Lee Dixon

At 60 years old, Lee Dixon has this physical status:

Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer who played for Arsenal, Burnley, Bury, Chester City, and Stoke City.

Dixon was also capped 22 times for England, with one scoring once. Dixon, a childhood Manchester City fan, began his football career at Burnley as a youth, making his professional debut for the club in 1982.

He played for Chester City and Bury before joining Stoke City in 1986 for a £50,000 deposit.

He arrived at Stoke and forged a good defensive relationship with Steve Bould.

Arsenal's admiration attracted the pair's attention in 1988, when they joined the "Gunners" for a total cost of £765,000.

Arsenal won their first league title in eighteen years in a thrilling final game of the season in the spring as Dixon cemented his place in the team.

Dixon, a defensive mainstay in a profitable Arsenal team until his retirement in 2002, saw him win four league championship titles, three FA Cup champion's medals, and a UEFA Champions' Cup medal.

For the years 1989–90 and 1990–91, he was in the PFA Team of the Year twice.

He resigned at the end of Arsenal's domestic double-winning 2001–02 season, his second in his time with the club.

He had played at 91 out of the 92 Football League grounds at his retirement – every one except Fulham's Craven Cottage. Dixon has served as both a football pundit and columnist since his playing days.

He began his television work with the BBC, mainly on their Match of the Day and Football Focus shows, before moving to ITV Sport in July 2012.

He joins Arlo White for NBC's Premier League coverage in the United States starting in 2013.

He has also contributed to charity by joining Lawrence Dallaglio in a sponsored bike ride for Sport Relief that raised more than £986,000 for the charity.

Personal life

Dixon has concentrated on several industrial interests, including the Riverside Brasserie in Bray, Berkshire, which he began with Heston Blumenthal, originally with his friend Heston Blumenthal.

He became "completely hooked" on cycling in 2010 and rode two to three times a week, after Lawrence Dallaglio encouraged him to compete in the 'Dallaglio Cycle Slam' during the Six Nations Championship in February that year, raising money for Sport Relief. They raised over £986,000 for the charity.

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Club career

Lee was born in Manchester, the son of former Manchester City goalkeeper Roy Dixon. He began his playing career in lower divisions. He joined Burnley as an apprentice in 1980, turning pro in 1982, then signed for Chester City (where he spent time in 1983-1984) Bury and then Stoke City. Dixon made a fine showing at the Victoria Ground Dixon in 1986-87 scoring three goals. Dixon made 38 appearances scoring twice in 1987-88. He joined First Division Arsenal in January 1988 for a £375,000 fee and was later joined at Highbury by Stoke teammate Steve Bould.

Following the departure of England right back, Viv Anderson, to Manchester United, George Graham bought Dixon from Stoke City on January 29, 1988.

Dixon was given a first team role at Highbury, but it took a while for him to play. With England international Kenny Sansom at the back, Nigel Winterburn, who had been left out in the transitional right back role, had been a cautious success, though Dixon made his debut against Luton Town on February 13, 1988. This was the first time Dixon had played in the First Division for the first time. He played six times in total before the season ended. Dixon was cup-tied in his first season, which also meant he was unable to participate in the 1988 League Cup Finals. Winterburn migrated from left back in the new season, allowing Dixon to take over the No. 2 shirt, which he did for many years. The following winter, Sansom, a displaced man, left Arsenal for the second time.

Dixon later wrote in his column in The Independent that he defended himself. "I was fortunate to play in an Arsenal back line that earned its reputation as being safe," he said in a column that earned it a reputation as being positive. I'm not trying to be overly modest by stating that we weren't the best players in the world as individuals. Well, all my flaws were compensated for by Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown, and Steve Bould, and vice versa. If one of us wasn't doing well, the others would pick up the rest."

Dixon and Winterburn were in the middle of the fullback roles for the next decade or so, while captain Tony Adams and long-serving David O'Leary served in the middle. Steve Bould, who had been seen by Duncan before him, was among them in 1988. These five defenders, often playing as a back five together (rather than the traditional back four), were the linchpins of an Arsenal team that became a serious threat to the First Division championship in 1988–89, an award that they hadn't won since Graham's appointment as Arsenal boss in May 1986.

Dixon was a marauding right back, always ready to assist his winger David Rocastle and his attacking abilities, despite the fact that his main job (and the team's greatest priority) was to protect. During this time, he served for a brief period as the club's penalty taker. Arsenal fought Liverpool at Anfield on the last day of the season. Arsenal was up by two goals but the game ended 1–0 as the clock showed the 90 minutes were up. Dixon threw a ball in his own half and attempted to mount a final attack. Dixon played a long ball with a long ball on his chest after noticing the run of centre forward Alan Smith towards the right channel. Smith's run brought a Liverpool defender across the gap, while Arsenal midfielder Michael Thomas charged into the gap, took Smith's sideways pass in his stride, and pushed the ball past Bruce Grobbelaar. Liverpool barely recovered and Arsenal took the trophy, the first of many awards Dixon would win.

Arsenal continued to win the title the following year (and were unable to participate in the European Cup because of a ban on English clubs after Heysel's operations were still ongoing). Arsenal's defense (now with David Seaman as their back-up in goal) grew even more in the 1990s-91 season, with just one loss all season as the team regained the League championship for the second time. A fit-again Dixon was also fighting the League title against the unbeaten Arsenal defence in the 1992 summer. Graham had extra protection in the heart of defense after O'Leary's departure in the foreseeable future by signing Martin Keown from Everton – ironically, the player who'd been playing at right back in Euro 92 after both Dixon and Stevens became unavailable. Dixon was suspended after losing to Spurs in the FA Cup semi-finals against Sheffield on Wednesday, placing him right back in Dixon's place at right back in the 1993 League Cup final against Sheffield Wednesday. Arsenal defeated 21-01. Dixon was back for the FA Cup final, which Arsenal won by the same scoreline in a replay after the initial game ended in a 1–1 draw.

Dixon, Winterburn, Bould, Bould, and Adams stymied the efforts of Italian side Parma's Tomas Brolin, Gianfranco Zola, and Faustino Asprilla, who won a European medal to complement his domestic collection in 1994. Arsenal reached the European Cup Winners Cup final in Copenhagen early on Saturday, and that was enough, winning 11-0. Dixon wore his No. 2 shirt as Arsenal suffered domestically in 1995, but the Cup Winners Cup was re-established in the final. Although Real Zaragoza's defense in Paris was weakened, Arsenal equalised and brought the game to a late conclusion. In the final minute, Nayim (an ex-Spurs player) over David Seaman confiscated the trophy from the Gunners thanks to a lob from 40 yards.

Arsène Wenger, a 25-year-old footballer, arrived in Highbury on October 1st. and began to introduce lifestyle changes to the Arsenal squad, improving their outlook, self-awareness, and diet. Wenger later confessed that he had intended to replace every defender he had inherited quickly, but that he didn't have to, but that he didn't have to. Dixon and his defensive colleagues lauded Wenger for giving them additional years at the helm of the game. Arsenal won the second "double" of the club's history in 1998 and Dixon was given a testimonial the following year as he entered his tenth full season at Arsenal.

Dixon was involved in a UEFA Cup bid in 2000, when Arsenal reached the final in the same Copenhagen stadium where they had won the Cup Winners Cup six years before. Galatasaray of Turkey defeated them on penalties this time. Arsenal had missed a penalty in a shootout earlier in the season when Arsenal lost the 1999/2000 FA Cup to Leicester City. Arsenal reached the FA Cup final last year, but losing 2–1 to Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, with the 37-year-old Dixon being outpaced by Michael Owen's 21-year-old goal. Dixon played for one more season, helping Arsenal win another landmark "double," their third in the club's history and second under new manager Arsène Wenger, clinching the league championship over rivals Manchester United. This made him one of the few men to have won league titles in three decades (1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).

Dixon retired after winning the double in 2002 at the age of 38, with Adams surviving at the same time. Only Seaman and Keown remained at the club after O'Leary's departure in 1993, and Frostburn followed him out of Highbury a year later. Dixon made 458 appearances in the league, scoring 25 goals.

International career

Dixon made his England debut in April 1990 against Czechoslovakia in a World Cup warm-up match. He performed well, but there was no expectation of him being in the squad for the tournament, considering that he was in third place in the pecking order behind Gary Stevens and Paul Parker. Dixon's injury to one of these two guys would have allowed him to go to Italy, but it didn't happen because the two athletes stayed 100% fit for the entire tournament. Graham Taylor came to replace Stevens and Parker with Dixon, who scored a goal at Wembley in his sixth international qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. The game came to an end 1–1.

Dixon had participated in eleven internationals by the time of 1991, including all of the Euro 92 qualifiers, which qualified England for the finals in Sweden. Dixon sustained an injury in the finals, allowing Stevens a route back to the side as the squad's deadline approached. Dixon was unintentionally named Dixon rather than Stevens in his provisional squad, but neither team advanced to the tournament. Dixon was hospitalized after suffering an accident at home, so Stevens was recalled, but it was only the Rangers full backs who had to pull out due to injury. England arrived back in their squad without a recognised right back, and they were unable to get to the group level.

The 1993 World Cup in the United States did not go well internationally, with England struggling to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Dixon's 21st cap, as a result of immateriality, in a 7-1 win over San Marino in the final qualifier, seemed to be his last, as Taylor's replacements, Terry Venables and Glenn Hoddle did not select Dixon.

Dixon was recalled by Howard Wilkinson in late January 1999, more than five years after his last appearance, and he played against France on February 10th. He earned 22 caps in total, but he did not compete in a major tournament.

Media career

Before leaving the BBC to join ITV Sport in July 2012, he served as a regular pundit for the BBC on Match of the Day 2, as well as appearing on Score, and Football Focus. He teamed up with pundit and former footballer Roy Keane on ITV.

On NBC Sports, he has been the co-lead commentator with Graeme Le Saux for the Premier League since 2013, as well as Arlo White (until summer 2022) and Peter Drury (since summer 2022). He has also contributed to the network's Premier League Download program.

Together with Derek Rae, he co-commentated UEFA Champions League matches in EA Sports, FIFA 19's video game. With the inclusion of him in some 'default' games (kick off, tournament, career, and Ultimate Team modes), both Derek Rae and FIFA 21 continued their collaboration in the 2019 game, FIFA 20. However, Stewart Robson is promoted to him in FIFA 22.

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