David Dunn

Blackburn Rovers

Dunn joined Blackburn Rovers as a trainee at the beginning of 1997 and quickly impressed the reserve team. His first goal for Blackburn Rovers' Reserves came on 3 February 1997. Dunn then played in both legs of the FA Youth Cup semi–finals, as Blackburn Rovers Academy lost 4–3 on aggregate. Nevertheless, he was part of the squad that saw Blackburn Rovers Youth win 3–0 against Everton Youth in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw after extra-time. However, in the final of the Lancashire FA Youth Cup, they lost 3–1 against Manchester United Youth. The following season, Dunn played in both legs of the FA Youth Cup, as they lost 5–3 on aggregate against Everton Youth. The start of the 1998–99 season saw Dunn being called up to the first-team squad by manager Roy Hodgson. He made his debut during a goalless draw with Everton on 26 September 1998. Dunn came off the bench after 70 minutes but was taken off after just 11 minutes on the pitch, due to the sending off of Martin Dahlin. After making his debut, he said: "I am not a nervous person so it doesn't really bother me. I am just glad to be playing. It's exciting and a brilliant experience. I was just happy to go on no matter how long it was for. It was a surprise to come off but it had to be done for the team. The gaffer explained to me why he did it afterwards and I agree with him." In his second appearance, Blackburn beat Newcastle United at St James' Park in the League Cup; Dunn scored the winning…

Dunn represented England at international level and was first called up to the England U18 squad for the first time and made his debut for the U18 squad on 12 February 1998. He was then a part of their squad for the 1998 UEFA European Championship in Cyprus, where they were eliminated in the Group Stage. In November 1998, Dunn was called up to the Under-21 squad for the first time. He made his debut on 18 November 1998. In May 2000, Dunn was called up to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia. He played two times in the tournament, as England were eliminated in the Group Stage. It was not until on 31 August 2000 that Dunn scored his first goal for England U21, in a 6–1 win against Georgia U21. Two months later, he was appointed as captain for a 1–1 draw against Germany. Dunn was called up for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and played three times, as they finished last in their group. Throughout 2001, there were calls from the British media that Dunn should be called up to the England squad. On his column for the Lancashire Telegraph, he wrote positively about Sven-Göran Eriksson's early managerial start at England. Dunn was considered to be in the England squad for the FIFA World Cup, but he did not make the final cut. Three months later, on 3 September 2002, Dunn was called up to the England for the first time and made his first cap on 7 September 2002, when he replaced Steven Gerrard against Portugal at half-time. This turned out to be his only senior…

Oldham Athletic

On 13 September 2015, following the sacking of Darren Kelly, Dunn was appointed as the caretaker manager of his playing club Oldham Athletic, with him supposed to remain in that position until a permanent replacement was found. At the time of his appointment, he was working on completing his UEFA Pro Licence, having previously completed his UEFA A and B Licences. On 7 October, Dunn was appointed permanently, following a recent unbeaten run. His first game in charge as their permanent manager came three days later in a 4–2 defeat to Scunthorpe United at Boundary Park. His first victory was a 2–1 victory at Swindon Town on 20 October 2015. His tenure as manager did not go according to plan: Oldham entered into a relegation battle after a negative run of results which resulted in Dunn being dismissed on 12 January 2016, just three months after his appointment. Oldham had gone several league games without a win. Dunn's departure also led to the exits of Dean Holden and Keith Brown, who were both members of Dunn's coaching staff. He left the club sat in twenty-second place, with Dunn being replaced by heavily experienced John Sheridan a day later. On 25 February 2016, Dunn returned to his former playing club Blackburn Rovers to work alongside his former teammate Damien Johnson in the academy set-up as the under-23s assistant coach. His appointment as coach saw Dunn hang up his boots after an 18-year-spell as a professional footballer. On 22 February 2017,…

David John Ian Dunn was born on 27 December 1979 in Great Harwood, Lancashire. Dunn joined Blackburn Rovers as a schoolboy. After leaving St Augustine's School, Billington, he was taken on the Youth Training Scheme upon joining the club, which is just down the road from the club's Brockhall training ground. Dunn reflected on his school life, saying: "I wasn't very academic. I was bored in the classroom. It never really excited me and it was never something I really wanted to do. I went to a good school – St Augustine's in Billington. "I didn't wag school or anything like that." Growing up, Dunn wanted to be a footballer because of the influence from his grandfather, David, who was a footballer himself and was a Blackburn Rovers fan, along with his family. Growing up, he idolised Simon Garner. In addition to playing football, Dunn also played cricket.