Former
Northern Ireland and Wolves forward Derek Dougan has
died, aged 69.
Nicknamed
the Doog, he will be remembered as one of the great
characters of the game, as well as being a very
effective centre-forward.
Dougan
scored over 120 goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers and
was in their victorious 1974 League Cup side.
He won 43
international caps and before joining Wolves played
for Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa,
Peterborough United and Leicester City.
Dougan was
also an outspoken chairman of the Professional
Footballers' Association.
His time
there overlapped with former PFA deputy chief
executive Brendon Batson, who recalled: "Derek
was a great champion of players' rights and
conditions and he was integral part of current terms
players enjoy now.
"For
many years, players were treated like cattle. But he
was very, very outspoken in saying that players had
an important role to play and they deserved to be
free and masters of their own fate."
Current PFA
chief executive Gordon Taylor also paid tribute to
Dougan.
"He
was one of the game's most colourful characters and I
was very proud to have served with him and worked
under him," said Taylor.
"I had
eight years under him as chairman and he led the PFA,
along with my predecessor Cliff Lloyd, all through
negotiations in establishing a constitution and a
collective bargaining agreement, which have stood the
test of time."
Born in
Belfast in January 1938, Dougan played for Irish
League club Distillery before joining Portsmouth.
Dougan
remained at Fratton Park until March 1959 when he
joined Blackburn Rovers for £15,000.
He spent
two-and-a-half years at Ewood Park before signing for
Aston Villa in July 1961. Two years later Dougan was
off again, this time to Peterborough United.
In May
1965, he switched to another club, Leicester City,
before securing his place with Wolverhampton
Wanderers in 1967.
In just
over eight seasons at the Molineux, Dougan made 320
first team appearances for Wolves netting over 120
goals.
He helped
the club regain get back to the First Division status
in 1967 and played when they beat Manchester City in
the 1974 League Cup final.
Wolves
chief executive Jez Moxey said: "Everyone at
Molineux will be saddened by this news.
"Derek
was a very talented and colourful footballer who was
much loved by the supporters during the years that he
wore the Wolves shirt."
Dougan made
his Northern Ireland debut against Czechoslovakia
during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and his final
international appearance was in 1973.
He was also
one of six Northern Ireland internationals to play
for a Shamrock Rovers XI against Brazil in an
exhibition match in Dublin in July 1973.
The Rovers
team was in essence an All-Ireland XI and the
Northern Ireland governing body Irish Football
Association had opposed the staging of the game.
Dougan, who
had helped organise the game, never played for
Northern Ireland again and he later said that he was
in favour of an All-Ireland team.
The Wolves
hero had a lasting friendship with George Best and in
December 2005, Dougan joined other former Northern
Ireland team-mates in carrying the coffin at the
Manchester United legend's funeral.
Morcombe
captain Jim Bentley has paid tribute to his late
father, the Telfotd United legend Jack Bentley - and
the hundreds
of Non-League fans who have left messages of
condolence for his family this week.
Jack, a prolific striker who netted 431 goals in 835
games for the Bucks over 14 years, passed away
suddenly last Saturday at
65.
The former Everton and Stockport man had undergone an
operation to remove a cancerous polyp from his bowel
on May 18, two
days before his youngest son's victorious Conference
play-off final appearance at Wembley.
Recovering well, he was allowed home the following
Tuesday but became seriously unwell as the week
progressed, A coroner's
report gave renal acidosis poisoning as the cause of
death.
Bentley Jnr, who had been on the Shrimps' open-top
bus parade when he received a call to get to the
hospital in the early
hours of Saturday morning, said: "It was a real
shock because Dad had seemed to have made a good
recovery from the operation.
"He was such a fit and well man so questions are
still being asked because it was such a sudden death
after a routine
operation.
"The number of messages that have been left
about him on the Telford and Morcombe message
Internet forums has been amazing.
I've had calls and texts from people I've not spoken
to in years, and my mum's had over 150 cards.
"It just goes to show what a popular bloke Dad
was in Non-League, and I'd like to say thank you to
everyone,"
Bentley starred alongside Goodison legend Brian
Labone - who also died suddenly last year - for
England Grammar Schools and
Everton before leaving for Stockport In 1961.
The Hatters sold him to Telford, where he established
himself as the greatest player in the club's history
before he retired
in 1977.
He was a runner-up In the first FA Trophy final in
1970 and scored in the 3-2 win over Hilllngdon
Borough at Wembley 12
months later. "I know he died a very proud fella
having seen me win there," said Bentley, 30.
"He saw bits and pieces on the
news in hospital, and my brother got me on his mobile
phone video camera lifting the trophy.
"He was my hero and I was as proud of him as he
was of me. Whatever I do In football from now on.
I'll always have him in the
back of my mind."
The funeral will take place In AUerton, Liverpool
next Friday morning, and officials of AFC Telford
have promised to "look at
suitable memorials to Jack In consultation with his
family',
He leaves behind his wife of 38 years, Jean, and
Jim's elder brother, Alex and Joby.
By Stuart Hammond
