Jimmy Armfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jimmy Armfield | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Christopher Armfield | |
| Date of birth | September 2, 1935 (age 71) | |
| Place of birth | Denton, England | |
| Playing position | Right-back (retired) | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1954-1971 | Blackpool | 569 (6) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1959-1966 | England | 43 (0) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1971-1974 1974-1978 |
Bolton Wanderers Leeds United |
|
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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James Christopher "Jimmy" Armfield (born September 21, 1935 in Denton) is an English former footballer and football manager who currently works as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his football league career at Blackpool, usually at right back. Between 1954 and 1971 he played 569 games, scored 6 goals, and spent a decade as the club's captain.
After Armfield's family moved to Blackpool from Denton, he was spotted in a practice match at Bloomfield Road by then-Tangerines manager Joe Smith. Smith, impressed, offered him a trial.[1] On December 27, 1954, Armfield made his Blackpool debut at Portsmouth.
Armfield was voted Young Player of the Year in 1959. In 1966, he narrowly missed out on Footballer of the Year to Bobby Charlton, and had to content himself with being Blackpool's Player of the Year.[1]
He endured little success in his seventeen years with the Seasiders, the club having won the FA Cup the year prior to his arrival. The exception was promotion to Division One in 1969/70.
Armfield won 43 caps for England between 1959 and 1966 and captained his country on fifteen occasions. He made his international debut on May 13, 1959, against Brazil in front of over 120,000 fans.[1] He played in the 1962 World Cup in Chile, where he was acclaimed as "the best right-back in the world" (he was also voted "best right-back in Europe" between 1962 and 1964). He was included in the 1966 World Cup-winning squad but missed out on the tournament through injury.
He played his final game for Blackpool on May 1, 1971, against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road. He was awarded a testimonial on his 35th birthday, and thousands turned out to pay tribute to him.[1]
Armfield then became a football manager with Bolton Wanderers and later with Leeds United, leading them to the European Cup Final in 1975. Assisted by Don Howe, Armfield was responsible for rebuilding Don Revie's ageing but formidable side, a task which he achieved with some success. Armfield bought in players such as Tony Currie and Brian Flynn, and under his stewardship Leeds never finished outside of the top ten, qualified for the UEFA cup, and reached FA and League Cup semi-finals. However, the Leeds board were impatient for greater success, and Armfield was sacked at the end of the 1977-78 season and replaced by Jock Stein. Bruised by this experience, he has never returned to management and worked in radio ever since. Currently he is best known as a match summariser for BBC Radio Five Live. He is also a consultant with the Football Association and in this role was responsible for the appointment of Terry Venables as England coach in 1994. In 2000 he was awarded an OBE and in 2004 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of his home county of Lancashire.
| Preceded by Nat Lofthouse |
Bolton Wanderers F.C. Manager 1971-1974 |
Succeeded by Ian Greaves |
| Preceded by Brian Clough |
Leeds United A.F.C. Manager 1974-1978 |
Succeeded by Jock Stein |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Jimmy Armfield Bob's 70-71 Footballers Jimmy Armfield
- Seasiders.net the definitive Blackpool Website
- Jimmy Armfield Leeds United Manager
 |
England squad - 1962 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Springett | 2 Armfield | 3 Wilson | 4 Robson | 5 Swan | 6 Flowers | 7 Connelly | 8 Greaves | 9 Hitchens | 10 Haynes | 11 Charlton | 12 Hodgkinson | 13 Kevan | 14 Anderson | 15 Norman | 16 Moore | 17 Douglas | 18 Hunt | 19 Peacock | 20 Eastham | 21 Howe | 22 Banks | Coach: Winterbottom |
||
|
England squad - 1966 FIFA World Cup Champions (1st Title) | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Banks | 2 Cohen | 3 Wilson | 4 Stiles | 5 J. Charlton | 6 Moore | 7 Ball | 8 Greaves | 9 B. Charlton | 10 Hurst | 11 Connelly | 12 Springett | 13 Bonetti | 14 Armfield | 15 Byrne | 16 Peters | 17 Flowers | 18 Hunter | 19 Paine | 20 Callaghan | 21 Hunt | 22 Eastham | Coach: Ramsey |
||
Categories: English footballers | English football managers | British football broadcasters | Blackpool F.C. players | Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers | Leeds United AFC managers | England international footballers | FIFA World Cup 1962 players | FIFA World Cup 1966 players | FIFA World Cup-winning players | People from Denton | People from Lancashire | Officers of the Order of the British Empire | 1935 births | Living people
