Ronald Greenwood (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English

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. He is best known for being manager of the

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

from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for 13 years, a time during which the club gained much of its fame.

Early years

Ron Greenwood was born at 15 Lennox Street, Worsthorne, near

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, but moved to London in 1931 during the Depression.Oxford National Biography He was educated at the Wembley County Grammar School which now forms part of

Alperton Community School Alperton Community School is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status. It has a specialism in maths, computing and arts and it is located in the Alperton area of the Londo ...

in Middlesex, leaving at the age of 14 to be an apprentice sign-writer. He served with an RAF mobile radio unit first of all in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and later in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Playing career

Greenwood played as a centre-half, joining Chelsea as an amateur whilst training as an apprentice sign-writer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in Northern Ireland and guested for Belfast Celtic. In 1945, he left Chelsea for Bradford Park Avenue and made 59 league appearances over the next four seasons. In 1949, Greenwood moved to the club he supported as a boy,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, his £9,500 fee breaking the club's incoming transfer record. He made 147 appearances and scored one goal. After three years at Brentford, he returned to Chelsea, where he played 66 times and won a First Division winners' medal in the 1954–55 season under Ted Drake. That summer, he moved to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, where he made another 42 league appearances before retiring at the end of the 1955–56 season. He was never capped for his country, though he did make a single 'B' team appearance, whilst at

, in a 1–0 victory against the Netherlands on 23 March 1952 at the Olympisch Stadion in Amsterdam. At the end of his playing career in 1956, Greenwood became an active

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, attending the Lodge of Proven Fellowship No. 6225, but resigned in 1977.

Coaching career

After retiring, Greenwood moved into coaching. He coached Eastbourne United,

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(where he came to the attention of Sir Harold Thompson, a future Chairman of

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

), and England youth teams. He combined the England under-23 post with being the assistant manager at

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 ...

under George Swindin, having moved to Highbury in December 1957. He remained there until April 1961, when he was selected by chairman Reg Pratt to replace Ted Fenton as manager of

. Greenwood's reign at West Ham brought them sizeable success. He oversaw the development of players such as the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

-winning trio of

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

and

Martin Peters Martin Stanford Peters (8 November 1943 – 21 December 2019) was an English Association football, footballer and manager. As a member of the England national football team, England team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he scored the second o ...

, and under him the Hammers won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

– the first two major trophies of their history. West Ham's league form under Greenwood was less impressive, usually finishing in the lower half of the First Division table, though they did come sixth in the 1972–73 season. In his final season, West Ham finished 18th, just one point from relegation. He moved upstairs in 1974, becoming the club's general manager for the next three years, with John Lyall being placed in charge of the first team. In the first season of this arrangement, West Ham won another

. After England coach Don Revie's resignation, Greenwood was appointed in caretaker charge, completing England's unsuccessful bid to qualify for the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

, and eventually becoming full-time manager in December 1977, ending his 16-year association with West Ham United. Under Greenwood, England qualified for

UEFA Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams ...

, where they were knocked out in the group stage. England also qualified for the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

under Greenwood, their first World Cup in twelve years. England came through the tournament unbeaten, but were knocked out in the second group stage after 0–0 draws against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and hosts

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Greenwood retired from football after the 1982 World Cup, with the national coach's job going to Bobby Robson. One major landmark during Greenwood's tenure was the selection of the first black player for England, Viv Anderson, in 1978. Greenwood stated: "Yellow, purple or black – if they're good enough, I'll pick them".

Life after football

After his career in football, Greenwood was a regular analyst on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on the morning on 9 February 2006, aged 84, after a long struggle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. When West Ham played

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional 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. The team compete in the ...

in a

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

fixture on 13 February 2006, a one-minute silence was held in Greenwood's memory. West Ham won the game 3–0. The Town Council of

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

, where Greenwood lived during his time as West Ham manager, erected a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

to his memory on one of his former houses in the town, 22 Brooklyn Avenue: this was unveiled by Sir Trevor Brooking and the Town Mayor, Chris Pond on 28 October 2008. The Heritage Foundation charity erected a blue plaque in Greenwood's memory at West Ham's Upton Park, which was unveiled by his family on 21 January 2007. Greenwood was inducted into the

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...

in 2006, recognising his achievements as a manager in the English game. He is also a member of the FA and LMA Halls of Fame. He was survived by his widow, Lucy. He is buried in the Town Cemetery at Sudbury in Suffolk.

Honours

Player

Chelsea * First Division: 1954–55

Manager

West Ham United *

: 1963–64 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

(shared) *

: 1964–65 * League Cup runner-up: 1965–66 Individual *

inductee: 2006

Managerial statistics

References

External links

*
Obituary
from

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

Obituary
from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''
Obituary
from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, Ron 1921 births 2006 deaths Royal Air Force airmen Military personnel from Lancashire 1982 FIFA World Cup managers Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Commanders of the Order of the British Empire England national football team managers English men's footballers English Football Hall of Fame inductees English football managers English Football League managers Men's association football defenders Fulham F.C. players Sportspeople from Loughton People from Worsthorne English Football League players UEFA Euro 1980 managers West Ham United F.C. managers England men's B international footballers Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England English football coaches Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century English sportsmen Belfast Celtic F.C. wartime guest players