Dein of a New Era at Anfield

If reports linking David Dein to Liverpool are true then NESV may have just made a signing bigger than any other seen at Liverpool in recent history. Within days of Martin Broughton stepping down as chairman paving the way for Tom Werner to take up the vacant chairmans position, Liverpool are again batting their eyelashes at Arsenal and are being linked with ex arsenal alum David Dein.


It's no surprise really, NESV have made no secret of their admiration of everything Arsenal and if there is one man other than Arsene Wenger that can take some credit for the success of Arsenal then it has to be the man who selected him as manager.


Dein was behind the appointment of the then little known Arsène Wenger to the manager's job in 1996 following the dismissal of George Graham in February 1995 he tried to convince his fellow-board members to appoint Arsene Wenger as manager. They seemed reluctant to bring on board an unknown Frenchman managing in Japan and opted instead for Bruce Rioch. Who like Hodgson was seen by fans as an uninspiring choice.


Following the dismissal of Rioch a year later, Dein again suggested that Arsene Wenger should be appointed as manager. His efforts proved successful 2nd time round and Arsene Wenger was appointed manager of Arsenal in October 1996. It was David Dein who introduced Arsene Wenger to his fellow board members and convinced them to appoint him as manager. No one denies that without Dein, Wenger would never have been appointed manger. under Wenger Arsenal have won the FA Premier League three times and the FA Cup four times, and Dein strongly backed him and his transfer wishes throughout.


He was also influential in the transformation of Highbury into an all-seater stadium. Following the Hillsborough stadium disaster a report by Lord Justice Taylor called on all Premier League clubs to introduce all-seater stadiums. Dein was behind the introduction of a bond scheme to finance the redevlopment of Highbury's North Bank and Clock End terraces into all-seater stands.


David Dein’s legacy at Arsenal cannot be overstated. Alongside Arsene Wenger he has helped to transform the club both on and off the pitch. Today Arsenal is seen as an example of a leading club in world football and is admired around the world. David Dein has been instrumental in transforming Arsenal into what it is today and his success in recruiting Arsene Wenger as manager in September 1996 is enough to ensure his legacy in the history of Arsenal. Together they spent the next decade transforming the club and helping it join the elite clubs of European football.


Dein believed that English football was falling behind other European leagues and was not embracing a forward-looking plan to improve. He saw Arsene Wenger as the man to help push Arsenal forward embracing new methods to achieve this. Dein also believed that Arsene Wenger would change Arsenal's style of play which was seen as dogmatic and one-dimensional to one based on technique and speed more attuned with the approach adopted by teams from the continent. (*cough Barcelona cough*)


He was also instrumental in convincing some of the world’s biggest talents to join the club. In September 1991 he helped Arsenal sign Ian Wright from Crystal Palace for £2.5 million. In June 1995 Dein flew to Milan “and returned with the signature of, for the first time in Arsenal’s history, a true international superstar” Arsenal bought Dutch International Dennis Begkamp for £7.5 million from Internazionale.


Over the following years, Dein was also responsible for recruiting players such as Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Thierry Henry, Davor Sukur, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Gilberto, Gael Clichy Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie. All were to contribute heavily to the success of Arsenal.


On 18 April 2007 it was revealed by Arsenal that he had left the club with immediate effect after "irreconcilable differences" between himself and the rest of the board. It is thought that he was in favour of a possible takeover of Arsenal by an external benefactor seeking to invest money into the club. Arsenal had invested heavily in the development of their new stadium which forced the club to take on heavy debts which meant the club was in need of new revenue. The other members of the board were said to have signed a contractual agreement that they would not sell their shares for a year, and they jointly expressed their intention to retain their shares in the longer term.


His departure from Arsenal was met with a strong reaction from key figures at the club. Arsene Wenger described David Dein’s departure “as a sad day for the club”. Following his departure, Wenger was believed to have asked Dein whether he wished him to resign from the post of manager in support for his friend. Dein told Wenger that he should not leave Arsenal as the club would suffer greatly from his loss as manager if he descided to leave.


Arsene Wenger stated "It is a huge disappointment because we worked very closely together, David has contributed highly to the success of the club in the last 10 years and even before that as well. Red and white are the colours of his heart."On another occasion said “David Dein is needed in football because this guy has revolutionised this club and also English football. He is top quality."


Former Arsenal hero and mouth, Ian Wright described David Dein’s departure:


"I know the players aren't happy. I know Thierry Henry's not happy. We're talking about a man who goes into the dressing room after every single game, shakes every player by the hand and who knows all the youth team players." and "I know this for a fact that the manager and the players are 100 per cent behind David Dein and I can see real repercussions coming off the back of this."


Thierry Henry claimed that David Dein's departure as vice-chairman had dismayed him and left him in no doubt that it was time to move on.


Dein was also one of the major architects of the formation of the Premier League in 1992, which would re-shape the structure and finances of English football. He was determined to help football's metamorphosis from struggling sport into a multi-million pound industry. "I felt football was really a sleeping giant and had a long way to go," He also showed his admiration at how American sporting empires were shaped for success. "After seeing how the Americans operated their sport, particularly American football and baseball and basketball, I felt we were light years behind. "We had so much more to give as an attraction."


Since his departure from Arsenal David Dein has continued to remain active on the football scene. He attends all of Arsenal’s home matches and is present at most international tournaments as a guest of UEFA and FIFA. He continues to provide his views on the future of football around the world be it in media interviews or at conferences and many public speaking engagements. Topics that he has addressed include foreign-ownership of clubs, club finances and levels of debt within the game, goal-line technology (of which he’s a strong advocate), youth development and the development of women's football.


Dein has had a number of beefs most notably with Chelsea. He complained about Chelsea "tapping up" Ashley Cole, which resulted in Cole, Chelsea and José Mourinho all being fined by the FA. José had already questioned Deins dual positions in the FA while also at Arsenal. He was later accused of making a "covert" approach for Gilberto Silva that was similar to Chelsea's approach for Cole, while Gilberto was at Atlético Mineiro. Dein denied this, saying he had made his approach known to Atlético; the president of Mineiro, Alexandre Kall, confirmed Dein's account and said that Arsenal had complied with all the rules.


In 2006, during the search for a new England manager to replace Eriksson, Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce questioned Dein's role in the FA, saying: "I don't know how much power David Dein has but he obviously has a great influence at the FA", and alleged that Dein had shielded Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger from the selection process.


Within the football world, Dein is also renowned for his lively sense of humour. In February 2010 Dein was appointed International President of 2018 World Cup bid. At a recent presentation to key football administrators in which he was given just 12 minutes to make the case for the bid, Dein joked that "the last time I did it in 12 minutes i was 18 years old".


Dein lives in Totteridge . He's been married to his wife Barbara for 38 years, has three children and is the grandfather to 4 grandchildren.


David Dein's son, Darren, is a solicitor, and was Thierry Henry's best man.


VavaVoom.