Dick Bate

Dick Bate
Personal information
Date of birth	25 June 1946
Date of death	25 April 2018 (aged 71)
Youth career
	Sheffield Wednesday
	York City
Senior career*
Years	Team
????–1971	Alfreton Town
1971–1976	Boston United
1975–1977	Buxton
1977–1978	Mossley
	Frickley Athletic
Managerial career
1975	Buxton (Player-Manager)
1977–1978	Mossley (First Team Manager)
1978	Sheffield Weds (Youth Team Coach)
1980–1985	FA North West Regional Coach
1985	Notts County (Chief Coach)
1987	Southend (Manager)
1987–1988	Lincoln City (Assistant Manager)
1988–1992	Leeds United (Coach)
1992–1995	Malaysia national football team (Technical Director)
1995	Hereford (Coach)
1998	England U16s-U20s (Coach)
1998	England (Caretaker Manager)
2005	Canadian Soccer Association (Technical Director)
2006	Watford (Technical Director)
2012–2015	Cardiff City (Academy Manager)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Richard Bate (25 June 1946 – 25 April 2018)^[1] was an English football player and coach.

As a coach, he was the head of the youth Academy for Cardiff City, before leaving in 2015. Prior to that he was the Elite Coaching Manager of the Football Association, the governing body for football in England.

Playing career

Wilkinson moved to Mossley in December 1976 as player-manager and when he resigned the following May he recommended Bate as his successor and Bate was duly appointed player-manager in June 1977. However, despite steering Mossley into the first round of the FA Cup for only the (then) third time in their history, he departed the club following a 2–2 draw with Frickley Athletic on 2 January 1978.^[2]

Coaching career

Southend United

In June 1987, Bate was appointed manager of Southend United by the club's chairman Vic Jobson without consulting his fellow board members. He reign lasted just ten games with a solitary victory in the Football League Cup and he departed with the worst record of any Southend manager in history.^[3]

Bate moved on to join Lincoln City as assistant manager to Colin Murphy, helping the club regain its Football League status at the end of the 1987–88 season. He moved on to rejoin Wilkinson at Leeds United acting as a coach between 1988 and 1992. He moved to Malaysia as Technical Director, a role he held from 1992 to 1995, before joining the coaching staff of Hereford United. In 1998, he became the coach of the England youth set-up working with the U16, U17, U18, U19 and U20 teams. He was caretaker manager of the England women's national football team for a match against Italy in April 1998; between the resignation of Ted Copeland and appointment of Hope Powell.^[4]

Canada

In September 2005, the appointment of Bate as the Canadian Soccer Association's Technical Director was announced with the role commencing on 14 October 2005.^[5] He held the role for ten months before resigning in order to join Watford.^[6]

Watford

In July 2006, Bate was appointed Technical Director at Watford with the Hornet's then manager Aidy Boothroyd being quoted as saying "I want Watford Football Club to have the best Academy in the world and I believe we have captured the best developer of talent in the world in the shape of Richard."^[7]

Cardiff City

On 2 November 2012, it was confirmed that Bate was to take on the role of the Head of the youth Academy for Cardiff City, replacing the departing Neal Ardley. ^[8]

Life after coaching

Before the time of his death in April 2018, Bate worked with Burnley on a consultancy basis during the clubs redevelopment of the Barnfield Training Centre.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Dick Bate: 1946–2018". Burnley F.C. 25 April 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^ "The Mossley Managers". The Official Mossley A.F.C. Website. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
^ "Former managers". Southend United F.C. Official Website. 3 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
^ Ged Scott (21 April 1998). "LADIES IN THE LIMELIGHT". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
^ "Richard Bate Named Canada's Technical Director". CanadaSoccer.com. 21 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
^ "Bate Resigns from Association". CanadaSoccer.com. 13 July 2006. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
^ "Boothroyd hails Bate capture as a massive coup". Watford F.C. Official Website. 21 July 2006. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
^ "Dick Bate named new Cardiff Academy boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2013.