Latest news with #DeanWindass
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Dean Windass: ‘I want to shed light on my experiences and help the public'
The framed photograph hangs just inside the front door. It shows Dean Windass, somehow larger than life even with his back turned to the camera, standing with arms aloft on the balcony of Hull city hall and inhaling the adulation of thousands. Two days earlier he had, at the age of 39, scored a winner for the ages at Wembley and sent his boyhood club to the Premier League. He could not have caught the ball any more sweetly after Fraizer Campbell had chipped it across; it was no hardship that, even then, he knew it would follow him for ever. 'It changed my life,' Windass says, sitting in his living room on a quiet May morning. 'I scored 234 goals and everyone only talks about that one.' To this day he swears a scorcher at Wycombe in 1992-93, 'volleyed in with my left foot from 950 million yards', was superior to his museum piece from 2008. But he is synonymous with the playoffs now; they are his thing, a sporting event he still anticipates like few others, and when we meet he correctly predicts Sheffield United will meet Sunderland in Saturday's Championship final. That is the uncomplicated side to Windass, who happily describes himself as 'the most boring man you've ever seen in your life' during weeknights watching football, soaps or documentaries. In the public eye he was always a showman: a bustling menace on the pitch and pantomime villain when playing to the galley of a goading opposition support. 'It spurred me on,' he says. 'I got 'You fat bastard' and loved it. The bigger the stage I played on, the better I performed. Some people can't handle it but I thrived on it.' Beneath the bravado there was plenty more swirling away: Windass has been candid about his post-career struggles, which may have been caused by a combination of unresolved childhood issues and the degradation of two decades' day-to-day structure. He made two suicide attempts and spent 26 days in rehab for alcohol dependency; he was made bankrupt through debts to HM Revenue and Customs incurred via a film investment scheme that stung numerous ex-pros. Windass never shrank from any of that and has tried to help others experiencing mental health difficulties. On top of these problems it hardly feels fair that last year Windass was diagnosed with stage two dementia, an early phase of the syndrome. John Stiles, the son of England's 1966 hero Nobby, is a friend from the after-dinner speaking circuit and asked him to take a diagnostic scan. Windass took some persuading but, after learning more about Stiles' work with Football Families for Justice, which is campaigning for families of former players affected by brain injuries to receive proper financial support, agreed to be examined. Nobby Stiles died with dementia in October 2020. 'I went into it with my eyes wide open,' Windass says. He had not sensed any problems at the time, bar what he deemed standard bouts of forgetfulness. 'I decided to get the scan because I thought it would be worth it even to help one family. And that it might be my family in five or 10 years' time. I was a guinea pig, I didn't feel ill and wasn't bad at the time.' Over a Zoom call that his fiancee, Kerry, also attended he was told the scan had found a shade on his brain. He says the consultant told him a career of heading footballs was likely to have contributed. At the time he was 55. 'They've said I could be like this for half a decade, a decade, or it could deteriorate,' he says. 'I'm not happy about it; I wish they'd said I was all clear and then we wouldn't be having this conversation now. But look, I could go out and get run over by a bus tomorrow.' His diagnosis was revealed in January when the former Manchester United defender David May, a friend of Windass and Stiles, was given the green light to announce it on television. Until then Windass had elected not to spread the news. His older son Josh, who plays for Sheffield Wednesday, found out while having coffee with his teammate Barry Bannan. It turned out Bannan's father had just heard May's announcement. Windass put on the face everyone else knew. 'I tried having a bit of fun with it as that's my character,' he says. 'The next day I walked in my local pub and everyone's going: 'My God, are you all right, are you OK?' I went: 'Yeah, I'm fine thank you, but I've forgotten my wallet!' That was the best way for me to deal with it.' The more serious element is that he knows trickier days will come. He goes about his daily business with few hitches but Kerry already manages much of his schedule and the load on her will eventually increase. She runs a successful beauty business in Hull but a partner can quickly come to feel lonely. 'Nobody asked if Kerry was all right,' he says. 'People come to her salon asking if I'm OK, but she's the one who has to look after me.' It is why he sits squarely behind Football Families for Justice's campaign for added support. Nobby Stiles' care costs ran to £125,000; an initial fund of £1m set up by the Professional Footballers' Association in 2023 was described by John last month as 'not fit for purpose'. There is a growing consensus much more will be required, and quickly. Windass agrees. 'Nobby's had to sell his World Cup medal to go in a home and should never have been in that position,' he says. While unwilling to directly criticise the PFA, listing the ways in which they have helped him through a range of difficulties, he hopes the level of assistance available can be greatly enhanced. This month, two days before this interview, Windass' former Hull colleague Andy Payton revealed his own dementia diagnosis at the age of 57. After his Zoom call, Windass had been urging those in his circle to take the scan. He estimates 10 to 15 have done so. 'We were playing a charity game, Burnley legends against Bradford legends,' he says. 'Andy came up to me and went: 'I've gone and had that scan.' I found out the other day; I've texted him. I tell all the ex-players I hang round with to go for it, because you never know the outcome. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion 'Good player, Andy, good finisher. He was quick, I set up a few for him. Andy wasn't really renowned for heading the ball on matchdays but he'd do it in training and that's what happened.' Windass looks back at half a lifetime of daily drills, head thrusting towards balls being flung across the training pitch, in which the notion of adverse consequences barely registered. 'When I got the diagnosis they asked me how many footballs I headed,' he says. 'It's not the fact of matchday, it was those crossing and finishing drills every day. Or for centre-halves, heading it as far as they could. After every session I'd do some finishing, head it in or volley it if they cross it in. I thought nothing of it. You couldn't think about dementia then, but now we can. So let's see if we can stop it at source now and reduce the damage.' A restriction on heading in training is, he believes, more important than imposing a blanket ban. In 2021 the Premier League introduced recommendations that players head the ball a maximum of 10 times per session, one session a week, but the level of adherence is unclear. 'I'm not saying stop heading it in games,' he says. 'If the ball comes across in front of 50,000 on a Saturday I'm not saying: 'I can't head this or I'll get dementia.' In a charity game, if the ball was stood up in the box I'd head it, it's instinct. But you can stop those drills in training.' The stories, memories and admissions flow during a lunchtime with Windass. Even more of them are contained in his new book, Beyond the final whistle, which deals unflinchingly with the problems that sent him to the edge. 'People always say you want to forget about your past and move forwards, but you go back to where it starts and it feels quite raw,' he says. 'I'm an emotional person and I still get down sometimes.' He works with his close friend Mark Crossley, the former Nottingham Forest keeper, and other retired players to raise money for a range of good causes through the charity Walking's Brilliant. The group have walked long distances, scaled the three peaks, and the idea is to help one another in the process. 'I didn't realise how many ex-players have struggled with mental health,' Windass says. 'It comes out when we're walking. I've played against all these lads and I'm thinking: 'Why are you on this walk?' 'If I spoke out about it in the changing room when I was playing, it'd be: 'What's wrong with you? Grow a pair of bollocks.' Nobody spoke about it in my day and it nearly cost me. So when I got through it, I thought I need to tell people to talk.' People stop Windass in the street to thank him for the videos he releases on social media, through which he has offered practical tips on how to get through a bad day. 'I want to shed light on my experiences and help the public,' he says. On walks through Hull he will buy food for the homeless or offer a lift to somebody waiting for a bus. Life has dealt Windass inconceivable highs and devastating lows; more of both may follow, but through the turbulence he has found a happy state of being. 'I'm very honoured to have had the career I did, and the friends I have who care about me,' he says. 'You've been in bad places and think nobody loves you or cares.' As he speaks, that picture of a jubilant crowd whose dreams he had just made true is visible in the hallway. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Dean Windass opens up on his biggest regrets, dementia diagnosis and Wembley heroics - after releasing new brutally honest autobiography
A smile as wide as the nearby Humber spreads across the face of Dean Windass as he presses play on the video. 'The hairs still stand up on the back of my neck,' says the 56-year-old, his eyes glued to the laptop screen in front of him. 'I've seen it back millions of times, but I never get bored of it. It gets better every time.' Windass is, of course, watching a clip of his iconic Wembley winner for Hull City in their 2008 Championship play-off final against Bristol City, an 18-yard volley which fired his boyhood club into the Premier League and him into Tigers folklore. Was it the best day of his life? 'Apart from my kids being born, yeah, without a shadow of a doubt,' replies Windass, sitting with Mail Sport in a hotel in Hull ahead of Saturday's play-off final between Sheffield United, another of his former clubs, and Sunderland. 'It was a special, special day – the Hull lad scoring the winning goal. In lockdown, I asked the BBC Radio Humberside commentator, David Burns, to send me his commentary of the goal and my missus Kerry set it up as my ringtone. I had to change it because I kept crying every time it went off!' Windass recalls everything about that Wembley weekend – from playing poker the night before the match, to the chairman pouring champagne over his breakfast cornflakes the morning after. The fear, however, is that one day he might not remember any of it having been diagnosed with stage two dementia. 'That scares me,' admits Windass. 'If somebody asked me about the goal at Wembley and I can't remember, then that is a worry. Then I'll know that it has got worse.' Windass only discovered his condition last year after being encouraged to go for a brain scan by John Stiles, the son of 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, who died having suffered from the condition. Windass had been 'forgetting things' and 'struggling to remember names', yet he was still stunned when he received his results over Zoom. 'They said, 'We've found a shade on your brain, which is very mild, but it could be very serious in a number of years to come',' he recalls. 'I tried to make a laugh and a joke about it, saying I was delighted that they found a brain because I didn't think I had one, but it did scare me.' Windass, though, kept his diagnosis private for months until David May, with his blessing, announced it on TV in January. The former Manchester United defender and Stiles are part of the Football Families for Justice campaign group, fighting for football authorities to provide more support for ex-players affected by the disease. 'Honestly, I wish I hadn't done the scan because then I wouldn't have known, and we wouldn't be talking about this now,' says Windass. 'I'd have just said I forget names and I am getting old. 'I don't want to be a burden or for anybody to feel sorry for me. I am healthy, physically. But now, I overthink things. 'I send my after-dinner speech dates to Kerry and my manager, so I don't forget them. They will ring me to remind me where I'm at. The other week I parked my car and I didn't know where I had parked it. But am I overthinking? I don't know. 'You worry about it because you think, 'Is it going to get worse?'. If I get a headache, I think, 'Is that because of this?'. 'My biggest worry is not knowing my children. I've just got a granddaughter, so I want to know for the next 20 years how she and my kids are getting on.' Windass does not doubt that heading caused his condition, which is a particular worry for him given his two sons are also both footballers. Josh, 31, is a forward for Sheffield Wednesday and emulated his dad by scoring a Wembley play-off winner in 2023, while 26-year-old Jordan is a defender at non-league Clitheroe. 'If you've got 1,000 footballers in this room, I'd say there'd be 900-odd who have probably got it,' says Windass. 'I say to footballers, 'If you are forgetting things, go and have a scan'. 'The ball now is lighter but it is quicker. It's not about games, it's about training - heading thousands and thousands of balls in drills. 'Of course you've got to head a football. If you take that away, it's not football. But hopefully they can minimise it in training.' Windass opens up about living with dementia in the closing chapter of his new autobiography, Deano: Beyond the Final Whistle, in which he also reveals he has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. His book is a brutally honest and, at times, harrowing read, detailing his two suicide attempts, his battles with depression, alcohol dependency and bankruptcy, and his 26-day spell in rehab. 'I am proud of the book, but I will never do another one,' admits the man who went from packing peas in a Birds Eye factory to playing in the Premier League for Bradford, Middlesbrough and Hull. 'I did it because of the mental health side of it. I thought if I can help somebody, then I've done my job. But it wasn't enjoyable. I would never want to experience that again. 'It was stressful because you've got to look back on all the things that you've done. It's not easy talking about the past. There are loads of things in the book that I am ashamed of. I look back and think how stupid I was.' Windass' biggest regret was when he crashed his car while drink-driving in October 2012, shortly after he was 'dropped like a stone' by his employer Sky Sports. He was found to be three times over the limit and was banned from driving for 28 months and given 250 hours' community service. His 'lowest ebb' came at the start of that year when he felt 'beyond repair' and twice tried to take his life. 'I just thought, 'I don't want to be here',' he explains. 'I was upsetting people and it just got to the point where I just went, 'If I am not here anymore, I can't upset anybody'. 'Selfish, yes, but when you are under the influence, you don't think rationally. But I am glad I got through it and I am sat here talking to you telling the tale.' Windass was sent spiralling by losing his dad John in 2011, having not spoken to him for the five months prior to his fatal heart attack. 'For 41 years of my life, he was my best mate,' says Windass. 'Then we had an argument, and I never spoke to him for five months and he died. 'The moral of the story is: don't argue with your parents because you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life. I've regretted it. He had a heart attack and I blamed myself because I thought he was stressed out. 'I wish I had gone and knocked on his door. When I was working for Sky Sports at Hull, I thought to go and see him but I didn't and that night he died. That still hurts.' While Windass has never fully got over that tragic episode, he insists he is now in a better place. We are in the hotel where he comes to train in the gym every day – a ritual he started following a chat with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, who also struggled with depression. 'Tyson inspired me,' explains Windass, who has the phrase 'positive thinking' tattooed across his fingers. 'He said, 'You've got to keep training every day because that's your medicine'. I love training and running and keeping fit. 'I have ups and downs. You are never going to be cured. But the alcohol has stopped now in the sense of drinking every day. 'I still have a beer on the weekend. I socialise. I am not going to stop my life. When I am with my mates, I am a gobs***e. But I am quite quiet and boring when I am home. I've got a simple life.' As well as after-dinner speaking and media work, Windass spends much of his time now playing golf or watching rugby league. Appearing on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is on his bucket list because 'people don't know Dean Windass, they only know Deano'. His biggest ambition, however, is to go into football clubs offering mental health advice to young players and telling them, 'It's OK to talk', the message which is on the white wristband he is wearing. 'In my day, if I went in the changing rooms and said I'm down and depressed, they'd laugh at me,' adds Windass. 'You weren't allowed to say that in those days. They'd have said, 'Grow a pair'. 'Now, I hope that a Josh Windass would go up to a Barry Bannan and say, 'I am feeling down today', then Barry would do something about it. 'I don't know if that happens and that's why I'd like to go in front of a group of players and tell them it's not a weakness. I'd love to be able to help.'
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Former Premier League star Dean Windass reveals additional diagnosis after heartbreaking dementia revelation - as Hull City icon asks: 'what else have I got?'
Former Premier League star Dean Windass has revealed he has been diagnosed with ADHD, after previously sharing that he has stage two dementia in January of this year. The ex-Hull City forward helped book the Tigers their first-ever Premier League berth with his goal in the 2008 play-off final and scored a total of 141 goals during his nearly 20-year career. But Windass was compelled to share the news that he had been diagnosed with the cognitive syndrome 12 months before his public statement, after former Manchester United defender David May cited his case amid the growing issue of dementia in football. Windass later spoke out on his diagnosis via social media, stressing that he is 'ok' but keen to ensure 'other families get the help that they want for the people they have lost'. Stage two dementia is categorised by mild cognitive decline, including issues with memory and language, but largely can be mistaken for normal ageing, as the individual will still be able to perform daily activities as normal. But Windass shared on Tuesday that as well as his dementia diagnosis, he has also recently learned he has another neurological condition. Windass initially learned that he had ADHD in the build-up to the launch of his second autobiography, and as he told the BBC, he could barely believe he had another condition. 'I thought, "God, what's going on?",' Windass said. 'I've got dementia, now I've got ADHD - and what else have I got. But Windass went on to reveal that after struggling at school, his diagnosis of ADHD - which impacts concentration and can cause hyperactivity and impulsivity - quickly made sense to him. 'Even at school I couldn't process things,' he continued. 'I can read and write, but if I read a book and you asked me what that book was about, I wouldn't know.' Windass has previously shared that he wished he did not know about his dementia diagnosis, opening up in March that he regretted undergoing the scan. 'John (Stiles) asked me about a year and half ago (to get a scan) and I declined,' he told Good Morning Britain hosts Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh in March. 'I said "No, I'm not interested really to find out", and he was expressing about the football families and how a lot of ex footballers have passed away (from dementia). 'He said, "Look it might help a lot of people", so I was sort of a guinea pig to go into this scan machine. There's a lot of footballers that won't do it because they don't want to know the outcome. I wish I wouldn't have gone in now, but it's happened.' When pressed by Balls on what he meant by saying he wished he hadn't done the scan, Windass, who was joined by his fiancee Kerry Kehoe, added: 'Yeah, because then I wouldn't have known would I? It would be better not to know. 'They said this is the diagnosis, it's very mild. You have nothing to worry about at this stage. It could be five to ten years that it could develop to bigger stages, so it wasn't the news that I wanted. I was scared Ed, I was scared, of course I was. 'I do forget a lot of things of course, but Kerry runs everything for me. I'm 56 now, so of course I forget names and forget things, but I don't know if I'm over thinking subconsciously. Kerry will ask me everyday "Do you know what you're doing this week?"' Kerry admitted they don't speak about the diagnosis together and that they initially 'buried our heads in the sand'.
Scottish Sun
13-05-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
‘What else have I got?' – Dean Windass, 56, reveals he has ADHD as well as dementia as he opens up on health battle
FORMER Premier League striker Dean Windass has been diagnosed with ADHD. Windass, 56, revealed earlier this year that he had dementia which was discovered following a brain scan last year. 2 Windass went public with his dementia diagnosis earlier this year Credit: Rex 2 Windass scored the goal that sent Hull City into the Premier League for the first time ever Credit: Getty The former Hull City forward, speaking to the BBC, opened up on his diagnosis after he launched his second autobiography. Windass, who has had problems with drinking and his mental health post-retirement, could not believe it at first when he was told about his condition. He said: "I thought, 'God, what's going on?' "I've got dementia, now I've got ADHD - and what else have I got?" However, Windass, who also played for Bradford City, Middlesbrough, and Aberdeen, thinks that him having ADHD adds up when looking back to his earlier years. He added: "Even at school I couldn't process things. "I can read and write, but if I read a book and you asked me what that book was about, I wouldn't know." Windass' dementia diagnosis earlier this year adds to the growing number of former footballers with the syndrome. Key members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side - Bobby and Jack Charlton, as well as Nobby Stiles - all passed away with dementia. Jeff Astle, the former England striker, died in 2002 with an inquest into his death calling it "industrial disease" due to repeated heading of the ball. Harry Maguire gets over Man Utd woes with trip to watch former club in Championship play-off clash Windass has since become a big advocate for ex-players to get their heads scanned, revealing that many had reached out to him worried that they could be struggling with the same thing. Windass said: "I'm trying to get as many footballers [as possible] to go for a scan." What is ADHD? ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how individuals focus, regulate their impulses, and manage their energy levels. Symptoms depend on the type; inattention causes challenges with focusing, organisation and time management, hyperactivity causes excessive energy or restlessness, and impulsivity causes a person to act without thinking or struggle to wait their turn. People can be predominately one type or a mix of the two and symptoms are varied and unique to individuals. While living with ADHD is challenging, people often find unique strengths within their condition, such as the ability to hyperfocus on something they find interesting, problem-solving skills and creativity. Windass was the hero in the 2008 Championship play-off final at Wembley, scoring the winner to send his hometown club Hull into the Premier League for the first time in the Tigers' history. Windass said of the moment: "It was the most important goal of my career, probably not the best, but the most important. "It was a special day in my life, in everybody's lives in Hull."
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
‘What else have I got?' – Dean Windass, 56, reveals he has ADHD as well as dementia as he opens up on health battle
FORMER Premier League striker Dean Windass has been diagnosed with ADHD. Windass, 56, revealed earlier this year that he had dementia which was discovered following a brain scan last year. 2 2 The former Hull City forward, speaking to the BBC, opened up on his diagnosis after he launched his second autobiography. Windass, who has had problems with drinking and his mental health post-retirement, could not believe it at first when he was told about his condition. He said: "I thought, 'God, what's going on?' "I've got dementia, now I've got ADHD - and what else have I got?" However, Windass, who also played for Bradford City, Middlesbrough, and Aberdeen, thinks that him having ADHD adds up when looking back to his earlier years. He added: "Even at school I couldn't process things. "I can read and write, but if I read a book and you asked me what that book was about, I wouldn't know." Windass' dementia diagnosis earlier this year adds to the growing number of former footballers with the syndrome. Key members of England 's 1966 World Cup-winning side - Bobby and Jack Charlton, as well as Nobby Stiles - all passed away with dementia. Jeff Astle, the former England striker, died in 2002 with an inquest into his death calling it "industrial disease" due to repeated heading of the ball. Harry Maguire gets over Man Utd woes with trip to watch former club in Championship play-off clash Windass has since become a big advocate for ex-players to get their heads scanned, revealing that many had reached out to him worried that they could be struggling with the same thing. Windass said: "I'm trying to get as many footballers [as possible] to go for a scan." What is ADHD? ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how individuals focus, regulate their impulses, and manage their energy levels. Symptoms depend on the type; inattention causes challenges with focusing, organisation and time management, hyperactivity causes excessive energy or restlessness, and impulsivity causes a person to act without thinking or struggle to wait their turn. People can be predominately one type or a mix of the two and symptoms are varied and unique to individuals. While living with ADHD is challenging, people often find unique strengths within their condition, such as the ability to hyperfocus on something they find interesting, problem-solving skills and creativity. Windass was the hero in the 2008 Championship play-off final at Wembley, scoring the winner to send his hometown club Hull into the Premier League for the first time in the Tigers' history. Windass said of the moment: "It was the most important goal of my career, probably not the best, but the most important. "It was a special day in my life, in everybody's lives in Hull."
