Sorry, We Need To Talk About Dixie Dean

In his extraordinary debut campaign in the Premier League, Erling Haaland has scored 35 goals in 32 league games, and 51 goals in 47 games for Manchester City in all competitions.

The latter stat is the second most goals scored by any player in the top flight of English football, prompting comparisons between Haaland and the only man ahead of him - Dixie Dean.

So in this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at the life and times of Dixie Dean, the perils of comparing past and present players, and some of the discourse that has surrounded Dean's record-breaking season at Everton.

[gregoriuspascalis]

No matter the time period, to be able to dominate an era is still worthy of respect. Their skill and talent made them shine like a diamond among the sand

[JohnSmith-rwyn]

As a city fan, I don't condone anyone discrediting this guy, played in a time where someone would snap you in half as soon as you got the ball, this was school of hard knocks, make Stuart Pearce and Vinnie Jones look like choir boys. A great player, an amazing aerial specialist, he played top flight, just because it wasn't called the Premier league doesn't mean it was any less amazing. 399 games for Everton in the league with 349 league goals. The season numbers are mad, 32, 36, 39, 45 and the 60. All whilst smoking 40 a day and downing pints like sports drinks. A true legend, dying where he did seems like it was meant to be.

[dontwannaname]

It should be mentioned that the marketing for England's top flight is wholly aimed at the post-1992 era. The Premier League treats the past as a mere inconvenience.

[everton.]

My Granddad owned a pub in Chester and Dixie Dean owned a pub also just down the road from him so they knew each other and went for drinks often together and also I'm an Everton fan
Love you Dixie Dean even if you're record's broken one day it's almost been a century since the record started
RIP Dixie Dean True Evertonian Legend

[MrJewvicast]

As an Everton fan, thank you for this he deserves so much recognition.

[mashiah]

I hate all the "Premier league records". English football league started at 1889, not 1993. History wasn't deleted just because the name of the top football division was changed

[tommaxwell]

Bill Shankly said of Dixie Dean " He is the greatest centre forward there will ever be. His record of goal scoring is the most amazing thing under the sun. He belongs in the company of the supremely great, like Beethoven, Shakespeare, and Rembrandt ".

[kozukizaki]

Unapologetically, THANK YOU. As an American who started watching English footy in 2011, it's cool to get a perspective on these records. This was something that caught my interest when I noticed the insane record, players like Puskás, Kubala, Fritz Walter, Neil Franklin, Matthias Sindelar, etc. are really brought to life by your amazing story telling and interesting bits of history you bestow upon on us. Thanks, and waiting on that Crisis of Mexican Football 😉

[BOABModels]

I've been listening to the MOTD Top Ten podcast recently and Micah Richards shows just how little is known about football even from before the '80s, letalone from Dean's period.
He didnt know, for example, that substitutes werent permitted even in the case of injury during the 1960s. When you consider that a player like Dean would have had to start and play 90 minutes every game to score so many, it is pretty amazing. No coming off the bench late to get the winner for example.
Just to clarify, I do like the podcast and I recommend it to anyone else.

[dreadful_name]

My Grandad grew up in Liverpool, and will have been a kid while Dean was playing. He said both Liverpool and Everton used to open their gates early to let people beat the rush, so the local boys would run up and watch the last 20 minutes of every match for free. So more than likely, my Grandad was there watching Dean in his record season for free. I just wish I'd asked him about it now!

[bartcroxford]

As an Everton fan Tommy Lawtons tribute to dean genuinely made me emotional. Its mental how a player who played 100 years ago can have such an impact on me. My great grandfather must if only been a kid at the time and obviously I never met him but he was an everton fan his son an everton fan my dad an everton fan, the club links us together he watched the great dixie dean help make everton the club what it is. It's what makes football so special how it can connect people

[gheezy]

Dixie Dean was a world class player in his time and has a rare record nobody will ever beat. My grandad grew up in Coventry but watched Dixie for Tranmere and says he was brilliant

[celtic]

Football pre 1992 gets disrespected so much, and it’s by design, the premier league propaganda train to convince people they’ve invented football sells their brand to the masses.

[stewartellinson]

Glad you've done this - Dean must have been quite some player to be as dominant in his era as he was, just as Haaland is in his era. I suspect either would have been as good in the other's era because they have those gifts. Haaland in the twenties would have drunk with the lads and eaten pies, whilst dean today would have been in the gym 'till late and first at training.What they both have is a gift and that's timeless.

[EagleEyes]

One of the greatest centre forwards of all time, and he had a great heading ability.

[Alfie_]

Wow, I was going to recommend this to you today because I saw a TikTok saying you couldn't compare them as it was a time where everyone was rubbish and had none of the nutritional knowledge, ignoring of course that since no one had that, and they were on the same baseline, that means nothing. Also, I found a brilliant advert in a Times newspaper from 1927 of Dixie Dean advertising cigarettes.

[mrtom]

The greatest striker ever to grace the English league. Always ignored because he never played for a Sky Six club and because apparently football didn't exist before 1992.

[swagmanmark]

Fun fact: During the 1931/32 campaign, Dixie Dean scored 44 goals in the league, finishing as top scorer. This tally ranks 3rd for most goals in a single English league season, behind Tom Waring, and himself.

[adzter]

The thing about discrediting defences in Dean's area means you also have to think about the trainers, nutritionists, physios etc Dean didn't have. If he did he'd have been even better.

[patrickwilliams]

Really good video mate. It's what I call the Don Bradman (different sport, I know) argument. If a player is so far ahead of his peers in terms of statistical output, chances are they're a bloody special player in any era. When those stats are backed up by thousands and thousands of words of contemporary accounts of their prowess then the modern arguments against them become completely hollow, especially if you're able to place it all within the context of the actual history of the game and not what some bloke on twitter made up to fit his narrative.