Dean was a hard tackling right back or centre back, who was comfortable in either position.
He originally joined the Terrors in August 2006 from Whyteleafe having caught the eye of our renowned management duo of the time Billy Smith and George Wakeling, having previously come through the ranks at Sutton United.
Dean went onto become a fans favourite in his two spells with the club. In his first spell he won two London Senior Cup Winners medals plus a Surrey Senior Cup Winners medal scoring in a 4-1(aet) success against Metropolitan Police with a fine solo effort. Although Dean’s goal tally was modest the goals themselves were always a bit special. ’Deano’ was a member of the side that won the Isthmian League Division One South Play Off Final in 2008 when Cray Wanderers were defeated by a goal to nil. This avenged the play-off heartache the club had suffered the previous season.
In 2009/10 he played in the team that lost at Stockport County in the FA Cup First Round Proper. He left us at the end of the 2009/10 campaign playing for the likes of Chipstead, Merstham and Dorking Wanderers. Dean made a welcome return to Imperial Fields in 2019. In his second period with us he was a member of the team that beat AFC Wimbledon in the London Senior Cup Final in May 2021 a season that was very badly disrupted by Covid-19 pandemic.
Dean would retire at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. He made over 270 appearances for the Terrors scoring 3 goals.
Article written by Ian Bullock TMUFC Members Club Vice President
