Bill Asprey
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Asprey | ||
| Date of birth | 11 September 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Wolverhampton, England | ||
| Date of death | 25 May 2025 (aged 88) | ||
| Place of death | Jersey, Channel Islands | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1953–1966 | Stoke City | 304 | (23) |
| 1966–1967 | Oldham Athletic | 80 | (4) |
| 1967–1968 | Port Vale | 31 | (0) |
| Total | 415 | (27) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1975–1977 | Rhodesia | ||
| 1979–1980 | Oxford United | ||
| 1980–1982 | Syria | ||
| 1983–1985 | Stoke City | ||
| 1989–1990 | Iraq U23 | ||
| 1992 | ATM | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Asprey (11 September 1936 – 25 May 2025) was an English football player and manager. A defender, he made 418 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. He then had a 25-year career as a coach.
Asprey spent 1953 to 1965 at Stoke City, making 341 appearances in all competitions. He helped the "Potters" to the Second Division title in 1962–63 and also played in the 1964 League Cup final. He spent 1965 to December 1967 at Oldham Athletic before he was sold to Port Vale for a £2,000 fee. He left the "Valiants" in December 1968 to become a full-time coach.
He coached at various clubs across the world, as well as the national teams of Rhodesia and Syria. He was given his first chance as a manager in England at Oxford United in July 1979. He was not overly successful and was sacked in December 1980. He returned to Stoke City as manager in December 1983 but was sacked in April 1985 after leading the club to the bottom of the First Division.