Arfon Griffiths
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Arfon Trevor Griffiths MBE (born 23 August 1941) is a Welsh former
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football manager.


Career

Born in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
, Griffiths was originally spotted in local junior football by former
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
player Frank Blew, who then alerted the club's manager Cliff Lloyd. He initially signed Griffiths on amateur forms in May 1957, as the youngster turned down offers of trials from both
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
. This started a 22-year-long association between with Wrexham as both player and manager. He made his first team in a 2–1 home win over
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in November 1959, having been a member of the previous season's successful Welsh Youth Cup winning side. He kept his place in the side for the rest of the season, collecting a
Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...
winners' medal from a 1–0 win over Cardiff City in which he scored the winning goal. He became an established member of the side during the 1960–61 season, and it was not long before the bigger clubs began to take an interest. In February 1961
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
paid £15,500 to sign him, and he made his debut in a 5–1 defeat at the hands of
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
on 22 April 1961. He played intermittently in the 1961–62 season for Arsenal, making 14 league appearances as an attacking midfielder and scoring twice. He gained international recognition as a member of the Wales under-23 side. Unable to maintain a first-team place at Arsenal, Griffiths returned to Wrexham who paid a record fee of about £12,000 to re-sign him. Affectionately known to Wrexham fans as the 'Prince of Wales', he played a major part to some of the most successful years in Wrexham Football Club's history. These include guiding the club to promotion in 1969–70; winning the Welsh Cup four times; playing in three European campaigns, which included reaching the quarter-final stages of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1976, before losing out to the eventual winners RSC Anderlecht, 2–1, on aggregate. He was awarded a testimonial match in 1972 against
Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. Shankly brought su ...
's
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, which netted him £3,000 for his testimonial fund. In total he made a club record 591 Football League appearances and scored the second-highest total number of goals in the club's history, 120. These successes also led him on to international recognition by gaining 17 full caps, the highlight of which was scoring at the Racecourse Ground against
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in 1975, which enabled Wales to qualify for the 1976 European Football Championship finals. He was also selected for a Football Association of Wales tour to New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti and Malaysia in 1971.


Managerial career


Wrexham

He played under eight managers at Wrexham, before taking charge himself in May 1977 following the resignation of
John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...
. Griffiths had previously been his assistant manager for a year. Wrexham's directors had no hesitation in appointing him as Neal's replacement, and he kept faith with the same squad that had just missed out on promotion at the end of the previous season. Griffiths led Wrexham to the
Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...
championship in 1977–78, becoming the first manager in the club's history to win promotion to the then
Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...
. An abundance of unforeseen injuries affected the team's performances in the Second Division and they struggled to come to terms with a higher grade of football. On 13 May 1981, Griffiths resigned after an internal disagreement with the board. A season of heavy winter's snow had caused many postponements, and gate receipts had virtually dried up. Griffiths was asked to cut the playing staff, his backroom staff and the youth development team to reduce overheads. Grifiths refused to do so as a matter of principle and thus he left the club.


Crewe Alexandra

Although he began to assist Bangor City with their training in an advisory capacity, he was to make a quick return to football management, when he was appointed manager of Crewe Alexandra on 3 August 1981. He spent just over a season at Gresty Road until he resigned on 25 October 1982. He did play for his local side, Gresford Athletic, in the Welsh National League, for a short while, before finishing with football altogether to concentrate on his newsagents' shop in the village and playing golf. Griffiths was awarded the MBE in June 1976 for his services to Welsh soccer, and in 2006 he was made club president of his home town club, Wrexham, as well as being added to the club's Hall of Fame.


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Arfon Living people 1941 births Footballers from Wrexham Men's association football midfielders Welsh men's footballers Welsh expatriate men's footballers Wales men's under-23 international footballers Wales men's international footballers Wrexham A.F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Welsh football managers Wrexham A.F.C. managers Crewe Alexandra F.C. managers Members of the Order of the British Empire English Football League managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States English Football League players