Former Stoke City coach Chic Bates has died at the age of 75.
Bates was assistant to Stoke under Lou Macari as the club was transformed in the early 1990s, recovering from their lowest ever finish to win the Autoglass Trophy at Wembley in 1992 and then become runaway Division Two champions in 1993.
They were poached by Celtic but returned a year later to guide Stoke into the Division One play-offs in 1996, agonisingly missing out in a semi-final against Leicester.
Bates succeeded Macari as manager as the club moved from the Victoria Ground to the new Britannia Stadium. It would prove a difficult time and he was stood down after half-a-season, staying on to work under Chris Kamara and Alan Durban before leaving.
He returned to Shrewsbury Town, where he is a club legend thanks to his service as a striker in the 1970s and 80s. He coached there until late 2004 when he retired from football and was inducted into their hall of fame.
His latter years have been blighted by frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s, having suffered since his early 60s and been diagnosed in 2013 His family has taken on major challenges to raise money for charities such as Dementia UK.
A statement from Shrewsbury said: “The thoughts of everyone at Shrewsbury Town Football Club are with Chic’s family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time.”
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