Lee Dixon

This article is about the footballer. For the actor, see Lee Dixon (actor). For the English rugby union player, see Lee Dickson.

Lee Dixon
Dixon in 2015
Personal information
Full name Lee Michael Dixon[1]
Date of birth (1964-03-17) 17 March 1964 (age 60)[2]
Place of birth Manchester, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
1980–1982 Burnley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1984 Burnley 4 (0)
1984–1985 Chester City 57 (1)
1985–1986 Bury 45 (6)
1986–1988 Stoke City 71 (5)
1988–2002 Arsenal 458 (25)
Total 635 (37)
International career
1989–1992 England B 4 (0)
1990–1999 England 22 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.

His father Roy was a goalkeeper with Manchester City and many of Dixon's formative years were spent on the terraces at Maine Road. But it was nearby Burnley he joined as a junior and he graduated to the senior team for a handful of games before John Bond released him to Chester City. After one and a half seasons there he signed for Bury before joining Stoke City[3] where he instantly impressed, forging a fine defensive partnership with Steve Bould. The pair's potential and performances attracted the attention of George Graham when Arsenal beat Stoke 3-0 in a League Cup Fourth Round tie in November 1987 and two months later the Arsenal manager signed Dixon. Bould was signed five months later.[4] The following season, as Dixon cemented his place in the team, Arsenal won their first league title in eighteen years in a dramatic final game of the season. A defensive mainstay in a successful Arsenal team until his retirement in 2002, Dixon's tenure at Arsenal saw him collect four league championship medals, three FA Cup winner's medals and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup medal. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year twice, for the seasons 1989–90 and 1990–91. His retirement came at the end of Arsenal's domestic double-winning 2001–02 season, their second in his time at the club. At the time of his retirement, he had played at 91 out of the 92 Football League grounds – every one except Fulham's Craven Cottage.

Since his playing retirement, Dixon has worked as a football pundit and columnist. He began his television career working for the BBC, primarily on their Match of the Day and Football Focus programmes, then moved to ITV Sport in July 2012. Starting in 2013, he provides commentary alongside Arlo White for NBC's Premier League coverage in the USA.[5] He had also provided commentary in the FIFA 20 video game alongside Derek Rae. He has also done charitable work, joining Lawrence Dallaglio in a sponsored bike ride for Sport Relief which raised over £986,000 for the charity.

  1. ^ "Lee Dixon". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Lee Dixon: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  3. ^ Emery, David (1994). Gunning for Glory. Simon and Schuster. p. 134.
  4. ^ Emery, David (1994). Gunning for Glory. Simon and Schuster.
  5. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About NBC's Coverage of the Premier League". 23 April 2013.