John Dawson had been around by the time he arrived at The Dell in May 1908, just in time to join the summer tour of Holland and Germany (see below). A regular at full-back in the Reserves, the following season, his first-team appearances were limited to two Western League games against Bristol Rovers in December 1908. After this, he returned to his Cheshire/North Wales base, where he reverted to his trade as a joiner and was last heard of (1939) as the proprietor of the Imperial Hotel in Chester.