William "Bill" Dodgin was an English former football player and manager.
Background
Dodgin was born in Wardley, Gateshead, and is the son of football player Bill Dodgin, Senior He began his career as an amateur, before signing for Southampton, whom his father managed. Feeling the pressure from the fans (who questioned whether he would have been picked, were his father not manager), Dodgin transferred to Arsenal for a fee of £4,000 in December 1952, having played 35 League matches for the Cottagers.
Career
He soon switched to right back, but could not prevent Fulham from being relegated to the Second Division. By now, he was a centre half, and after a spell in the reserves he made his debut against Bolton Wanderers on 15 April 1953. After the departure of regular centre half Ray Daniel to Sunderland that summer, Dodgin became first choice at the back for Arsenal, missing only three matches that season.
However, despite his height Dodgin was a rather cumbersome defender, and could not live up to the performances of his predecessor.
He was dropped at the start of 1954-1955 in favour of Jim Fotheringham. He returned in 1956-1957 and was a regular in the side for the next four seasons.
In total he played 208 matches for Arsenal, scoring just one goal. All through this time, Arsenal were going through a barren patch, and apart from a third-place finish in 1958-1959, they were never close to winning a trophy.
Although Dodgin played for (and captained) England at under-23 level, he never appeared for the first team
However, he broke his leg in a match against Aston Villa in 1962 and the injury effectively ended his career. He played only seven more games, his last game coming against his other old club, Arsenal. He became QPR"s caretaker manager in August 1968 before leaving the club in November of that year.
He then took the manager"s job at Fulham in December 1968.
Although the club were relegated from the First Division to the Third in successive seasons, Dodgin stayed with the club and led them to promotion to the Second Division in 1971. However, Fulham struggled to stay afloat in the Second Division, and despite avoiding relegation in 1972 he resigned.
Dodgin later managed Northampton Town and Brentford, winning promotion from the Fourth Division with both clubs. He then managed Northampton Town for a second, less successful spell, and finally Woking before retiring.
He died after a long battle with Alzheimers in 2000, aged 68.