Paul Andrew Dixon (born 22 November 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Dixon has notably played in the Scottish Premiership for Dundee United on several occasions, he also played in England in the Football League with Huddersfield Town and Grimsby Town, as well as back in the Scottish Football League with Dundee, Falkirk and Peterhead. He announced his retirement in March 2023 following a serious knee injury.
He is a former Scotland national football team international having earned 3 caps in 2012 whilst a Huddersfield player. He was also previously capped by at Scotland U21 level.
Club career Dundee Born in Aberdeen, Dixon played youth football for Monifieth Athletic before he joined the youth teams of Dundee at age of 12. Dixon then progressed through the ranks at the Dens' youth system.
2005–06 season Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Dixon was promoted to the Dundee's first team by manager Jim Duffy. He later reflected on getting first team, saying: "the club who gave me my break and helped me develop and mature as a player, I will always be grateful. Dundee were in financial trouble themselves when I was there and going into administration meant they had to rely on some of the younger players like myself. I went on to play more than 100 times for them, and that was fantastic grounding." Dixon made his professional debut for the Dens, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against East Stirlingshire in the first round of the Scottish Challenge Cup match on 31 July 2005. He made his league debut for Dundee, starting a match before being substituted at half–time, in a 3–2 win against St. Mirren in the opening game of the season. After a slow start, Dixon soon won his first team place for the Dens, playing in the left–back position. He then helped Dundee kept five consecutive clean sheets in five matches 31 December 2005 and 21 January 2005.
On 21 January 2006, Dixon scored his first goal for Dundee, in a 3–0 win at Brechin City. On 3 February 2006, he was rewarded with a contract extension until the summer of 2008, along with eight other youngsters. On the last game of the season, Dixon scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Queen of the South. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he made thirty–nine appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
2006–07 season Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Dixon's performance attracted interests from clubs in England and Scotland. He continued as a first team regular, playing in the left–back position. Dixon started in every matches since the start of the 2006–07 season until he missed one match due to a foot injury in November.
But Dixon made his return from injury, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Queen of the South on 18 November 2006. He helped Dundee kept four consecutive clean sheets in four league matches between 2 January 2007 and 3 February 2007. In a match against St Johnstone on 25 March 2007, Dixon received his first sending off in his professional football career, for a second bookable offence, in a 2–0 loss. After serving a one match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards, he returned to the starting lo the line–up, in a 3–2 win against Ross County on 7 April 2007. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Dixon made thirty–seven appearances in all competitions.
2007–08 season Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Dixon was the subject of a failed move by Norwich City, who had Jim Duffy – the then-Dundee manager who gave Dixon his début – as assistant manager. However, the move fell through when Dundee demanded Norwich City to put all of the money up front and he stayed at the Dens. Following this, Dixon expressed optimism over Dundee's title chances. He continued to remain in the first team place, playing in the left–back position.
In a match against Clyde on 11 November 2007, Dixon scored an own goal, just four minutes from the end of the game, as the Dens loss 1–0. This caused him to be placed on the substitute bench for two months before he won his first team place. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he made thirty–six appearances in all competitions.
With his contract expiring at the end of the 2007–08 season, Dixon continued to remain in the transfer speculation spotlight when Kilmarnock's bid to sign him on the last day of the January transfer window was rebuffed. Despite announcing his intention to make a decision at the end of the 2007–08 season, however, on 30 April 2008, he stated his intention to leave Dens Park at the end of his contract.
Dundee United City rivals Dundee United emerged as favourites to sign him. On 23 June 2008, Dixon was unveiled as a Dundee United player. As a result of the move, both clubs agreed to a £25k compensation deal.
2008–09 season On 23 September 2008, he made his debut for the Tangerines, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Airdrieonians in the third round of the League Cup. Four days later on 27 September 2008, Dixon made his league debut for Dundee United, in a 3–0 victory over Hearts. In his first six matches for United, the club conceded just once – an own goal by fellow defender Lee Wilkie. Following this, he quickly established himself in the first team, playing in the left–back position and made impressive performances in a number of matches. Dixon then set up two goals in two matches between 4 November 2008 and 8 November 2008 against Rangers and Aberdeen. His assist against Rangers on 4 November 2008 earned him comparison to Rory Delap, a suggestion that he rejected. A month later, against Rangers on 13 December 2008, he set up two goals, as Dundee United drew 2–2.
Dixon scored his first goal for Dundee United, a curling free-kick, against Celtic during a 2–2 draw on 3 January 2009. He provided double assists in two matches against Celtic and Hibernian between 22 March 2009 and 4 April 2009. In a match against Kilmarnock on 18 April 2009, Dixon received a straight red card in the 86th minute for a foul on Danny Invincibile, as the Tangerines drew 0–0. After serving a one match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen on 7 May 2009. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Dixon made thirty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Such was his progress in his first season at Tannadice that he won the Fans' Young Player of the Year award.
2009–10 season At the start of the 2009–10 season, Dixon started in the first nine matches of the season, playing in the left–back position. In the second round of the Scottish League Cup against Alloa Athletic on 25 August 2009, he set up the second goal of the game, in a 2–0 win. However, in a match against Hibernian on 3 October 2009, Dixon played 64 minutes before being substituted in the 64th minute, due to suffering from a knee injury. After missing two matches, Dixon made his return to the starting line–up, in a 2–0 win against Kilmarnock on 7 November 2009. Three weeks later, on 28 November 2009, he set up two goals, in a 2–2 draw against Motherwell.
Following his return from injury, Dixon regained his first team place, playing in the left–back position. After missing three match with an injury in February, he made his return to the starting line–up, in a 3–0 win against Falkirk on 27 February 2010. His good form over the first half of the season earned the left back a contract extension on 4 March 2010, when Dixon extended his contract with Dundee United until June 2012. However, his return was short–lived when he received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Motherwell player Jim O'Brien, in a 3–0 home victory over Motherwell on 27 March 2010. After serving a one match suspension, Dixon made his return to the starting line–up, in a 0–0 draw against St Johnstone on 6 April 2010.
However, his return was short–lived when he suffered a foot injury and was substituted in the 16th minute, as the Tangerines won 2–0 against Raith Rovers in the semi–finals of the Scottish Cup to reach the final. After the match, it was announced that Dixon would be out for the rest of the 2009–10 season. Despite Dundee United winning the final, he, however, did not receive the winner's medal, having played two Scottish Cup matches prior to the injury. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Dixon made a total of 30 appearances all starts during the 2009–10 season including 25 in the league.
2010–11 season Ahead of the 2010–11 season, it was revealed that Dixon didn't need a surgery on his foot injury and was expected to return in the pre–season. He recovered from his injury and appeared three times in Dundee United's pre–season friendly matches. Dixon made his European debut in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League play–off round against Greek side AEK Athens, and 25 minutes to the match, he clashed heads with Sanel Jahić, but he continued to play for the rest of the match, as the Tangerines loss 1–0. In the return leg, Dixon set up a goal for Jon Daly, but the results wasn't enough for Dundee United, as they loss 2–1 on aggregate and was out of the tournament. He continued to be a first team regular, playing in the left–back position.
During a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen on 1 January 2011, Dixon was involved in a tackle that saw Yoann Folly injured in the 65th minute that subsequently saw him retired from professional football. After the match, he visited the hospital to see Folly and apologised for his action over the tackle. During the match, Dixon suffered a knock, but he quickly recovered. However, he suffered a calf injury and was substituted in the 27th minute, as Dundee United went on to beat Ross County 4–3 on penalties in the fourth round replay of the Scottish Cup. After being out for two weeks, Dixon scored on his return from injury, in a 3–1 win against Hamilton Academical in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. In a match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 1 March 2011, he started the whole game in the centre–back position to help Dundee United win 2–0. However, Dixon missed two matches, due to an illness. He made his return from illness, starting the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against Motherwell in the quarter–finals of the Scottish Cup. Dixon then set up two goals in two matches between 2 April 2011 and 6 April 2011.
Having served a two match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 4–1 loss against Celtic on 1 May 2011. In a follow–up match, Dixon helped the Tangerines rebounded by setting up two goals for Daly, who scored a hat–trick, in a 4–0 win. His contributions at Dundee United saw them earn a spot in the UEFA Europa League. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he made thirty–nine appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
2011–12 season At the start of the 2011–12 season, Dixon played in both legs of the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round against Polish side Śląsk Wrocław, as Dundee United drew 3–3 but the Tangerines were eliminated on away goals. Since the start of the 2011–12 season, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the left–back position.
On 29 October 2011 Dixon scored his first goal of the season with the opener on 13 minutes, in a 4–1 away victory over Dunfermline Athletic. He then scored a 90th-minute equaliser, in a 1–1 away draw against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on 17 December 2011 with a. The next two matches saw Dixon set up two goals, coming against Hibernian and St. Mirren. His performance was praised by teammate Jon Daly for his delivery, calling him an "attacking fullback". He, once again, set up the opening goal of the game, in a 1–1 draw against Motherwell, followed up by a hat–trick assists, in a 5–1 win against St Johnstone. Dixon scored his third goal of the season, scoring in the 58th-minute strike, in a 4–0 home win against Kilmarnock on 21 February 2012. Having started in every matches since the 2011–12 season, he missed one match, due to receiving a suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.