Dean Saunders
Encyclopedia
Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964 in Swansea
) is a former Wales
international footballer who played as a striker
in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager
of Doncaster Rovers.
He is probably best known for playing for Aston Villa
. However he also played for Swansea City
, Cardiff City
(on loan), Brighton
, Oxford United
, Derby County
, Liverpool
, Galatasaray
, Nottingham Forest
, Sheffield United
, Benfica and Bradford City
. He also won 75 caps
for Wales
.
He is also an occasional pundit for the BBC
, sometimes providing analysis on Wales' matches.
He was capped 75 times at senior level for Wales between 1986 and 2001, scoring 22 times - making him one of the nation's highest scoring and most capped players of all time.
had been a player and coach, signing as an apprentice on leaving school in 1980.
He turned professional in the summer of 1982, after Swansea had finished sixth in their first season as a First Division
club. Swansea were relegated in 1982-83
, and Saunders made his debut in the 1983-84 season
. He scored three goals in 19 games as a second successive relegation pushed Swansea in the Third Division
. He scored nine goals in 30 league games in 1984-85
, as Swansea narrowly avoided a third successive relegation. A goalless four-game loan spell at local rivals Cardiff City also came in 1984-85, before he signed for Second Division club Brighton & Hove Albion on a free transfer on 7 August 1985.
, scoring 14 league goals in his first season. He scored six goals from 30 league games in 1986-87
before a £60,000 move took him to the First Division
with Oxford United. He was an instant success and quite a bargain for Oxford, where his six goals from the final 12 league games secured First Division survival.
He scored 12 goals in 37 games during the 1987-88 season (during which Maurice Evans
was dismissed as manager and replaced by Mark Lawrenson
) but it was not enough to prevent Oxford from going down in bottom place after three seasons in the top flight.
He began the 1988–89 season
still in the Second Division, with manager Mark Lawrenson
and chairman Kevin Maxwell
agreeing that they would only sell Saunders if Oxford failed to win promotion at the end of the season.
However, he was sold to Derby County for £1million on 28 October 1988 and Oxford manager Mark Lawrenson
was later sacked by the club's board after he complained to them about selling Saunders.
in a First Division fixture at the Baseball Ground
. He made an impressive start at his new club scoring twice in his first game. In his first season at his new club he scored 14 goals in 30 games. His goals helped Derby
finish an impressive fifth in the 1988–89 First Division table — their highest finish since they were league champions in 1975 — but they were unable to compete in the UEFA Cup
due to the ban on English teams in European competition following the Heysel Disaster of 1985. He added 11 league goals to his name in the 1989-90
, but Derby slumped to 16th place.
He scored 17 league goals in the 1990–91 season
but Derby still went down in bottom place with just five league wins all season. Derby's relegation saw most of the country's top clubs queue up in their bid to capture his services, and Everton were favourites to sign him, and there was also an approach from Aston Villa's
new manager Ron Atkinson
. But Saunders ended up at Liverpool, who paid a then English record fee of £2.9million for Saunders on 19 July 1991 as Ian Rush's new strike-partner following the departures of David Speedie
and Peter Beardsley
. He linked up with fellow England defender Mark Wright
, who also made the switch from Derby to Liverpool that summer.
(also his strike partner for Wales
) in attack, backed by young Steve McManaman
which saw the club win the FA Cup
for the fifth time in its history in manager Graeme Souness's
first full season in charge. Saunders scored 23 goals in all competitions, though just 10 of these were the league which Liverpool rarely looked like winning and could only manage a sixth place finish - one of their lowest positions since their current top flight tenure began in 1962.
On the positive side, he scored in all of Liverpool's three First Division games of 1992 (all victories by a single goal margin) and hit the net twice on 21 March 1992 in a 2-1 win over FA Cup
holders Tottenham Hotspur
. He became the first Liverpool player to score four goals in a European fixture in their 6-1 home win over Kuusysi Lahti in the UEFA Cup
first round first leg on 18 September 1991. He also scored twice against FC Tirol in the third round first leg and a hat-trick in the return game.
He added two more goals at the start of the 1992-93
as Liverpool began their career in the new FA Premier League
.
and Ray Houghton
at Villa Park. He managed six goals in his first four league games including two on his home debut against the club who had sold him. He also scored the winner at Anfield later in the season. He developed a strong partnership with Dalian Atkinson
until the latter suffered an injury midway through the season. Linking up with Dwight Yorke, Saunders kept on scoring and Villa challenged for the 1992-93 FA Premier League but the goals dried up and Villa could only manage second place behind Manchester United. Saunders had managed 16 goals with 12 of them in the league including a 35 yard strike against Ipswich Town. Saunders, or "Deano" as he was known around Villa Park, had quickly won over the hearts of the supporters with his 100% work-rate even when he was suffering a lean spell in front of goal - and he is still remembered fondly by fans today.
Saunders and Villa found goals hard to come by in the league in 1993-94 and he only managed 10, although he did manage a hat-trick in a game against Swindon Town
. He did however manage six more in the cups, four of which came in the League Cup
. His goals against Birmingham City and Tranmere Rovers helped Aston Villa reach the 1994 Football League Cup Final
where they beat Manchester United 3-1, Saunders scoring twice to end Villa's 12-year wait for a major trophy.
Saunders hit the target 17 times in the 1994–95 season
but Villa came one place short of relegation — two years after they had come one place short of the league title. 15 of those goals were in the Premier League and at one point he managed seven goals in six games including braces against Wimbledon
in a 7-1 victory, and Sheffield Wednesday. His final Villa goal came against Leicester City and despite not scoring in his final twelve appearances for the club he was named the Supporters Player of the Year for 1994-95.
's rebuilding programme, which resulted in most of the Ron Atkinson era of players being sold, Saunders was off-loaded to Turkish
club Galatasaray
for £2.35million (a large sum for a 31-year-old player), being managed by his former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, on 1 July 1995. In fact, according to Shelley Webb's
book Footballers' Wives
, the first Saunders' wife Helen knew of the move was when she went to Turkey with him one weekend, to find that by Monday he'd signed for the Istanbul
club and this was her new home.
was a disappointment with a shortage of goals which contributed to Forest's relegation. After another spell abroad with Benfica (again under Souness), he joined Sheffield United in Division One
. Whilst at Sheffield United he is remembered for an ingenious passage of play which resulted in a cheeky goal for his team. In a game against Port Vale, Saunders chased a long ball down with Vale keeper Paul Musselwhite
, Musselwhite won the race and knocked the ball out for a throw in, only for Saunders to quickly pick it up and throw it onto the keeper's back, and then proceed to curl it in from 25 yards. He remained at Sheffield United for two years before moving back to the Premier League with newly promoted Bradford City
. He remained at Bradford for two years until he finally hung up his boots in the 2000–01 season
, when Bradford were relegated from the Premier League. It was the eighth time in his career that Saunders had been involved with a club during a season of relegation.
national side's most prolific goalscorers. He made his Welsh debut as a 21-year-old against the Republic of Ireland
in 1986. He was capped 75 times and scored a creditable 22 goals, putting him fourth on the all time Wales list behind Ian Rush
, Ivor Allchurch
and Trevor Ford
. One of his most memorable moments in a Wales shirt was when he scored the goal to secure a 1-0 win over Brazil
in Cardiff
in 1991. He won the last of his 75 caps as a replacement in the World Cup qualifier against the Ukraine
on the 28 March 2001, a few months short of his 37th birthday. Saunders is rated alongside the likes of Ian Rush and Mark Hughes
when Welsh fans discuss who the greatest Welsh striker of all time was.
to work alongside his former manager Graeme Souness. He moved to Newcastle United
in 2004, initially as striker coach, and then first-team coach under Souness. The Scot was sacked on 2 February 2006 due to a run of poor results, and his entire backroom team including Saunders were also replaced. Saunders started the Certificate in Football Management course at the University of Warwick Business School in June 2007. He has the UEFA Pro Licence coaching badge. In June 2007, Saunders was appointed assistant manager to John Toshack
for the Wales national football team
.
side Wrexham, taking over from Brian Little
to become the side's fourth manager in 22 months. He was allowed to combine the role with his position as assistant manager of Wales. Wrexham won their first five league games with Saunders in charge, giving him the best starting record of any new manager in the club's history. However, Wrexham failed to maintain that early form and missed out on the 2008/09 play-offs. Whilst he solved the club's defensive frailties during 2009/10, the lack of striking options continued to be an issue, although the arrival of Andy Mangan in January 2010, the BSP's leading goalscorer during the previous year, went some way to getting over that problem. Dean Saunders made several signings in the summer of 2010, but after just 4 points out of a possible 12 in the first four games of the season, the fans wanted to see him sacked by the board, following a 2-2 draw with Kidderminster Harriers
, a game which Wrexham took a 2-0 lead in the first 5 minutes. By the end of 2010, Wrexham were second of the "half-time" league (taking half-time results into account), indicating problems within the team to essentially kill a match, and this was a cause for concern for the fans. He however left his post leaving the team as the league leaders, a position they currently still hold.
. Saunders led Doncaster to the first win of the season and their first in 20 games, only a day after signing as manager, in a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace.
,his former international team mate.Following his death,Saunders described himself as 'flabbergasted' upon hearing the news.
He is married to Helen.His son played for Crewe Alexandra under-14s.
29 November 2011
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
) is a former Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
international footballer who played as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
of Doncaster Rovers.
He is probably best known for playing for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
. However he also played for Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
, Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
(on loan), Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
, Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
, Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
, Benfica and Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
. He also won 75 caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
.
He is also an occasional pundit for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, sometimes providing analysis on Wales' matches.
He was capped 75 times at senior level for Wales between 1986 and 2001, scoring 22 times - making him one of the nation's highest scoring and most capped players of all time.
Early career
Saunders began his career with Swansea City where his father RoyRoy Saunders
Roy Saunders was a professional footballer who played for Liverpool and Swansea Town. He was the father of footballer Dean Saunders.-Life and playing career:...
had been a player and coach, signing as an apprentice on leaving school in 1980.
He turned professional in the summer of 1982, after Swansea had finished sixth in their first season as a First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
club. Swansea were relegated in 1982-83
1982-83 in English football
The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Bob Paisley's last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine years. His...
, and Saunders made his debut in the 1983-84 season
1983-84 in English football
The 1983–84 season was the 104th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history...
. He scored three goals in 19 games as a second successive relegation pushed Swansea in the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
. He scored nine goals in 30 league games in 1984-85
1984-85 in English football
The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.-Bradford City disaster:56 spectators died and more than 200 were injured when a fire ripped through the Main Stand at Valley Parade during Bradford City's Third Division fixture with Lincoln City on 11 May...
, as Swansea narrowly avoided a third successive relegation. A goalless four-game loan spell at local rivals Cardiff City also came in 1984-85, before he signed for Second Division club Brighton & Hove Albion on a free transfer on 7 August 1985.
Brighton and Oxford
He was a success at the Goldstone GroundGoldstone Ground
The Goldstone Ground was a football stadium and home ground of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. between 1902 and 1997. The club currently plays at American Express Community Stadium, a stadium on the outskirts of the city, following the move from their temporary stadium in the Brighton suburb of...
, scoring 14 league goals in his first season. He scored six goals from 30 league games in 1986-87
1986-87 in English football
The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...
before a £60,000 move took him to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
with Oxford United. He was an instant success and quite a bargain for Oxford, where his six goals from the final 12 league games secured First Division survival.
He scored 12 goals in 37 games during the 1987-88 season (during which Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans (footballer)
Maurice George Evans was a football player with Reading Football Club, and later manager of Shrewsbury, Reading and Oxford United....
was dismissed as manager and replaced by Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
) but it was not enough to prevent Oxford from going down in bottom place after three seasons in the top flight.
He began the 1988–89 season
1988-89 in English football
The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.-Hillsborough disaster:On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough killed 94 people and injured more than 300. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital...
still in the Second Division, with manager Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
and chairman Kevin Maxwell
Kevin Maxwell
Kevin Francis Herbert Maxwell is a British businessman, son of Robert Maxwell and brother of Ian Maxwell.Educated at Oxford University, Maxwell spent most of his working life before 1991 employed by his father. Following the collapse of Robert Maxwell's Mirror Group media empire he became the...
agreeing that they would only sell Saunders if Oxford failed to win promotion at the end of the season.
However, he was sold to Derby County for £1million on 28 October 1988 and Oxford manager Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
was later sacked by the club's board after he complained to them about selling Saunders.
Derby County
Saunders made his Derby County debut on 29 October 1988 against WimbledonWimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
in a First Division fixture at the Baseball Ground
Baseball Ground
The Baseball Ground was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby County Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 1997. It was commonly referred to as the "BBG".As the name suggests, the stadium was...
. He made an impressive start at his new club scoring twice in his first game. In his first season at his new club he scored 14 goals in 30 games. His goals helped Derby
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
finish an impressive fifth in the 1988–89 First Division table — their highest finish since they were league champions in 1975 — but they were unable to compete in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
due to the ban on English teams in European competition following the Heysel Disaster of 1985. He added 11 league goals to his name in the 1989-90
1989-90 in English football
-European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...
, but Derby slumped to 16th place.
He scored 17 league goals in the 1990–91 season
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
but Derby still went down in bottom place with just five league wins all season. Derby's relegation saw most of the country's top clubs queue up in their bid to capture his services, and Everton were favourites to sign him, and there was also an approach from Aston Villa's
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
new manager Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
. But Saunders ended up at Liverpool, who paid a then English record fee of £2.9million for Saunders on 19 July 1991 as Ian Rush's new strike-partner following the departures of David Speedie
David Speedie
David Robert Speedie is a retired Scottish footballer who played for several clubs in England during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Chelsea, Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. He accumulated more than 500 football league appearances and scored almost 150 goals in a 14 year...
and Peter Beardsley
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE is an English former footballer who played between 1979 and 1999. He once set a record transfer fee in the game and represented his country 59 times between 1986 and 1996, once as captain...
. He linked up with fellow England defender Mark Wright
Mark Wright
Mark Wright may refer to:*Mark Wright , English footballer and manager*Mark Wright , English footballer...
, who also made the switch from Derby to Liverpool that summer.
Liverpool
In 1991–92, Saunders partnered Ian RushIan Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
(also his strike partner for Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
) in attack, backed by young Steve McManaman
Steve McManaman
Steven McManaman is a retired English footballer who played as a midfielder, winger and playmaker. Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century, Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as a spell at Manchester City, McManaman is the most...
which saw the club win the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
for the fifth time in its history in manager Graeme Souness's
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
first full season in charge. Saunders scored 23 goals in all competitions, though just 10 of these were the league which Liverpool rarely looked like winning and could only manage a sixth place finish - one of their lowest positions since their current top flight tenure began in 1962.
On the positive side, he scored in all of Liverpool's three First Division games of 1992 (all victories by a single goal margin) and hit the net twice on 21 March 1992 in a 2-1 win over FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
holders Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. He became the first Liverpool player to score four goals in a European fixture in their 6-1 home win over Kuusysi Lahti in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
first round first leg on 18 September 1991. He also scored twice against FC Tirol in the third round first leg and a hat-trick in the return game.
He added two more goals at the start of the 1992-93
1992-93 in English football
The 1992–1993 season was the 113th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....
as Liverpool began their career in the new FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
.
Aston Villa
On 1 September 1992, Saunders became Aston Villa's record signing in a £2.5million deal and linked up with former Liverpool players Steve StauntonSteve Staunton
Stephen "Steve" Staunton is an Irish association football manager and former professional footballer, who was most recently manager of Darlington...
and Ray Houghton
Ray Houghton
Raymond James "Ray" Houghton is a retired Scottish-born footballer who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level, qualifying through his Irish father...
at Villa Park. He managed six goals in his first four league games including two on his home debut against the club who had sold him. He also scored the winner at Anfield later in the season. He developed a strong partnership with Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Robert Atkinson is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League and Premier League for Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Manchester City, in La Liga for Real Sociedad, in Ligue 1 for Metz, in the Turkish Super League for Fenerbahçe, in Saudi...
until the latter suffered an injury midway through the season. Linking up with Dwight Yorke, Saunders kept on scoring and Villa challenged for the 1992-93 FA Premier League but the goals dried up and Villa could only manage second place behind Manchester United. Saunders had managed 16 goals with 12 of them in the league including a 35 yard strike against Ipswich Town. Saunders, or "Deano" as he was known around Villa Park, had quickly won over the hearts of the supporters with his 100% work-rate even when he was suffering a lean spell in front of goal - and he is still remembered fondly by fans today.
Saunders and Villa found goals hard to come by in the league in 1993-94 and he only managed 10, although he did manage a hat-trick in a game against Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
. He did however manage six more in the cups, four of which came in the League Cup
League Cup
In association football, a League Cup or Secondary Cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946/47 and was entitled the Scottish...
. His goals against Birmingham City and Tranmere Rovers helped Aston Villa reach the 1994 Football League Cup Final
1994 Football League Cup Final
The 1994 Coca-Cola Cup Final took place on 27 March 1994 at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Aston Villa. Aston Villa won 3–1 to claim their fourth League Cup final victory...
where they beat Manchester United 3-1, Saunders scoring twice to end Villa's 12-year wait for a major trophy.
Saunders hit the target 17 times in the 1994–95 season
1994-95 in English football
-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
but Villa came one place short of relegation — two years after they had come one place short of the league title. 15 of those goals were in the Premier League and at one point he managed seven goals in six games including braces against Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
in a 7-1 victory, and Sheffield Wednesday. His final Villa goal came against Leicester City and despite not scoring in his final twelve appearances for the club he was named the Supporters Player of the Year for 1994-95.
Galatasaray
As part of new Villa manager Brian LittleBrian Little (footballer)
Brian Little is an English former football player and manager who is currently without a job after being relieved of his duties as manager of Gainsborough Trinity on 22 August 2011. Little has previously managed Darlington, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Hull City,...
's rebuilding programme, which resulted in most of the Ron Atkinson era of players being sold, Saunders was off-loaded to Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
club Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
for £2.35million (a large sum for a 31-year-old player), being managed by his former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, on 1 July 1995. In fact, according to Shelley Webb's
Shelley Webb
Shelley Webb is a TV presenter, writer, and sports journalist and author of the book "Footballer's Wives Tell Their Tales".She married former England footballer Neil Webb, and the couple had two children Luke and Josh, who today are both young professional footballers.When Neil moved back to...
book Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives is a British television drama surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006...
, the first Saunders' wife Helen knew of the move was when she went to Turkey with him one weekend, to find that by Monday he'd signed for the Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
club and this was her new home.
Later career
Saunders spent one season at Galatasaray, before he returned to the Premiership with Nottingham Forest in 1996 for £1.5m. His only season at the City GroundCity Ground
The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....
was a disappointment with a shortage of goals which contributed to Forest's relegation. After another spell abroad with Benfica (again under Souness), he joined Sheffield United in Division One
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
. Whilst at Sheffield United he is remembered for an ingenious passage of play which resulted in a cheeky goal for his team. In a game against Port Vale, Saunders chased a long ball down with Vale keeper Paul Musselwhite
Paul Musselwhite
Paul Stephen Musselwhite is an English footballer who plays for York City as a goalkeeper, where he is also the club's Goalkeeping Coach....
, Musselwhite won the race and knocked the ball out for a throw in, only for Saunders to quickly pick it up and throw it onto the keeper's back, and then proceed to curl it in from 25 yards. He remained at Sheffield United for two years before moving back to the Premier League with newly promoted Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
. He remained at Bradford for two years until he finally hung up his boots in the 2000–01 season
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
, when Bradford were relegated from the Premier League. It was the eighth time in his career that Saunders had been involved with a club during a season of relegation.
Hobbies and Interests
Saunders is a fan of classic cars and regularly attends classic motor auctions.International
Dean Saunders was one of the WelshWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
national side's most prolific goalscorers. He made his Welsh debut as a 21-year-old against the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
in 1986. He was capped 75 times and scored a creditable 22 goals, putting him fourth on the all time Wales list behind Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
, Ivor Allchurch
Ivor Allchurch
Ivor John Allchurch MBE was a Welsh international footballer. His brother was Len Allchurch.Known as 'The Golden Boy' of Welsh football, Allchurch played for Swansea Town, Newcastle United and Cardiff City, where he amassed 691 games scoring 249 goals. His record of 68 caps for Wales stood until...
and Trevor Ford
Trevor Ford
Trevor Ford was a Welsh international centre forward footballer who played for Aston Villa, Cardiff City, Sunderland and Swansea Town. He was born and died in Swansea.-Football career:...
. One of his most memorable moments in a Wales shirt was when he scored the goal to secure a 1-0 win over Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in 1991. He won the last of his 75 caps as a replacement in the World Cup qualifier against the Ukraine
Ukraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian Independence and breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992...
on the 28 March 2001, a few months short of his 37th birthday. Saunders is rated alongside the likes of Ian Rush and Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
when Welsh fans discuss who the greatest Welsh striker of all time was.
Liverpool
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
- Winner: 19921992 FA Cup FinalThe 1992 FA Cup Final was contested by Liverpool and Sunderland at Wembley. Liverpool won 2–0, with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush....
- Winner: 1992
- FA Charity Shield
- Runner-up: 19921992 FA Charity ShieldThe 1992 FA Charity Shield was the 70th Charity Shield, a football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions...
- Runner-up: 1992
Aston Villa
- Premier League
- Runner-up: 1992-93
- League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
- Winner: 19941994 Football League Cup FinalThe 1994 Coca-Cola Cup Final took place on 27 March 1994 at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Aston Villa. Aston Villa won 3–1 to claim their fourth League Cup final victory...
- Winner: 1994
Coaching
He initially became a coach at Bradford after his retirement, before he moved to Blackburn RoversBlackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
to work alongside his former manager Graeme Souness. He moved to Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in 2004, initially as striker coach, and then first-team coach under Souness. The Scot was sacked on 2 February 2006 due to a run of poor results, and his entire backroom team including Saunders were also replaced. Saunders started the Certificate in Football Management course at the University of Warwick Business School in June 2007. He has the UEFA Pro Licence coaching badge. In June 2007, Saunders was appointed assistant manager to John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
for the Wales national football team
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
.
Wrexham
On 2 October 2008, Saunders was appointed as manager of Conference NationalConference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
side Wrexham, taking over from Brian Little
Brian Little (footballer)
Brian Little is an English former football player and manager who is currently without a job after being relieved of his duties as manager of Gainsborough Trinity on 22 August 2011. Little has previously managed Darlington, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Hull City,...
to become the side's fourth manager in 22 months. He was allowed to combine the role with his position as assistant manager of Wales. Wrexham won their first five league games with Saunders in charge, giving him the best starting record of any new manager in the club's history. However, Wrexham failed to maintain that early form and missed out on the 2008/09 play-offs. Whilst he solved the club's defensive frailties during 2009/10, the lack of striking options continued to be an issue, although the arrival of Andy Mangan in January 2010, the BSP's leading goalscorer during the previous year, went some way to getting over that problem. Dean Saunders made several signings in the summer of 2010, but after just 4 points out of a possible 12 in the first four games of the season, the fans wanted to see him sacked by the board, following a 2-2 draw with Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
, a game which Wrexham took a 2-0 lead in the first 5 minutes. By the end of 2010, Wrexham were second of the "half-time" league (taking half-time results into account), indicating problems within the team to essentially kill a match, and this was a cause for concern for the fans. He however left his post leaving the team as the league leaders, a position they currently still hold.
Doncaster Rovers
On 23 September 2011, he was named manager of Doncaster Rovers following their sacking of Sean O'DriscollSean O'Driscoll
Sean Michael O'Driscoll is an English-Irish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having been relieved of his duties as manager of Doncaster Rovers in September 2011. He joined Doncaster in September 2006 following Dave Penney's departure. He was previously manager at...
. Saunders led Doncaster to the first win of the season and their first in 20 games, only a day after signing as manager, in a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace.
Personal Life
Saunders lives in Cheshire,and his closest neighbour was Gary SpeedGary Speed
Gary Andrew Speed, MBE was a Welsh football player and manager. He was captain of the Wales national football team until he retired from international football in 2004 and he remains the most capped outfield player for Wales and the second overall, having appeared 85 times at senior level between...
,his former international team mate.Following his death,Saunders described himself as 'flabbergasted' upon hearing the news.
He is married to Helen.His son played for Crewe Alexandra under-14s.
Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Wrexham |  |
2 October 2008 | 23 September 2011 |
|||||
| Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers F.C. Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in... |
 |
23 September 2011 | Present |
|||||
| Total |
||||||||
29 November 2011