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Fullname: Dion Dublin
Born: 22 Apr 1969
Birthplace: Leicester, England
Height: 6.02
Signed: 30 Jan 2006 (loan)
Left: 20 Sep 2006
Position: Forward
Debut: Celtic 2-1 Falkirk, League, 8 Feb 2006
Internationals: England
International Caps: 4 caps (none whilst with Celtic)
International Goals: 0
Biog
The signing of veteran Dion Dublin in late January 2006 caused more than a few raised eyebrows among a generally unimpressed Celtic support. Dion Dublin is one of a select group of players who have scored over one hundred goals in the English Premiership, so this was an experienced successful player coming to assist Celtic, although he was never destined to be another Lubo.
Well-travelled Dion Dublin had just been released by his hometown club Leicester City and at 36-years-old had been struggling to make an impact with the Foxes in the English Championship. But Celtic manager Gordon Strachan saw the experienced former Cambridge, Manchester United, Coventry and Aston Villa man as ideal short-term cover for a squad lacking depth up front and at the back. To time of writing, he is still the oldest debutant player to win a game for the Celtic side in a competitive match.
He was the joint top scorer in the Premiership in season 1997/1998 with 18 goals alongside Chris Sutton which boded well, and Strachan – who had worked with Dion Dublin at Coventry – believed the player’s big personality and experience would help the squad’s younger and more inexperienced members.
Ex-England international Dion Dublin – he was capped four times – would spend the vast majority of his time at Celtic on the bench but during his spell at the club he did exactly what he was brought to do. The likeable Englishman certainly gave his all during his few appearances in the Hoops, and he even netted a goal in the 3-0 CIS (League) Cup final victory over Dunfermline.
He may have been a workman-like player and admittedly past his best when he arrived, but there was no doubting Dion Dublin’s enthusiasm and in terms of effort he never let anyone down while in the Hoops. He was never spectacular (as expected) but rather helped to settle things down in certain matches and direct the play. Seemed to smile a hell of a lot for some reason with a cheery persona, so came over as a very affable chap to the fans.
A good example of his work & team ethic came in an away victory v Kilmarnock, where the first thing he did after scoring was to turn to Shaun Maloney to acknowledge his pass & vision that set up the goal. Clearly demonstrated how Dion Dublin was there to help elevate younger players
He did request a further one-year extension which, thankfully to the relief of many, the management decided against. He did fine in his few games for what we needed (a stopgap) but not enough for the club to want to use up a squad place for him for the next season. He was at this stage too old, and Celtic had to move on. Possibly would have been useful more as a coach if the management were to retain him.
Notably, he was referenced by certain critics of Gordon Strachan to claim that he was helping out old mates too much (e.g. Telfer etc) in a case of some cronyism but this is unfair. The Celtic management needed some cheap cover in the squad, and someone like Dion Dublin helped in the short-term. In fact, he played more than even the manager thought he would even need to use him. Nothing special but more than adequate and made himself popular with players and fans alike. The management had no choice but to take on certain cheap options due to the failure to make it into the Champions League or UEFA Cup in this season following a humiliating exit to Artmedia Bratislava.
In any case, he was released by Celtic at the end of the season, and Dion Dublin subsequently signed for Norwich in September 2006, and he remained with the Canaries until finally hanging up his boots in May 2008.
We wished him the best. He came, he played and he smiled a lot. A very likeable guy (has this been mentioned before?) who won over the Celtic supporters.
Amongst his talents in his post-playing career was music. At a 2011 gig at the University of East Anglia, cult Britpop band Ocean Colour Scene were joined on stage by Dion Dublin, an amateur percussionist, who accompanied them on ‘The Dube‘, an instrument he invented. He later moved into presenting on daytime TV shows (home improvement stuff etc) and became a favourite with retirees and housewives with his cheery persona.
Quotes
“I also came to understand that if you’re the type who buckles under any kind of pressure then you’re finished before you’ve started at a club such as Celtic.”
Dion Dublin
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2006 | 3 (8) | 0 | 0 (1) | N/A | 3 (9) |
| Goals: | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 2 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Premier League
Scottish League Cup
Pictures
Articles
Dublin in the Green – an Unlikely League Cup Hero
https://ntvceltic.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/dublin-in-the-green-an-unlikely-league-cup-hero/
For someone whose shelf life at Celtic was clearly going to be of the limited variety, big Dion certainly seemed to get some people agitated. Signed on a free from Leicester during the 2006 January transfer window as a squad player, some people seemed to take this as an affront to all things Celtic and a sign that the club was in terminal decline.
If this was supposed to be the replacement for Larsson or Sutton then Gord help us! Personally, I couldn’t really see what all the fuss was about. In fact, my most recent memory of Dion Dublin until that point was from the pre-season friendly at the Walker Stadium when he and Mark de Vries had given Balde and Varga quite an uncomfortable evening. On reflection, of course, that wasn’t exactly a glowing recommendation. Like Telfer, Strachan knew what he was getting with big Dion.
He got the experience, the professionalism and the enthusiasm and he didn’t have to pay much for it. He could come on as a sub when Hartson slowed down a bit (Are you trying to be funny here? Ed) or he could fill in as an emergency centre-half. It was always going to be a short-term arrangement and I don’t think we can quibble too much about what we got from him during the five months he was at Celtic Park.
He managed 11 appearances for Celtic in the SPL (only three of them were starts) and scored one goal, the fourth in a 4:1 victory at Rugby Park. His only other goal came in the CIS Cup final, another tap-in to stoke the dying embers of the game and prove that all those years earning a living in the Premership were good practice for finally making the step up in Scotland. He can also boast to his grandchildren that he played for Celtic against Rangers at Ibrox before they died. If he really wants the grandkids to have sleepless nights then he can give them nightmares by describing all the scary people he could see round three sides of the ground.
At the age of 37 big Dion was a given a chance to play a very small part in the history of a great club. He took it and he seemed genuinely delighted at having done it.
AB MURDOCH