John Matthew Deehan (born 6 August 1957) is an English former football manager and player.
During his playing career he was a
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 ...
from 1975 until 1990 and is most well known for his spells as a striker for
Aston Villa and
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
. He also played for
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
,
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
,
Manchester City and
Barnsley. He was also capped seven times at
England U21
The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...
level, scoring six goals.
Since retiring Deehan initially returned to Norwich as a coach and had a spell as manager during their 1994/95
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
campaign before later managing
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
to a
Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...
title and a caretaker spell in charge of
Aston Villa. He has since held roles as the director of football of
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
,
Lincoln City,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
and
Plymouth Argyle, as well as actively being part of the coaching staff at
Kettering Town
Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...
and
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 ...
.
Career
As a player
Born in
Solihull
Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...
, as a player Deehan was a striker who is best known for productive spells with
Aston Villa and
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
. With Villa he was a member of the team that won the
1977 Football League Cup Final
The 1977 Football League Cup Final was played between Aston Villa and Everton and required three games to decide the winner, the only time this has happened in the League Cup. The first match took place at Wembley Stadium on 12 March and the g ...
against Everton and was a member of the Norwich sides which won the
1985 Football League Cup Final
The 1985 Football League Cup Final was won by Norwich City. The Canaries defeated Sunderland 1–0 at Wembley Stadium on 24 March 1985 with an own goal scored by Gordon Chisholm, who deflected Asa Hartford's shot past goalkeeper Chris Turner. La ...
and the Second Division championship in 1986. On 24 January 2012 he was appointed as Director of Football at League Two club
Plymouth Argyle. Argyle stood at 22nd in League Two at the time of his appointment.
He was a competent goalscorer from an early age, breaking the 10-goal barrier in the league for three successive seasons by the age of 22. He was initially less successful after leaving
Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
in September 1979 to sign for Villa's local rivals West Bromwich Albion, managing just five goals from 47 league games over the next two years, but recaptured his form after joining Norwich City in December 1981 and helping them seal promotion to the First Division that season. He scored 20 league goals in his first
full season at
Carrow Road and managed 15 and 13 goals over the next two seasons, although he was unable to save the Canaries from relegation in
1984–85. He also helped them win the
Football League Cup in 1985 and the Second Division title - and a return to the First Division as Second Division champions a year later.
In 2002, Norwich fans voted Deehan into the
Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame
The Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame honours Norwich City F.C. players, coaches, managers, directors and executives who have "made the greatest contribution to the club in its long history both on and off the pitch." During the club's centenary se ...
in recognition of his contribution as a player.
In the summer of 1986, he left Norwich to join
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in a player exchange deal that saw
Trevor Putney
Trevor Anthony Putney (born 9 April 1960) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
Ipswich Town
Putney began his professional football career fairly late in life when Bobby Robson and Ipswich Town signed ...
move to
Carrow Road. His
final season at Norwich had seen him collected a
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 ...
title medal, but his form was less impressive than in previous seasons with just four goals from 26 league games.
From 1988 until 1990 he was player-coach at
Manchester City, where he worked under the management of former Norwich assistant
Mel Machin
Melvyn Machin (born 16 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager.
A midfielder, he started his career at Port Vale in 1962, before he moved on to Gillingham four years later. He made his name at the club from 1966 to 1970, b ...
, before returning to Norwich City as
Mike Walker's assistant in the summer of 1992.
Management and Coaching
He helped coach an unfancied Canaries side to a surprise third-place finish in the inaugural
FA Premier League (season 1992–93), and was promoted to the manager's seat the following January when Walker moved to
Everton. Norwich finished 12th in the Premiership in 1993-94 and started the following season reasonably well despite the (then) record English sale of
Chris Sutton
Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...
to
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
for £5 million. Despite the loss of Sutton, and the sale of
Efan Ekoku
Efangwu Goziem Ekoku (born 8 June 1967) is a former Nigerian professional footballer, and sports commentator.
As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Norwich City and Wimbledon and in Switzerland for Grassh ...
shortly afterwards, the Canaries were seventh in the Premiership by Christmas and were in contention for a
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
place. An injury to goalkeeper
Bryan Gunn
Bryan James Gunn (born 22 December 1963) is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which h ...
then sparked a dramatic loss of form, and by the time the Canaries lost 3–0 to
Newcastle United on 8 April 1995, they were heading for the relegation zone. Deehan then stepped down as manager and handed the reins to his assistant
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager.
He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers ...
, but Megson was unable to stave off relegation.
Deehan's absence from football did not last long. He began the 1995–96 season as manager of
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
in the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...
, and after two seasons at the helm he guided them to the Division Three title and promotion to
Division Two. After safeguarding Wigan's survival in 1997–98, he accepted the assistant manager's job at
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
and for one season worked under
Steve Bruce. Deehan's time at
Bramall Lane was unsuccessful and he resigned after the club failed to get near the
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
playoff places.
After leaving Sheffield United, Deehan worked again with Steve Bruce at Huddersfield Town, in the 1999–2000 season. After leaving the Yorkshire club, he made a football comeback with
Aston Villa when he was appointed assistant manager to
John Gregory in July 2001. In January 2002, Deehan was named joint caretaker manager of Villa (with
Stuart Gray) when Gregory resigned. He left the club when
Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...
was named Villa manager for the second time.
In October 2003, Deehan became Director of Football at
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
, with
Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager at Northampton Town.
As a player, he was a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hots ...
working under him as team manager. The duo were appointed to get the team promoted from the league's basement division, and achieved this aim in the 2005–06 season. Both Calderwood and Deehan left the club at the end of the 2005–06 season, with Deehan moving to
Lincoln City as Director of Football. On 15 October 2007, it was confirmed that Deehan and Lincoln City manager
John Schofield
John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served ...
had left the club. In November 2007, Deehan was employed as a scout by Premier League side
Bolton Wanderers who were looking for a number of former professionals to head their recruitment drive led by former
Everton manager
Colin Harvey
James Colin Harvey (born 16 November 1944 in Liverpool, England) is an English former footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton.
Playing career
Harvey was born in Liverpool and joined Everton as ...
.
In September 2008, Deehan expressed interest in the vacant manager's post at League Two side
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
, saying: "I think Grimsby Town is a good club and a good opportunity for any manager. Whenever I've been to Blundell Park, I've been impressed with the set-up and the positive approach to football." Despite his interest Deehan failed to land the Grimsby job, which was given to
Mike Newell.
On 21 January 2009, he was appointed as Chief Scout of Norwich City Football Club in part of the new management team alongside three of his former players –
Bryan Gunn
Bryan James Gunn (born 22 December 1963) is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which h ...
as First Team Manager,
Ian Crook
Ian Stuart Crook (born 18 January 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player.
As a player, he was a midfielder who began his career with Tottenham Hotspur. before making 418 appearances for Norwich City where he notabl ...
as first team coach and Ian Butterworth as Assistant Manager.
In December 2009, Deehan became
Lee Harper
Lee Charles Philip Harper (born 30 October 1971) is an English former footballer, and manager who played as a goalkeeper. He notably played for Queens Park Rangers. Although he spent 3 years at Arsenal, he only played 1 game for that club.
Aft ...
's assistant at
Kettering Town
Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...
but was controversially sacked later that month immediately following a 5–1 defeat to
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
in an FA Cup second-round replay where his choice of substitutions during extra time were blamed by Kettering owner Imraan Ladak for the defeat.
On 17 March 2010, he was announced as Head of Recruitment (Director of Football) at
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
in order to work with manager
Neil Woods
Neil Stephen Woods (born 30 July 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is academy manager at Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a striker from 1983 to 2000 for Doncaster Rovers, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Bra ...
and his assistant
Chris Casper
Christopher Martin Casper (born 28 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player who is now the director of football at League Two side Salford City.
As a player he was a defender who played in the Premier League for Manches ...
. It was touted that Deeham would be a possible replacement for Woods if the club are relegated from the Football League. However, after the conclusion of the 09/10 season, which eventually brought relegation Deehan's contract was not renewed and he left the club 20 May 2010.
On 25 January 2012, Deehan was appointed Director of Football at
Plymouth Argyle. At the end of the 2012–2013 season he left the club. He teamed up with Stuart Gray again early in 2014, joining the coaching staff at
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 ...
.
Personal life
In March 2022, his family have said for the last 6 years that Deehan has been battling with dementia.
References
External links
Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deehan, John
1957 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Solihull
English footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Association football forwards
Aston Villa F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Norwich City F.C. players
Ipswich Town F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Barnsley F.C. players
English football managers
Norwich City F.C. managers
Wigan Athletic F.C. managers
Aston Villa F.C. managers
Premier League managers
Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff
Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. non-playing staff
Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff
Lincoln City F.C. non-playing staff
Grimsby Town F.C. non-playing staff
Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff
People with dementia