William Wright (born 28 April 1958) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre half. He played 370 games in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, appearing in all four divisions, and was capped six times at under-21 level and twice for

England B England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations. Si ...

. Born in Liverpool, Wright joined Everton as a junior. He went on to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

the side, and made nearly 200 first team appearances before losing his place to Kevin Ratcliffe. He then moved to Birmingham City on a free transfer. He missed only two games in all competitions in his first two seasons, was appointed captain and penalty-taker, and helped the club gain promotion back to the First Division in 1985. He was chosen as the club's Player of the Year for 1984–85. His form began to be affected by weight problems, and Birmingham released him the following year. This followed a spell out on loan with Chester City, whom he helped move towards promotion from the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in the 1985–86 season. He played two full seasons for

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

before moving on to non-league club

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

. After injury put an end to his playing career in 1988, he became Morecambe's

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

and, six games later, he was given the permanent appointment, though his tenure was only a few months.

Honours

Birmingham City * Second Division runner-up: 1984–85

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Billy Living people 1958 births English men's footballers Men's association football defenders England men's B international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Everton F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players English football managers Morecambe F.C. managers English Football League players Footballers from Liverpool