Kerry Dixon
Personal information
Full name Kerry Michael Dixon
Date of birth (1961-07-24) 24 July 1961
Place of birth Luton, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Chesham United
1979–1980 Dunstable
1980–1983 Reading 116 (51)
1983–1992 Chelsea 335 (147)
1992–1993 Southampton 9 (2)
1993–1995 Luton Town 75 (19)
1995–1996 Millwall 31 (9)
1996 Watford 11 (0)
1996–1997 Doncaster Rovers 16 (3)
1997 Basildon United
Total 593 (231)
International career
1985 England U21 1 (1)
1985–1986 England 8 (4)
Managerial career
1996–1997 Doncaster Rovers (player-manager)
2003–2004 Hitchin Town
2005–2006 Dunstable Town (co-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kerry Michael Dixon (born 24 July 1961) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a forward.

His club career was spent most notably at Chelsea, where he won the Second Division twice. His 193 goals for the club across all competitions made him their third-highest goalscorer of all time.

For three seasons in a row, 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85, he was the top goalscorer in his teams' divisions, 3 (with Reading), 2 and 1 (with Chelsea) respectively.

Dixon scored four goals in eight international appearances for the England national football team, and represented the nation at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Playing career

Early years

Dixon was born in Luton. A tall and athletic striker who had pace, an impressive heading ability and was effective with both feet, he started out as an apprentice with Tottenham Hotspur but was released by the club.[2]

Reading

After spells with Chesham United and Dunstable,[2] he got his first taste of League football with Reading, who signed him for £20,000 in 1980.[2] He scored 51 league goals in 116 appearances for the then Third Division club,[2] including four in a 7–5 defeat at Doncaster Rovers in September 1982. They finished the season relegated to the Fourth Division.

Chelsea

Following Reading's relegation, Dixon moved up to the Second Division to sign for Chelsea in August 1983. He was signed by manager John Neal. Chelsea chairman Ken Bates initially hesitated when faced with the £150,000 transfer fee plus an additional £25,000 if Dixon ever played for the England national side, but relented and the deal went ahead. Dixon arrived as part of Neal's radical re-building of the side, who had narrowly avoided relegation to the Third Division three months earlier, and was joined in the same summer by Pat Nevin, Nigel Spackman, Joe McLaughlin and Eddie Niedzwiecki, as Chelsea looked to push for promotion to the First Division, having been in the Second Division since 1979.

Dixon's impact at Chelsea was immediate; he scored two goals on his debut against Derby County and added 32 more through the season as the club romped to promotion as Second Division champions to reach the First Division after a five-year absence. Chelsea clinched promotion with a 5–0 win against Leeds United, in which Dixon scored a hat-trick. He struck up an impressive partnership with fiery Scottish striker David Speedie, despite initial personal problems between the two, and also linked up well with winger Nevin; between them the three players scored almost 200 goals over the next three years, as Chelsea not only won promotion but quickly re-established themselves as a First Division side. His impact on the First Division the following season was equally impressive, scoring with a memorable volley in the opening match against Arsenal at Highbury in a 1–1 draw. Dixon eventually finished up as joint top scorer (alongside Gary Lineker) with 24 league goals while Chelsea finished sixth in the final table. In the same season, he hit a further eight goals in the League Cup as Chelsea reached the semi-finals, where they surprisingly lost to Sunderland. In his first two seasons at Chelsea he scored a total of 70 goals in just 101 games.

Chelsea challenged for the title in the 1985–86 season but Dixon suffered torn stomach muscles during an FA Cup tie against Liverpool in January, which did much to damage their chances. They eventually finished sixth again, though he did score twice in a 2–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. The injury also took away much of Dixon's pace and he was never quite the same player again.

During 1986, Dixon was frequently linked with a transfer to Manchester United, whose manager Ron Atkinson had long been monitoring his form, but Atkinson was sacked in November of that year and new manager Alex Ferguson did not follow up interest in Dixon, who would ultimately remain at Stamford Bridge for nearly six more years.[3]

Chelsea struggled in the following two seasons after a series of clashes between key players and the management saw the successful mid 1980s side gradually broken up. Dixon himself was dropped from the side after losing form and was close to joining Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal, though the deal eventually collapsed after chairman Ken Bates intervened. Chelsea were relegated in 1988, an event which, ironically, rejuvenated his career with the club. He scored 25 league goals as Chelsea returned to the First Division as champions at the first attempt in 1988–89. A year later he scored a further 26, including a final day hat-trick against Millwall, to help Chelsea finish fifth, their highest league position since 1970. He spent two more seasons with the club and continued to score on a regular basis, although Chelsea failed to finish higher than mid table in 1991 or 1992. Dixon's final serious chance of a major trophy with Chelsea came in the 1990–91 season, when they went on a good run in the League Cup but lost to Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-finals. They did win the short-lived Full Members Cup twice (1986 and 1990) during Dixon's spell at the club, although Dixon was injured on the occasion of the first victory in this competition.

With 193 goals in total to his name, Dixon is Chelsea's third highest goal scorer of all time, behind only Bobby Tambling and Frank Lampard. He is also tenth in the club's all-time appearances list. His only honours with the club, however, were the two Second Division championship medals and the Full Members Cup. He also never got to represent the club in European competitions.

Southampton

After nine years at Stamford Bridge, Dixon left Chelsea in the summer of1992 and joined Southampton in a £575,000 deal, where he briefly linked up with Speedie again, though not with the same success. During his time at Southampton, he only managed nine league appearances and two goals in the new FA Premier League.[4]

Luton Town

After less than a year The Dell, Dixon went on loan to Luton Town in February 1993, moving to Kenilworth Road on a free transfer when the move was made permanent in October that year.[4] The highlight of his time at Luton was reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1994, where he faced his old side Chelsea and lost 2–0. He scored 20 goals in 88 appearances for Luton.

Millwall and Watford

In March 1995, Dixon joined Millwall, also in Division One, for a mere £5,000. After 31 appearances and nine goals, he was sold to Watford for £25,000 in January 1996. Dixon appeared in 11 matches for Watford, who along with Millwall were relegated from Division One that season.

Doncaster Rovers

The final league club he played for was Doncaster Rovers during the 1996–97 season. This came after he was appointed player-manager of the cash-strapped Division Three club. He appeared in 16 matches for the Rovers, scoring three times.

Basildon United

For a short period of the 1997–98 season Dixon played for Basildon United in the Essex Senior League but he picked up a hamstring injury stretching to score a goal against Great Wakering Rovers in what turned out to be his last game for the club.

International career

His scoring feats earned him an England call-up; he made his debut against Mexico in 1985 during a friendly international tournament in Mexico City. Three days later Dixon scored twice and set up Bryan Robson for the other in England's 3–0 win over West Germany.[5][6] He scored two more four days later against the USA in Los Angeles.

1986 World Cup

After his injury in 1985, he was nevertheless selected for the England squad for the 1986 FIFA World Cup but the presence of Lineker and Peter Beardsley in the side limited him to a six-minute substitute appearance against Poland. He played only one more game for England after that, and finished his international career with eight caps and four goals.

Managerial career

Doncaster Rovers

After his playing days were over, he became Doncaster's player-manager, but was sacked in August 1997.

Boreham Wood, Letchworth and Hitchin Town

Since then, Dixon has had stints coaching non-League sides Boreham Wood, Letchworth, and Hitchin Town.

Personal life

Dixon does occasional work for Chelsea TV. He commentated on Chelsea matches with Gary Taphouse from 2002 to 2008 on both the club's own digital radio station, then on Smooth FM. He is also involved with matchday hospitality at the club. He was also joint manager at Dunstable alongside Paul Reeves and involved in community work in the area.[7]

In June 2014, he was charged with a class-A drugs offence.[8] The charge was subsequently dropped.[9]

In June 2015, Dixon was found guilty of assault of a man in a pub in Dunstable. On 19 June 2015, Dixon was jailed for nine months for the offence.[10][11]

In October 2016, in an interview with the BBC he spoke of his long term addiction to gambling.[12]

His father Mike was also a footballer.[13]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Reading
1980–81[14] Third Division 39131040—4413
1981–82[14] Third Division 421210103[lower-alpha 1]04712
1982–83[14] Third Division 352610104[lower-alpha 1]64132
Total 1165130607613257
Chelsea
1983–84[15] Second Division 42281056—4834
1984–85[16] First Division 412424108—5336
1985–86[17] First Division 381420754[lower-alpha 2]45123
1986–87[18] First Division 361030311[lower-alpha 2]14312
1987–88[19] First Division 331121206[lower-alpha 3]24314
1988–89[20] Second Division 392510212[lower-alpha 2]24428
1989–90[21] First Division 382032206[lower-alpha 2]34925
1990–91[22] First Division 331011842[lower-alpha 2]04415
1991–92[23] First Division 35550203[lower-alpha 2]1456
Total 33514720841252413420193
Southampton 1992–93[24] Premier League 921020—122
Luton Town
1992–93[14] First Division 1730000—173
1993–94[14] First Division 29960002[lower-alpha 4]13710
1994–95[14] First Division 2973020—347
Total 75199020218820
Millwall
1994–95[25] First Division 940000—94
1995–96[25] First Division 2251030—265
Total 319103000359
Watford 1995–96[26] First Division 1100000—110
Doncaster Rovers 1996–97[14] Third Division 16310201[lower-alpha 5]0203
Career total 59323135856253420718284

Notes

  1. 1 2 Appearances in Group Cup
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearances in Full Members' Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in Full Members' Cup (2 appearances, 1 goal) and play-offs (4 appearances, 1 goal)
  4. ↑ Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup
  5. ↑ Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "Kerry Dixon: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Straight out of Wealdstone: The non-league players who made it big". The Independent. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "New Straits Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 504. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  5. ↑ "1985 (June 12) England 3-West Germany 0 (Azteca 2000).avi". YouTube. 16 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Kerry DIXON". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Chelsea FC transfer news, blog, forum and web site". Chelsea FC website & blog. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ex-England footballer Kerry Dixon on drugs charge". BBC News. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Drug charge against ex-England footballer Kerry Dixon dropped". BBC News. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Kerry Dixon guilty of Dunstable 'fatso' jibe assault". BBC News. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Former Chelsea and England footballer Kerry Dixon jailed for pub assault". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Phillips, Owen; Aloia, Andrew (7 October 2016). "Gambling, goals, drugs and jail – an England striker's fall from grace". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Mike Dixon. 14/3/1937 – 13/11/2022". www.lutontown.co.uk.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Player search: Dixon, KM (Kerry)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1983/1984". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1984/1985". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1985/1986". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1986/1987". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  19. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1987/1988". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1988/1989". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1989/1990". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1990/1991". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1991/1992". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  24. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon in 1992/1993". saintsplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  25. 1 2 "Games played by Kerry Dixon for Millwall". millwall-history.org. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Kerry Dixon for Watford". watfordarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2022.

Bibliography

  • Dixon, Kerry (1986). Kerry: The Autobiography. Macdonald. ISBN 9780356123554.
  • Worrall, Mark; Barker, Kelvin; Johnstone, David (2009). Chelsea here Chelsea there : Gate 17 paperback. ISBN 978-0-9557459-3-5.
  • Cheshire, Scott (1998). Chelsea: an Illustrated History. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-143-5.
  • Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
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