Denny Mundee

Denny Mundee
Personal information
Full name Dennis William John Mundee[1]
Date of birth (1968-10-10) 10 October 1968
Place of birth Swindon, England
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Utility player
Youth career
1985–1986 Queens Park Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1987 Swindon Town 0 (0)
1987–1988 Salisbury 60 (28)
1988–1993 Bournemouth 100 (6)
→ Weymouth (loan) 3 (0)
1988–1989 → Yeovil Town (loan) 11 (0)
1989 → Torquay United (loan) 9 (0)
1993–1995 Brentford 84 (16)
1995–1997 Brighton & Hove Albion 56 (7)
1997 Dorchester Town 0 (0)
Salisbury City 5 (0)
Newport (IOW)
Swindon Supermarine
Clevedon Town
1998 Bath City 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Dennis William John "Denny" Mundee (born 10 October 1968 in Swindon) is an English former professional football utility player who made 100 appearances for both Bournemouth and Brentford in the Football League. He is a cult hero amongst the Brentford supporters and is remembered chiefly for 'The Twiddle', a step over move copied from Glenn Roeder.[2]

Career

Early years

Mundee began his career in youth football in Swindon, representing the town's schoolboy side.[2] Mundee was offered a two-year apprenticeship deal worth £5000 by Harry Redknapp (manager of Division Three side Bournemouth), but he instead decided to sign for top-flight club Queens Park Rangers.[2] Mundee's father kept the details of the Bournemouth transfer fee secret from his son, to help the young Mundee make a decision based on which club felt best for him and not influenced by money.[2] Mundee failed to make a first team appearance for Rangers and moved to hometown Division Three side Swindon Town in August 1986,[1] turning professional.[3] He failed to make the Swindon first team and was released, dropping into Non-League football to join Southern League Premier Division side Salisbury.

Bournemouth

After coming to prominence after scoring 20 goals in 34 games for Salisbury during the 1987–88 season, Mundee returned to the Football League to sign for Division Two club Bournemouth in March 1988.[4] Mundee finally made his professional debut in a late 1988–89 season game away to Oldham Athletic.[2] After 10 league appearances during the 1989–90 season (at the end of which Bournemouth were relegated to Division Three), he doubled his tally the following year, making 21 league appearances and scoring his first goals for the Cherries. Playing at right back,[5] Mundee finally established himself in the side during the 1991–92 season, making 41 league appearances and scoring two goals on the way to helping Bournemouth to an eighth-place finish in Division Three. He made 26 appearances in the following season, before leaving the Cherries on a free transfer in August 1993.[3] Mundee made 122 appearances and scored 12 goals in five years at Dean Court.[3] A utility player, he played every position bar goalkeeper for Bournemouth.[2]

Weymouth (loan)

Mundee had a spell on loan at Conference side Weymouth during the 1988–89 season,[2] making three league appearances.

Yeovil Town (loan)

Mundee joined Conference side Yeovil Town on loan during the 1988–89 season.[6] He made 18 appearances and scored one goal.[7][8]

Torquay United (loan)

Mundee joined Division Four club Torquay United on loan in September 1989 and made 9 appearances.[3]

Brentford

Mundee signed for Division Two club Brentford on non-contract terms on 12 August 1993.[3] The move reunited Mundee with Stuart Morgan, then Brentford's youth team manager, whom Mundee had played under earlier in his career at Weymouth.[2] Mundee had been a transfer target of former manager Phil Holder during the 1992–93 season, but the move broke down.[2] Mundee began life at Griffin Park under David Webb as a right back, filling in for the injured Brian Statham.[2] After a training ground bust-up between Mickey Bennett and Joe Allon (which resulted in a broken jaw for Allon), Mundee was moved up front.[2] The high-point of Mundee's Brentford career came in a home match against Bristol Rovers in January 1994, in which he scored a hattrick in a 4–3 defeat.[2] He finished the 1993–94 season as Brentford's second-leading goalscorer, with 11 goals.[9] Now behind the 'FT Index' (Nicky Forster and Robert Taylor) in the pecking order up front,[9] Mundee was a regular off the bench in the first half of the 1994–95 season, before finally breaking into the starting line-up in November 1994.[10] He made 29 league appearances and scored five goals in a frustrating season, in which the Bees finished second in Division Two, only to be forced to settle for a playoff place due to the reduction in size of the Premier League and its effect on the league pyramid. Brentford lost on penalties to Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals, with Mundee missing his spot kick.[2]

Mundee's relationship with manager David Webb soured over the summer of 1995.[2] While negotiating a new contract, Mundee requested a £5,000 signing-on fee, which would enable him to replace his car, in which he was driving 200 miles a day, commuting to Middlesex from his Bournemouth home.[2] Mundee was given a week-to-week contract and was released in October 1995, with the chairman citing budgetary concerns.[2] Mundee became disillusioned with football, as Webb had insinuated in the local press that Mundee had been living an expensive lifestyle, when in reality his wages were £450 a week.[2] Mundee made 100 appearances and scored 18 goals in just over two years at Griffin Park.[3] Looking back in 2005, Mundee said "I can honestly say that the time I spent at Brentford means more to me than any other club I have been at".[2]

Brighton and Hove Albion

Mundee moved to Division Two side Brighton & Hove Albion on a one-month contract on 19 October 1995.[2] The man who signed Mundee, Liam Brady, was soon sacked and Mundee's future was assured when former Bournemouth teammate Jimmy Case was appointed manager.[2] Mundee made 62 appearances and scored eight goals during a terrible time for the Seagulls, which had seen the club plummet to the bottom of the Football League by the time he was released on 11 December 1997.[2] Back and ankle injuries and weight gain brought about the end of his professional career.[2]

Dorchester Town

Mundee attempted to resurrect his career by joining Southern League Premier Division side Dorchester Town in late 1997. However, with his contract still held by Brighton he was twice listed for this Dorchester debut, but unable to play.[11]

Non-league football

Mundee saw out his career with a number of short spells in non-league football during the second half of the 1997–98 season, returning to Salisbury City and also playing for Newport (IOW),[12] Swindon Supermarine,[12] Clevedon Town and Bath City.[13][14]

Personal life

Mundee grew up in Swindon, to parents from Shepherd's Bush, London.[2] His brothers Barry and Brian also became footballers, with Brian playing league football for Bournemouth, Northampton Town and Cambridge United.[15] As of 2005, Mundee was working as a self-employed exterior wall coating specialist alongside his brother Brian.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Denny Mundee". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Lane, David (2005). Cult Bees & Legends: Volume Two. Hampton Hill: Legends Publishing. pp. 154–163. ASIN B00NPZL58S. ISBN 0954368282.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Denny Mundee". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk – Head-To-Head vs. AFC Bournemouth". swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 401. ISBN 9781906796723.
  6. ↑ "The Yeovil Town Story Part 45". Ciderspace. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  7. ↑ "Season 1988–89 Appearances". ciderspace.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Season 1988–89 Goals". ciderspace.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 112. ISBN 0955294916.
  10. ↑ Griffin Gazette versus AFC Bournemouth 29/04/95. Quay Design of Poole. 1995. pp. 34–35.
  11. ↑ Western Daily Press (20 December 1997)
  12. 1 2 "Players". swindonsupermarinefc.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bath City Past Players -M". I Love Bath City. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  14. ↑ The Green 'Un (7 March 1998)
  15. ↑ Steve Butt. "TALKING SPORT: Happy Mundee feeling flush". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
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