Dean Holdsworth - Playing Career

Playing Career

Holdsworth primarily played as a striker, although in the latter part of his career he tended to play off the front man. 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, and 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 £125,000 in September 1989.

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.

He signed for Joe Kinnear's Wimbledon in the summer 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.

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 League 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 ten goalless appearances in 2002–03, though was briefly joined in Lancashire by his brother David for the first time since leaving Watford.

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, but failed to find the net in his 11 league games and moved on to Brian Talbot's Rushden & Diamonds 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 then joined Heybridge Swifts via Weymouth (Conference National). After spending 2006–07 in the Isthmian League with the Swifts,he returned to the Conference with 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.