| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dean Thomas John Holden[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-09-15)15 September 1979 (age 46) | ||
| Place of birth | Swinton, England[2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hull City (assistant head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2002 | Bolton Wanderers | 13 | (1) |
| 2001 | →Valur (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | →Oldham Athletic (loan) | 23 | (2) |
| 2002–2005 | Oldham Athletic | 85 | (8) |
| 2005–2007 | Peterborough United | 56 | (4) |
| 2007–2009 | Falkirk | 48 | (2) |
| 2009–2011 | Shrewsbury Town | 50 | (0) |
| 2010 | →Rotherham United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Chesterfield | 31 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | →Rochdale (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2012 | Rochdale | 14 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Walsall | 29 | (2) |
| Total | 369 | (22) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| 2020–2021 | Bristol City | ||
| 2022 | Stoke City (caretaker) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dean Thomas John Holden (born 15 September 1979) is an Englishmanager and formerfootballer, who is assistant head coach ofEFL Championship clubHull City.[4]
During a career which began atBolton Wanderers in 1998 and ended with a two-year stint atWalsall from 2012 to 2014, Holden was a defender who was comfortable playing atright-back andcentre-back. Over that sixteen-year period, he amassed 369 league appearances, representing ten clubs and scoring 22 goals. He moved in to coaching withOldham Athletic in November 2014 and spent time as manager from February 2015 until May 2015. Holden joinedBristol City in November 2016 as assistant manager toLee Johnson. Following Johnson's departure on 4 July 2020, Holden was placed in caretaker charge before being given the role on a permanent basis. He was sacked by Bristol City in February 2021. In April 2021, Holden joinedStoke City as assistant manager, and was briefly Stoke's caretaker manager before joining Charlton in December 2022.
Born inSwinton, Greater Manchester, Holden started his career withBolton Wanderers where he made 13 league appearances and scored once againstSheffield United,[5] before moving on toOldham Athletic after a successful loan period.
After over 100 first-team appearances for Oldham he joinedPeterborough United in 2005. He was made captain but, with his contract close to expiry, he was transferred toFalkirk on 1 January 2007 for an undisclosed fee.[6]
On 27 January 2008, Holden suffered abroken leg, after a late tackle byCeltic'sStephen McManus, during Falkirk's 1–0 home defeat,[7] leaving him out of action until October.
Holden signed a two-year contract withShrewsbury Town on 26 June 2009. On 5 August 2010 Holden signed on loan atRotherham United,[8] initially for only one month but this was extended twice until he was recalled early by Shrewsbury on 20 October.[9] On 31 January 2011, Holden had his contract cancelled by mutual agreement[10] and he became a free agent.
Chesterfield signed Holden on 3 February 2011 in a short-term contract until the end of the season.[11] Holden then signed a new one-year deal with Chesterfield on 18 May 2011.[12]
On 3 November 2011, Holden joinedRochdale on loan until January 2012. In January 2012, Holden made his loan switch permanent on a six-month contract. In May 2012, Holden was released from Rochdale after being told his contract would not be renewed.[13]
On 16 July 2012, Dean Holden signed a one-year deal at League One sideWalsall.[14]
Despite his English birth and having played for the England youth team, Holden qualified to representNorthern Ireland through his grandparents, and was called up to their full squad for the first time in June 2007 but did not make an appearance.[15]
On 14 November 2014, Holden left Walsall to join former clubOldham Athletic as first-team coach.[16] On 17 March 2015, after a spell as caretaker manager, Holden remained manager until the end of the2014–15 season.[17] Holden returned to his assistant manager role following the appointment ofDarren Kelly in May 2015.[18] Holden was sacked by Oldham along withDavid Dunn in January 2016 after a poor run of form.[19] He re-joined Walsall in March 2016 as first-team coach.[20]
Holden joinedBristol City as assistant manager toLee Johnson in November 2016.[21] On 4 July 2020, following the dismissal of Johnson, Holden became caretaker head coach.[22] In August 2020 Holden was appointed as full-time head coach at Bristol City, on a 12-month rolling contract, after he had won two and drawn two games of the last five of the2019–20 season while in temporary charge.[23] On 16 February 2021, Holden was sacked after a run of six successive defeats in all competitions and the club placed 13th in the Championship.[23]
On 14 April 2021, Holden was appointed as assistant toMichael O'Neill atStoke City.[24][25] Following O'Neill's dismissal in August 2022, Holden was appointed as interim manager.[26] He took charge of Stoke's 1–0 win atBlackburn Rovers two days later, before confirming his departure from the club ahead ofAlex Neil's appointment as O'Neill's replacement.[27]
On 20 December 2022, Holden was named manager ofCharlton Athletic,[28] taking over from caretaker manager Anthony Hayes onBoxing Day, 26 December 2022.[29]
On 27 August 2023, Holden was sacked as Charlton manager[30] after one win in the opening six games of the2023–24 season.[31]
In February 2024, Holden joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq as assistant manager toSteven Gerrard[32]
On 2 July 2025, Holden joinedHull City as assistant manager.[4]
In June 2006, Holden married television presenterDanielle Nicholls. They live inWorsley and have four children. In 2012 their youngest child died after contractingmeningococcal sepsis, while the family were on holiday inLanzarote.[33] Holden is a lifelong supporter ofManchester United.[34]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 1999–2000[35] | First Division | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
| 2000–01[36] | First Division | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02[37] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| Valur (loan) | 2001[38] | Úrvalsdeild | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2001–02[37] | Second Division | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 28 | 2 |
| Oldham Athletic | 2002–03[39] | Second Division | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 2003–04[40] | Second Division | 39 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 43 | 4 | |
| 2004–05[41] | League One | 40 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 1 | 48 | 3 | |
| Total | 108 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 125 | 11 | ||
| Peterborough United | 2005–06[42] | League Two | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 40 | 3 |
| 2006–07[43] | League Two | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Total | 56 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 67 | 4 | ||
| Falkirk | 2006–07[43] | Scottish Premier League | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |
| 2007–08[44] | Scottish Premier League | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09[45] | Scottish Premier League | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 48 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 57 | 2 | |||
| Shrewsbury Town | 2009–10[46] | League Two | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 2010–11[47] | League Two | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 0 | ||
| Rotherham United (loan) | 2010–11[47] | League Two | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Chesterfield | 2010–11[47] | League Two | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| 2011–12[48] | League One | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 3 | ||
| Rochdale | 2011–12[48] | League One | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Walsall | 2012–13[49] | League One | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| 2013–14[50] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[51] | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 369 | 22 | 25 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 427 | 23 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Oldham Athletic | 25 February 2015 | 5 May 2015 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 020.0 |
| Bristol City | 5 July 2020 | 16 February 2021 | 43 | 19 | 5 | 19 | 044.2 |
| Stoke City (caretaker) | 26 August 2022 | 27 August 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 |
| Charlton Athletic | 20 December 2022 | 27 August 2023 | 32 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 037.5 |
| Total | 91 | 35 | 15 | 41 | 038.5 | ||
