Billy Dearden
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Dearden | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Oldham, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1963–1966 | Oldham Athletic | 35 | (2) |
| 1966–1968 | Crewe Alexandra | 48 | (5) |
| 1968–1970 | Chester | 85 | (22) |
| 1970–1976 | Sheffield United | 175 | (61) |
| 1976–1977 | Chester | 36 | (7) |
| 1977–1979 | Chesterfield | 27 | (2) |
| Total | 406 | (99) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993 | Mansfield Town (caretaker) | ||
| 1999 | Port Vale (caretaker) | ||
| 1999–2002 | Mansfield Town | ||
| 2002–2004 | Notts County | ||
| 2006–2008 | Mansfield Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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William Dearden (born 11 February 1944) is an English former footballer and manager who is now chief scout at Sheffield United. As a player, he scored 101 goals in 404 league games in a 16-year career in the Football League.
A striker, he began his career with hometown club Oldham Athletic in 1963. Three years later he moved on to Crewe Alexandra, and helped the "Railwaymen" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1967–68. He then moved on to Chester for a two-season spell. He was sold to Sheffield United for a £10,000 fee in August 1970, and helped the "Blades" to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1970–71. He returned to Chester City in 1976, before switching to Chesterfield the following year.
He coached at Chesterfield, Mansfield Town, and Port Vale, 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 in January 2002, months before promotion would be secured. He took County from relegation certainties to mid-table, despite troubles with administration, 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.
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 Oldham Athletic, who finished ninth in the Third Division in 1963–64 under the stewardship of Les McDowall. The "Latics" then finished just one place and three points above the relegation zone in 1964–65, before avoiding relegation in 1965–66 by just one point under Gordon Hurst and Jimmy McIlroy. In his three seasons at Boundary Park, Dearden scored two goals in 34 league games.
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