Playing position Role Football player 1985–1987 Manchester United Height 1.79 m | Years Team Position Forward Name Deiniol Graham | |
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Full name Deiniol William Thomas Graham Date of birth (1969-10-04) 4 October 1969 (age 46) Place of birth Cannock, Staffordshire, England | ||
Deiniol William Thomas Graham (born 4 October 1969) is a football manager and former player who manages Welsh club Llandudno. He previously played as a forward for various clubs in the Football League after playing in the Manchester United youth and reserve teams.
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Playing career
Born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England, Graham signed for Manchester United as an apprentice in October 1985 and left school in the summer of 1986. He turned professional a year later, and made his debut for the first team in the 1987–88 season, coming on as a 53rd-minute substitute for Mike Duxbury in the club's League Cup Second Round second leg match against Hull City on 7 October 1987. He made one further appearance that season.
Graham scored his first and only goal for the Manchester United first team on 11 January 1989 in a 2–2 draw with Queens Park Rangers in an FA Cup Third Round replay. However, just over a month later, he suffered a broken arm in a youth team match against Bury Reserves and was ruled out for eight months, severely denting his first team opportunities. He only made one more appearance for the first team before Mel Machin signed him for Barnsley for £50,000 on 5 August 1991.
At Barnsley, Graham's first-team opportunities were more frequent but he was still unable to hold down a regular place, making around 40 appearances and scoring just two goals in his three years there. In 1992, he was loaned out to Preston North End, where he made 11 appearances and scored one goal, in the FA Cup. A loan spell at Carlisle United followed in 1993, and Graham was given a free transfer by Barnsley at the end of the 1993–94 season.
He was then picked up by Stockport County, scoring two goals in 11 matches before joining Scunthorpe United a year later, but after two months there, including three appearances and one goal, he moved into non-league football, playing for Colwyn Bay and Caersws, amongst others.
Managerial career
At the end of his playing career, Graham moved into management. He was made manager of Llandudno, but left the club for a time before rejoining them in October 2011.