Mark Dean (born 18 November 1964) is an English former professional footballer 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

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. He later played for hometown club

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

in the

Conference National 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-profes ...

Playing career

A full back, Dean was a product of Chester's youth policy and broke into the first–team ranks near the end of 1981–82 as a 17-year-old. He made his professional debut in Chester's 2–1 defeat by

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 ...

on 24 April 1982Sumner (1997), stats section (season 81-82) and ended the season with four league outings to his name. Earlier in the season he had been part of the Chester youth side which took

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

to a replay in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. The following season saw Dean make 19 league starts and appear twice as a substitute. But he was one of eight players released by manager John Sainty at the end of the season as the club halved its wage bill. This marked the end of Dean's professional career but he then enjoyed a three-year stint with

, where he made 89 league appearances. This spell also included an appearance at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the 1984 final of the

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 ...

against

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

, which Northwich won after a replay.Williams (1997), p 67 After a spell with Caernarfon Town,Williams (1987), p 554 Dean returned to Cheshire by joining

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

Honours

Northwich Victoria *

winners: 1983–84.

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Mark 1964 births Living people Footballers from Northwich English Football League players National League (English football) players Men's association football fullbacks English men's footballers Chester City F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Caernarfon Town F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players