Dean West: The Homegrown Hero and The Worst Transfer Decision of All Time

March 19, 2026 Gary 1990-1999, From the archives 0

When I tune in to Imps+ (which is rare, because I am at most games) I get to listen to the opinions of players I grew up watching.

It struck me that some younger listeners might not know who those players are. Sam Habergham, sure, he’s obvious. Grant Brown is well known for his record-breaking appearances as well, but for many of us, Dean West is right up there with the very best we’ve seen in a Lincoln City shirt.

I have an hour spare, so I thought why not try to paint a picture of Dean West for the younger listeners, and give those old enough to remember his exploits in a City shirt a chance to remember how good he was.

Dean West at City

West was labelled a promising prospect as early as 1990 in local media, but he’d been a YTS at the club since the 1988/89 season under Colin Murphy. He started playing for the reserves while still a YTS, alongside a lad called Lee Hurford, with the pair reported by the Echo to be the most promising from that collection of YTS players.

He bagged his first goal in City colours for the reserves in January 1990, as we went down 6-2 against Halifax Town Reserves, following it up a week later with another as we beat Chesterfield Reserves. Of course, off the pitch, Dean was getting the sort of football education today’s kids don’t get, weeding the edges of the Sincil Bank pitch, painting the ground and cleaning boots.

The following season he was a regular for the reserves, appearing against Franz Carr, Scott Gemmill and Lee Glover as Forest B came to the Bank, a game which also saw Keith Scott playing, a player I did a feature on a few weeks ago. West kept catching the eye, and come the beginning of May, he leapt out of the pages of the programme, and into the spotlight.

Breakout week

It started on May 6, as the reserves beat Tranmere 3-1. A regular feature in the reserves, despite being a YTS player, had led to a few hushed whispers that he might just be one who could ascend to the first team. Five days later, City faced the final game of the season, with nothing riding on it. Carlisle United were the opponents, and manager Steve Thompson, who took over from Allan Clarke earlier in the season, called up the young right-sided player.

Making his debut, he bagged late on as City ran riot, winning 6-2. After the game, Thommo gave the young West a pro contract, ready for the next season.

Just a couple of days later, silverware. The Lincolnshire Senior Cup doesn’t mean much now, but it did carry weight back then, and a tie with Division Three outfit Grimsby saw a number of senior players involved. City won 3-2, with West hitting the bar early, and bagging the late winner after Tony Lormor’s brace had been cancelled out.

Dean West had arrived.

1991/92

West started the opening game for City, playing the full 90 as we beat Cardiff City 2-1 at Ninian Park. Sadly, the Imps struggled after that, three defeats to nil, including a humiliating 6-0 reverse at home against Barnet. By mid-September, he dropped to the bench, and with far fewer subs than now, he found himself straddling the squad, and sitting in the stands.

Dipping between the reserves and the first team, he was still very much a hot prospect, and was rewarded with a new deal in March 1992. After losing 1-0 at Burnley on Feb 8, Thommo’s Imps only lost one more game, and West was in the squad. A goal against Scunthorpe at the end of the month saw him back in the first team, and two more, against Carlisle (1-0) and Hereford (3-0), once again saw him among the first-team picture.

1992/93

After 19 starts, 13 from the bench and three goals, the youngster was eager to get more experience, and Thommo’s Imps were widely fancied at the start of the following season after the incredible run. Come the start of the campaign, West was in the side again, bagging as we lost 2-1 at Colchester on the opening day. It was the second-quickest goal of the opening day, but it proved to be a false dawn. City were beaten, and by game four were bottom of the table.

West was dropped, City won, and he stayed out of the side until Christmas. Thommo was a hard manager to play under, and West once remarked that under him, if you didn’t do as you were told, you didn’t play. In 1992/93, West played 19 times, 12 starts, but still managed three goals, including another winner against Cardiff, this time at the Bank in a 3-2 Christmas win.

1993/94

By now, West had become a more senior pro, and despite the lack of games, was regularly described as a ‘fan favourite’ on the back of the programme. He had the zest on the right, something a little bit exciting, and that would seem to fit with the next manager, Keith Alexander.

Sadly, he was given a free transfer by the club prior to Alexander coming in. Keith decided he liked what he saw, but retained him on non-contract terms, and sent him off to Boston United for the beginning of the season. Obviously, as talented as he was, he smashed it at Boston, scoring five in six, while City scored just three in their opening six matches. He was named in the squad to face Northampton, just days after we’d faced Everton, and he scored in our 4-3 win.

That was that, he was back and ready to go. He netted six over the autumn months, two against Doncaster (2-1), one apiece against Wycombe (3-2), Carlisle (3-3) and Scunthorpe (2-0). He really did suit Keith’s free-flowing football, and helped us through in the FA Cup against Witton Albion (2-0).

Then, disaster struck. While playing in a friendly against Cambridge United, he broke his ankle, putting him out for ten weeks. City were 11th, three points outside the play-offs when he got injured, but 17th and closer to the bottom two in terms of points when he returned.

1994/95

This was his big season, with Sam Ellis as boss. Sam gave him his first ‘proper’ contract, enough to buy his first house. The club programme proudly shouted it to run to 1997, a long-term deal.

On the opening day of the season, he started for the Imps, and he went on to start 41 of the 42 games City played, missing his first game in April. If he were labelled a fan favourite in 1992/93, he should have been given the tag ‘manager favourite’ in 1994/95.

Goals followed, six league strikes in total including one as we beat Mansfield 3-2. If assists had been a thing, you could double that, with his crosses from the right being gratefully gobbled up by the likes of Tony Daws and Gary Bannister. He was ever-present in cup competitions as well, scoring as we beat Hull in the AWS, and playing as we beat them in the FA Cup. He got the second goal of three as we beat Chester City in the League Cup, setting up a clash with Crystal Palace, and a win at the Bank, the first time City beat Premier League opposition.

In 1994/95, Dean West was simply undroppable, and while we finished six points shy of the play-offs, he was one that never let us down. 1995/96 had everyone hoping and believing we’d be on the up, pushing the top half under Ellis, with the ever-improving West a key part of that.

1995/96

It all started so well. Opening day of the season, City went to Preston North End, fifth the year before and title favourites. After 90 minutes, City won 2-1, West and David Puttnam bagging the goals.

It’s important to drop a bit of personal experience in here. 1995 was my GCSE year, and the summers of 1995 and 1996 were halcyon days for me. As a young man with a bit of cash in my pocket, I felt very much like that was my time. The football team had those 90s icons in, West being one, Puttnam another and not long after, Sir Gareth. I think you romanticise certain spells in your life, and I remember the weekend of the Preston game. I’d been working for my Dad, got my £100 pay packet and, in his tarmac truck, went to the ground to buy us both a home shirt. He even dropped me at Our Price to pick up the Cast single Fine Time.

That was peak Dean West for me, fitting right into that. One of my favourite players, scoring as we beat the title favourites. Him and Puttnam were just everything good about football. If time had stopped there, I’d have been happy.

It didn’t. We didn’t win in the league until November. Sam Ellis was sacked and Steve Wicks replaced him. It seemed like everyone wanted Wicks to do well. Not me. He seemingly didn’t want Sam Ellis’s players around the place, so he sold Puttnam to Gillingham, in our division, for £50,000, but not before he committed what should be described as a criminal act.

He swapped Dean West, a massive prospect and a senior player with goals and assists in him, for Kevin Hulme. Not heard of Hulme? That’s because he played five times for us, three defeats to nil, a 0-0 draw and a 1-1 draw. Of all the terrible decisions that a manager has made at Lincoln City, this is the worst, by a mile. Dean West, still only 22, went to Bury and we got a player who wouldn’t finish three games for us.

At the end of the season, Gillingham finished second, and Bury finished third. We finished 18th, and Hulme was, by that time, playing for non-league side Macclesfield Town.

Post Lincoln

At Gigg Lane, West arrived at a squad that featured Trevor Matthewson, Stuart Bimson, Mark Sertori, and Phil Stant, although they weren’t all teammates for long. He developed into a dependable and energetic right-back, combining defensive solidity with a willingness to get forward. He settled quickly, made the position his own, and built a strong connection with the supporters through consistent performances and visible commitment.

Crucially, he was part of a Bury side heading in the right direction. The club surged up the divisions during his time there, achieving rapid promotion to the second tier. West played a key role in that rise, making over 100 appearances and becoming one of the trusted figures in a successful team.

When Ternent made the move to Burnley at the end of the 1997-98 season, it felt like only a matter of time before he reunited with players he trusted. That reunion came in 1999, when West arrived at Turf Moor on a free transfer following the Bosman ruling.

He quickly established himself once again, delivering the kind of reliable, high-level performances that had defined his time at Bury. At Burnley, however, his influence seemed to grow even further, both on and off the pitch.

West became a key figure in a side that achieved promotion in the 1999-2000 campaign, playing his part in another successful period under Ternent. His consistency and work rate made him a standout performer, and his connection with the supporters deepened with each season.

That bond was fully reflected at the end of the 2001-02 season, when he collected 11 of the 15 Player of the Season awards handed out by supporters’ clubs across the country, an extraordinary level of recognition that underlined just how highly he was regarded.

He spent five seasons with the Clarets, and long after his departure, he has continued to speak warmly about his time at Turf Moor, describing it as a special place in his career.

West later returned briefly to Lincoln City but made only four starts before moving on, going on to feature for Boston United, King’s Lynn, and Corby Town, where he continued to offer experience and consistency in the non-league game, including a three-year spell at King’s Lynn that brought more than 140 appearances. He later transitioned into coaching, working at Lincoln Moorlands Railway alongside Danny George before joining Stamford as a player-coach, maintaining his long-standing presence in the local game.

Credit Graham Burrell

Last year, along with another former Imp, Kevin Ellison, he was part of the England veterans team that won the 17th Seniors World Cup in Thailand. He can now be heard on matchday calling the game alongside John Helm.

Now, when you hear him on the radio, you’ll know exactly who he was and what a good player he was for City.