Billy Dodds

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Personal information
Billy Dodds
Full name	William Dodds
Date of birth	February 5, 1969
Place of birth	New Cumnock, Scotland
Playing position	Striker (Retired)
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1986–89 1987 1989–94 1994 1994–98 1998–99 1999–03 2003–06 2006	Chelsea → Partick Thistle (loan) Dundee St Johnstone Aberdeen Dundee United Rangers Dundee United Partick Thistle	003 00(0) 030 00(9) 174 0(68) 020 00(6) 140 0(49) 045 0(25) 065 0(21) 068 0(14) 002 00(0) 547 (192)
National team
1996–2001	Scotland	026 00(7)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Billy Dodds (born February 5, 1969 in New Cumnock, Ayrshire) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is currently working as a pundit for BBC Scotland.

1 Early career
2 Rebirth
3 Rangers and back
4 Final days
5 Honours
6 External links

[edit] Early career

Dodds first appeared on the books of English club Chelsea in 1986 but had his first taste of professional football in a successful loan period at Partick Thistle in 1987-88. After making only two appearances for the London club he was transferred to Dundee in 1989 where he became a prolific striker.

After a spell in 1994 at Perth side St Johnstone, Dodds moved to Aberdeen where he was part of the side that won the 1996 Scottish League Cup. It was in 1996 that Dodds gained his first Scotland cap against Latvia in World Cup Qualifier played in Riga.

[edit] Rebirth

Dodds suffered something of a rebirth when Aberdeen offered him and cash for Robbie Winters. Restored to playing as a striker, Dodds' full debut for Dundee United saw a hat-trick against St Johnstone, earning him instant hero status. During his time at Tannadice, he would score 25 times in 45 league appearances, setting up many more. His form attracted the attentions of Scotland coach Craig Brown, who restored Dodds to the Scotland squad after a twelve month absence. He would go on to make 26 appearances for the national team, scoring 7 goals.

[edit] Rangers and back

It was in 1999 that Billy Dodds made his biggest move of his career in a surprise £1.3 million swoop by the then-manager of Rangers, Dick Advocaat. Dodds proved an instant success at Ibrox, scoring goals domestically and in European competition, and although later in his stay at Ibrox his first team opportunities dried up, Dodds proved a key member of the team that won a domestic league treble in 1999, The League Championship and Cup double in 2000 and Scottish_Cup and League Cup double in 2002.

In December 2002, frustrated by the lack of first team chances under new Rangers manager Alex McLeish, Dodds returned to Dundee United in a deal that saw Steven Thompson move in the opposite direction. Dodds relished the opportunity of playing football on a regular basis and became a key member of the Dundee Utd team that avoided relegation that season and went on to push for a top six place the following season.

During 2005, Billy Dodds signed a new contract at Dundee United that would see him work with the-then manager Gordon Chisholm, as both player and first team coach. Dodds moved into midfield and later sweeper as his pace began to slow down, but as Chisholm steered Dundee United away from relegation, Dodds' vision and playmaking skills proved a valuable asset.

[edit] Final days

After only seven months in the job, Gordon Chisholm was sacked as manager of Dundee United on 10 January 2006. Billy Dodds took over as caretaker manager for one match, a 2-1 win against Falkirk in the Premier League.

When Inverness CT Player/Manager Craig Brewster took over the side the following week, Dodds parted company with the club, signing for Second Division side Partick Thistle as a player on 20 January; however, he left after only three matches.