Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin
Personnel
Surname	Dion Dublin (2008)
birthday	April 22, 1969
place of birth	Leicester ,  England
size	188 cm
position	Center-back , center-forward
Juniors
Years	station
	Wigston Fields
until 1988	Oakham United
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1988	Norwich City	0 0(0)
1988-1992	Cambridge United	156 (52)
1988	→  FC Barnet  (loan)	1 0(0)
1992-1994	Manchester United	12 0(2)
1994-1998	Coventry City	145 (61)
1998-2004	Aston Villa	155 (48)
2002	→  Millwall FC  (loan)	5 0(2)
2004-2006	Leicester City	58 0(5)
2006	Celtic Glasgow	11 0(1)
2006-2008	Norwich City	70 (12)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1998	England	4 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Dion Dublin (born April 22, 1969 in Leicester ) is a former English football player . The four-time England international, who could be used as a central defender and striker , won the English championship with Manchester United in 1993 . There he was mostly just a substitute and the following year he was drawn to the first division competitor Coventry City , for whom he was the most accurate shooter in the Premier League with 18 league goals in the 1997/98 season (together with Michael Owen and Chris Sutton ). In November 1998 he moved to Aston Villa , where he recorded another success in 2000 when he made it to the FA Cup final . Shortly before the end of his career, he was once again employed by Celtic Glasgow in Scotland via Leicester City , where he won both the championship and the league cup in 2006 .

Athletic career

Start of professional career: Cambridge United (until 1992)

While at school in Leicestershire , Dion Dublin played for Wigston Fields , a local club in a small village in south Leicester. For Oakham United he was then in non-league football before moving to the English first division club Norwich City in March 1988 . There he came only to the reserve team and in August 1988 he moved to the fourth division at Cambridge United for free .

In his first season he developed there after his debut by substitution on December 16, 1988 at FC Wrexham (1: 3) steadily to a constant in Cambridge. He was used both in the storm center and in defense. He scored a total of six championship goals in the 1988/89 season, including a hat trick in a 5-1 win over Peterborough United shortly after the turn of the year. Also in 1988 Dublin made a brief appearance as a substitute at Barnet FC , where Cambridge had loaned him briefly. From then on he became more and more a key player for Cambridge United and he was largely responsible for the fact that the club rose from the fourth division to the second division after two successive seasons in 1990 and 1991 . He first contributed in the 1989/90 season as well as his strike partner John Taylor 15 league goals to reach the playoff games for promotion to the third highest division in promotion playoffs. In the final, he then scored the only goal to win against Chesterfield FC , the first at Wembley after the introduction of these decisive games. In the 1990/91 season, Cambridge United continued the "march" as third division champions and Dublin was the best scorer of his team with 17 goals (three more than Taylor).

The success story continued in the 1991/92 season and Dublin qualified with Cambridge United even on the fifth place in the final table for the playoffs for promotion to the top English division. There, however, the club failed in the semifinals clearly to Leicester City . Dublin, who had scored 15 league goals again and made it to the FA Cup quarter-finals twice in 1989 and 1990, had made such a good name for themselves that prominent first division clubs such as Manchester United , Chelsea FC and Everton FC are now at the latest showed interest in a Dublin commitment.

Manchester United (1992-94)

Dublin opted for Manchester United in early August 1992 after coach Alex Ferguson had personally convinced himself of his qualities in a cup game. The "Red Devils" paid a transfer fee of a million pounds, with Dublin only being a "second choice", as Ferguson originally wanted to sign Alan Shearer from Southampton FC , who in turn had preferred the Blackburn Rovers . The start was positive for Dublin in Manchester and in the 1-0 win in Southampton he scored the winning goal at the last minute. Shortly thereafter, on September 2, 1992, after a duel with Eric Young of Crystal Palace, he broke his leg and had to take a break for half a year. After the recovery, he did not find his way back into the team, as the newly signed Éric Cantona played furiously and formed the storm duo with Mark Hughes . Manchester United eventually won the English championship , but although he missed the minimum number of ten Premier League appearances, he was awarded a medal under a special dispensation.

In his second Manchester season in 1993/94, Dublin did not come outside of the reserve team properly and in December 1993 Ferguson already reached an agreement with his coaching colleague Howard Kendall regarding a move to Everton FC . But since Everton's Board of Directors did not approve the transfer - after which Kendall, incidentally, announced his resignation in Everton - Dublin stayed in Manchester until the end of the season. In total, he completed five league games that 1993/94 season, in which he managed a single goal in early April 1993 in the 3-2 home win over Oldham Athletic . This was clearly not enough for another championship medal. Even in the final victory in the FA Cup , he was not taken into account and Dublin did not even make it onto the bench. Shortly thereafter, he hired for a transfer fee of two million pounds at first division competitor Coventry City .

Coventry City (1994-98)

Dublin were an immediate reinforcement at Coventry with ten goals in their first thirteen games. A groin injury in November 1994 made him sideline six league games, all of which could not be won by his team. On his positive debut, in addition to his scoring qualities, he also repeatedly demonstrated strengths on the defensive. The thirteen league goals in the 1994/95 season, he surpassed in the following season 1995/96 by another goal. The "Sturmführer", who has meanwhile been promoted to captain, showed himself to be technically adept and successful in header duels. He was once again a key factor in the club's good first half of the season and with injury interruptions in September and October, the team never won a Premier League game. On his comeback, his substitution in the League Cup ensured the narrow 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur . His goals, which are often worth seeing, included a header to equalize 1-1 with Queens Park Rangers , a volley again against Tottenham, an acrobatic goal in a 5-0 win against Blackburn Rovers and a hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday , which was not enough avert a 3-4 defeat. He was now considered one of the best strikers in the league more than ever and although he was a little weak from January 1996, rumors of an upcoming move in the summer increased.

Dublin got off to a slow start in the 1996/97 season. After a few defeats at the beginning he lost his captaincy and after he had been transferred back to the bench in the meantime, he only scored the first goal of the season on his eleventh appearance against FC Southampton (1-1). His Beorderung in their central defense then coincided consistent with a form of improving the team in December, also as Dublin in four games four goals at set pieces scored. Although he was suspended after two red cards in two consecutive games for seven games, he found successively in the role of striker and striker back - he drew particular attention with a last-minute goal to 2: 1 win at Liverpool on itself . In the 1997/98 season he was the club's top scorer for the fourth time, so that his first international match for the English national team in February 1998 under Glenn Hoddle against Chile (2-0) came as little surprise. In addition, he had improved the previous record of Cyrille Regis with the most first division goals for Coventry City and he was the club's first player in a good 20 years with more than 20 competitive goals in one season. His suspension after a duel with Colin Hendry was controversial . Although the elbow strike he was accused of could not be sustained after a video search, the subsequent suspension continued. Together with Blackburn's Chris Sutton and Liverpool's Michael Owen , he shared the league's best goalscorer award (each of whom had scored 18 goals in the league). In the run-up to the finals for the 1998 World Cup in France , Dublin was initially part of the extended English squad, but was not included in the final 22-man squad.

In November 1998, Dublin moved to Aston Villa after twelve appearances and four goals at the beginning of the 1998/99 season for £ 5.75 million . The transfer phase was accompanied by some disagreements with the club management of Coventry City, as they had previously accepted an offer from Blackburn Rovers in Höve of 6.75 million pounds. Dublin hadn't wanted to move so far with his family, however. Through an alleged contractual clause, however, he had been assured that he had to be informed about every request with a transfer fee of over five million pounds and thus his "preferred candidate" Aston Villa, who was prepared to pay significantly less than the highest bid but was the only one the only club left in the desired regional vicinity.

Aston Villa (1998-2004)

Dublin got off to a furious start at their new club, scoring seven goals in their first three games - a hat trick against Southampton and two each against Tottenham and Liverpool. He first formed a storm partnership with Stan Collymore and later with Julian Joachim . From the end of January 1999 he was increasingly troubled by groin problems, but an operation that was deemed necessary was also postponed to the summer break. On November 18, 1998, he had previously played his fourth and last international match for England against the selection of the Czech Republic . The 1999/2000 season started promisingly for Dublin, who had accumulated twelve hits by December 1999. In the same month he suffered a life-threatening broken neck during a game against Sheffield Wednesday , because of which he was fitted with a titanium plate that holds three cervical vertebrae together. In April 2000, a week after his recovery, he was able to help Aston Villa reach their first FA Cup final in 43 years by converting a penalty kick against Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final penalty shootout . In the final Villa lost 1-0 to Chelsea .

The sporting performance curve showed a downward trend from the 2000/01 season. Although he scored nine goals across all competitions and was Aston Villa's most accurate shooter, the previously shown top performance in attack became rarer - his appearances in defense were now more frequent. The 2001/02 season was downright disappointing when, behind strikers like Juan Pablo Ángel and Darius Vassell , he usually only had a place on the bench. End of March 2000, he was for a few weeks in the second class First Division to the FC Millwall on loan, where he scored two goals in five league games.

When he returned to Villa, he was not even a substitute for the first five Premier League games of the following 2002/03 season before making his comeback in the second half against local rivals Birmingham City . His appearance in the subsequent match against Everton was spectacular when he scored the 3-2 winner in the 85th minute - just four minutes after being substituted on. This was followed by two more goals against Luton Town in the League Cup and Dublin suddenly had good cards again in the fight for a regular place - he scored his 100th Premier League goal in the home game against West Ham United in November 2002. In his final year for Aston Villa, he often acted in the defense center and served with his experience as a leader. Sporadically he intervened in attacks and one of the last highlights there was his acrobatic goal to make it 1-0 against Southampton FC . In his last appearance against ex-club Manchester United (0-2), he was substituted on shortly before the end and was celebrated with a “ standing ovation ” by the audience . At that time it was already known that his contract, which expired in summer 2004, should not be extended.

Career finale (2004-08)

Free transfer moved to Dublin to Leicester City , which had recently been relegated from the first division to the new second-rate Football League Championship . The debut against West Ham United failed as he was sent straight off with a red card. Later, however, he became an integral part of the team and he found his new role again mostly in the defense center. The goals scored were consequently rare; a highlight was his late 2-1 winner in the round of 16 of the FA Cup at Charlton Athletic . The originally fixed one year contract was then extended by trainer Craig Levein for another twelve months. In a frequently changing line of defenders, Dublin was a constant in the 2005/06 season and in the first half of the season he occasionally took over the role of captain. Shortly after Levein left the club, Dublin's contract was terminated on January 30, 2006 by mutual agreement. On the same day he signed a contract with Celtic Glasgow that was limited to the end of the season. At Celtic, Dublin, who was supposed to replace Chris Sutton in the first place, mostly only came from the bench, but in addition to winning the Scottish Championship , he also won the league cup . In the final he scored the decisive goal against Dunfermline Athletic after being substituted on and played in the league often enough to get one of the championship medals.

Dublin announced on September 20, 2006 the move to Norwich City . So he returned to his youth club for almost 20 years. Three days later he made his debut as a substitute against Plymouth Argyle (1: 3) and on his third appearance against the Queens Park Rangers (3: 3) he scored the first goal for the "Canaries". Although he celebrated his 38th birthday at the end of the 2006/07 season, he was in an excellent state of fitness and his contribution to relegation in the second division was recognized by his own supporters with the club's internal “Player of the Year” award. In his last professional season 2007/08, Dublin then scored nine more competitive goals before he was once again adopted with much applause in the final appearance at 1: 4 against Sheffield Wednesday on May 4, 2008 - from the fans of both teams and also from Referee Mark Clattenburg . He had already announced his resignation as a professional footballer in January 2008.

After football

Following his active career, Dublin worked occasionally as an expert for the broadcaster Sky Sports . There he confirmed himself in Champions League games, for example as a co-commentator on the side of Martin Tyler .

Title / Awards

• English Championship (1): 1993
• English Supercup (1): 1994
• Scottish Championship (1): 2006
• Scottish League Cup (1): 2006
• UI Cup (1): 2001
• England's Player of the Month (2): January 1998, November 1998
• Premier League top scorer (1): 1998 (together with Michael Owen and Chris Sutton )

Web links

• Dion Dublin in the soccerbase.com database
• Profile at Flown from the Nest

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rothman: Football Yearbook 1989-90, pp. 136/137
2. ↑ Rothman: Football Yearbook 1989-90, 898
3. ↑ England Players: Dion Dublin (England Football Online)
4. ↑ Rothman: Football Yearbook 1990-91, pp. 154/155
5. ^ Rothman: Football Yearbook 1990-91, p. 613
6. ^ Rothman: Football League Yearbook 1992, 77
7. ↑ "Football: United sign pounds 1m Dublin" (The Independent)
8. ↑ "BBC Sport meets former England striker Dion Dublin ..." (BBC Sport)
9. ↑ "Exclusive Interview With Howard Kendall" (Blue Kipper)
10. ^ "Football: Dublin moves to Coventry" (The Independent)
11. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 0-09-180854-5 , pp. 64 .
12. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 1-85291-571-4 , pp. 76 f .
13. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 1-85291-581-1 , pp. 81 .
14. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-1999 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85291-588-9 , pp. 86 .
15. ↑ "Gazza axed and flies home" (BBC Sport)
16. ↑ ^{a b} Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85291-607-9 , pp. 87 .
17. ^ "Dublin becomes a Villan" (BBC Sport)
18. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2000-2001 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2000, ISBN 1-85291-626-5 , pp. 94 .
19. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2001-2002 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2001, ISBN 0-946531-34-X , pp. 87 .
20. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85291-648-6 , pp. 118 .
21. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 1-85291-651-6 , pp. 122 .
22. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2004, ISBN 1-85291-660-5 , pp. 117 f .
23. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2005, ISBN 1-85291-662-1 , pp. 118 .
24. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2006-07 . Mainstream Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84596-111-0 , pp. 118 .
25. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007-08 . Mainstream Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3 , pp. 118 .
26. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008-09 . Mainstream Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8 , pp. 131 .
27. ^ "Dublin announces retirement plans" (BBC Sport)