a free transfer. The 35-year-old, who made 132 appearances for Hull City, was out of Forest’s starting eleven earlier in the campaign, making just one Championship appearance between August and late-September, but he’s been in fine form ever since and is now their captain.
It’s worth noting that Dawson has played his part in Forest keeping three clean sheets in their last four games, so Swan might be being harsh to call the veteran defender a weak link.
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