Lee Dixon

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 where he instantly impressed, forging a fine defensive partnership with Steve Bould.

On leaving school in 1980, he joined Burnley as an apprentice in 1980, turning professional in 1982, then signed for Chester City (where he experienced finishing bottom of the whole Football League in 1983–84), Bury and later Stoke City.

At the Victoria Ground Dixon made a fine impression with some fine performances from right back as he played in 50 matches in 1986–87 scoring three goals.

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.

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.

In 1987–88 Dixon made 38 appearances scoring twice.

He joined First Division Arsenal in January 1988 for a fee of £375,000 and was later joined at Highbury by Stoke teammate Steve Bould.

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

It took a while for Dixon to be given a first team role at Highbury.

With England international Kenny Sansom at left back, the equally left-sided Nigel Winterburn had been a guarded success in the unfamiliar right back role, though Dixon did make his debut against Luton Town on 13 February 1988.

This was the first time that Dixon had played in the First Division.

He played six times in total before the season ended.

Dixon was cup-tied in his first season which limited his appearances, and also meant he was unable to take part in the 1988 League Cup Final.

In the new season, Winterburn moved across to left back, allowing Dixon to take over the No.2 shirt, which he duly did for well over ten years.

Displaced Sansom left Arsenal the following winter.

Dixon later wrote in his column in The Independent of the defence that he played in at Arsenal, "I was fortunate to play in an Arsenal back line that earned itself a reputation as being OK. I'm not trying to be overly modest in saying that, as individuals, we weren't the best players in the world. But certainly, all my weaknesses were compensated for by Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown, and Steve Bould, and vice versa. If one of us wasn't playing well, the others picked up the slack."

Dixon and Winterburn made the full back positions their own for the next decade or so, while captain Tony Adams and the long-serving David O'Leary operated in the middle.

Later in 1988 they were joined by Steve Bould who, like Dixon before him, had been spotted by Graham playing for Stoke City.

These five defenders, often playing as a back five together (rather than the conventional back four) were the linchpin of an Arsenal side who became serious challengers for the First Division title the 1988–89 season, an honour which they had not won since 1971 but had looked more and more like winning since Graham's appointment as Arsenal manager in May 1986.

Dixon was a marauding right back, ever willing to support his winger David Rocastle and his attacking skills were still noted even though his main job (and the main priority of the side as a whole) was to defend.

He also had a short spell during this period as the club's penalty taker.

Arsenal took the chase for the League championship to the last day of the season when they faced Liverpool at Anfield.

With Arsenal needing to win by two goals, the game stood at 1–0 as the clock showed the 90 minutes were up.

Dixon received a ball in his own half and looked to mount a final attack.

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.

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 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.

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.

Born in Manchester, son of former Manchester City goalkeeper Roy Dixon, Lee was a boyhood Manchester City supporter.

He began his professional playing career in the lower divisions.