CCFC Old Boy News: Dean Holdsworth Is New Head Coach Of The Bards!

Dean in Sky Blue action

Striker Dean Holdsworth, who spent a few months with the Sky Blues during 2002-03, has found himself a new position in the last week or so, being appointed Head Coach of local club Stratford Town!  Dean has attended Stratford games and been a club Ambassador for several years. The Bards Chairman Jed McCrory, pointed to his extensive career of success both as a player in the top English leagues and a manager in the lower leagues and told their club website,

“Dean is a personal friend and has been supporting the club over the last few years, so is very familiar with the players and style of play brought to the club over the last three years and as such should settle very quickly. We also have a bit of a crazy gang spirit in the dressing room, so adding an original member in Deano I’m sure will add the icing to the cake”. 

Dean with the Bards Chairman

Dean in recent times

As a striker Dean scored 198 goals in 607 senior appearances over a 22-year career including scoring on his debut for the England national team against Northern Ireland. His prolific goalscoring began at Watford (1987-90) with loan spells at Carlisle United, Port Vale and Swansea City.  After another loan spell at Brentford im 1988 he then joined them for three more seasons (earning a PFA Team of the Year accolade in the process). Then came a a move for six seasons to the ‘Crazy Gang’ of Wimbledon FC in 1992 (then a Premier League club and netted 19 goals)!

The next port of call in 1997 was Bolton Wanderers for a club record fee of £3.5m staying six seasons before the Sky Blues took him, initially on loan in December 2002, signing permanently the following month.

Dean in Sky Blue action

He scored once in his twenty Sky Blue outings (in the FA Cup against Cardiff City) and soon moved on to Rushden & Diamonds in March 2003 before completing his Football League swansong returning to the Wombles for the 2003–04 campaign, as the club relocated to Milton Keynes. Though he made four emergency Championship appearances whilst assistant ‘gaffer’ at Derby County in 2005-06 Dean spent the rest of his playing career in the lower divisions with Havant & Waterlooville (2004 & 06), Weymouth (2005), Heybridge Swifts, Cambridge United and Newport County (player-manager) (all 2006). After representing sixteen different clubs he finally hung up his boots in 2008 with 260 goals in a massive 733 appearances under his belt!

As far as management experience is concerned, apart from his time with the Rams and Newport, Dean has looked after Redbridge (2007), Aldershot Town (2011), Chelmsford City (2013) and Brentwood Town (2015). Dean is a former chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association and also founder of the Non-League Footballers Association (NLFA).

We wish Dean well as he takes up his latest challenge with the Bards and would be pleased if he would consider joining up with CCFPA in the near future!

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images