Ian Robert Dawes is an English former professional footballer, born in Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

 Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, who made more than 200 appearance in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for each of his two clubs, Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 and Millwall

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

, playing as a left back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

.

Dawes made his debut for Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 on 27 March 1982 against Rotherham United

Rotherham United F.C.

Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...

, and went on to score three goals from 229 league games, including a remarkable 198 consecutive appearances between 1982 and 1986.

He was a very reliable and efficient defender and possibly unlucky not to receive international recognition due to the excellent form of Kenny Sansom

Kenny Sansom

Kenneth Graham Sansom is an English former footballer. Until overtaken by Ashley Cole in February 2011, he held the record for the number of caps for an England national football team full back, having appeared 86 times for his country between 1979 and 1988.- Crystal Palace :Sansom started out...

 during the same time period. Dawes was a member of the 1986 Football League Cup Final

1986 Football League Cup Final

The 1986 Milk Cup Final was a football match held on 20 April 1986 between Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers. Oxford won the match 3–0 to capture the League Cup — their first major honour. Trevor Hebberd opened the scoring in the first half, and Ray Houghton added a second...

 team.

Dawes left QPR for Millwall

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

 in 1988 (the club felt his performances would suffer following the removal of the "plastic pitch" at Loftus Road

Loftus Road

Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...

), yet he played 258 times for Millwall and was their Player of the Year in 1989–90, before moving to non-League Bromley

Bromley F.C.

Bromley Football Club are an English football club based in Bromley, in Greater London, England. They currently play in the Conference South, and play their home matches at Hayes Lane.-Early years:...

 after having a knee operation which he never fully recovered from.

He later coached

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 at Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 and Millwall before managing non-league clubs Carshalton Athletic

Carshalton Athletic F.C.

Carshalton Athletic F.C. is an English football club based in Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton, London. They currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, and are based at the War Memorial Sports Ground.-Early years:...

 and Dorking

Dorking F.C.

Dorking Football Club is a football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. The club was formed in 1880 and is the second oldest club in Surrey.-History:...

, and two spells as manager of Redhill

Redhill F.C.

Redhill F.C. is an English football club based in Redhill, Surrey. The club are currently members of Sussex County League Division One and play at Kiln Brow.-The beginning:...

, from 2002 to 2004 and from October 2005 to October 2006.