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Ron Atkinson
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==Managerial career== [[File:RonAtkinson.JPG|thumb|Atkinson in 2007.]] ===Kettering Town and Cambridge United=== After retiring from playing, Atkinson became manager player of non-league [[Kettering Town F.C.|Kettering Town]] in 1971, aged only 32. His success there led to a move to the league with [[Cambridge United F.C.|Cambridge United]], in November 1974, going on to win the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] in 1977 and leaving them when they were on the verge of promotion to the Second Division, which they later achieved that season under Atkinson's assistant [[John Docherty (footballer, born 1940)|John Docherty]]. ===West Bromwich Albion=== In January 1978, Atkinson moved to manage [[Football League First Division|First Division]] [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]. He soon signed [[Brendon Batson]] from his former club, to play alongside [[Laurie Cunningham]] and [[Cyrille Regis]]. Never before had a team in the top division of English football simultaneously fielded three black players on a regular basis. Atkinson led West Bromwich Albion to third place in the league in the season [[1978-79 in English football|1978–79]] and also to the [[UEFA Cup]] quarter-finals. On 30 December 1978 they achieved a famous 5–3 victory over [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] at [[Old Trafford]]. The club were second in the table at the time, only beaten off top spot from [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] by goal difference. They finished fourth in 1981, and shortly after this Atkinson was appointed the manager of Manchester United following the dismissal of [[Dave Sexton]]. ===Manchester United=== Atkinson was seen as the man who could bring the spark to Manchester United that had been so sorely lacking under his predecessor. Sexton had taken them to second place in the league in [[1979–80 Manchester United F.C. season|1980]] but did not win a major trophy in his four years at the club. United had finished eighth in the [[1980–81 Manchester United F.C. season|season before Atkinson's appointment]], and Atkinson had actually missed out of the chance of overseeing a [[UEFA Cup]] campaign by departing from Albion and taking over at United. In the [[1981–82 Manchester United F.C. season|1981–82]] season, United finished third in the First Division, to qualify for the [[UEFA Cup]], though for much of the season they were one of several teams who topped the table before a late surge from [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] saw [[Bob Paisley]]'s team seal the title. Early in the season he had paid a national record £1.5 million for [[Bryan Robson]] from his old club West Bromwich Albion, and shortly afterwards also added midfielder [[Remi Moses]], also from West Brom, and [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] striker [[Frank Stapleton]] to his ranks. He also gave a debut to promising young forward [[Norman Whiteside]] in April 1982, just before the player's 17th birthday.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} In the [[1982–83 Manchester United F.C. season|1982–83]] season, two appearances at Wembley, one of which was an FA Cup victory against [[Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.|Brighton & Hove Albion]], coupled with another third-place finish in the league, fuelled speculation that United were back in a big way. During the first half of the season, they had topped the league more than once but a storming run of form by Liverpool beginning before Christmas meant that the title headed for [[Anfield]] for the second year running. 1982–83 also saw the breakthrough of Whiteside as one of the best performing players in the First Division. Whiteside was also on the scoresheet for the FA Cup final replay as United beat Brighton 4–0 after drawing the first game 2–2. In the [[1983–84 Manchester United F.C. season|1983–84]] season, Atkinson's side reached the semi-finals of the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]] although their defence of the FA Cup ended at the first hurdle with a shock 2–0 defeat at [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] team [[AFC Bournemouth]]. They finished fourth in the league, having topped the table at several stages once again, before injuries to key players counted against them and they dropped points. The end of the season saw the sale of key midfielder [[Ray Wilkins]] to [[A.C. Milan]] of Italy for £1.5 million, while the duration of the season had seen the breakthrough of young striker [[Mark Hughes]]. Rather than plunge into the transfer market for a big name, Atkinson shifted Norman Whiteside into midfield to fill the gap left by Wilkins and allowed Hughes to form a partnership with the experienced Frank Stapleton. In the [[1984–85 Manchester United F.C. season|1984–85]] season, United again won the FA Cup. However, Atkinson and his team were denied the chance of another European Cup Winners Cup campaign as the [[Heysel disaster]] at the [[1985 European Cup final|European Cup final]] that year resulted in an indefinite ban from European competitions for all English clubs. In the [[1985–86 Manchester United F.C. season|1985–86]] season, they won their first ten games of the league season and were unbeaten after their first fifteen games to build a comfortable lead at the top of the table that lasted into the new year. However, their form tailed off badly and they again finished fourth, with Liverpool finishing the season as league champions. With the ban on English clubs in European competitions continuing, there was not even the consolation of a [[UEFA Cup]] place. United's title chances were not helped by the fact that captain Bryan Robson was only available for half of United's league games due to injuries. There was more disappointment for United's fans when the sale of [[Mark Hughes]] to Spanish club [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] was announced at the end of the season. Atkinson had prepared for Hughes' departure in March 1986 by paying [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] £570,000 for [[England national football team|England]] striker [[Peter Davenport]]. Although Davenport was their top scorer in the [[1986–87 Manchester United F.C. season|1986–87 season]], he failed to achieve the same success as Hughes and was not a popular figure among fans.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Despite media speculation that Atkinson would be sacked in favour of [[Aberdeen F.C.|Aberdeen]] manager [[Alex Ferguson]] or Barcelona manager [[Terry Venables]], the 1986–87 season began with Atkinson still at the helm. His two FA Cup wins and five successive top four league finishes had made him the most successful United manager since [[Matt Busby]], but the pressure to build on the earlier successes was becoming more intense than ever. The 1986–87 season began poorly with three successive defeats, and despite a minor upturn in September and October which included a 5–1 home win over [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]] in the league, the pressure on Atkinson remained intense and the board finally ran out of patience on 6 November 1986 when he was dismissed as manager two days after a 4–1 exit at the hands of Southampton in the League Cup. United were still in the bottom four of the First Division with a third of the season already gone. ===Return to West Bromwich Albion=== Atkinson returned to West Brom in the autumn of 1987, by which time they had fallen into the Second Division and were battling against relegation to the Third Division. Survival was achieved, as Albion finished the [[1987-88 in English football|1987–88 season]] in 20th place, and they began the [[1988-89 in English football|1988–89 season]] well, looking like serious promotion contenders. ===Atlético Madrid=== Following his time at Manchester United, Atkinson was due to take charge of [[Atlético Madrid]], however internal politics at Atlético delayed his appointment, with Atkinson returning to manage West Brom in the meantime.<ref name = "Versed">{{cite web|url=https://www.theversed.com/53958/big-ron-the-calderon-and-a-call-from-jesus/#.E6cIqaW3xc|title=Big Ron, the Calderón and a call from Jesus|date=29 March 2017|accessdate=21 February 2022|publisher=The Versed}}</ref> In October 1988, Atkinson was finally appointed manager of Atlético Madrid, winning his first game in charge 6–1 against [[RCD Espanyol|Espanyol]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.picklesmagazine.com/blogs/the-magazine/big-ron-and-his-doomed-spell-at-atletico-madrid|title=Big Ron and His Doomed Spell at Atlético Madrid|date=24 May 2021|accessdate=21 February 2022|publisher=Pickles|archive-date=23 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123114558/https://www.picklesmagazine.com/blogs/the-magazine/big-ron-and-his-doomed-spell-at-atletico-madrid|url-status=dead}}</ref> Atkinson's tenure at Atlético was quite a turbulent one and despite relative moderate success in terms of league position, a [[personality clash|clash of personalities]] with the then-owner of the club, [[Jesús Gil]], led to Atkinson being sacked after just three months as manager. His right-hand man at West Bromwich Albion, [[Colin Addison]], was appointed, much to the disdain of Atkinson, who went on record in the English media as saying Addison had "stabbed him in the back". The pair never worked together again following the events at Atlético. ===Sheffield Wednesday=== Atkinson went on to manage [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]] from February 1989 to June 1991. Although the club were relegated to the Second Division in May 1990 after a 3–0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, Atkinson secured promotion back to the First Division [[1990-91 in English football|the following season]]. They also won the League Cup that year, beating Manchester United 1–0 at Wembley. On 31 May 1991 Atkinson stated he would be remaining as Wednesday's manager, only to leave for [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] a week later, a move that upset many Sheffield Wednesday fans. ===Aston Villa=== Taking over from [[Jozef Venglos]], Atkinson led Aston Villa to second place in the inaugural [[FA Premier League]] season in [[1992-93 Aston Villa F.C. season|1992–93]] and to victory in the League Cup in 1994, securing (ultimately short-lived) [[UEFA Cup]] campaigns for both of these successes. As of 2021, Atkinson's second place remains the highest-ever finish by an English manager in the Premier League, subsequently equalled by [[Kevin Keegan]] in [[1995–96 FA Premier League|1995–96]]. Despite leading Villa to their first major success since their 1982 [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]] triumph, a mutual dislike between Villa chairman [[Doug Ellis]] and Atkinson that developed from 1992, inevitably resulted in him being sacked on 10 November 1994 following a 4–3 defeat at the hands of [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] – three days after Ellis had given Atkinson a "vote of confidence" in the media, stating that Atkinson was one of England's "top three football managers". By this stage, an ageing Villa side that had so nearly won the league title 18 months earlier were now among the relegation battlers. He was replaced by [[Brian Little (footballer)|Brian Little]], who kept Villa in the top flight and built a new younger team. ===Coventry City=== Three months after being sacked by Villa, Atkinson became manager at [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]] replacing [[Phil Neal]], who was purposely and acrimoniously sacked to make way for him. He took over in mid-February 1995, with the Sky Blues just above the Premier League relegation zone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadgen.asp?Day=11&Month=Feb&ssnno=124&teamno=164 |title=Coventry City FC News – Coventry MAD |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |date=11 February 1995 |access-date=29 July 2011}}</ref> His new team managed some good results, including a 4–2 home win over local rivals [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]], a 3–2 away win over [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] and a point against a [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] side who ended the season as champions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fixtures/Results – Coventry City FC – Coventry MAD |url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=124&teamno=164 |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |access-date=29 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005062322/http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=124&teamno=164 |archive-date=5 October 2011 }}</ref> With survival looking certain several games before the season ended, Atkinson was named [[Premier League Manager of the Month]] for March 1995. The penultimate game of the season brought another fine result when the Sky Blues travelled to [[North London]] and beat [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] 3–1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadgen.asp?Day=17&Month=Apr&ssnno=124&teamno=164 |title=Coventry City FC News – Coventry MAD |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |date=17 April 1995 |access-date=29 July 2011}}</ref> Survival was finally confirmed as Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to a 16th-place finish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadgen.asp?Day=14&Month=May&ssnno=124&teamno=164 |title=Coventry City FC News – Coventry MAD |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |date=14 May 1995 |access-date=29 July 2011}}</ref> In December 1995, Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to one of their best results of the 1990s, a 5–0 home win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fixtures/Results – Coventry City FC – Coventry MAD |url=http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=125&teamno=164 |publisher=Coventrycity-mad.co.uk |access-date=29 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005062400/http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=125&teamno=164 |archive-date=5 October 2011 }}</ref> During his spell as manager of Coventry, he brought in high-profile players including [[Gordon Strachan]], [[Noel Whelan (footballer)|Noel Whelan]] and [[Gary McAllister]] (although in his autobiography he states that this latter signing was Strachan's initiative and he was opposed for tactical reasons) but they continued to struggle in the Premier League and in November 1996 he became Director of Football, handing over managerial duties to Strachan, who by then had retired as a player and had become assistant manager. ===Return to Sheffield Wednesday=== In November 1997, he returned to Sheffield Wednesday following the sacking of [[David Pleat]]. Wednesday had made a poor start to the [[1997–98 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season|1997–98 season]], including a 7–2 loss at Blackburn and a 6–1 loss at Manchester United. Under Atkinson, Wednesday's form picked up immediately and they pulled well clear of relegation trouble, but he was not offered a permanent contract and left the club at the end of the season. ===Nottingham Forest=== Atkinson's last managerial job came with [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]], for the final four months of the [[1998–99 Nottingham Forest F.C. season|1998–99 season]]. This spell was not a success and at his first home game against [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] he even climbed into the wrong dug-out.<ref>{{cite news|title= Sporting Spotlight: Ron Atkinson|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20754134|publisher=BBC Sport|date=26 December 2012|access-date=20 January 2013}}</ref> He also angered a number of Forest fans following an [[Nottingham Forest F.C. 1–8 Manchester United F.C.|8–1 defeat]] at home to Manchester United when he stated in an interview after the game that his team had given the fans a "nine-goal thriller".<ref>{{cite news |first=Russell |last=Thomas |title=Solskjaer shows plenty in reserve |url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/Match_Report/0,,22403,00.html |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=26 February 2007 |access-date=7 October 2007 }}</ref> Atkinson took over as manager on 11 January 1999<Ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nottinghamforest.news/2019/01/11/nottingham-forest-ron-atkinson/|title = Nottingham Forest: 20 years on from 'Big Ron' Atkinson and the beginning of the end|date = 11 January 2019}}</ref> and Forest's relegation was confirmed on 24 April with a 2–0 defeat at his old club Aston Villa. He announced his resignation as manager within hours of the final whistle, with effect from the final game of the league season on 16 May and said that he would be retiring from football management altogether.<ref>{{cite news |title=Big Ron retires as Forest relegated |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/327374.stm |work=BBC News |date=24 April 1999 }}</ref>
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