Lee Dixon British Footballer Born 1964 in Manchester

Early life

Lee Dixon was born on 17 March 1964 in Manchester and attended Wilmslow High School. He grew up supporting Manchester City. After leaving school in 1980 he joined Burnley as an apprentice, and he turned professional with the club in 1982.

Career

Dixon made only a handful of senior appearances for Burnley before moving to Chester City, a club that finished bottom of the entire Football League in 1983-84 during his time there. He then moved to Bury and later to Stoke City. At Stoke he played mainly at right-back, appearing in 50 matches in 1986-87 and scoring three goals, and he built a strong defensive partnership with Steve Bould. Arsenal manager George Graham noticed the pair when his side beat Stoke in a League Cup tie in November 1987, and Arsenal signed Dixon in January 1988 for 375,000 pounds. Bould followed a few months later.

Dixon made his Arsenal debut in February 1988 but was cup-tied that season. From the following season he took the number 2 shirt, with Nigel Winterburn on the left, and kept it for more than ten years. He formed a back line with Winterburn, Bould, Tony Adams and David O'Leary, and later Martin Keown, and he described that defence as one in which each player covered for the others. In May 1989 Arsenal went to Anfield needing to beat Liverpool by two goals to win the First Division, and Dixon supplied the long ball that Alan Smith controlled before Michael Thomas scored the winner in the final minute. It was his first of four league titles with the club.

Arsenal won the league again in 1990-91, with David Seaman by then in goal. In 1993 Dixon was suspended for the League Cup final after being sent off in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham, and Arsenal won the League Cup without him. He returned for the FA Cup final against Sheffield Wednesday, which Arsenal won in a replay. In 1994 he won the European Cup Winners' Cup, a 1-0 win over Parma in Copenhagen. The next year Arsenal reached the final again but lost to Real Zaragoza after a late goal from Nayim.

When Arsene Wenger arrived in October 1996, Dixon and his fellow defenders credited the new manager's changes to training and diet with extending their careers. Arsenal won a league and FA Cup double in 1998, and Dixon received a testimonial in 1999. He played in the 2000 UEFA Cup final, lost on penalties to Galatasaray, and in the 2001 FA Cup final, lost to Liverpool. He retired after the 2001-02 season, in which Arsenal clinched another double by winning the title at Old Trafford. By then he had won league titles in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He had made 458 league appearances and scored 25 league goals, and he had played at 91 of the 92 Football League grounds, all except Craven Cottage.

For England, Dixon made his debut in April 1990 in a friendly against Czechoslovakia, a World Cup warm-up, though he was not in the squad for the tournament. Graham Taylor then made him his first-choice right-back. Dixon scored in a Euro 92 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley, but a home injury ruled him out of the finals themselves. He won his 21st cap in a 7-1 win over San Marino in 1993, and after more than five years out of the side he was recalled by caretaker manager Howard Wilkinson for a defeat by France in February 1999. He finished with 22 caps and never played at a major tournament.

Recognition

With Arsenal, Dixon won the First Division in 1988-89 and 1990-91 and the Premier League in 1997-98 and 2001-02. He also won the FA Cup three times, in 1992-93, 1997-98 and 2001-02, and the FA Charity Shield. His other major honor was the 1993-94 European Cup Winners' Cup. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year in 1986-87 for the Second Division and in 1989-90 and 1990-91 for the First Division.

Public roles

After retiring, Dixon became a football pundit and columnist. He worked for the BBC on Match of the Day 2, Football Focus and Score, and moved to ITV Sport in July 2012. From 2013 he has been a co-lead commentator on NBC Sports' Premier League coverage in the United States, working with Arlo White and, since summer 2022, Peter Drury. He also provided commentary in the FIFA video games from FIFA 19 until FIFA 21, alongside Derek Rae.

Personal life

In 2010 Dixon took up cycling and joined Lawrence Dallaglio in a sponsored ride for Sport Relief that raised more than 986,000 pounds. He has had business interests in the restaurant trade in Bray, Berkshire. Before 2013 he adopted an owl at the Kirkleatham Owl Centre and named it Hooty McOwlface, a name that drew wide attention online.