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Chris Nicholl

An old quiz favourite: “Which footballer scored all four goals in a 2-2 draw?” The answer: “Chris Nicholl, versus Leicester City, March 1976.” But he was much more than a statisticians dream…

Name: Christopher John Nicholl
Born: 12 October 1946, Wilmslow (England)
Died: 24 February 2024 (age 77)
Height: 6.02 ft
Weight: 12.09 st
Position: Defender

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 51 Full Caps / 3 Goals (1975-1983).
Club Honours: (with Halifax) Football League Division Four Runner-Up 1968/69; (with Luton) Football League Division Three Runner-Up 1969/70; (with Villa) Football League Cup Winner 1974/75, 1976/77; Football League Division Two Runner-Up 1974/75; Football League Division Three Champion 1971/72; (with Southampton) Football League Cup Runner-Up 1978/79; Football League Division Two Runner-Up 1977/78.

Club Career:
Teams
Seasons
Signed
Fee
League
FA Cup
FL Cup
Europe
Other
Wilmslow Albion
-
-
-
(Mid-Cheshire League)
Burnley
65/6-66/7
Apr-65
-
0(0)/ 0
-
-
-
-
Witton Albion
-
-
-
(Cheshire County League)
Halifax Town
68/9-69/0
Jun-68
-
42(0)/ 3
6(-)/0
2(-)/0
-
-
Luton Town
69/0-71/2
Aug-69
-
97(0)/ 6
4(-)/0
4(-)/0
-
1(-)/0
Aston Villa
71/2-76/7
Mar-72
-
210(0)/11
12(-)/4
27(-)/5
2(-)/0
1(-)/0
Southampton
77/8-82/3
Jun-77
-
228(0)/ 8
17(-)/0
21(-)/1
-
-
Grimsby Town
83/4-84/5
Aug-83
-
70(0)/ 0
1(-)/0
8(-)/0
-
-
TOTALS
-
£-
647(0)/28
40(-)/4
62(-)/6
2(-)/0
2(-)/0

Coaching Career:
Southampton Manager 1985-1991
Walsall Manager 1994-1997
Northern Ireland Under-21 Manager 1998-1999

Biography:
To follow.

Chris Nicholl passed away in 2024 at the age of 77. He had been in ill health for several years, citing heading the ball as the cause of his memory issues.

Wikipedia
Chris Nicholl (left) with Derek McKinley while Northern Ireland Under-21 manager in 1998 (Roy Cathcart) 
Northern Ireland Cap Details:
30-10-1974 Sweden........ A W 2-0 ECQ 1 Goal
16-04-1975 Yugoslavia.... H W 1-0 ECQ
17-05-1975 England....... H D 0-0 BC
20-05-1975 Scotland...... A L 0-3 BC
23-05-1975 Wales......... H W 1-0 BC
03-09-1975 Sweden........ H L 1-2 ECQ
29-10-1975 Norway........ H W 3-0 ECQ
19-11-1975 Yugoslavia.... A L 0-1 ECQ
08-05-1976 Scotland...... H L 0-3 BC
11-05-1976 England....... A L 0-4 BC
14-05-1976 Wales......... A L 0-1 BC
03-06-1977 Wales......... H D 1-1 BC
16-11-1977 Belgium....... H W 3-0 WCQ sub
13-05-1978 Scotland...... A D 1-1 BC
16-05-1978 England....... A L 0-1 BC
19-05-1978 Wales......... A L 0-1 BC
20-09-1978 Rep of Ireland A D 0-0 ECQ
29-11-1978 Bulgaria...... A W 2-0 ECQ
07-02-1979 England....... A L 0-4 ECQ
02-05-1979 Bulgaria...... H W 2-0 ECQ 1 Goal
19-05-1979 England....... H L 0-2 BC
25-05-1979 Wales......... H D 1-1 BC
21-11-1979 Rep of Ireland H W 1-0 ECQ
26-03-1980 Israel........ A D 0-0 WCQ
16-05-1980 Scotland...... H W 1-0 BC
20-05-1980 England....... A D 1-1 BC
23-05-1980 Wales......... A W 1-0 BC
11-06-1980 Australia..... A W 2-1 FR 1 Goal
15-06-1980 Australia..... A D 1-1 FR
18-06-1980 Australia..... A W 2-1 FR
15-10-1980 Sweden........ H W 3-0 WCQ
19-11-1980 Portugal...... A L 0-1 WCQ
25-03-1981 Scotland...... A D 1-1 WCQ

29-04-1981 Portugal...... H W 1-0 WCQ
19-05-1981 Scotland...... A L 0-2 BC
03-06-1981 Sweden........ A L 0-1 WCQ
14-10-1981 Scotland...... H D 0-0 WCQ
18-11-1981 Israel........ H W 1-0 WCQ
23-02-1982 England....... A L 0-4 BC
24-03-1982 France........ A L 0-4 FR
27-05-1982 Wales......... A L 0-3 BC
17-06-1982 Yugoslavia.... N D 0-0 WCF
21-06-1982 Honduras...... N D 1-1 WCF
25-06-1982 Spain......... N W 1-0 WCF
01-07-1982 Austria....... N D 2-2 WCF
04-07-1982 France........ N L 1-4 WCF
24-05-1983 Scotland...... A D 0-0 BC sub
28-05-1983 England....... H D 0-0 BC
31-05-1983 Wales......... H L 0-1 BC
21-09-1983 Austria....... H W 3-1 ECQ
12-10-1983 Turkey........ A L 0-1 ECQ

Summary: 49(2)/3. Won 17, Drew 15, Lost 18.

Comments

Unknown said…
Hi, does anybody know Chris's email address. I would like to contact him to tell him our story. Around about 1980 ish when Chris played for Southampton we as a family (3 children) attended all home games. My eldest son Jonathan was 10/11 and had tried on several last game of season to get one of the players shirts....with no success. So, next time he wrote to Chris enclosing a stamped envelope.....and out of the blue one of Chris's green Irish international shirts was delivered by the postman.
What a kind and generous gift to a young football supporter. On May 8 it's Jonathan's 40th birthday and I will be taking the shirt to his home in Pittsburgh USA where he works in the steel industry and runs one of the local soccer teams...just wanted Chris to know how much his kindness has been appreciated and to say 'thank you'

Regards...John jfh003@gmail.com
Anonymous said…
Chris Nicholl is my uncle. I had the pleasure of spending some time with him a few years back, He is the toughest athlete I know. Robert Nicholl
jack regan said…
lovely decent man always have been good luck Chris
Anonymous said…
A teak tough defender who served several clubs and NI with great distinction.