Dickson Etuhu was a midfielder, formerly of Fulham. He was signed by Roy Hodgson in August 2008 and was used as a defensive midfielder throughout his tenure at the club. A tall and powerful athlete, Dickson had played his part in the famous Europa League cup run of 2009-10 and played the full 120 minutes of the Final. He was sold in August 2012 to Blackburn Rovers for a similar fee he was bought for. He had represented Nigeria on 17 occasions until his international retirement in 2011.
Dickson began his professional career at Manchester City aged 18, spending two years there before moving to Preston North End in 2002 due to lack of first team opportunities. He played his part in Preston's 2004-05 season where they reached the Championship Play-off Final, and it was around this time that he reportedly had attracted the interest of Everton and West Bromwich Albion. As it was, he moved to Norwich City initially on loan at the start of 2005-06, before signing on a permanent basis in January 2006 for around £500,000. Although initially the fans were not sure of Dickson's performances for the Norfolk-based club, he soon won them over as his form improved in the latter half of 2005-06 and 2006-07. It was incorrectly reported during September 2006 that following a 3–1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle, Etuhu and team-mate Youssef Safri traded punches on the team bus on their return journey to Norwich.
He signed for newly promoted Sunderland in a deal worth around £1.7m in the summer of 2007, and he spent just a single season here before moving on to Fulham. During his time at Sunderland, he was the victim of what the media were describing as a 'horror tackle' from Manchester City's Joey Barton, whereby Barton leapt up with no control and planted a stud high lunge into Dickson's groin. Barton was let off however and no charge was made.
Fulham (2008-2012)[]
On 29 August 2008, Etuhu announced that he was having a medical with Fulham, before joining for a fee of £1.63 million on a three-year contract at Craven Cottage . Dickson did not make his debut until December 2008 after him regaining full fitness after a knee injury sustained at former club Sunderland. His first goal for the club came on Easter Sunday 2009 in 3-1 victory at Manchester City. He saw much game time in the Europa League cup run in the 2009-10 season, where he played the full 120 minutes of the Final. On 28 August 2010, he rescued Fulham with a late goal in a 2-2 draw at Blackpool after a sprint from behind the halfway line.
He later signed a three-year contract extension in September 2010, which would expire in summer 2014.
After Fulham[]
Dickson moved on in August 2012 as he transferred to Blackburn Rovers for £1.67 million, who were playing in the Championship. Fulham captain and team-mate Danny Murphy also moved to Blackburn in the same transfer window to join up with one another as they formed a midfield partnership once more.
