Richard Dinnis

Richard Dinnis
Personal information
Date of birth (1942-12-11) 11 December 1942 (age 81)
Place of birth Clitheroe, Lancashire, England[1]
Position(s) Centre-half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961 Bishop Auckland
1963–1964 Great Harwood
Managerial career
1970–1975 Blackburn Rovers Reserves
1973–1974 Blackburn Rovers (caretaker)
1977 Newcastle United
1978 Philadelphia Fury
1992–1993 Barrow
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Richard R. Dinnis (born 11 December 1942)[2] is an English former football coach and player.

Dinnis played semi-professionally as a centre-half. Little is known of his playing career, but he signed with Bishop Auckland in 1961 after a successful trial.[3] In the mid-1960s he was playing for Great Harwood in the Lancashire Combination. He later went into coaching, and joined Blackburn Rovers as their reserve team coach. He was caretaker manager of the club from 1973 to 1974, remaining as reserve team coach once Gordon Lee was appointed. In 1975, he joined Lee at Newcastle United, becoming the assistant manager. When Lee left the club in January 1977, Dinnis saw out the rest of the season as caretaker manager. He was appointed manager of Newcastle that summer, but was sacked after a poor start. Dinnis then spent a few years in the North American Soccer League (NASL), firstly as coach of the Philadelphia Fury, and later as assistant coach at the Vancouver Whitecaps. Following a brief return to Blackburn, he then had a multitude of coaching roles for various clubs over the next two decades, including a stint in Saudi Arabia. He also maintained a job as a physical education teacher during this time. Towards the end of the 1990s and throughout the 2000s, Dinnis worked as a football summariser and analyst for BBC Radio Lancashire, commentating on football games in North West England.[4]

  1. ^ Neild, Andy (28 November 1998). "The Saturday Interview: Andy Neild meets Richard Dinnis". The Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. ^ "The Unlikely Lads - D". nufc.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Richard Dinnis: (Blackburn, 11.12.1942)
    Philadelphia Fury (USA) C, Blackburn Rovers C, Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) YC, Bristol City S/AM, Middlesbrough C, Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) C, Accring Stanley C, Barrow M, Bolton Wanders AC, Burnley AC, Pundit, BBC Radio Lancashire.
  3. ^ Phelan, John (26 February 2011). "Grassroots Memories" (PDF). Local Heroes. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Richard R Dinnis of Clitheroe, Lancashire, wrote to Bishop Auckland in February and asked for a trial. The former England Grammar Schools player then played centre-half for Bishop in a 6-1 win against Durham City on Saturday, 26 February.
  4. ^ Dinnis, Richard (8 August 2007). "The Score!". BBC Lancashire. Retrieved 25 October 2021.