Dean Thomas Wells (born 25 May 1985) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

as a defender. He spent the majority of his career in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and made over 330 appearances for Hampton & Richmond Borough and Braintree Town. He is currently assistant manager of non-League club Bedfont & Feltham.

Playing career

Brentford

Wells began his career as a

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

and he embarked on a scholarship at the beginning of the 2001–02 season. His first involvement with the first team came on 20 September 2003, when he was named as a substitute for a 2–1

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

win over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

. He was an unused substitute for the next two games and made his debut in a 3–0 league defeat to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

on 4 October 2003. With the game already lost, Wells replaced Leo Roget after 81 minutes. He made no further appearances and was released by manager

Martin Allen Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and ...

at the end of the 2003–04 season.

Hampton & Richmond Borough

Wells signed for

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division club Hampton & Richmond Borough in 2004. In the 2004–05 season, the club missed out on a playoff place on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

. Wells' season ended on a sour note after being sent off in the

Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...

final, which Hampton lost 3–1 to

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

. He managed 41 appearances. In 2005–06, Wells made 35 appearances and scored two goals as Hampton finished fifth and suffered a playoff final defeat to Fisher Athletic. Wells made 40 appearances and scored two goals during the 2006–07 season and won the first silverware of his career as Hampton were promoted to the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

as Isthmian League Premier Division champions. He was also made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the club. Wells enjoyed a good 2007–08 season in the Conference South, making 41 appearances and scoring one goal as Hampton qualified for the playoffs with a third-place finish, though he again suffered playoff heartache as Hampton succumbed to a 2–0 defeat in the final to Eastbourne Borough. Wells had a solid 2008–09 season, making 42 appearances and scoring three goals, helping Hampton to a second-place finish. He could bring them no luck in the playoffs, as Hampton lost 3–2 in the final to Hayes & Yeading United. Wells made 32 appearances during the 2010–11 season and scored three goals. He made over 260 appearances during his Hampton career.

Prison sentence

Wells' career came to a halt on 27 April 2011 when he was one of a group of Brentford supporters charged with

affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in french: à l'effroi) of ordinary people. Depending on their act ...

and sentenced to 12 months in prison for his involvement in a fight between Brentford and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

supporters outside

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's Liverpool Street station in May 2010. He also received a

banning order __NOTOC__ This list of people subject to banning orders under apartheid lists a selection of people subject to a "banning order" by the apartheid-era South African government. Banning was a Political repression, repressive and Extrajudicial punis ...

from football grounds for seven years. He was released on 6 October 2011.

Staines Town

Wells signed for Conference South club

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C ...

on 14 October 2011. He made only five appearances for the club before leaving the following month.

Braintree Town

Wells signed for

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

club Braintree Town in November 2011 and linked up with manager

Alan Devonshire Alan Ernest Devonshire (born 13 April 1956) is an English former professional footballer who is the current manager of Maidenhead United. He was a wide midfielder who played for West Ham United, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1980, and Watford, ...

, who signed him for Hampton & Richmond Borough. Wells stated that he was able to make the step up to the Conference Premier because of the

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

work he had done in prison. He made 26 appearances during the 2011–12 season and scored no goals. He was a virtual ever-present during the 2012–13 season, making 43 appearances and scoring three goals. He scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season in a 3–2 league victory at

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on 24 September 2013. He finished the season with 48 appearances and three goals and was named in the Conference Premier Team of the Year, as the Iron narrowly failed to claim a playoff place. Wells departed the club after the season, after making 116 appearances and scoring six goals during his three seasons with the Iron.

Stevenage

On 20 June 2014, Wells signed for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

for a reported fee of £25,000. After signing, he said "I started at Brentford and through my stupidity I threw it away. Now I'm older and wiser and I think I still I have a lot to offer". Wells made his debut for Stevenage and his first-ever starting appearance in the

on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, in a 1–0 win over Hartlepool United. He went on to become a regular during the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, before falling out of favour during 2016–17. Wells made 97 appearances and scored seven goals for the club before his release at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Boreham Wood

On 9 June 2017, Wells joined National League club

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

on a one-year contract, with the option of a further year, combined with a coaching role in the club's

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. He made 21 appearances before being forced into retirement after suffering an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

tear during an

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

first round match versus

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

on 19 December 2017.

Managerial career

On 3 May 2021, Wells was appointed as assistant manager of

Combined Counties League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

First Division club Bedfont & Feltham.

Personal life

Wells is a Brentford supporter. He gave up a part-time job as a school caretaker in order to return to professional football with Stevenage. His son Joe is also a footballer.

Career statistics

Honours

Hampton & Richmond Borough *

Premier Division: 2006–07 Individual *

Team of the Year: 2013–14 *

Player of the Year: 2014–15

References

External links

*
Dean Wells
at bedfontandfelthamfc.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Dean 1985 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Brentford F.C. players Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Isthmian League players Footballers from Twickenham Stevenage F.C. players Boreham Wood F.C. players