Sean Dillon - Dubliner Divides Opinions

July 30th, 1983, in Dublin Ireland a man who would end up leading out Dundee United was born. His name Sean Dillon.

Sean began his youth career in 1992 at Aston Villa, he then stayed there till 2002 when he moved back to Ireland to play for Longford Town which is where he started out his senior career. During his four year spell at Longford Town, he had 114 caps and 5 goals. He also won two FAI cups and a League of Ireland Cup. In 2006 he moved to Shelbourne where he only had 29 appearances in his short period of time as well as winning the League of Ireland Cup, for the first time in career. 

In 2007, Sean moved to Scotland to take on a new challenge by playing for Dundee United. After a year at the club Sean picked up a Scottish League Cup Runners Up Medal as an unused substitute. After making his debut against Rangers at Ibrox, he missed the Scottish Cup tie with St Mirren as he joined United after the tournament transfer deadline. However he then went on to play in every match until the end of the season, appearing 16 times as he helped United climb away from the relegation zone.

Sean scored his first goal for United 4 games into the 2007/2008 season, in a 3-0 win over Inverness CT, and by the end of February he had missed only one match due to suspension. During that spell he also received international recognition when he played alongside former United team mate Noel Hunt for the Republic of Ireland B team in November 2007 in a match against a Scottish B team that included Darren Dods, a former team mate. 

The 2009/2010 season saw Sean being used in a more versatile role than before, playing at left-back, centre-half and centre-midfield as well as his usual right-back position, in November he made his 100th appearance in a tangerine jersey in United’s 2-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

By the last third of the season, Sean was playing more regularly at left-back, taking over from the injured Paul Dixon, and it was in that role that he gave a solid performance in the Scottish Cup Final as United won the trophy for only the second time in the club’s history. United’s third place finish in the SPL saw Sean return to European football for the first time since his Shelbourne days.

Sean returned to his more familiar role of right-back at the start of the 2010/2011 season, but an injury to Darren Dods meant Sean had to cover at centre-half for the Europa League ties against AEK Athens. With new signing Scott Severin also picking up an injury in October, Sean was called on again to play at centre-half, and it was in that position that he would play in for most of the season. He scored his third goal for the club with a late, late equaliser at Celtic Park in November, and his performances in the heart of the defence won him acclaim amongst the fans, earning him the Federation of Supporters Clubs Player of the Year Award.

For the start of the 2011/2012 season, Sean played the first 6 matches as centre half, including two more matches in the UEFA Cup against Slask Wroclaw, before the arrival of Gavin Gunning which saw him return to right back. However, a calf injury in late August caused him to miss nearly three months of the season, but he returned to the first team in December just as United began to turn their season around after a poor start. From there on in he never missed a game, and formed a solid partnership with Gavin Gunning in the centre of defence as the team qualified for Europe for the third season in a row.

Sean continued his partnership with Gavin Gunning through the first half of the 2012/2013 season, although he missed the 2nd leg of the Europa League tie against Dynamo Moscow after picking up an injury in the opening SPL game of the season against Hibs at Tannadice. A thigh strain kept him out of all 6 matches in December, but he returned to the centre of defence in the New Year, and played right through until the third last game of the season, when a previous ankle injury resurfaced and an operation was required.

But when then 16 year old John Souttar broke into the first team at the tail end of the season, Sean was instrumental in the development of his young defencive partner, and as Jackie McNamara rebuilt the squad over the summer, he made Sean Club Captain, a well deserved honour for the Irishman who has now been at Tannadice for 6 and a half years.

Even through all of this background of Sean Dillon, most of this can still make peoples opinions be divided and even more so during this season (2013/2014), with young Souttar breaking into the team and Curtis Good coming on loan from Newcastle United. This means that Sean hasn't been playing to much, but he still managed to reach his 200th cap mark during this season. This was a massive achievement for Sean himself and hopefully he can get another 100 more. 

For me personally, I have grown up watching Sean play at Dundee United. I have also see him grow as a player he has come a long way since he joined the club in 2007. Getting awarded to be the club captain at the beginning of the 2013/2014 season after the departure of Jon Daly. Also getting his 200th cap for the team. He has become one of my heroes along with Lee Wilkie. If anyone asks me why he is my hero, I will just reply with because I play in defence and he shows you just because you are injury proven, you are still able to come back fighting fit. Sean has shown this through all the hard work he has done at the club, both on and off the pitch. 

However, I know that opinions are divided when it comes to Sean. Many people see him on the pitch and judges him because of the way he plays if he has been having a bad game or that. But people don't understand what all he does for the club off the pitch. If people took time to learn things about him, their opinion might change towards him.

photo; myself and Dillon