William Dearden (born 11 February 1944) is an English former

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,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. As a player, he scored 101 goals in 404 league games in a 16-year career in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. A striker, he began his career with hometown club

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in 1963. Three years later, he moved on to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and helped the "Railwaymen" to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the Fourth Division in 1967–68. He then moved on to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

for a two-season spell. He was sold to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

for a £10,000 fee in August 1970 and helped the "Blades" to win promotion out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1970–71. He returned to Chester City in 1976 before switching to Chesterfield the following year. He

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

ed at Chesterfield,

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

, before he was appointed Mansfield manager in 1999. He built a talented young team but left the club for the management position at

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in January 2002, months before promotion would be secured. He took County from

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

certainties to mid-table, despite troubles with

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

, before he was sacked after a poor run left the "Magpies" in relegation danger in January 2004. He returned to Mansfield as manager in December 2006 but was sacked in March 2008, soon before the club were relegated out of the Football League.

Playing career

Oldham Athletic

Dearden was a striker described "as a fearless, hard running player, excellent in the air and with an eye for goal". He began his career with hometown club

, who finished ninth in the Third Division in 1963–64 under the stewardship of

Les McDowall Les McDowall (25 October 1912 – 18 August 1991) was a Scottish football player and manager. He managed Manchester City between 1950 and 1963, and then Oldham Athletic until 1965. McDowall was the longest serving manager in Manchester City's his ...

. The "Latics" then finished just one place and three points above the

zone in 1964–65 before avoiding relegation in 1965–66 by just one point under

Gordon Hurst Gordon Hurst (9 October 1924 – 1980) was an English footballer who played as a winger in the Football League. He moved from Non League Ramsgate Athletic to Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional associatio ...

and

Jimmy McIlroy James McIlroy (25 October 1931 – 20 August 2018) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, who played for Glentoran, Burnley, Stoke City and Oldham Athletic. He was regarded as one of Burnley's greatest players, having played 497 mat ...

. In his three seasons at

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

, Dearden scored two goals in 34 league games.

Crewe Alexandra

He transferred to

, who went on to miss out on

out of the Fourth Division by just one place and four points in 1966–67.

Ernie Tagg Ernie Tagg (15 November 1917 – 29 November 2006) was an English professional football player and manager, particularly associated with Crewe Alexandra. Playing career A promising schoolboy player who represented the Cheshire county side and had ...

's "Railwaymen" managed to secure promotion in 1967–68, after pipping

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

to the fourth and final automatic promotion place. In his two seasons at

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History C ...

, Dearden scored seven goals in 47 league games.

Chester

Dearden switched clubs to

, who were to finish 14th in the Fourth Division in 1968–69. Ken Roberts's "Seals" then rose slightly to 11th place in 1969–70. He scored 22 goals in 85 league games during his first spell on

Sealand Road Sealand Road was the home stadium of Chester City Football Club (known until 1983 as Chester Football Club) from 1906 until 1990. Although officially known simply as The Stadium, it was more commonly referred to as Sealand Road. It was much lov ...

Sheffield United

His 15 goals in 1969–70 brought him to the attention of bigger clubs and prompted

to invest £10,000 in his transfer in August 1970. He proved to be an immediate success at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

, as he scored 14 goals in 1970–71 to help John Harris's "Blades" to secure promotion out of the

with a second-place finish, three points behind champions

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. His

strike partnership Striking-partnership is a term used in European football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet t ...

with

Alan Woodward Alan Woodward (7 September 1946 – 21 May 2015) was a professional footballer who played in the position of outside right for Sheffield United over a 16-year period between 1962 and 1978. Woodward or ''Woody'' as he was nicknamed, will be be ...

proved effective in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, and Dearden finished as the club's top-scorer in 1971–72 with 16 goals as United posted a tenth-place finish. He was again top-scorer in

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

with 20 goals. United went on to finish 13th in 1973–74 under the stewardship of

Ken Furphy Kenneth Furphy (28 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an English football player and manager. Despite being on the books at Everton between 1950 and 1951, Furphy was a lower league player with Runcorn (1951–53) Darlington (1953–62) and the ...

, before launching a title campaign in 1974–75 that ended with a sixth-place finish – they ended the campaign just four points behind champions

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. Knee injuries then began to affect his first-team appearances, and United plummeted to relegation with a last-place finish in 1975–76 under a new boss

Jimmy Sirrel James Sirrel (2 February 1922 – 25 September 2008) was a Scottish football player and manager. Born in Glasgow, Sirrel began his career with Celtic before moving to England, spending most of his playing career with Brighton & Hove Albion. ...

. Dearden scored 72 goals in 211 league and cup appearances in his six years in Sheffield.

Later career

Dearden returned to Chester, now managed by

Alan Oakes Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former footballer who holds Manchester City's all-time record for appearances. Oakes is a midfielder who, in total, played 776 matches in the Football League – the tenth-most in history ...

, to score seven goals in 36 Third Division appearances in 1976–77. He then moved on to league rivals Chesterfield, where he scored a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

kick on his debut in a 4–1 win over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in the League Cup on 13 August. Chesterfield finished ninth in 1977–78 under the stewardship of Arthur Cox, before finishing one place and four points above the relegation zone in 1978–79. Dearden ended his career with two goals in 27 league games for the "Spireites".

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Dearden was appointed assistant

to Frank Barlow at Chesterfield in 1981. He stayed at

Saltergate Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in England ...

until 1983, at which point he became a first-team

. He left

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a Football pitch, football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town F.C., Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in ...

in 1994 and went on to serve

as assistant manager to

John Rudge John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the president of club Port Vale. Rudge began his playing career at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but made little impact at t ...

. He spent a few days as the "Valiants"

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 is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

after Rudge was sacked in January 1999, but did not take charge of a first-team game, and subsequently left

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

when

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this, he spent four ...

was named manager.

Mansfield Town

Dearden returned to

later in 1999 and was appointed the club's new full-time manager following

Steve Parkin Stephen John Parkin (born 7 November 1965) is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. As of 2021, he serves as the assistant manager at Wrexham. He played for Mansfield Town, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion ...

's departure. During his three-year stay as Mansfield manager, he brought up several talented youngsters from the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...

, including

Liam Lawrence Liam Lawrence (born 14 December 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Lawrence started his career at his local club Mansfield Town, after impressing at the Field Mill he signed for Sunderland in June 2005. He ...

Bobby Hassell Robert John Francis Hassell (born 4 June 1980) is an English former footballer who played for Mansfield Town, Barnsley and Bharat FC in I-League as a defender. He is an Academy Manager at Barnsley. Career Mansfield Born in Derby, Derbyshire, ...

and

Lee Williamson Lee Trevor Williamson (born 7 June 1982) is a former professional footballer who is currently an academy coach at Burton Albion Born in Derby, Williamson started his career at Mansfield Town and went on to play for Northampton Town, Rotherham ...

, and signed key players such as

Chris Greenacre Christopher Mark Greenacre (born 23 December 1977) is an English football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Wellington Phoenix FC Reserves. Greenacre began his career with Manchester City in 1996. Whilst at Maine Road he ...

and Wayne Corden, guiding the "Stags" to the verge of promotion. However, he left the club midway through the 2001–02 promotion season to take control of local rivals

Stuart Watkiss Stuart Watkiss (born 8 May 1966) is an English football coach and former professional player who was most recently the assistant manager of National League South club Eastbourne Borough. As a player, he was a defender and notably played in t ...

took over from Dearden and took Mansfield out of the Third Division at the end of the season.

Notts County

Dearden joined

in January 2002, with the club on the brink of relegation and suffering serious financial problems. He was named as Second Division Manager of the Month in March following a 16-point haul. He successfully guided the "Magpies" to safety in the

thanks to a winning streak of eight wins in the club's final eleven games of 2001–02. The remainder of his tenure at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane is a football (soccer), football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County F.C., Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 201 ...

was dominated by the club's financial problems. He could not make a permanent signing but comfortably kept County in the division during his first full season. He set a record for the longest period in

as a manager in British football. He left the club by mutual consent in January 2004, with the "Magpies" under new ownership. At the time of his departure County were second bottom of the division after losing a crucial "six-point game" with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

. His replacement, Gary Mills, failed to keep County out of the relegation zone by the end of the 2003–04 season. Dearden later held

ing jobs at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

and

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

Return to Mansfield

Dearden returned to

as manager in December 2006. He led the "Stags" to a 17th-place finish in League Two in 2006–07. He left the club by mutual consent in March 2008, with Mansfield two points adrift in the relegation zone. The club ended the 2007–08 season in the relegation zone, as new boss Paul Holland was unable to save them. In July 2008, Dearden returned to

Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is head coach of National League (division), National League club Hartlepool ...

as the club's chief scout. In June 2011, he was appointed as chief scout at

by new boss Danny Wilson.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the League Cup,

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

English Football League play-offs The English Football League (EFL) play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football leag ...

and

Full Members' Cup The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. Th ...

Managerial statistics

Source:

Honours

Crewe Alexandra *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

fourth-place promotion: 1967–68 Sheffield United *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

second-place promotion: 1970–71 Individual * Football League Second Division Manager of the Month: March 2002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearden, Bill 1944 births Living people Footballers from Oldham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Mansfield Town F.C. managers Notts County F.C. managers English Football League managers English football coaches English football scouts Chesterfield F.C. non-playing staff Mansfield Town F.C. non-playing staff Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff Blackpool F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff