Terry Dixon

Terry Noel Dixon (born 15 January 1990) is an English-born Irish professional footballer who last played as a striker for Tring Athletic.[1] He had previously played for Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Stevenage, Ware, Tooting & Mitcham United, Bradford City and FC Halifax Town.

Not to be confused with the African-American artist Terry Dixon (artist).
For the Jamaican boxer, see Terry Dixon (boxer).

Terry Dixon
Personal information
Full name Terry Noel Dixon
Date of birth (1990-01-15) 15 January 1990
Place of birth Archway, Islington, England
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Aylesbury
Youth career
2004–2007 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
2009–2010 West Ham United 0 (0)
2010 Stevenage 1 (0)
2011 Ware 2 (0)
2011 Tooting & Mitcham United 5 (1)
2011 Bradford City 0 (0)
2011 → FC Halifax Town (loan) 4 (1)
2011–2013 Dover Athletic 25 (2)
2013–2014 Dunstable Town ? (?)
2014 Berkhamsted ? (?)
2014– Aylesbury ? (?)
International career‡
2005–2006 Republic of Ireland U16 1 (1)
2005–2007 Republic of Ireland U17 5 (3)
2007–2011 Republic of Ireland U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:37, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:52, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Personal life

Dixon was born in Archway, Islington, London in 1990. His mother was born in Bailieborough, County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, and his father, who played for both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur youth teams, was born in Wood Green, London.[2] He attended St.Ignatius College in Enfield, where he studied for GCSEs before joining Tottenham as an apprentice professional.[3]

Dixon now works for a tunnelling company, and has a son, Teddy.[4]

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

Dixon was invited to play for local children side Alexandra Palace by former Spurs player Garry Brooke, and at the age of eight was taken to Tottenham by Brooke, where Dixon worked his way through the junior teams at the club.[3] He had his first serious knee injury at the age of 14, from which he took a year to recover.[2] In the season of 2005–2006, aged 16 he played 11 games in the Under-18 side. He joined the Tottenham academy as an apprentice on 1 July 2006,[3] but in August 2006, suffered a dislocated knee that ruled him out for the rest of the 2006–07 season.[5][6] He signed a professional contract with the club on 17 January 2007 at the age of 17. Once he recovered he returned to training in order complete a possible move to Charlton Athletic on loan for the coming season, however, another dislocation of his knee cap in an academy game in September 2007 once again set him back. Following surgery and rehabilitation, the 19-year-old was released by Tottenham in March 2008.[7][8]

West Ham United

In February 2009, Dixon signed for West Ham United after convincing the West Ham medical team of his fitness. Speaking of his move to West Ham, he said: "I'm pleased to have signed the contract and I'm glad to have got it sorted. I'm back in training next week and hopefully I want to push on to the first team towards the end of the season. I'm so relieved to be back to fitness as it's just so annoying to have those niggles because you have been out for so long. My aims for this season are to get matches under my belt for the reserves and if I do well there, hopefully I can get into the first-team squad. I want to repay the faith the club have shown in me, if not this season then the season after."[9][10]

Dixon played his first competitive game for West Ham on 19 October 2009 in a reserve game against Chelsea reserves at Griffin Park.[11] He made his first reserve start against Fulham on 3 November.[12] Dixon completed his first 90 minutes for West Ham reserves on 24 November, scoring once and setting up two goals in the 5–2 win over Stoke City reserves.[13] He made his fourth straight reserve appearance (and third straight start) in the 2–1 loss to Birmingham City reserves on 30 November.[14] On 16 December 2009, Dixon hit the only goal of the game in the reserves' 1–0 friendly win against Grays Athletic.[15] Dixon scored again in the reserves league win over Arsenal on 22 March 2010.[16] In April 2010 Dixon's contact with West Ham was terminated by mutual consent. He had been unable to progress beyond the reserve team for whom he made eight competitive appearance, scoring two goals.[17]

Stevenage

In October 2010, Dixon featured as a trialist for Stevenage's reserve side in a 2–2 draw against Ipswich Town.[18] Stevenage manager Graham Westley said that Dixon was "struggling in terms of fitness", but had signed on non-contract terms.[19] A month later, on 6 November, Dixon made his first-team debut for the club, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute in the club's 0–0 draw against Milton Keynes Dons in the FA Cup.[20][21] He was assigned the number 26 shirt.[21] Westley said that Dixon "clearly had an enormous amount of talent", and is also "gradually shedding the pounds and getting fitter".[21] Dixon made his second appearance for Stevenage on 27 November, again as a substitute, coming on in injury-time in Stevenage's 2–0 FA Cup away win against AFC Wimbledon.[22] He made his first Football League appearance on 11 December, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute in Stevenage's 1–0 home loss to Northampton Town.[23] Dixon was released by Stevenage in January 2011 after failing to agree terms with the player, who was still struggling in terms of fitness levels.[24]

Non-League football

In February 2011, Dixon signed for Isthmian League Division One North club, Ware.[25] Dixon made his debut for Ware in the club's 1–1 draw at Redbridge on 5 March, playing 67 minutes before being substituted.[26] He played one more game for Ware, playing 63 minutes in a 3–0 home defeat to Waltham Abbey.[27] In March 2011, Dixon left Ware after he failed to turn up to a number of training sessions.[28] He subsequently joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Tooting & Mitcham United.[28][29] Dixon scored his first goal for Tooting in a 3–3 draw at Tonbridge Angels, a scissor-kick volley from just outside the area with his back to goal. Tooting manager Mark Beard described the goal as "first-class", stating it reminded him "of some of the goals Mark Hughes scored where he let the ball come over his shoulder and then hit it first time on the volley".[30]

Bradford City

Dixon signed a year-long contract with League Two club Bradford City on 31 August 2011.[31] He was loaned out to Conference North club FC Halifax Town on a one-month deal.[32] The loan deal was extended for another month, however when Bantams striker Ross Hannah suffered injury Dixon was recalled to the Bradford squad. After less than four months with the club, Dixon left Bradford to join Conference South club Dover Athletic on loan.[33] He had played only two reserve team games and no first-team matches during his time at Bradford.[34] After expressing a wish in January 2012 to stay with Dover until the end of the season, Dixon then signed a contract until May 2013.[35][36]

International career

Although born in London, Dixon opted to play for the Republic of Ireland, being eligible by virtue of his Irish-born mother, and made his under-16 debut for Ireland against Sweden in April 2005, scoring in the 47th minute.[37][38] Dixon was used sparingly in the first phase of the UEFA Under-17 championship matches in Ukraine in September 2005 owing to his history of injury,[39] but still scored a crucial equalising goal against Italy.[40] In May 2006, he was called up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad by manager Steve Staunton at the age of 16, who said of him: "I just felt he has got a special talent and, if he progresses nicely, we will see the benefit in a couple of years. He is a young lad with great potential and, while he has got a lot to learn, he can already play with his back to goal. He is very confident on the ball and he knows where the goal is. There's not too many of them around",[41][42][43][44] and was on the substitute bench for the friendly international against Chile.[45] In August 2006, he was called up for the Republic of Ireland's Under-21 squad,[46] [47] and made his debut against the Belgium Under-21 side.[48] He was awarded the Republic of Ireland's Under 17 Player of the Year 2006 trophy.[49] In February 2010, Dixon was called up to the Irish U21 team for their friendly against Armenia. The Irish U21 manager Don Givens said of him "I have watched Terry at West Ham and he seems to be beginning to show the sort of form that made him stand out so much before his injuries. He has been terribly unfortunate over the last few years, but he seems to be putting that behind him now. There is no doubt that he is a great talent. He was out of the game for a long time but it is great to see him back playing and I'm really looking forward to having him involved."[50] Dixon made a substitute appearance against Armenia, coming on for Sean Scannell after 62 mins, and set up Ian Daly for Ireland's consolation goal in the 2–1 defeat.[51]

Career statistics
Updated 29 April 2011.
Club Season League[A] FA Cup League Cup Other[B] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tottenham Hotspur
2007–08[52]
 0000000000
Total 0000000000
West Ham United
2009–10[53]
 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Stevenage
2010–11[54]
 1020000030
Total 1020000030
Ware
2010–11
 2000000020
Total 2000000020
Tooting & Mitcham United
2010–11
 5100000051
Total 5100000051
Career totals 81200000101
A. ^ The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League and Isthmian League.
B. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy.

References
  1. "Terry Dixon Profile | Aylesbury United FC".
  2. "5 facts about Terry Dixon". Irish Independent. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  3. "Dixon's family affair helps youngster over dark days". Irish Independent. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  4. "Terry Dixon: The Spurs wonderkid who blazed a trail for Troy Parrott". 7 February 2020.
  5. "Dixon blow". The Sun (Newsbank). 27 September 2006. Republic starlet Terry Dixon is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after dislocating his right knee in training.
  6. "Dixon in battle to save career". The Irish Times. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  7. O'Hehir, Paul (7 March 2008). "Spurs let injured Irish ace Dixon go". Daily Mirror (Newsbank). Republic of Ireland prospect Terry Dixon has been released by Spurs after suffering a series of crippling knee injuries. The 18-year-old caused a stir two years ago when he received two call-ups to Steve Staunton's senior Irish squad – despite having never played for Tottenham's reserves. He featured during the four-day training camp in Portugal soon after Staunton's appointment – and was called into the squad for the game with Chile days later.
  8. "Spurs part company with Dixon". eleven-a-side.com. Lynn Group. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  9. "Striker Dixon earns West Ham deal". BBC Sport. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  10. Ahern, Neil (12 February 2009). "Dixon signs fairytale deal". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  11. "Chelsea 4–1 WHU Reserves". West Ham United FC. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  12. "Fulham 2–1 WHU Reserves". West Ham United FC. 3 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 November 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  13. "WHU Reserves 5–2 Stoke". West Ham United FC. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  14. "Birmingham 2–1 WHU Reserves". West Ham United FC. 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  15. "Dixon on target again". West Ham United FC. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  16. "Arsenal 0–2 WHU Reserves". West Ham United FC. 22 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  17. "Dixon released". West Ham United FC. 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  18. "Stevenage 2–2 Ipswich". Ipswich Town F.C. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  19. "Stevenage 0–0 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  20. Fitzmaurice, Aidan (3 December 2010). "Dixon longing for his debut". Evening Herald (Ireland). Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  21. "Stevenage 0–0 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  22. "AFC Wimbledon 0–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  23. "Stevenage 0–1 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  24. "We've yet to agree terms with Dixon – Boro". The Comet. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  25. "Terry Dixon and Lee Protheroe sign". 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012.
  26. "Redbridge 1 Ware 1". Ware F.C. 5 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  27. "Waltham Abbey 3 Ware 0". Ware F.C. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  28. Gold, Alasdair (21 March 2010). "Dixon leaves Ware". Hertfordshire Mercury. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  29. "Former Spurs and West Ham talent ends up at Tooting". Surrey Comet. 28 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  30. "Dixon wonder goal has Tooting boss purring". Surrey Comet. 13 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  31. "City sign young striker". Bradford City A.F.C. 31 August 2011.
  32. "Dixon loaned to AFC Halifax". Bradford City A.F.C. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  33. Uncredited (21 December 2011). "Former Tottenham Hotspur youngster Terry Dixon gets early chance to impress with Dover Athletic". East Kent Mercury. Retrieved 29 December 2011. New Dover signing Terry Dixon got his chance in the second half against Staines on Saturday after joining on loan from League 2 side Bradford City.
  34. "Dixon departs". Bradford City A.F.C. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  35. "Terry Dixon wants to stay with Dover Athletic until end of season". East Kent Mercury. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  36. "Terry Dixon signs two-year deal with Dover". GreenScene. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  37. Finn, Stephen (28 April 2005). "Dixon set for debut". The Sun (Newsbank). Tottenham Hotspur starlet Terry Dixon will make his Ireland Under-16 debut against Sweden at Whitehall today. Ireland schoolboys coach Vincent Butler said: "I've seen Terry play before and he has a lot of ability. Dynamic. It was his decision to play for us. His family background is from Cavan..."
  38. Finn, Stephen (29 April 2005). "Tel em Dixon's here!". The Sun (Newsbank). Teenage wonderkid Terry Dixon announced his arrival on the international scene in style with a goal at Whitehall yesterday – and Brian Kerr was there to see it. The 15-year-old Tottenham striker produced a brilliant goal in the 47th minute to help seal an emphatic victory for Vincent Butler's side. It was a fairytale finish for the young Londoner...
  39. "McCaffrey to handle Dixon with care". The Irish Times. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  40. "Dixon strikes for late equaliser". The Irish Times. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  41. "Testing time all round for schoolboy prodigy". The Irish Times. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  42. Holden, Michael (8 May 2006). "Spurs youngster Dixon in Ireland squad for Chile". ESPN. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  43. "Schoolboy Dixon in dreamland after call-up". Irish Independent. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  44. Lyon, Sam (12 May 2006). "Dixon is Republic's rising star". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  45. Grant, Alastair (4 February 2007). "Dixon's the new Rooney". Sunday Mirror (Newsbank). Martin Jol last night backed Spurs superkid Terry Dixon to be Ireland's answer to England megastar Wayne Rooney. Dixon, who signed pro terms last month with Spurs after his 17th birthday, has already played for the Republic Under-21s and was on the bench for last year's senior international with Chile. The teenager's fast-track to stardom was jolted by a serious knee injury in August – but he is nearing full fitness after a long lay-off for surgery...
  46. "Dixon handed Under-21 call-up". RTÉ Sport. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  47. "Dixon boosts Republic's Under-21s". BBC Sport. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  48. McDonnell, Daniel (2 September 2006). "Dixon docks in green as Ireland fall". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  49. "Dixon delighted to sign". West Ham United official site. 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2009. Dixon was highly regarded a youth player and represented Ireland at every level before being called up to the full squad at 16 by the then manager Steve Staunton in May 2006, who at the time described him as a 'special talent'. He was then named on the bench for his country's friendly against Chile that month and was rewarded for his progress by being named Ireland's Under-17 Player of Year for 2006.
  50. Ahern, Neil (18 February 2010). "Dixon granted recall to U-21s three years after debut". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  51. Finn, Stephen (4 March 2010). "Ireland rooted to the bottom as nightmare continues". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  52. "Tottenham 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  53. "West Ham 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  54. "Stevenage 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
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