| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Irvine Coyle | ||
| Date of birth | 31 January 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| East Belfast | |||
| Glenavon | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1966–1969 | Ballymena United | ||
| 1969-1972 | Glentoran | ||
| 1972-1974 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 1974-1975 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 1975-1980 | Linfield | ||
| National team | |||
| 1973 | Northern Ireland | 5 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1975-1990 | Linfield | ||
| 1990-1991 | Ards | ||
| 1991-1993 | Derry City | ||
| 1993-1997 | Ards | ||
| 1997-2006 | Glentoran | ||
| 2006-2007 | Newry City | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Roy Coyle (born Robert Coyle, Belfast, 31 January 1946) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and the most successful manager in the history of the Irish Football League.
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Coyle was a "teak tough" wing-half with Ballymena United F.C., Glentoran F.C., Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and Grimsby Town F.C.. He won two Irish League titles and played in Europe six times while with Glentoran before winning five Northern Ireland international caps while playing for Sheffield Wednesday in England.[1]
Roy Coyle became player-manager of Linfield in 1975. In his first couple of years at the club, Coyle got Linfield into the Irish Cup final but lost to Carrick Rangers F.C. A year laterthey lost in the Irish Cup final again, but this time to Coleraine F.C. the following year. The Linfield board decided to give Coyle another chance and that decision proved to be one of the best decisions ever made in Irish League football. Roy Coyle won 31 trophies with Linfield and left the club in 1990 after his contract was terminated.
Coyle was appointed manager of Derry City in 1991. The season before, he was manager of County Down club Ards but resigned. Coyle only stayed for 2 years and winning the League of Ireland Cup. In 1993, Coyle left and returned to Ards F.C.
Coyle return to the County Down side in 1993 and won 2 trophies. The County Antrim Shield and the Irish League Cup. Coyle stayed at the club for 4 years then decided to become manager of Glentoran F.C.
Roy Coyle shocked the Irish League by becoming the new manager of Glentoran after the sacking of Tommy Cassidy. Even though Coyle played for Glentoran, it took some of the fans a while to get used to him after managing their bitter rivals Linfield. Coyle brought that success he had with Linfield and became Glentoran's most successful manager ever by winning 16 trophies with Glentoran. In 2006, after winning the league, Glentoran started to have a string of poor results. The fans started to turn against Coyle and the players. Then an away match to Armagh City F.C. saw Glentoran crashing to a 5-2 defeat at Holm Park. At the final whistle, Glentoran fans booed the players and as Coyle walked by, the fans shouted "Coyle Out!" (In a strange twist, this also happened to former Northern Ireland Captain Alan McDonald who won the league with Glentoran in 2009, but the next season, saw Glentoran crash to a 6-0 home defeat to Coleraine F.C. and a 2-0 away defeat to Dungannon Swifts F.C. and the fans yelling "Out! Out! Out!") Coyle resigned that evening. He was replaced by Newry City manager Paul Millar. Millar led Glentoran to the top of the league till Christmas and then Millar started going through what Coyle went through. Millar was sacked at the end of the season.
Coyle swapped clubs with Paul Millar who went to be Glentoran's new manager. Coyle only stayed for a couple of months and decided to retire. A year later Coyle was linked to a move to Glenavon F.C. but the job went to former Cliftonville & Coleraine manager Marty Quinn.
Coyle returned to Glentoran as director of football along with Scott Young being the new manager for the East Belfast club.
Coyle is the most successful manager in Irish League history and has won 50 trophies in a success-filled career, mostly with Linfield F.C.
| Preceded by Paul Millar |
Newry City F.C. manager 2006-2007 |
Succeeded by Gerry Flynn |
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