Bill Bentley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William John Bentley | ||
| Date of birth | 21 October 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1968 | Stoke City | 48 | (1) |
| 1968–1977 | Blackpool | 296 | (11) |
| 1977–1980 | Port Vale | 95 | (0) |
| 1980–1981 | Stafford Rangers | 20 | (1) |
| Total | 459 | (13) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1979 | Port Vale (caretaker-manager) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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William John Bentley (born 21 October 1947) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He made a total of 439 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League.
Beginning his career at Stoke City in 1964, he moved on to Blackpool in 1968. He spent the next nine years with Blackpool, helping them to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1969–70, and to lift the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1971. He spent 1977 to 1980 at Port Vale, also briefly serving the club as caretaker-manager in 1979. He ended his career at non-league Stafford Rangers in 1981.
Bentley, a former England Youth international, was known for being a tough-tackling defender. This was the source of the "Bill Bentley, Hatchet Man" chant that emanated from the stands during his time at Blackpool.
He began his career with Stoke City, signing as a professional with the club in October 1964. He made five First Division appearances in 1965–66 and seven appearances in 1966–67, before breaking into Tony Waddington's first team plans during the 1967–68 campaign, when he played a total of 37 games for the "Potters". The young defender's physique and temperament had won him comparisons to John Charles.
On 9 January 1969, five months into the 1968–69 season, he joined Stan Mortensen's Blackpool for £30,000. He made his debut for the club two days later, in a 3–2 home defeat by Charlton Athletic. The following season he helped the "Seasiders" win promotion to the First Division as runners-up of the Second Division under new manager Les Shannon. However they were immediately relegated in 1970–71. He was though part of the Blackpool team that won the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1971, beating Bologna in the final at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
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