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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Dodgin | ||
| Date of birth | (1931-11-04)4 November 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Gateshead, England | ||
| Date of death | 17 June 2000 (aged 68) | ||
| Place of death | Woking, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–1949 | Southampton | 0 | (0) |
| 1949–1952 | Fulham | 35 | (0) |
| 1952–1961 | Arsenal | 191 | (0) |
| 1961–1964 | Fulham | 69 | (0) |
| Total | 295 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1954 | England U23 | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1968 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 1969–1972 | Fulham | ||
| 1973–1976 | Northampton Town | ||
| 1976–1980 | Brentford | ||
| 1980–1982 | Northampton Town | ||
| 1984–1985 | Woking | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Dodgin (4 November 1931 – 17 June 2000) was an Englishfootball player and manager.
Dodgin was born inWardley, Gateshead, and was the son of footballerBill Dodgin Sr. and the nephew of footballerNorman Dodgin. He began his career as an amateur, before signing forSouthampton, whom his father managed. When Dodgin Sr. moved toFulham in 1949, his son followed him there, although he still had to wait two years before making his debut in December 1951, againstPreston North End atleft back.
He soon switched toright back, before Fulham were relegated to theSecond Division. Feeling the pressure from the fans (who questioned whether he would have been picked, were his father not manager), Dodgin transferred toArsenal for a fee of £4,000 in December 1952,[2] having played 35 League matches for the Cottagers. By now, he was acentre half, and after a spell in the reserves he made his debut againstBolton Wanderers on 15 April 1953. Arsenal won the oldFirst Division in1952–53 but the Bolton game was his only contribution to that success.[3]
After the departure of regular centre halfRay Daniel toSunderland 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 of1954–55 in favour ofJim Fotheringham. He returned in1956–57 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 in1958–59, they were never close to winning a trophy. In total he played 208 matches for Arsenal, scoring only one goal.[4][5]
Dodgin was given afree transfer in March 1961 and returned to his old club Fulham. However, he broke his leg in a match againstAston Villa in 1962 and the injury effectively ended his career; he played only seven more games.
Although Dodgin played for and captainedEngland at under-23 level,[6] he never appeared for the full international team.
After retiring from the game, Dodgin became a coach, first atMillwall, then atQueens Park Rangers, where the club had its1967League Cup win.[7] 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.[citation needed]
He then took the manager's job at Fulham in December 1968. Although the club were relegated from theSecond Division to theThird 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.[8]
Dodgin later managedNorthampton Town andBrentford, winning promotion from theFourth Division with both clubs. He then managed Northampton Town for a second, less successful spell and finallyWoking before retiring.[9] He died after a long battle withAlzheimers in 2000, aged 68.[4][10][11]
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