William Dodgin (4 November 1931 – 17 June 2000) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager.

Club career

Dodgin was born in

Wardley, Gateshead Wardley is a residential area in Gateshead, located around from Newcastle upon Tyne, from Sunderland, and from Durham. In 2011, Census data for the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council ward of ''Wardley and Leam Lane'' recorded a total popul ...

, and was the son of footballer Bill Dodgin Sr. and the nephew of footballer

Norman Dodgin Norman Dodgin (born 1 November 1921 in Gateshead - August 2000) was an English footballer who played between 1947 and 1955. His predominant position was at defence. Dodgin became a player-manager in 1953 while playing for Exeter City, until ...

. He began his career as an amateur, before signing for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, whom his father managed. When Dodgin Sr. moved to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in 1949, his son followed him there, although he still had to wait two years before making his debut in December 1951, against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He soon switched to

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, before Fulham were relegated to the Second Division. Feeling the pressure from the fans (who questioned whether he would have been picked, were his father not manager), Dodgin transferred to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

for a fee of £4,000 in December 1952, having played 35 League matches for the Cottagers. By now, he was a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, and after a spell in the reserves he made his debut against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on 15 April 1953. Arsenal won the old First Division in 1952–53 but the Bolton game was his only contribution to that success. After the departure of regular centre half Ray Daniel to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

that summer, Dodgin became first choice at the back for Arsenal, missing only three matches that season. However, despite his height, Dodgin was a rather cumbersome defender, and could not live up to the performances of his predecessor. He was dropped at the start of 1954–55 in favour of Jim Fotheringham. He returned in 1956–57 and was a regular in the side for the next four seasons. All through this time, Arsenal were going through a barren patch, and apart from a third-place finish in 1958–59, they were never close to winning a trophy. In total he played 208 matches for Arsenal, scoring only one goal. Dodgin was given a free transfer in March 1961 and returned to his old club Fulham. However, he broke his leg in a match against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in 1962 and the injury effectively ended his career; he played only seven more games.

International career

Although Dodgin played for and captained

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at under-23 level, he never appeared for the full international team.

Management career

After retiring from the game, Dodgin became a coach, first at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, then at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, where the club had its

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

League Cup win. He became QPR's caretaker manager in August 1968 before leaving the club in November of that year. During his tenure at Loftus Road, he presided over the club's worst start in its history, a run of 12 games without a win. He then took the manager's job at Fulham in December 1968. Although the club were relegated from the Second Division to the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

that season, Dodgin stayed with the club and they were promoted to the Second Division in 1971. However, Fulham struggled to stay afloat in the Second Division, and despite avoiding relegation in 1972 he was sacked. Dodgin later managed

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, winning promotion from the Fourth Division with both clubs. He then managed Northampton Town for a second, less successful spell and finally

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

before retiring. He died after a long battle with

Alzheimers Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term memory, remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can incl ...

in 2000, aged 68.

Honours

Player

;Arsenal *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Coach

;Queens Park Rangers * League Cup: 1966–67

References

General * * Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgin, Bill 1931 births 2000 deaths Footballers from Gateshead Arsenal F.C. players Brentford F.C. managers English football managers English men's footballers Men's association football central defenders England men's under-23 international footballers Fulham F.C. managers Fulham F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Southampton F.C. players London XI players English Football League players English Football League managers Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Isthmian League managers Woking F.C. managers Deaths from dementia in England 20th-century English sportsmen