2 years ago
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Chris Nicholl gets up to challenge England's Kevin Keegan in a Home Internationals game in 1982Former Northern Ireland, Southampton and Aston Villa defender Chris Nicholl has passed away.
The English-born 77-year-old started his career at Burnley but is best remembered for spells at Aston Villa and Southampton.
He was Saints manager for six years and Walsall boss from 1994 to 1997.
Nicholl made his international debut in 1974 and won 51 caps for Northern Ireland.
He was part of the Northern Ireland team which reached the World Cup finals in 1982.
Nicholl also played for Halifax Town, Luton Town and Grimsby Town in a professional career spanning 19 years.
He managed Southampton between 1985 and 1991 before his three years in charge of Walsall and he was assistant manager to the Northern Ireland team from 1998 to 2000.
Nicholl made 210 appearances for Villa before playing 228 times for Southampton.
In the 2017 BBC documentary 'Dementia, Football and Me' he revealed that he was suffering from dementia and said he was "brain-damaged from heading balls".
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