Billy Ayre
|
Billy Ayre around 1990 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Ayre | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | Crookhill, England | ||
| Date of death | 16 April 2002 (aged 49) | ||
| Place of death | Ormskirk, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Darlington | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1973 | Crook Town | ? | (?) |
| 1974–1975 | Bishop Auckland | ? | (?) |
| 1975–1977 | Scarborough | ? | (?) |
| 1977–1981 | Hartlepool United | 141 | (27) |
| 1981–1982 | Halifax Town | 63 | (5) |
| 1982–1984 | Mansfield Town | 67 | (7) |
| 1984–1986 | Halifax Town | 32 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1983–1984 | Mansfield Town (caretaker) | ||
| 1984 | Halifax Town (caretaker) | ||
| 1986–1990 | Halifax Town | ||
| 1990–1994 | Blackpool | ||
| 1994 | Scarborough | ||
| 1995–1996 | Southport | ||
| 2000 | Cardiff City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Ayre (7 May 1952 – 16 April 2002) was an English footballer who played for three clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred League appearances in the process. After retiring from the playing side of the game, he became a manager, and took the helm at five clubs between 1984 and 2000. He guided Blackpool to two successive play-off finals, in 1991 and 1992 (winning promotion in the second appearance), during his four years in charge of the club.