When Raith Rovers announced the signing of Fankaty Dabo, fans might have have been excused for asking ‘who?’.
But even a brief dig into the defender’s background indicates those same supporters will know all about the 28-year-old before too long.
“He’s a lovely lad, a smashing fella and a family man, and an infectious character who always gave his best for Coventry City,” says Andy Turner who watched Dabo week-in, week-out as sports writer for the Coventry Telegraph.
Born and bred in London, Dabo came through the ranks at Chelsea from U/12s and spent a dozen years with the English Premier League giants before departing for Coventry City.
By then he was an England U/20 cap and FA Youth Cup winner with the Blues, and could count the likes of Marc Guehi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dominic Solanke, Mason Mount, Trevoh Chalobah, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma as team-mates.
Loans at Swindon Town, and Vitesse and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands gained the full-back some first-team experience before he left Chelsea when his contract expired in 2019.
The Chelsea connection help seal his next move, with former youth coach Adi Viveash recommending him to Mark Robins at Coventry, where Viveash had moved as assistant-manager two years earlier.
It was a switch that proved something of a rollercoaster but which recovered from an inauspicious start to ensure he wormed his way into the affections of the City fans.
In his fourth league game for Coventry, Dabo was sent-off for two bookings in a game away to Portsmouth that saw them reduced to nine men but come back from a 3-1 deficit to snatch an unlikely 3-3 draw.
Eventful start
In his next league outing, he managed to score two own goals in the space of just five minutes in a remarkable 3-3 draw with Oxford.
“His first season was his best season at Coventry, when he helped them win League One,” adds Taylor. “But he certainly had an eventful start.
“Sometimes players inadvertently score own goals when they try to make a block and there’s not a lot they can do about it.
“But one of his own goals he absolutely lashed into the back of his own net. It was just bizarre.
“So he had been sent-off and scored two own goals in his first five league games with the club. But he went on to play a major part that season.
“And he endeared himself to the Coventry fans with his performances. He gets forward very well, is technically very good, is quick and gets up and down with a good engine, and he creates lots of chances for his team-mates.”
Flourishing in League One, Dabo went on to make 41 appearances in all competitions to help Coventry to the title and earn the club’s player of the year award.
Injuries subsequently hampered him in the Championship. But he still managed 84 league outings in three seasons before his time with the Sky Blues ended with a desperate low.
Taking the crucial 12th penalty in the 2023 Championship play-off final against Luton Town in front of 86,000 at Wembley, Dabo blasted his kick over the bar. It was a miss that cost his side their Premiership dreams and an estimated £140 million in revenue.
‘Still a lot of affection’
The vile racist abuse he subsequently suffered and the news he was being released by his club of four years plunged him to an even deeper low.
“At the end, of course, he was the one who missed the penalty in the play-off final,” says Turner.
“But that being the case, the fans did not turn on him or anything like that. There was a lot of love towards him and still a lot of affection for ‘Fanky’.
“There were obviously some isolated but horrible comments made. But there was generally no nastiness towards him for missing that penalty.”
Forest Green Rovers was Dabo’s next port of call, joining an ambitious League Two side where he hoped to shake off such a bitter disappointment.
But Troy Deeney’s public outburst against his players during his brief stint as manager, singling out Dabo for personal criticism, thrust Raith’s new boy into the headlines for unwanted reasons yet again.
Relegation to the National League followed at the end of a woeful campaign for the Rovers.
It is no wonder, then, that Dabo has spoken of rekindling his love for the game with his new Rovers.
What does seem certain is that the Raith fans will quickly build affection for their latest recruit if he can rediscover his best at Stark’s Park.
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