Of all the
City players who have played in the Premiership 'Deano' is the
only one who we saw regularly enough at Bootham Crescent to
realise what a top quality player he was. A hero at Wembley in
1993 and Old Trafford in 1995, 'Deano' is arguably the finest goalkeeper
ever to pull on a York shirt. A favourite of the fans at City.
He was sold to Bury for £125,000 in August 1996 and won the
Division Two title with them in his first season. and later at
Bury he kept an astonishing 19 clean sheets when Bury was
relegated in the 1998/99 season!
'Deano' moved to The Valley in May 1999 with a big
reputation and a big fee and has justified both. Charlton paid
relegated Bury a club record fee for a goalkeeper of £1m and
'Deano' promptly justified the club's faith by equalling Nicky
John's all-time club record of 19 clean sheets throughout the
season.
'Deano' is also an Irish international, making the squad
for the 2002 World Cup finals, although he has since retired from international football to concentrate on his club career.
During the 2001/02 season, Deano was the only Addick to
play in all first-team matches, league and cup, and returned
an impressive 13 clean sheets. It was no surprise when the
fans voted him as their player of the season.
