Sydney William Owen (29 September 1922 – 27 August 1998) was an English football player and coach. He spent nearly all his playing career as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

to Florence Laura (née Whiley) and Henry Sydney Owen, Owen began his football career playing for the Birmingham YMCA team before joining

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

as a youth player. After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he made it into the club's first team for the 1946–47 season, but played just five times in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and was allowed to leave at the end of the season. Owen signed for Luton in June 1947. He played 388 league games for the club and 423 in all league and cup games, and after constant displays of natural ability in the 1949–50 season, was appointed as captain by manager

Dally Duncan Douglas "Dally" Duncan (14 October 1909 – 2 January 1990) was a Scottish football player and manager. A left-winger, Duncan joined Hull City from Aberdeen Richmond in 1928 and spent his entire professional career in English football. He joined ...

. He earned three caps for the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

in 1954, and selected as part of the squad for the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

, at which he appeared in England's first match, a 4–4 draw with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He also played twice for the

Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

. In 1959, his final season as a player, Owen was named the

FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

. On 27 April 1959, he was appointed as player-manager of Luton following the departure of Dally Duncan six months earlier; Owen was therefore in charge of the club for the

1959 FA Cup Final The 1959 FA Cup Final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest won 2–1, with goals from Roy Dwight and Tommy Wilson just four minutes apart. Dave Pacey scored Luton's consolation goal. Forest were playing in th ...

against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. As well as serving as manager for the match, he also captained the side from his position at centre half. After less than a year in the job, a "fundamental disagreement on policy" led to his resignation on 23 April 1960. He later became first team coach of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

under Jack Taylor and then

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

throughout the 1960s and 1970s, bringing with him trainer Les Cocker. In 1978, he was hired by Manchester United manager

Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first ever major European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sex ...

to be the club's youth coach. He remained in the position for three years until shortly after Sexton's departure from the club at the end of the 1980–81 season. Owen is credited with spotting the potential of

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

as a striker, having selected him for the youth team during his final season working at Old Trafford.

References

External links

* *
Profile
at England Football Online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Syd 1922 births 1998 deaths English footballers English Football League players England international footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players 1954 FIFA World Cup players English football managers Luton Town F.C. managers Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff English Football League representative players Association football midfielders Association football coaches FA Cup Final players