Former Southampton and Northern Ireland defender Chris Nicholl, who captained Aston Villa to League Cup glory, has died on the age of 77.
Nicholl, who additionally managed Southampton earlier than taking cost of Walsall, had been dwelling with dementia, particularly continual traumatic encephalopathy, which he attributed to mind injury attributable to repeatedly heading balls over his prolonged profession.
The former central defender’s demise was confirmed in a household assertion on his daughter Cathy’s Facebook account.
It stated: “It is with a heavy heart that we write this. Chris Nicholl (our dad) sadly passed away peacefully on Saturday evening in hospital.
“He fought a very long battle with CTE, caused by his dedication to football. Words can’t describe how much we’ll miss him.”
Wilmslow-born Nicholl, who was capped 51 occasions by Northern Ireland and represented them on the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, started his profession at Burnley, however made greater than 200 appearances for each Villa and the Saints.
A reliable defender, he famously scored with a 40-yard piledriver as Villa lifted the 1977 League Cup with a 3-2 second replay victory over Everton which went to additional time at Old Trafford.
In a sequence of posts on the membership’s official X – previously Twitter – account, Villa stated: “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.
“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.”
After hanging up his boots, Nicholl moved into administration on the Dell when he was appointed as Lawrie McMenemy’s alternative in the course of the summer time of 1985, and it was he who promoted the rising skills of Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and Rod Wallace to the Southampton first crew.
Shearer stated on X: “RIP Chris Nicholl. You believed in me and gave me my chance. Thank you.”
Le Tissier added: “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 #RIPChris.”
Nicholl parted firm with the Saints in May 1991 and spent three years out of the sport earlier than taking the hotseat at Walsall.
The Saddlers stated on X: “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 and friends at this incredibly sad time.”
Nicholl was reunited with McMenemy throughout his spell in command of Northern Ireland, serving as his assistant supervisor.
An announcement on the Irish FA’s X account stated: “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”
In 2017, Nicholl instructed Shearer as a part of a BBC documentary of his fears over the injury he had suffered throughout his taking part in profession.
He stated: “I am brain-damaged from heading footballs. My memory is in trouble.
“Everyone forgets regular things, where your keys are. But when you forget where you live, that’s different.
“I’ve had that for the last four or five years, it is definitely getting worse. It bothers me.”
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk