| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Norman Bodell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1938-01-29)29 January 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, Lancashire, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 November 2024(2024-11-22) (aged 86) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1963 | Rochdale | 79 | (1) |
| 1963–1967 | Crewe Alexandra | 109 | (2) |
| 1967–1968 | Halifax Town | 36 | (0) |
| 1968–1969 | Altrincham | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1969–1970 | Barrow | ||
| 1978 | Blackburn Rovers (caretaker manager) | ||
| 1982 | Birmingham City (caretaker manager) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Norman Bodell (29 January 1938 – 22 November 2024) was an English professionalfootballer,coach, manager andscout. He played as adefender, making 224 appearances in theFootball League forRochdale,Crewe Alexandra andHalifax Town before moving intonon-League football withAltrincham. He played for Rochdale inthe final of the1961–62 League Cup which they lost toNorwich City.
Bodell was born inManchester on 29 January 1938.[1] He joinedRochdale as an amateur in 1955[2] and turned professional in 1956.[1] After completing hisNational Service requirements with theBritish Army of the Rhine in 1958,[3] Bodell made his senior debut on 7 February 1959 at home toNorwich City in theFootball League Third Division.[4] Normally acentre forward,[3] he played in an unfamiliarwing-half position in a Rochdale side disrupted by illness; they lost 2–1, and fell to the foot of the table.[5] Rochdale wererelegated at the end of the season, and Bodell stayed for another four years inDivision Four, mainly as a wing-half. In the 1961–62 season, he helped Rochdale reach and played inboth legs ofthe League Cup final which they lost to Norwich City.[6]
Bodell played only four times in 1962–63, having signed month-by-month contracts because of a dispute over terms, and signed forCrewe Alexandra, about to gain promotion to the Third Division, in May 1963.[7] Bodell played more regularly for Crewe over the next three seasons,[4] but moved on to Fourth Division clubHalifax Town in October 1967, where he was appointedcaptain and played almost exclusively atleft back, a position he had occupied from time to time at his previous clubs.[8][4]
Bodell leftNorthern Premier League clubAltrincham, where his playing career ended because of knee ligament damage but where he had continued as coach, to become manager ofBarrow in March 1969. He helped them avoid relegation that season, but was sacked the following February[9][10] with the team heading back down to theFourth Division.[8] He went on to coach thereserve team atWolverhampton Wanderers[11] and the first team atPreston North End underBobby Charlton's management[12] before becomingJim Smith's assistant atBlackburn Rovers in July 1975. When Smith left Blackburn forBirmingham City in March 1978, Bodell acted ascaretaker manager for eight games untilJim Iley was appointed, and then rejoined Smith at Birmingham.[13] This situation was repeated four years later when Smith's dismissal in February 1982 left Bodell as caretaker for two matches until the appointment ofRon Saunders.[14] Bodell remained at Birmingham as coach and as chief scout, a post he went on to hold atWest Bromwich Albion.[13]
Bodell died on 22 November 2024 at the age of 86.[15]
Rochdale
Norman Bodell, acting as manager since Jim Smith was suddenly dismissed on Monday, will be in charge of the side for the local derby.
