Sammy Chung
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Cyril Chung (16 July 1932 – 28 August 2022), better known as Sammy Chung, 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, one of the first Anglo-Chinese players in English football.


Playing career

Chung was born in
Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The Historic counties of England, historic county town of Berksh ...
to a Chinese father and English mother. He began his career with local side Abingdon Town and then Southern League side Headington United. He joined
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
of the
Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...
in 1953 but did not sign professional forms until he had completed his
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
. He made a good start to his professional career, scoring four goals in five appearances at the end of 1953–54. After scoring eight in the first 17 games of 1954–55, he moved to
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
on 1 January 1955. He played 16 times in 1955–56, and 11 times in 1956–57 as the Canaries finished bottom of the Third Division South. Chung moved to
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
for the 1957–58 season, where under
Neil McBain Neil McBain (15 November 1895 – 13 May 1974) was a Scottish professional football player and coach. He remains the oldest player to appear in an English Football League match aged 51 years. Playing career Club McBain, a wing half, began ...
the side were relegated to the Fourth Division. The Hornets secured a return to the Third Division with promotion in 1959–60 and narrowly missed out on promotion to the second tier in 1960–61 and 1963–64. Chung played a total of 242 times for Watford, scoring 24 goals.


Managerial career

Chung gained his first coaching experience while still a player at
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
, under manager
Bill McGarry William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was an England international association footballer and manager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager. A right ...
. When McGarry left to become manager of
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
, he took Chung with him as assistant. At Ipswich, they won promotion to the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
as champions in 1968. Following a short period as manager of Swedish side
IFK Västerås Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Västerås, commonly known as IFK Västerås, or, especially earlier, Västerås-Kamraterna, is a Swedish sports club club located in Västerås. The club currently plays in Swedish football Division 4, Division 4 ...
, he returned to join Bill McGarry, now at
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 ...
, as his assistant. As part of the management team, they guided Wolves to victory in the 1974 League Cup. The club were relegated in 1976 and McGarry departed, leaving Chung to be appointed manager. He won promotion back to the top flight as
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 ...
champions in his first season. He led the club to a 15th-place finish in 1977–78, but the following season began with a run of 11 defeats in 14, leading to his dismissal following protests from the club's fans. After a period coaching in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, he returned to England in 1985 as assistant manager to
Mick Mills Michael Dennis Mills MBE (born 4 January 1949) is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Southampton and Stoke City. He managed Stoke City, Colchester United and Birmingham City. During his career he achieved Ipswich Town's ...
at
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
where he spent five years and was later in the backroom staff at
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
in 1991–92. He had a spell as manager of non-league side Tamworth between January 1992, and January 1993, before being appointed manager of
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
in July 1994, a post he held until August 1996. His Doncaster spell brought two promising seasons on the field, but promotion challenges gradually petered out into mid-table finishes. In 1999, he was appointed director of football in
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
. In 2005, he joined the coaching staff at
Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...
.


Personal life and death

After retiring from football, Chung worked in a children's home. He later lived on the Somerset coast. Chung died in a nursing home on 28 August 2022, at the age of 90.


Career statistics


Managerial statistics


References


External links

*
Sammy Chung Oxford United stats
a
RageOnline.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Sammy 1932 births 2022 deaths English people of Chinese descent English men's footballers English Football League players British Asian footballers Abingdon Town F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Reading F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Watford F.C. players English football managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers Tamworth F.C. managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers Blackburn Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Watford F.C. non-playing staff Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff English Football League managers Men's association football forwards People from Abingdon-on-Thames English football coaches