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23 Facts About Bill Dearden

1.

William Dearden was born on 11 February 1944 and is an English former football player, manager and scout.

2.

Bill Dearden then moved on to Chester for a two-season spell.

3.

Bill Dearden returned to Chester City in 1976 before switching to Chesterfield the following year.

4.

Bill Dearden coached at Chesterfield, Mansfield Town, and Port Vale, before he was appointed Mansfield manager in 1999.

5.

Bill Dearden 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.

6.

Bill Dearden 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.

7.

Bill Dearden 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.

8.

Bill Dearden was a striker described "as a fearless, hard running player, excellent in the air and with an eye for goal".

9.

Bill Dearden scored 22 goals in 85 league games during his first spell on Sealand Road.

10.

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

11.

Bill Dearden ended his career with two goals in 27 league games for the "Spireites".

12.

Bill Dearden stayed at Saltergate until 1983, at which point he became a first-team coach at Mansfield Town.

13.

Bill Dearden left Field Mill in 1994 and went on to serve Port Vale as assistant manager to John Rudge.

14.

Bill Dearden spent a few days as the "Valiants" caretaker manager after Rudge was sacked in January 1999, but did not take charge of a first-team game, and subsequently left Vale Park when Brian Horton was named manager.

15.

Bill Dearden returned to Mansfield Town later in 1999 and was appointed the club's new full-time manager following Steve Parkin's departure.

16.

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

17.

Bill Dearden joined Notts County in January 2002, with the club on the brink of relegation and suffering serious financial problems.

18.

Bill Dearden set a record for the longest period in administration as a manager in British football.

19.

Bill Dearden left the club by mutual consent in January 2004, with the "Magpies" under new ownership.

20.

Bill Dearden later held scouting jobs at Blackpool and Milton Keynes Dons.

21.

Bill Dearden returned to Mansfield Town as manager in December 2006.

22.

Bill Dearden left the club by mutual consent in March 2008, with Mansfield two points adrift in the relegation zone.

23.

In July 2008, Bill Dearden returned to Simon Grayson's Blackpool as the club's chief scout.