William Dodgin (17 April 1909 – 16 October 1999) was an English professional footballer who played as a

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and later served as a manager,

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 * Co ...

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, sectio ...

Football career

Dodgin played 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 ...

, most notably for Clapton Orient and Lincoln City and after retiring, he turned to management with Southampton,

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

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...

. Dodgin later served former club Bristol Rovers as a coach,

and manager. His final job in football was as chief scout at Eastville and he retired from football in 1981.

Personal life

Dodgin's son Bill was also a footballer and played under his father's management at Southampton and Fulham. Prior to turning professional with Huddersfield Town in 1928, he worked as a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

. During the Second World War he worked at an aircraft factory in Hamble-le-Rice and played football for their works team Folland Aircraft. While manager of Yiewsley, he ran a tobacconists and sweet shop in Byfleet.

Honours

* Bell's Merit Award

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1909 births 1999 deaths Footballers from Gateshead English footballers Association football wing halves Wallsend F.C. players Kirkley & Pakefield F.C. players Lowestoft Town F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Folland Sports F.C. players English football managers Southampton F.C. managers Fulham F.C. managers Brentford F.C. managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers U.C. Sampdoria managers English Football League managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Brentford F.C. wartime guest players English expatriates in Italy Serie A managers Bristol Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Hillingdon Borough F.C. managers Chelsea F.C. wartime guest players {{England-footy-midfielder-1900s-stub