In a career that began and ended in County Durham football, centre-half Bill Stoddart spent time at five Football League clubs, spanning eight seasons. His performances during a season at Coventry, a side struggling in the Third South, so impressed Southampton’s manager, Arthur Chadwick, that he traded Tom Allen and Bill Henderson for him.

But failing to meet the club’s expectations, Bill became a regular in the Reserves, for whom he exceeded 100 appearances, and made only sporadic first-team appearances in three seasons at The Dell. After League spells with Bristol Rovers and Accrington Stanley, he returned to County Durham, to play for a while and then to settle.