Dean Christopher Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the technical director at club Kidderminster Harriers. As a striker 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 at Brentford, Wimbledon, and Bolton Wanderers. He is the twin brother of David Holdsworth.
As a player, he started his career at Watford in 1986, where he spent three years before signing with Brentford, following a short loan spell. A highly successful three years followed before he was signed by Wimbledon in 1992. After an impressive five-year spell, he transferred to Bolton Wanderers. He spent six years at Bolton before, in 2003, joining Coventry City, Rushden & Diamonds and then back to Wimbledon. In 2004, he signed with Havant & Waterlooville, where he spent one season before joining Derby County as player–assistant manager. In 2006, he dropped out of the Football League for the final time, joining Weymouth. Short spells followed at Heybridge Swifts, Cambridge United, and Newport County.
His management career started at Redbridge in 2007. After one season there, he took the reins at Newport County. In his second season with the club, he took them to the Conference South title with 28 points to spare. In January 2011, he switched clubs to take charge at League Two side Aldershot Town until his dismissal in February 2013. He took charge at Chelmsford City in May 2013 before resigning five months later. He returned to management for five months with Brentwood 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.
Playing career
Watford
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 good shooting ability. He started his career at Watford, who finished ninth in the First Division in 1986–87 under
Graham Taylor's stewardship, before suffering relegation in 1987–88 under
Dave Bassett and then Steve Harrison. He was loaned out to Carlisle United towards the end of the campaign and scored once in four Fourth Division games for
Clive Middlemass.
He joined
John Rudge's Port Vale in March. He scored twice at
Vale Park in six Third Division appearances.
He started 1988–89 on loan at
Terry Yorath's Swansea City, and returned to
Vicarage Road after one goal in five Third Division games.
He then joined
Steve Perryman's Brentford on loan, before joining the club permanently for
Pound sterling125,000 in September 1989.
Brentford
He was to prove himself as a prolific goalscorer for the "Bees", as the club moved from 13th in 1989–90 to the play-offs in 1990–91, before Holdsworth scored 38 goals in the Third Division championship winning season of 1991–92, in a fruitful partnership with
Gary Blissett.
For this achievement he was named on the PFA Team of the Year.
Phil Holder was unable to keep him at
Griffin Park following these exploits.
Wimbledon
He signed for
Joe Kinnear's Wimbledon in the middle of 1992 for £650,000. He made an immediate impact in his first season at the "Dons", becoming the club's top scorer and the
Premier League's third highest scorer with 19 goals,
after forming a solid partnership with
John Fashanu. During his time at
Selhurst Park, eccentric club chairman
Sam Hammam promised to buy Holdsworth a
Ferrari sports car and even a
camel 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 in 1993–94, including a hat-trick against Oldham Athletic on 26 April 1994.
He was less prolific in 1994–95,
though Wimbledon still finished in ninth place. He hit 16 goals in 1995–96, to become the club's joint-top scorer, along with strike partner
Efan Ekoku.
He hit nine goals in 1996–97, before he was signed to Bolton Wanderers in October 1997 for £3.5million, which was a record signing for Bolton at that time.
Bolton Wanderers
He scored just three goals in 17 Premier League starts in 1997–98,
as
Colin Todd's side slipped out of the top-flight after finishing 18th, behind 17th place Everton on
goal difference. He rediscovered his scoring touch in the First Division, hitting 12 goals in 26 starts in 1998–99.
He then hit 14 goals from 24 league starts in 1999–2000, as
Sam Allardyce led Bolton to the semi-finals of the play-offs, the
FA Cup and the
EFL Cup.
He scored 15 goals from 29 starts in 2000–01, including a
hat-trick past Scunthorpe United in a 5–1 win at the
Reebok Stadium.
The "Trotters" reached the play-off final, and beat Preston North End 3–0 at the Millennium Stadium to regain their top-flight status. He was restricted to nine league starts and 22 substitute appearances in 2001–02, scoring once each against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
He made 10 goalless appearances in 2002–03,
though was briefly joined in
Lancashire by his brother
David Holdsworth for the first time since leaving Watford.
Later career
He joined Coventry City on loan in December 2002, making six goalless appearances, before he signed permanently for the club the following month.
He scored once in the FA Cup against Cardiff City. However, he failed to find the net in his eleven league games and moved on to
Brian Talbot's Rushden & Diamonds on a non-contract basis in March.
Diamonds topped the Third Division in 2002–03, though Holdsworth left
Nene Park in the summer. He returned to Wimbledon for the 2003–04 campaign, as the club relocated to Milton Keynes. He scored three goals in 28 games in 2003–04.
He then spent the 2004–05 season with Havant & Waterlooville in the Conference South.
He then joined Derby County, where he was appointed as assistant manager,
but played as a striker during an injury crisis,
leaving the club when manager Phil Brown was sacked in January 2006. He finished the 2005–06 season with spells in non-league football at Weymouth and Heybridge Swifts.
Holdsworth returned to Havant & Waterlooville for the opening months of the 2006–07 season,
before joining Cambridge United in the new year.
Holdsworth joined Newport County on a short-term contract in February 2007 and was released by manager
Peter Beadle at the end of the 2006–07 season,
after playing in the 2007 FAW Premier Cup final defeat to The New Saints.
International career
Holdsworth earned an England B cap in the 4–2 win against Northern Ireland B on 10 May 1994 at Hillsborough Stadium,
Sheffield, scoring the opening goal for England's B team.
Managerial career
Redbridge
Holdsworth was appointed as
Player-coach of
Isthmian League Division One North club Redbridge in July 2007. The club finished third in 2007–08 before losing to Canvey Island in the play-off final, following a penalty shoot-out.
Newport County
He made a return to Newport County in May 2008 as their new manager in succession to
Peter Beadle, after handing in his resignation at Redbridge.
He also relocated to Worcester to accommodate his new role at Newport. After a poor start to the 2008–09 season, Newport improved in the second half of the season to finish tenth in the league. Holdsworth was awarded the Conference South Manager of the Month award for April 2009.
His signings included Craig Reid, Danny Rose,
Paul Bignot, Jamie Collins, Charlie Henry,
Sam Foley and Gary Warren.
In September 2009 Holdsworth was again named the Conference South Manager of the Month after Newport County started the 2009–10 season with a run of 13 league matches unbeaten.
In June 2010, Holdsworth signed a new two-year contract with Newport,
Aldershot Town
In January 2011 he was announced as the new manager of League Two side Aldershot Town.
Holdsworth wasted no time making his mark on the team, bringing in forwards
Peter Vincenti,
,
and
Alex Rodman – as well as defender
Simon Grand on loan from Fleetwood
– before the end of the month. There were also players leaving the club during this period of transition, with both
Glen Little and Wesley Ngo Baheng
being released, whilst
Anthony Straker and
Damian Spencer were sent out on loan. Holdsworth's first game in charge resulted in a creditable 1–1 draw away to high-flying Bury, and he also improved on Aldershot's poor home form; winning his first game at "The Rec" 1–0 against Bradford City,
whilst a last-minute
Luke Guttridge free-kick gave the "Shots" a second consecutive home win 3–2 against Crewe.
He continued attempting to strengthen the squad throughout February, with loan signings
Albert Jarrett and
Luke Medley from Lincoln and Mansfield, respectively, though neither had a large impact on the team with only a handful of appearances between them. Holdsworth also signed former "Shots" goalkeeper Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, who made 62 appearances in a previous spell at the club.
On the
Football pitch, Aldershot went on a run of five consecutive draws, the first away to league leaders Chesterfield who required a late equaliser to rescue a point.
His team went unbeaten throughout March to ensure the club's survival in the Football League. The upturn in form prompted speculation that the team could mount a charge for the play-offs.
He assembled a number of free signings to replenish his squad: strikers Bradley Bubb and Michael Rankine; midfielders Anthony Pulis and Graeme Montgomery; defenders Aaron Brown and Jamie Collins; and goalkeeper Ross Worner.
Holdsworth signed a new one-year extension to his contract with the club in June 2012, tying him to the club until summer 2014.
Chelmsford City
Holdsworth was appointed manager at Conference South side Chelmsford City in May 2013.
However, after eight defeats in 13 league games his contract with Chelmsford was ended by mutual consent in November 2013.
Brentwood Town
He was appointed director of football at
Isthmian League Premier club Brentwood Town in June 2015 and also took up the vacant management role at the club.
He resigned in November 2015 due to his growing business commitments.
His primary focus was as a business consultant for Sport Shield Consultancy, a consortium seeking to buy into Bolton Wanderers.
Stratford Town
On 19 May 2022, Holdsworth was appointed manager of Stratford Town of the Southern League Premier Central, where the chairman noted that he had "a lot of managerial experience on budget constraints".
He left the role in September, stating that his growing business commitments made him unable to focus on his role as manager.
Football administration
Holdsworth is a former chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association and founder of the Non-League Footballers Association (NLFA).
Bolton Wanderers
In March 2016, Holdsworth led a consortium to purchase Bolton Wanderers, who were lying at the bottom of the
EFL Championship table and heading for administration, and upon completion of the takeover appointed himself as chief executive.
However, he moved to the position of Director of football before the start of the 2016–17 season,
but left the role less than a month later.
He had a public falling out with chairman Ken Anderson over the sale of
Zach Clough in January 2017 and sold out his share of the club to Anderson two months later.
He resigned his directorship of the club in August 2017.
Kidderminster Harriers
In December 2023, he was appointed as technical director at National League club Kidderminster Harriers, with the club saying it was "a significant milestone in the club's journey following promotion".
Outside football
Holdsworth was involved in tabloid scandal in 1996 when he had a highly publicised extramarital affair with topless model Linsey Dawn McKenzie, who was then aged 17.
In December 1999 he was sentenced to 18 months probation for punching his wife Samantha Holdsworth.
Holdsworth appeared in the reality television series Deadline where ten celebrities had to produce their own weekly celebrity magazine. He was the sixth celebrity to be sacked by Janet Street-Porter. He also participated in the second series of Sky One reality TV series Cirque 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.
Career statistics
Playing statistics
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |
|
|
| Watford | 1987–88 | First Division | 0 |
1988–89 | Second Division | 2 |
1989–90 | Second Division | 1 |
|
| Carlisle United (loan) | 1987–88 | Fourth Division | 1 |
| Port Vale (loan) | 1987–88 | Third Division | 2 |
| Swansea City (loan) | 1988–89 | Third Division | 1 |
| Brentford (loan) | 1988–89 | Third Division | 1 |
| Brentford | 1989–90 | Third Division | 28 |
1990–91 | Third Division | 9 |
1991–92 | Third Division | 38 |
|
| Wimbledon | 1992–93 | Premier League | 19 |
1993–94 | Premier League | 24 |
1994–95 | Premier League | 8 |
1995–96 | Premier League | 16 |
1996–97 | Premier League | 9 |
1997–98 | Premier League | 0 |
|
| Bolton Wanderers | 1997–98 | Premier League | 3 |
1998–99 | First Division | 12 |
1999–2000 | First Division | 2 | 15 |
2000–01 | First Division | 15 |
2001–02 | Premier League | 4 |
2002–03 | Premier League | 0 |
|
| Coventry City | 2002–03 | First Division | 1 |
| Rushden & Diamonds | 2002–03 | Third Division | 2 |
| Wimbledon | 2003–04 | First Division | 3 |
| Havant & Waterlooville | 2004–05 | Conference South | 33 |
2005–06 | Conference South | 0 |
|
| Derby County | 2005–06 | EFL Championship | 0 |
| Weymouth | 2005–06 | Conference South | 0 |
| Heybridge Swifts | 2005–06 | Isthmian League
Premier Division | 1 | 5 |
| Havant & Waterlooville | 2006–07 | Conference South | 1 |
| Cambridge United | 2006–07 | Conference Premier | 1 |
| Newport County | 2006–07 | Conference South | 3 |
| Redbridge | 2007–08 | Isthmian League
Division One North | 0 |
|
Managerial statistics
| + Managerial record by team and tenure |
|
|
| Aldershot Town | 11 January 2011 | 20 February 2013
| |
Honours
Player
Brentford
-
Football League Third Division: 1991–92
Bolton Wanderers
-
Football League First Division playoffs: 2001
Rushden & Diamonds
-
Football League Third Division: 2002–03
Newport County
-
FAW Premier Cup runner-up: 2006–07
Individual
-
Football League Third Division PFA Team of the Year: 1991–92
-
Conference South Manager of the Month: April 2009,
-
Conference South Manager of the Year: 2009–10
-
Conference National Manager of the Month: September 2010
-
League Two Manager of the Month: March 2011
-
Brentford Hall of Fame (inducted 2013)
Manager
Newport County
-
Conference South: 2009–10
