Dean Moxey

Dean Moxey

Moxey in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Dean William Moxey
Date of birth	(1986-01-14) 14 January 1986
Place of birth	Exeter, England
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in).[1]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Crystal Palace
Number	21
Youth career
	Exeter City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2009	Exeter City	176	(21)
2009–2011	Derby County	52	(2)
2011–	Crystal Palace	90	(1)
National team‡
2008	England C	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:00, 28 January 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Dean Moxey (born 14 January 1986) is an English Footballer who plays at the full back position for Premier League side Crystal Palace. He is a left sided player comfortable at left back; he can also can play as a goalkeeper. He has previously competed for his position with Jonathan Parr, but due to Parr's injury, he is Palace's first choice left-back.

Career

Exeter City

Upon their relegation from the Football League in 2003, many senior players departed, giving Moxey and other trainees their share of first-team action. Moxey was considered one of the best youth players to emerge during this period. He made his debut on 18 October 2003 against Football Conference side Woking and quickly established himself as a first team regular.

Moxey started to achieve recognition with his part in Exeter's 2005 FA Cup run. It was Moxey's stunning 50-yard goal against Football League One side Doncaster Rovers that had helped City into the third round and led to Moxey being voted Player of the Round.^[2] He won attention for his quip when interviewed post-match for Match Of The Day: "Went for it, seen him (the Doncaster goalkeeper) off his line, dropped in, happy as Larry!".^[3] He was part of the side that, on 8 January 2005, drew 0–0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Third Round to earn a replay at St. James Park.

In the 2007/08 season, Moxey turned in a man of the match performance at Wembley in the 2008 Conference National play-off Final to help Exeter City win promotion through the play-offs back to the Football League. At the age of just 22, that Wembley appearance was Moxey's 150th for his home-town club. Upon their return to league football, Moxey played 43 times, scoring 4 goals, as he was instrumental in Exeter's promotion to League One.^[4]

Derby County

Exeter confirmed on 19 May 2009 that they had received an offer – believed to be around £200,000 – for Moxey from Derby County^[5] which they rejected, though they did give an indication of a more acceptable transfer fee.^[6] An improved offer, believed to be around £300,000, was accepted on 8 June 2009.^[7] Moxey joined Derby on a three-year contract on 26 June 2009, and was given the number 21 shirt. He made his first appearance in the 2–1 win over Peterborough United in which he was voted man of the match by the Derby County supporters.^[8] Moxey spent the majority of his first season at Derby battling with Jay McEveley to be the club's first-choice left back and eventually finished the season with 31 starts from the clubs 51-game programme.

The release of McEveley from his contract at the end of the 2009/10 season saw Moxey as Derby's only natural leftback, though this was changed with the arrival of Gareth Roberts from Doncaster Rovers ahead of the 2010/11 campaign. Roberts started the season at leftback, leaving Moxey on the bench, though Moxey made a surprise return to the first team as an emergency forward after injuries ruled out all of Derby's strikeforce. Moxey made his first start as a striker and scored his first goal for Derby in a 2–1 defeat to Coventry City,^[9] dedicating the goal to his former Exeter team-mate Adam Stansfield, who died earlier in the month.^[10]

After two games as a striker, injury to Roberts saw Moxey return to his natural defensive position and, after a shaky start where he was at fault for winning goals in defeats to Sheffield United and Hull City,^[11] Moxey, and Derby, recovered their form to go on a four match unbeaten run in which they conceded only twice. Moxey impressed with manager Nigel Clough suggesting that Roberts would not return straight into the side when he recovered, adding "Dean has played much better in the last four games. At Swansea, Dean was up against as tricky and as quick a winger as he will face in Nathan Dyer and he handled it very well."^[11]

When Roberts was again available for selection, Moxey retained his place in the Derby side and rewarded Clough's faith with the opening goal, a cross which a helpless Andy Lonergan palmed into his own goal, in a 3–0 victory over Preston North End.^[12] Moxey's fine form continued as Derby stretched their form to just 1 defeat in 8, the best in the division, with a 2–0 win over Portsmouth which took Derby to fourth in the table and saw Moxey earn his first Championship Team of the Week award.^[13] In the January 2011 transfer window, Moxey was the subject of a £400,000 bid from Crystal Palace, which was accepted by Derby, leaving them with only one recognised left back.^[14]

Crystal Palace

Moxey joined Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee on 31 January 2011,^[15] and was given the number 29 shirt. He made his debut in the 1–0 home victory against Middlesbrough on 5 February. Within a couple of months of his arrival, Moxey established himself as a fan's favourite amongst the Palace faithful because of his attacking runs down the left wing and his solid defensive play. On 19 March 2011, Moxey scored his first, and so far only, goal for Palace with a stunning 21st minute drive to level the scores at 1–1 against former club Derby in a game that ended 2–2.

At the start of the 2011/12 season Moxey was ineligible for 3 games due to a red card in the previous season. Moxey returned and had stints at left-back and on the wing throughout the season. He also played a part of the team that reached the League Cup Semi-final.

Club career statistics

(correct as of 28 January 2014)

References

External links

• Dean Moxey career stats at Soccerbase