# Dean Saunders
**Dean Saunders** (Dean Nicholas Saunders, born 1964 in Swansea, Wales) is a Welsh football manager and former professional striker whose playing career ran from 1982 to 2001 and included a then British record transfer to Liverpool, an [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) win with Liverpool in 1992, and a League Cup win with Aston Villa in 1994.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) He won 75 caps for Wales between 1986 and 2001, scoring 22 goals, and later managed Wrexham, Doncaster Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crawley Town, and Chesterfield.[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name, born | Dean Nicholas Saunders, 1964, Swansea, Wales; height 1.73 m; position striker[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) |
| Record transfer | Derby County to Liverpool, July 1991, for a then record £2.9 million[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) |
| Club honors | FA Cup with Liverpool (1992); League Cup with Aston Villa (1994)[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) |
| Wales record | 75 caps, 22 goals (1986–2001); 74th cap set a new record for a Welsh outfield player[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) |
| Management | Wrexham 2008–2011, Doncaster Rovers 2011–2013, Wolves 2013, Crawley Town 2014–2015, Chesterfield 2015; 319 games, 120 wins[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508) • [3](https://www.managerstats.co.uk/managers/dean-saunders/) |
| Family | Son of Roy Saunders; father of Callum Saunders[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508) |
## Playing career
Saunders began at his home-city club, Swansea City, in 1982, and moved through Cardiff City (on loan in 1985), Brighton & Hove Albion, and Oxford United before joining Derby County in 1988.[4](https://www.playerhistory.com/en/player/1900-dean-saunders) At Derby he was a consistent Second Division scorer, with 14 league goals in 1988–89, 11 in 1989–90, and 17 in 1990–91.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/)
**Liverpool and the record fee.** In July 1991 Liverpool paid Derby £2.9 million, then a British record, for the striker.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) He won the FA Cup with Liverpool in 1992, scoring twice in eight FA Cup appearances that season and adding 10 league goals in 36 league games.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) His time at Anfield was short: in September 1992 he moved to Aston Villa, where manager [Graeme Souness](https://www.edgepedia.org/graeme-souness) had concluded he was not the right fit for Liverpool's style, since the club's approach of pressing sides did not suit a striker who, in the assessment of former player and manager [Mark Lawrenson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-lawrenson), needed to run onto balls behind the defense or into the channels.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-anfield-heroes-who-turned-villans-saunders-staunton-and-houghton-are-ready-for-a-mersey-dash-phil-shaw-talks-to-mark-lawrenson-about-the-dynamic-trio-1477217.html)
At Villa he was more productive, scoring 13, 10, and 15 Premier League goals across his three full seasons and winning the League Cup in 1994.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/) He then played for Galatasaray (1995–1996), Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Benfica, and finally Bradford City, retiring on 1 July 2001.[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508) Even at 35, in his final seasons at Bradford, he was still scoring in the Premier League, and he said he had never asked for a transfer at any of his clubs.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/incoming/plenty-of-miles-in-dean-machine-742312.html)
## Wales international
His 74th appearance, in a World Cup qualifier against Armenia, set a new record number of caps for a Welsh outfield player.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/)
## Management and coaching
Saunders began his coaching career as [John Toshack](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-toshack)'s assistant with the Wales national team, and later worked as assistant manager to Graeme Souness at Newcastle United from September 2004 to February 2006.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dean-saunders-is-determined-to-avoid-a-hattrick-of-relegations-as-crawley-battle-to-beat-the-drop-10183347.html) • [2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508)
**Wrexham.** In October 2008 he replaced [Brian Little](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-little) as manager of Wrexham, a club newly relegated to the non-League Conference, and led them to the 2011 Conference play-offs before leaving in September 2011.[8](https://lfchistory.net/players/406) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dean-saunders-is-determined-to-avoid-a-hattrick-of-relegations-as-crawley-battle-to-beat-the-drop-10183347.html) His 155 games in charge produced 64 wins, a 41.29 percent win rate, his best return at any club.[3](https://www.managerstats.co.uk/managers/dean-saunders/)
**Doncaster Rovers and Wolves.** At Doncaster, appointed in September 2011, he cut the wage budget from £8 million to £2.5 million and built a squad that, after relegation in the summer of 2012, won the League One title the following May; by then he had moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2013, and the [Doncaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/doncaster) chairman gave him a winner's medal.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dean-saunders-is-determined-to-avoid-a-hattrick-of-relegations-as-crawley-battle-to-beat-the-drop-10183347.html)
**Later posts.** He took over as caretaker manager of Crawley Town in December 2014, when John Gregory stepped aside for heart surgery, and despite warnings from Souness and others that he risked a third relegation as a manager, he stayed to fight the drop before a short spell at Chesterfield from May to November 2015 ended his managerial career to date.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dean-saunders-is-determined-to-avoid-a-hattrick-of-relegations-as-crawley-battle-to-beat-the-drop-10183347.html) • [2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508) Across six managerial terms he took charge of 319 games, winning 120, drawing 76, and losing 123, with no honors recorded.[3](https://www.managerstats.co.uk/managers/dean-saunders/)
## References
1. [Dean Saunders Football Player Statistics, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/players/dean-saunders-71/)
2. [Dean Saunders – Manager profile, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dean-saunders/profil/trainer/17508)
3. [Dean Saunders Manager Statistics, ManagerStats](https://www.managerstats.co.uk/managers/dean-saunders/)
4. [Dean Saunders, PlayerHistory](https://www.playerhistory.com/en/player/1900-dean-saunders)
5. [Football: Anfield heroes who turned Villans, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-anfield-heroes-who-turned-villans-saunders-staunton-and-houghton-are-ready-for-a-mersey-dash-phil-shaw-talks-to-mark-lawrenson-about-the-dynamic-trio-1477217.html)
6. [Plenty of miles in Dean machine, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/incoming/plenty-of-miles-in-dean-machine-742312.html)
7. [Dean Saunders is determined to avoid a hat-trick of relegations as Crawley battle to beat the drop, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dean-saunders-is-determined-to-avoid-a-hattrick-of-relegations-as-crawley-battle-to-beat-the-drop-10183347.html)
8. [Dean Saunders, LFChistory.net](https://lfchistory.net/players/406)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Managers and coaches › Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish managers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license