Cyril Knowles
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| Cyril Knowles | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cyril Barry Knowles | |
| Date of birth | July 13, 1944 | |
| Place of birth | Fitzwilliam, West Yorkshire, England | |
| Date of death | August 30, 1991 (aged 47) | |
| Place of death | Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England | |
| Nickname | Knowlesy | |
| Playing position | Left back | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Hemsworth F.C. Monckton Colliery Welfare |
||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1963-1964 1964-1976 |
Middlesbrough Tottenham Hotspur |
39 (1) 402 (15) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1967-1971 | England | 4 (0) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1983-1987 1987-1989 1989-1991 |
Darlington Torquay United Hartlepool United |
|
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Cyril Barry Knowles (Fitzwilliam, West Yorkshire, July 13, 1944 – Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, August 30, 1991) was a full-back for Tottenham Hostpur and England. He was the brother of footballer Peter Knowles.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Early career
Cyril Knowles started his career as a left winger with local side Hemsworth before rejection from Manchester United, Blackpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers left him questioning his future prospects as a professional footballer.
[edit] Middlesbrough
However, Middlesbrough recognised his talents as a potential left back and Knowles was accepted into their amateur squad. He made his debut towards the end of the 1962/63 season and after just 39 first team appearances legendary Spurs manager Bill Nicholson signed Knowles in 1964 for £45,000.
[edit] Tottenham Hotspur
Knowles was seen as a young replacement for Ron Henry, a member of the Spurs team that famously won The Double in 1960/61, the FA Cup in 1962 and the European Cup Winners Cup in the previous season. His first competitive match for Spurs was against Sheffield United at White Hart Lane on the opening day of the 1964/65 season. Spurs won 2-0.
In his eleven year career at White Hart Lane Knowles was famed for his crossing ability, creating countless opportunities from open play as well as set pieces. He is also remembered for his excellent partnership with Irish right-back Joe Kinnear and his valuable contribution towards the acceptance of the overlapping, attacking full-back in modern football.
A stalwart of the Spurs first team, he missed only one league match between 1965 and 1969 and represented England four times, making his international debut against the Soviet Union in December 1967. Knowles also represented the English Under-23 team on six occasions and played for Young England against the England senior side and the Football League against the Scottish League in 1968 and 1969. Only the consistent performances of Leeds United star Terry Cooper restricted Knowles to a fringe role in the national team.
Knowles made his final appearance as a professional footballer in a 2-2 draw with Everton in December 1975. Regular knee problems forced his premature retirement at the age of 31 but his contributions and loyalty to Tottenham Hotspur were rewarded with a testimonial match against arch-rivals Arsenal in the same season. An example of his quality was the memorable display against Leeds United in one of his final appearances for the club. With Spurs needing victory to avoid relegation against the reigning First Division champions and 1975 European Cup finalists, Knowles scored twice in a 4-2 victory.
He scored 17 goals in 507 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, winning the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and 1973 and a UEFA Cup winners medal in 1972. After announcing his retirement from professional football, Knowles started his managerial career as a Yorkshire based scout for Spurs. This was followed by a brief spell as manager of Hertford Town in 1976 and he was first team coach at Doncaster Rovers between 1977 and 1981.
[edit] Management career
In the summer of 1981, he was appointed assistant manager of Middlesbrough, where he started his career, but resigned two years later to become manager of Fourth Division strugglers Darlington. His second season, 1984/85, was a great success as he transformed the club's playing fortunes and guided them to third place in the Fourth Division, ensuring promotion to the Third Division.
He resigned as Darlington manager in 1987 following relegation to the Fourth Division, but soon returned to management with Torquay United. As manager of Torquay, Knowles developed the talent of Lee Sharpe, the young winger who would star for Manchester United in the early 1990s and later play for Leeds United and Sampdoria. He transformed a poor side that had almost been relegated from the League the previous season, taking them to the play-offs in his first season and the final of the Sherpa Van Trophy the following year.
He resigned as manager of Torquay in October 1989 after a disappointing start to the 1989/90 season but returned to management within two months at Fourth Division basement club Hartlepool United, immediately helping the County Durham side avoid relegation by a margin of twelve points. Hartlepool United's form in 1990/91 showed how far the team had progressed under Knowles, eventually gaining automatic promotion in third place.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in February 1991 and player-coach Alan Murray took temporary charge of the first team. At the end of the season, Knowles announced his retirement as Hartlepool manager and handed over the reins to Murray on a permanent basis. Knowles died on 30th August 1991 at the age of 47. Three months after his death a memorial match was played at White Hart Lane and in 1995 a stand at Hartlepool's Victoria Park stadium was renamed in his honour.
He was the inspiration for the popular record "Nice one, Cyril" which peaked at number 14 in the singles charts in March 1973 and is widely regarded as the greatest left-back in the history of Tottenham Hotspur by both supporters and critics. [1]
[edit] Tottenham Hotspur F.C. statistics
- First Division: 402 matches, 15 goals
- FA Cup: 42 matches, 1 goal
- League Cup: 33 matches, 0 goals
- Europe: 30 matches, 1 goal
- TOTAL: 507 matches, 17 goals
[edit] Honours
- 1967 FA Cup (2-0 Chelsea F.C.)
- 1967 FA Community Shield (shared) (3-3 Manchester United F.C.)
- 1971 League Cup (2-0 Aston Villa F.C.)
- 1972 UEFA Cup (2-1, 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.)
- 1973 League Cup (1-0 Norwich City F.C.)
| Preceded by Billy Elliott |
Darlington F.C. manager 1983-1987 |
Succeeded by Dave Booth |
| Preceded by Stuart Morgan |
Torquay United F.C. manager 1987-1989 |
Succeeded by Dave Smith |
| Preceded by Bobby Moncur |
Hartlepool United F.C. manager 1989-1991 |
Succeeded by Alan Murray |
