Stanley Frederick Eyre (born 3 February 1944) is an English former professional

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 coach. After retiring from the sport, Eyre became a successful businessman, author,

after-dinner speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

and radio pundit. He is the father of former

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

manager

Steve Eyre Steven Frederick Eyre (born 9 May 1972) is an English former football manager. He was a youth player with Burnley between 1988 and 1990, before joining Wigan Athletic in 1990. He did not make any league appearances for the club prior to retiring ...

Career

Playing career

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Eyre played as a

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and began his early career as an apprentice at

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

club

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, where he cleaned

boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

for players including

Bert Trautmann Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Bremen in 1923, he joined the Jungvolk, the junior section of the Hitler Youth in August 1933. Trautmann ...

and

Denis Law Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...

, his playing heroes. Eyre was Manchester City's first ever apprentice. Failing to make the grade at Manchester City, he signed with Lincoln City in 1963 and then had a trial with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

before signing for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

at the start of the 1964–65 season, but he never made a first-team appearance for either team. After leaving Crewe Alexandra in 1965, Eyre played in the English non-League system with a total of twenty clubs, including Oswestry Town, Rossendale United, New Brighton,

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south-eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...

Radcliffe Borough Radcliffe Football Club (formerly Radcliffe Borough) is an English football club based in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, where they play their home games at Stainton Park. The club was formed on 24 May 1949 and currently plays in the National L ...

and

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. The ...

. Eyre returned to League football briefly during the 1969–70 season with

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

, making one appearance, before returning to Oswestry Town; he later played for

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

Coaching career

Eyre worked on the coaching staff of both

and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, and had a brief spell as caretaker manager of

in 1981, winning one game and drawing a second. He was also Assistant Manager of

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

in 1998, as well as being Chief Scout at the same club.

After football

Eyre started his own office supply company, became an after-dinner speaker, and published a book called ''Kicked into Touch'', which had sold over a million copies as of April 2005. One story that Eyre told involved Hungarian player

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; né Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward and an attacking ...

; on holiday in Australia, Eyre found himself on the same pitch as Puskás, who was coaching

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

at the time: As of 2009, Eyre co-commentated on Manchester City matches for

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

. He was still in the role as of 2011, when he suffered from a 'mystery illness'.

Books

After retiring as a player he became a writer, publishing books including: :''Kicked Into Touch'' :''Another Breath Of Fred Eyre'' :''What A Game!'' (with Roy Cavanagh) :''Star Games'' :''Taking The Mike''

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Fred 1944 births Living people English men's footballers English football managers Manchester City F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Ellesmere Port Town F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Chadderton F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Wigan Athletic F.C. managers Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. non-playing staff Southport F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Manchester