Derek Dougan

[groo]

DEREK DOUGAN



Full Name: Alexander Derek Dougan

Date of Birth: 20th Januray 1938, Belfast

Died: 24th June 2007, Wolverhampton

Height: 6ft 3"

Weight: 12.06 st

Position Played: Centre Half, Forward

Previous Clubs: Cregagh Boys, Linfield, Distillery, Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Peterborough, Leicester, Wolves, LA Wolves, Kansas City, Shamrock Rovers, Kettering Town

Honours:
Northern Ireland: 43 caps, 8 goals,
Distillery: Irish Cup (1956)
Blackburn Rovers: FA Cup (runner up) 1960
Wolverhampton: Uefa Cup (runner-up) (1972) Texaco Cup (1972), League Cup (1974)
LA Wolves: US Soccer Association Title (1967)
Kansas City Spurs: NASL International Cup (1969)

[groo]

FORMER ROVER DOUGAN PASSES AWAY.

On Monday 24th June, soccer lost one of its greatest characters Derek Dougan. The 'Doog', as he was more commonly known, had endured a few cardiac problems in the last few years but passed away at the age of 69, suddenly after suffering a massive heart attack at his home in Wolverhampton.



Doog had been raised in a family of six children in a two-up, two-down terraced house in east Belfast. As the years unfolded he became one of Britain's finest footballers, he continued to talk. He had strong views about the way the game should be run and even stronger opinions about the people running it. He had a thriving playing career moving to Ewood Park for £15,000 in March 1959 and his international reputation was high, winning a total 43 caps for Northern Ireland, scoring 8 goals in the process.



And still he talked. The East Belfast man, argued for the formation of an All-Ireland team. In the face of fierce opposition from the Irish FA, he helped to form such a team and organised a game against Brazil. They had to call the side "A Shamrock Rovers XI", and they lost just 4-3 to the Brazilians in Dublin.

After his glittering career finished, Derek became Chairman of the Professional Footballer's Association in 1970, a position which he held the position for eight years. Former PFA colleague Brendon Batson recalled: "Derek was a great champion of players' rights and conditions and he was integral part of current terms players enjoy now. For many years, players were treated like cattle. But he was very, very outspoken in saying that players had an important role to play and they deserved to be free and masters of their own fate."



In May 1975 he managed Kettering Town, then in 1982 he returned to Molineux as chairman and chief executive, a position he held only briefly before circumstances forced him out of office. After he retired, Dougan was involved in a diverse range of projects including standing as an independent candidate against sitting East Belfast MP Peter Robinson in a parliamentary election.

With a good deal of television work he was also a newspaper columnist and wrote an autobiography entitled The Sash He Never Wore. Dougan was a friend of George Best and carried his coffin at the former Manchester United star's funeral in December 2005.