 Holdsworth pictured in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dean Christopher Holdsworth[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1968-11-08)8 November 1968 (age 56)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Walthamstow, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kidderminster Harriers (technical director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1986 | Watford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1989 | Watford | 16 | (3) |
| 1988 | →Carlisle United (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 1988 | →Port Vale (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 1988 | →Swansea City (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1988 | →Brentford (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 1989–1992 | Brentford | 110 | (53) |
| 1992–1997 | Wimbledon | 169 | (58) |
| 1997–2003 | Bolton Wanderers | 158 | (39) |
| 2002 | →Coventry City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2003 | Coventry City | 11 | (0) |
| 2003 | Rushden & Diamonds | 7 | (2) |
| 2003–2004 | Wimbledon | 28 | (3) |
| 2004–2005 | Havant & Waterlooville | 42 | (24) |
| 2005–2006 | Derby County | 3 | (0) |
| 2006 | Weymouth | 4 | (0) |
| 2006 | Heybridge Swifts | 6 | (5) |
| 2006 | Havant & Waterlooville | 6 | (1) |
| 2007 | Cambridge United | 3 | (1) |
| 2007 | Newport County | 12 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | Redbridge | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 603 | (197) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994 | England B[3] | 1 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Redbridge | ||
| 2008–2011 | Newport County | ||
| 2011–2013 | Aldershot Town | ||
| 2013 | Chelmsford City | ||
| 2015 | Brentwood Town | ||
| 2022 | Stratford Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dean Christopher Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professionalfootball player andmanager who is thetechnical director atNational League North clubKidderminster Harriers. As astriker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22-year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majority of his goals and appearances came atBrentford,Wimbledon, andBolton Wanderers. He is the twin brother ofDavid Holdsworth.
As a player, he started his career atWatford in 1986, where he spent three years before signing withBrentford, following a shortloan spell. A highly successful three years followed before he was signed byWimbledon in 1992. After an impressive five-year spell, hetransferred toBolton Wanderers. He spent six years at Bolton before, in 2003, joiningCoventry City,Rushden & Diamonds and then back to Wimbledon. In 2004, he signed withHavant & Waterlooville, where he spent one season before joiningDerby County as player–assistant manager. In 2006, he dropped out ofthe Football League for the final time, joiningWeymouth. Short spells followed atHeybridge Swifts,Cambridge United, andNewport County.
His management career started atRedbridge in 2007. After one season there, he took the reins at Newport County. In his second season with the club, he took them to theConference South title with 28 points to spare. In January 2011, he switched clubs to take charge at League Two sideAldershot Town until his dismissal in February 2013. He took charge atChelmsford City in May 2013 before resigning five months later. He returned to management for five months withBrentwood Town in June 2015. In March 2016, he led a consortium to purchase Bolton Wanderers. He joined Kidderminster Harriers as technical director in December 2023.
Holdsworth primarily played as a striker, although he tended to play off the front man in the latter part of his career. He was a pacey striker with goodshooting ability. He started his career atWatford, who finished ninth in theFirst Division in1986–87 underGraham Taylor's stewardship, before sufferingrelegation in1987–88 underDave Bassett and thenSteve Harrison. He wasloaned out toCarlisle United towards the end of the campaign and scored once in fourFourth Division games forClive Middlemass.[4] He joinedJohn Rudge'sPort Vale in March. He scored twice atVale Park in sixThird Division appearances.[4] He started1988–89 on loan atTerry Yorath'sSwansea City, and returned toVicarage Road after one goal in five Third Division games.[4] He then joinedSteve Perryman'sBrentford on loan, before joining the club permanently for£125,000 in September 1989.[4]
He was to prove himself as a prolific goalscorer for the "Bees", as the club moved from 13th in1989–90 to theplay-offs in1990–91, before Holdsworth scored 38 goals in the Third Division championship winning season of1991–92, in a fruitful partnership withGary Blissett.[5] For this achievement he was named on thePFA Team of the Year.Phil Holder was unable to keep him atGriffin Park following these exploits.
He signed forJoe Kinnear'sWimbledon in the middle of 1992 for £650,000. He made an immediate impact inhis first season at the "Dons", becoming theclub's top scorer and thePremier League's third highest scorer with 19 goals,[6] after forming a solid partnership withJohn Fashanu. During his time atSelhurst Park, eccentric club chairmanSam Hammam promised to buy Holdsworth aFerrari sports car and even acamel if he managed to score 20 league goals in a season. However, Holdsworth never quite managed to reach that target. He hit 17 league and seven cup goals in1993–94, including ahat-trick againstOldham Athletic on 26 April 1994.[6] He was less prolific in1994–95,[7] though Wimbledon still finished in ninth place. He hit 16 goals in1995–96, to become the club's joint-top scorer, along with strike partnerEfan Ekoku.[7] He hit nine goals in1996–97, before he was signed toBolton Wanderers in October 1997 for £3.5million, which was arecord signing for Bolton at that time.[8]
He scored just three goals in 17 Premier League starts in1997–98,[9] asColin Todd's side slipped out of the top-flight after finishing 18th, behind 17th placeEverton ongoal difference. He rediscovered his scoring touch in the First Division, hitting 12 goals in 26 starts in1998–99.[10] He then hit 14 goals from 24 league starts in1999–2000, asSam Allardyce led Bolton to the semi-finals of the play-offs, theFA Cup and theLeague Cup.[11] He scored 15 goals from 29 starts in2000–01, including ahat-trick pastScunthorpe United in a 5–1 win at theReebok Stadium.[12] The "Trotters" reached theplay-off final, and beatPreston North End 3–0 at theMillennium Stadium to regain their top-flight status. He was restricted to nine league starts and 22substitute appearances in2001–02, scoring once each againstLiverpool andTottenham Hotspur.[13] He made 10 goalless appearances in2002–03,[14] though was briefly joined inLancashire by his brotherDavid for the first time since leaving Watford.
He joinedCoventry City on loan in December 2002, making six goalless appearances, before he signed permanently for the club the following month.[14] He scored once in the FA Cup againstCardiff City. However, he failed to find the net in his eleven league games and moved on toBrian Talbot'sRushden & Diamonds on a non-contract basis in March.[14][15] Diamonds topped the Third Division in2002–03, though Holdsworth leftNene Park in the summer. He returned to Wimbledon for the2003–04 campaign, as the clubrelocated to Milton Keynes. He scored three goals in 28 games in2003–04.[16] He then spent the2004–05 season withHavant & Waterlooville in theConference South.[17] He then joinedDerby County, where he was appointed as assistantmanager,[18] but played as a striker during an injury crisis,[19][20] leaving the club when managerPhil Brown was sacked in January 2006. He finished the 2005–06 season with spells innon-league football atWeymouth andHeybridge Swifts.[21] Holdsworth returned to Havant & Waterlooville for the opening months of the2006–07 season,[17] before joiningCambridge United in the new year.[4] Holdsworth joinedNewport County on a short-term contract in February 2007 and was released by managerPeter Beadle at the end of the 2006–07 season,[22] after playing in the2007 FAW Premier Cup final defeat toThe New Saints.[23]
Holdsworth earned anEngland Bcap in the 4–2 win againstNorthern Ireland B on 10 May 1994 atHillsborough Stadium,Sheffield, scoring the opening goal for England's B team.[3]
Holdsworth was appointed asplayer-manager ofIsthmian League Division One North clubRedbridge in July 2007. The club finished third in2007–08 before losing toCanvey Island in the play-off final, following apenalty shoot-out.
He made a return toNewport County in May 2008 as their new manager in succession toPeter Beadle, after handing in his resignation at Redbridge.[22] He also relocated toWorcester to accommodate his new role at Newport. After a poor start to the2008–09 season, Newport improved in the second half of the season to finish tenth in the league. Holdsworth was awarded theConference South Manager of the Month award for April 2009.[24] His signings includedCraig Reid,Danny Rose,Paul Bignot,Jamie Collins,Charlie Henry,Sam Foley andGary Warren.
In September 2009 Holdsworth was again named the Conference South Manager of the Month[citation needed] after Newport County started the2009–10 season with a run of 13 league matches unbeaten.[25] He also won the awards for November 2009[26] and February 2010.[27] On 15 March 2010, Newport County achievedpromotion to theConference National as champions with seven matches remaining and completed the season with a record 103 points, 28 points ahead of second placedDover Athletic.[28][29][30]
In June 2010, Holdsworth signed a new two-year contract with Newport,[31] and was also awarded the Conference South Manager of the Year Award. Holdsworth was selected as Conference National Manager of the Month for September 2010 after a run of five consecutive wins for Newport County.[32] He left the club in January of the2010–11 campaign, with Newport County lying in the play-off zone of the Conference National. The "Exiles" finished the season in ninth place underAnthony Hudson's stewardship.
In January 2011 he was announced as the new manager ofLeague Two sideAldershot Town.[33] Holdsworth wasted no time making his mark on the team, bringing in forwardsPeter Vincenti,[34]Tim Sills,[35] andAlex Rodman[36] – as well as defenderSimon Grand on loan fromFleetwood[37] – before the end of the month. There were also players leaving the club during this period of transition, with bothGlen Little[36] andWesley Ngo Baheng[38] being released, whilstAnthony Straker[39] andDamian Spencer[40] were sent out on loan. Holdsworth's first game in charge resulted in a creditable 1–1 draw away to high-flyingBury, and he also improved on Aldershot's poor home form; winning his first game at "The Rec" 1–0 againstBradford City,[41] whilst a last-minuteLuke Guttridge free-kick gave the "Shots" a second consecutive home win 3–2 againstCrewe.[42] He continued attempting to strengthen the squad throughout February, with loan signingsAlbert Jarrett[43] andLuke Medley[44] fromLincoln andMansfield, respectively, though neither had a large impact on the team with only a handful of appearances between them. Holdsworth also signed former "Shots" goalkeeperMikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, who made 62 appearances in a previous spell at the club.[45] On thepitch, Aldershot went on a run of five consecutive draws, the first away to league leadersChesterfield who required a lateequaliser to rescue a point.[46]
His team went unbeaten throughout March to ensure the club's survival inthe Football League. The upturn in form prompted speculation that the team could mount a charge for the play-offs.[47] Though the club could only draw in their final game of the month at home toAccrington Stanley, Aldershot were left only seven points behind seventh-placedRotherham United. March also saw defenderJamie Vincent released from the club after not featuring in Holdsworth's first-team plans,[48] as well as a first-team opportunity foryouth team wingerAdam Mekki.[49] The "Shots" continued their unbeaten run into the first half of April before defeat finally came at home toBurton Albion.[50] At the end ofthe campaign Aldershot posted a comfortable mid-table finish, and Holdsworth handed out contracts to young players Adam Mekki,Doug Bergqvist and Henrik Breimyr.[51] He also released nine players inBen Harding,John Halls,Marvin Morgan, Damian Spencer, Tim Sills, Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz,Wade Small,Clayton Fortune, andJack Randall.[52][53][54]
He assembled a number of free signings to replenish his squad: strikersBradley Bubb andMichael Rankine; midfieldersAnthony Pulis andGraeme Montgomery; defendersAaron Brown andJamie Collins; and goalkeeperRoss Worner.[55][56][57][58][59] He also brought in a total of eight loanees in the first half of the season:Jake Taylor,[60]Jordan Brown,[61]Bruno Andrade,[62]Adam Smith,[63]Scott Davies,[64]Jamie Day,[65]Greg Pearson andCharlie Henry.[66] His team proved to be inconsistent, though they did reach the Fourth Round of theLeague Cup, where they were beaten 3–0 by aManchester United side that includedDimitar Berbatov,Michael Owen, andAntonio Valencia.[67] In the Januarytransfer window he released Graeme Montgomery and Anthony Pulis,[68][69] whilst making four new loan signings in defendersTroy Brown andSonny Bradley,[70] midfielderJosh Payne,[71] and strikerCharlie Collins.[72] He also recruited defenderChris Doig,[73] and attempted to bolster his side's poor goalscoring record by paying a five figure fee for Cameroonian strikerGuy Madjo.[74] He also signedStefan Payne,[75]Wilko Risser[76] and Josh Payne, as well as loaneesBen Smith,Darren Murphy,[77]Michael Doughty,[78] andRob Sinclair.[79] To make room for these signings he offloadedJermaine McGlashan,[80] Jamie Collins,[81] Luke Guttridge,[82] Chris Doig and Aaron Brown.[83] The "Shots" finishedthe season just outside the play-offs.
"Sometimes you have to be an accountant as [well as] a football manager. It does come down to money. When you come to a club with financial constraints in the division, it was always a challenge to make sure we were a League club. I want to carry on that. The only way forward for a club like ours is loans. We don't have the finances for 52-week contracts but we also have to be realistic to know what sort of players we are going to bring in. We need to bring in players who need to have a point to prove and need to perform."
Holdsworth signed a new one-year extension to his contract with the club in June 2012, tying him to the club until summer 2014.[85] The next month he rejected the opportunity to take over as manager ofLeague One clubCrawley Town.[86] Over the summer he signed goalkeeperGlenn Morris,[87] defendersOlly Lancashire andGuy Branston,[88][89] and midfieldersCraig Stanley andHarry Cooksley.[90][91] Holdsworth targeted the play-offs for the2012–13 season, though said that "our aim is, first and foremost, staying in the division."[92] Over the course of the season he also added Sonny Bradley (on loan),[93]Danny Rose (on loan),[94]Kieron Cadogan,[95]Oliver Risser,[96]Asa Hall (on loan),[97] andAnthony McNamee to his squad.[98] He led Aldershot to the Fourth Round of theFA Cup for the first time in the club's history.[99] On 20 February 2013 he was sacked by Aldershot, three days after his twin brotherDavid Holdsworth was sacked as manager of Lincoln City, and one day after Aldershot recorded a 1–0 victory overTorquay United.[100] At the time of his sacking Aldershot were in 20th position in League Two having taken only seven points from the last seven games.[100]
Holdsworth was appointed manager at Conference South sideChelmsford City in May 2013.[101] However, after eight defeats in 13 league games his contract with Chelmsford was ended by mutual consent in November 2013.[102]
He was appointed director of football atIsthmian League Premier clubBrentwood Town in June 2015 and also took up the vacant management role at the club.[103] He resigned in November 2015 due to his growing business commitments.[104] His primary focus was as a business consultant for Sport Shield Consultancy, a consortium seeking to buy intoBolton Wanderers.[105]
On 19 May 2022, Holdsworth was appointed manager ofStratford Town of theSouthern League Premier Central, where the chairman noted that he had "a lot of managerial experience on budget constraints".[106] He left the role in September, stating that his growing business commitments made him unable to focus on his role as manager.[107]
Holdsworth is a former chairman of theProfessional Footballers' Association and founder of the Non-League Footballers Association (NLFA).[108]
In March 2016, Holdsworth led a consortium to purchaseBolton Wanderers, who were lying at the bottom of theChampionship table and heading foradministration, and upon completion of the takeover appointed himself aschief executive.[109] However, he moved to the position ofDirector of football before the start of the2016–17 season,[110] but left the role less than a month later.[111] He had a public falling out with chairman Ken Anderson over the sale ofZach Clough in January 2017 and sold out his share of the club to Anderson two months later.[112][113] He resigned his directorship of the club in August 2017.[114]
In December 2023, he was appointed astechnical director at National League clubKidderminster Harriers, with the club saying it was "a significant milestone in the club's journey following promotion".[115]
Holdsworth was involved in tabloid scandal in 1996 when he had a highly publicised extramarital affair with topless modelLinsey Dawn McKenzie, who was then aged 17.[116] In December 1999 he was sentenced to 18 months probation for punching his wife Samantha Holdsworth.[117]
Holdsworth appeared in the reality television seriesDeadline where ten celebrities had to produce their own weekly celebrity magazine. He was the sixth celebrity to be sacked byJanet Street-Porter. He also participated in the second series ofSky One reality TV seriesCirque de Celebrité. The judges voted him out in the first episode on 7 October 2007. Tamara (another contestant) joined him in the bottom two, but the three judges voted to stay in the competition. However, because of a technical fault with the voting, Dean was asked to re-join the show.
Holdsworth married Susanna Cobham in June 2010.[118]David Holdsworth, who was also a professional footballer is Dean's twin brother. On 18 September 2010, they became the first twins to manage against each other in the top five divisions of English football, when Dean was manager ofNewport County and David manager ofMansfield Town – Newport won the match 1–0.[119]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Watford | 1987–88[120] | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1988–89[120] | Second Division | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1989–90[120] | Second Division | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | ||
| Carlisle United (loan) | 1987–88[4] | Fourth Division | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||
| Port Vale (loan) | 1987–88[4] | Third Division | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | |||
| Swansea City (loan) | 1988–89[4] | Third Division | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Brentford (loan) | 1988–89[121] | Third Division | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| Brentford | 1989–90[121] | Third Division | 39 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 4 | 45 | 28 |
| 1990–91[5] | Third Division | 30 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7[d] | 1 | 41 | 9 | |
| 1991–92[5] | Third Division | 41 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3[c] | 4 | 52 | 38 | |
| Total | 110 | 53 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 138 | 75 | ||
| Wimbledon | 1992–93[6] | Premier League | 34 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 40 | 19 | |
| 1993–94[6] | Premier League | 42 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | 51 | 24 | ||
| 1994–95[7] | Premier League | 28 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 33 | 8 | ||
| 1995–96[7] | Premier League | 33 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | 40 | 16 | ||
| 1996–97[8] | Premier League | 25 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | 36 | 9 | ||
| 1997–98[9] | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 169 | 58 | 20 | 7 | 19 | 11 | — | 208 | 76 | |||
| Bolton Wanderers | 1997–98[9] | Premier League | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| 1998–99[10] | First Division | 32 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 37 | 12 | ||
| 1999–2000[11] | First Division | 35 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2[e] | 3 | 44 | 15 | |
| 2000–01[12] | First Division | 31 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3[e] | 39 | 15 | ||
| 2001–02[13] | Premier League | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03[14] | Premier League | 9 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 158 | 39 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 186 | 49 | ||
| Coventry City | 2002–03[f][14] | First Division | 17 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Rushden & Diamonds | 2002–03[14] | Third Division | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | |||
| Wimbledon | 2003–04[16] | First Division | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 3 | |
| Havant & Waterlooville | 2004–05[17] | Conference South | 40 | 24 | 1 | 0 | — | 10[g] | 9 | 51 | 33 | |
| 2005–06[17] | Conference South | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 24 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 9 | 53 | 33 | |||
| Derby County | 2005–06[20] | Championship | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Weymouth | 2005–06[21] | Conference South | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Heybridge Swifts | 2005–06[21] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 6 | 5 | — | — | 1[h] | 0 | 7 | 5 | ||
| Havant & Waterlooville | 2006–07[17] | Conference South | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 3[i] | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| Cambridge United | 2006–07[122] | Conference Premier | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| Newport County | 2006–07[123] | Conference South | 12 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
| Redbridge | 2007–08[124] | Isthmian League Division One North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 603 | 197 | 44 | 18 | 49 | 24 | 37 | 21 | 733 | 260 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Aldershot Town | 11 January 2011 | 20 February 2013 | 118 | 42 | 34 | 42 | 035.6 | [125] |
Brentford[126]
Rushden & Diamonds[129]
Newport County[23]
Dean Holdsworth managerial positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
