FORMER Aston Villa and Southampton star Chris Nicholl has died at the age of 77.
The English-born defender represented Northern Ireland at international level.
Nicholl came through the ranks at Burnley but is best remembered for his spells at Aston Villa and Southampton – going on to manage the latter.
He spent six years as Southampton boss before leading Walsall from 1994 to 1997.
Nicholl made his debut for Northern Ireland in 1974 and won 51 caps for his country.
He played all five of Northern Ireland’s games during the 1982 World Cup, which included beating hosts Spain 1-0.
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Nicholl also had spells at Halifax, Luton and Grimsby over the course of a 19-year professional playing career.
Later on in his managerial career, he had a stint as Northern Ireland’s assistant between 1998 and 2000.
Nicholl made 210 appearances for Villa before playing 228 times for Southampton.
In the 2017 BBC documentary “Dementia, Football and Me” with Alan Shearer he revealed he was battling the disease.
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He said he was fighting it after becoming “brain-damaged from heading balls”.
It was Nicholl that gave Shearer his break in football when he was coming through the youth ranks at Southampton.
And Shearer led the tributes to Nicholl today, writing on X: “RIP Chris Nicholl. You believed in me and gave me my chance. Thank you.”
A number of Nicholl’s former clubs and players he either played with or managed have also lined up to pay tribute to him on social media.
The Northern Ireland national team wrote on X: “We are saddened to learn of the passing of Chris Nicholl.
“He played 51 times for us, including the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
Aston Villa wrote: “Aston Villa is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former player Chris Nicholl, who has died at the age of 77.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Chris’ family and friends at this difficult time.”
The club then added in another tweet: “A two-time promotion and League Cup winner – Chris Nicholl’s achievements in claret and blue will never be forgotten.
“He was a dominant figure at the heart of the Aston Villa defence for over five seasons, making 252 appearances and scoring 20 goals. Rest in peace, Chris.”
Alongside this was a clip of Nicholl scoring a goal in the 1977 league cup final and lifting the trophy.
Wallsall, who Nicholl also managed, wrote: “We are devastated to learn that former manager Chris Nicholl has passed away. Chris led the Saddlers from 1994 to 1997 and won promotion to Division Two in what was a memorable 1994-95 campaign.
“Our thoughts are with his family & friends at this incredibly sad time.”
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Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier wrote: “The thoughts and prayers of my family go out to the family of my first manager Chris Nicholl who has sadly passed away.
“I’ll always be eternally grateful to Chris for having the faith in me as a 17-year-old boy to give me my opportunity to prove I was good enough to be a professional footballer. Gone but never forgotten.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
