Tony Dinning

Tony Dinning

Personal information
Full name	Tony Dinning [1]
Date of birth	(1975-04-12) 12 April 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth	Wallsend, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Wallsend Boys Club
1993–1994	Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993	→ Djurgårdens IF (loan)	2	(0)
1994–2000	Stockport County	191	(25)
2000–2001	Wolverhampton Wanderers	35	(6)
2001	→ Wigan Athletic (loan)	1	(0)
2001–2004	Wigan Athletic	83	(12)
2002	→ Stoke City (loan)	5	(0)
2003	→ Walsall (loan)	7	(0)
2004	→ Blackpool (loan)	10	(3)
2004	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	7	(0)
2004	→ Bristol City (loan)	5	(0)
2004–2005	Bristol City	14	(0)
2005	→ Port Vale (loan)	7	(3)
2005–2006	Port Vale	35	(2)
2006–2007	Stockport County	32	(2)
2007–2009	Chester City	24	(2)
2009	→ Grays Athletic (loan)
2009	→ Gateshead (loan)
2009	Hednesford Town	6	(1)
2009–2010	Stafford Rangers
2010–2011	Bridgnorth Town
Total		462	(56)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tony Dinning (born 12 April 1975) is an English former football midfielder who spent sixteen years of an eighteen-year career in the Football League, making 515 appearances in league and cup competitions.

A former Newcastle United trainee, he made his name at Stockport County between 1994 and 2000, helping the club to win promotion, he played 219 games in league and cup. Following a £700,000 move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, he was sold to Wigan Athletic for £750,000 in 2001. Helping Wigan to promotion, he also enjoyed loan spells out to Stoke City (who he also helped to win promotion), Walsall, Blackpool, and Ipswich Town, before he signed with Bristol City in 2004. He moved on to Port Vale the following year, taking up the captain's armband. He returned to Stockport for one season before signing with Chester City in 2007. In 2009, he was loaned out to Grays Athletic and Gateshead before dropping out of the Football League permanently after signing with Stafford Rangers via Hednesford Town. He retired in 2011 after a spell with Bridgnorth Town.

Career

Early career and Stockport County

Dinning began his career at Newcastle United in 1993 after coming through Wallsend Boys Club. ^[3] During his time at the club, he was loaned out to the Swedish team Djurgården in a player exchange program, where his first game ended in him producing an own goal. Dinning failed to make an appearance for Newcastle before being released. He joined Stockport County after his release in June 1994. He played twenty league games in County's Second Division promotion-winning 1996–97 campaign. County also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup, where he was sent off in a defeat to Middlesbrough. ^[4] He cemented his place in the Edgeley Park first XI throughout their subsequent First Division campaigns, culminating in him picking up the Player of the Season award for the 1999–2000 season, ^[5] in what turned out to be his final season with the club. On 7 December 1999, he scored a penalty kick to secure Stockport their first win over Manchester City at Maine Road. ^[4] He played 219 games for the club and scored 28 goals, 13 of which came in the 1999–2000 season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In September 2000, he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £700,000. ^[6] However, the 2000–01 season was not a success and manager Colin Lee was sacked in December. ^[4] Dinning remained at Molineux for less than a year; ironically, it was his former Stockport manager Dave Jones who decided he had no future at Wolves and sold him to Paul Jewell's Wigan Athletic for £750,000. ^{[7] [8]}

Wigan Athletic

Finding his form at Wigan, ^[3] he was still soon loaned out to fellow Second Division side Stoke City for the closing months of the 2001–02 campaign, ^[9] where he played in their play-off final triumph over Brentford. He returned to his parent club the following season, and played 44 games, helping them to win promotion as champions. However, he found himself out of favour in Wigan's subsequent second tier seasons, leading to loan spells at Walsall, ^[10] Blackpool (who he captained ^[11] ), ^[12] Ipswich Town, ^[13] and finally, Bristol City, ^[14] whom he eventually joined on a free transfer. ^[15] At Blackpool he started the final as Blackpool won the 2003–04 Football League Trophy with a 2–0 victory over Southend United at the Millennium Stadium. ^[16]

Bristol City, Port Vale and return to Stockport

With just twenty appearances, his time with Bristol City proved short-lived, and he moved to Port Vale on loan at the end of the 2004–05 season, ^[17] signing permanently the following summer. ^[18] He played 41 games in the 2005–06 campaign, also taking up the captain's armband. ^[3] In May 2006, he agreed a deal to re-join former club Stockport County. ^[19] Manager Jim Gannon described Dinning as a "born leader", and utilized him in 32 league games. ^[3]

Chester City

In August 2007, Dinning had his contract with Stockport cancelled by mutual agreement, ^[20] due to lack of first-team opportunities. ^[21] After a month spent training with Chester City, he finally joined on 5 October 2007. ^[22] He made his debut two days later in a 3–1 win over Shrewsbury Town and scored his first goal for the club from the penalty spot in Chester's 1–0 win at Lincoln City the following month. Later in the season, Dinning and teammate, Paul Butler, became embroiled in a dispute with the club and manager Simon Davies. ^[23] He remained at the club into 2008–09. However, Dinning was restricted to just two appearances in the opening half of the campaign, including a sending off shortly after coming on in a 1–0 defeat at AFC Bournemouth. ^[24] He was allowed to join Scottish Premier League side Inverness Caledonian Thistle on trial in January 2009. ^[25] He joined Conference National club, Grays Athletic on loan on 24 February 2009. ^[26] On 26 March 2009, Dinning joined Conference North side Gateshead on loan until the end of the season. ^[27]

Later career

After being released by Chester in May 2009, he joined Hednesford Town in the Southern Football League Premier Division, but soon left for Conference North club Stafford Rangers after Hednesford manager Dean Edwards left the club. ^[28] He got into a car accident in December, and was sidelined for a few weeks due to a whiplash injury he sustained. ^[29] Captaining the side for a handful of games when Nick Wellecomme was absent, ^[30] he fell out of favour by the end of the season, ^[31] after missing a penalty in an "embarrassing" ten men defeat to ten-man Ilkeston. ^[32] Dinning left the club in the summer after falling out with manager Mark Wright. ^[33]

In July 2010, he joined Midland Football Alliance club Bridgnorth Town as a player-coach, working under Lee Mills. ^[34] Making thirteen appearances for Bridgnorth, ^[35] at the end of their first season the pair quit the club, citing a wish to move on to a new challenge. ^[36]

Later and personal life

Dinning worked as a bathroom fitter and ran his own company, RT Bathrooms. ^[4] He has three children: Ted, Jessie, and Billy. ^[4]

Career statistics

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stockport County	1994–95	Second Division	40	1	4	0	4	0	0	0	48	1
	1995–96	Second Division	10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	1
	1996–97 [37]	Second Division	20	2	2	0	4	0	0	0	26	2
	1997–98 [38]	First Division	30	4	2	0	4	1	0	0	36	5
	1998–99 [39]	First Division	41	5	2	0	2	0	0	0	45	5
	1999–2000 [40]	First Division	44	12	1	0	2	1	0	0	47	13
	2000–01 [41]	First Division	6	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	7	1
	Total		191	25	11	0	17	3	0	0	219	28
Djurgården (loan)	1993 [42]	Division 1 Norra	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
Wolverhampton Wanderers	2000–01 [41]	First Division	31	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	32	6
	2001–02 [43]	First Division	4	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	5	1
	Total		35	6	1	0	1	1	0	0	37	7
Wigan Athletic	2001–02	Second Division	33	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	34	5
	2002–03 [44]	Second Division	38	7	2	0	4	0	0	0	44	7
	2003–04 [45]	First Division	13	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
	2004–05 [46]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		84	12	3	0	5	0	0	0	92	12
Stoke City (loan)	2001–02 [43]	Second Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	8	0
Walsall (loan)	2003–04 [45]	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Blackpool (loan)	2003–04 [45]	Second Division	10	3	0	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	13	3
Ipswich Town (loan)	2004–05 [46]	Championship	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	9	0
Bristol City	2004–05 [46]	League One	19	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	20	0
Port Vale	2004–05 [46]	League One	7	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	3
	2005–06 [47]	League One	35	2	4	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	41	2
	Total		42	5	4	0	1	0	1	0	48	5
Stockport County	2006–07 [48]	League Two	32	2	3	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	38	2
Chester City	2007–08 [49]	League Two	20	2	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	22	2
	2008–09 [50]	League Two	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		24	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	26	2
Hednesford Town	2009–10 [51]	Southern Premier Division	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
Career total [lower-alpha 3]			462	56	23	0	27	0	11	4	523	60

1. Appearance/s in the play-offs.
2. Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.
3. Statistics for Stafford Rangers not recorded.

Honours

Stockport County

• Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1996–97

Stoke City

• Football League Second Division play-offs: 2002

Wigan Athletic

• Football League Second Division: 2002–03

Blackpool

• Football League Trophy: 2003–04 ^[52]

Individual

• Stockport County Player of the Season: 1999–2000 ^[5]

References

1. "Tony Dinning". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2005/06". footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
3. "Tony Dinning Midfield". pitmenweb.com. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
4. Berry, Paul (9 March 2023). "Former Wolves man Tony Dinning on still getting goosebumps at the sight of Molineux". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
5. "County fail to shine". BBC Sport. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
6. "Dinning moves to Molineux". BBC Sport. 21 September 2000. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
7. "Dinning makes Wigan move". BBC Sport. 10 September 2001. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
8. "Dinning leaves Chester for Grays". BBC Sport. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
9. "Stoke sign Dinning". BBC Sport. 28 March 2002. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
10. "Dinning joins Saddlers". BBC Sport. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
11. "Penalty miss loses man £1m payout". BBC Sport. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
12. "Blackpool get Dinning". BBC Sport. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
13. "Dinning ends loan stay at Ipswich". BBC Sport. 1 October 2004. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
14. "Dinning in Ipswich switch". BBC Sport. 9 August 2004. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
15. "Dinning seals Bristol City switch". BBC Sport. 6 December 2004. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
16. "Blackpool 2-0 Southend". BBC. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
17. "Dinning seals loan deal with Vale". BBC Sport. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
18. "Port Vale complete Dinning swoop". BBC Sport. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
19. "Dinning set for Stockport return". BBC Sport. 26 May 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
20. "County and Dinning part company". BBC Sport. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
21. Dinning contract cancelled
22. "Chester sign midfielder Dinning". BBC Sport. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
23. "Chester lambast transfer embargo". BBC Sport . 23 June 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
24. "Anderton's fairytale finish". Bournemouth Daily Echo . 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
25. "Brewster puts faith in new boys for basement duel". The Press and Journal. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
26. "Grays add experience". NonLeagueDaily.com. 24 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
27. "Dinning and Stamp signings confirmed". Gateshead F.C. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
28. "Dinning a doubt for Rangers". Express and Star. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
29. "Dinning getting back up to speed". Express and Star. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
30. "Dinning ready to lead at Rangers". Express and Star. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
31. "Dinning to consider Rangers future". Express and Star. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
32. "Dinning's blast for under-par Rangers". Express and Star. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
33. "Dinning first to be told to leave Chester". Daily Post. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
34. "Ex-Wolves star Tony Dinning joins Bridgnorth Town". Shropshire Star. 24 July 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
35. "BRIDGNORTH TOWN FC 2010 / 2011". btfc1949.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
36. "Town boss quits". bridgnorthjournal.com. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
37. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
38. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
39. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
40. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
41. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
42. "Årets fotboll 1994" [1994 Football of the year].{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
43. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
44. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
45. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
46. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
47. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
48. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
49. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
50. "Games played by Tony Dinning in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
51. "Player Stats 2009-2010 | pitmenweb". pitmenweb. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
52. "Blackpool 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

External links

• Tony Dinning at Soccerbase