Vivian Dennis Busby (19 June 1949 – May 2024) was an English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and manager. He played for
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 188 ...
,
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
,
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:
*Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984.
*Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...
,
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 ...
and
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
.
Playing career
Born in
Slough
Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
, Buckinghamshire,
Busby started his playing career at
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 188 ...
in 1966, but was unable to hold down a regular place in their team. He moved to
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
in January 1970. At
Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...
, he scored four goals in his first nine matches, helping the club gain promotion to the Second Division in
1969–70. He scored eight goals in
1970–71 but struggled to find form in
1971–72 and spent time out on loan at
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
. He was sold 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 ...
in August 1973 where he had the most prolific spell of his career. He scored 12 goals in
1973–74 and 18 in
1974–75 of which six were in 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 ...
helping Fulham reach the
1975 FA Cup final, losing 2–0 against
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 ...
. After scoring 38 goals in 155 matches for the Cottagers, he moved to First Division
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 ...
where he scored 11 goals in his first 18 matches, including a hat-trick against
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on New Year's Day 1977.
However, he fell out of favour in
1977–78 and moved on to
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 ...
.
In
1978–79, he helped Stoke gain promotion to the First Division.
He scored 12 goals for Stoke in 60 matches and spent a short time on loan at
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 ...
before moving to the United States to play for
Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:
*Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984.
*Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...
.
He stayed in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
for the
1980 North American Soccer League season
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1980. This was the 13th season of the NASL.
Overview
The league comprised 24 teams; for the only time in NASL history, the lineup of teams was identical to the year before, with no clubs join ...
before returning to England with
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 ...
, and then ended his playing career with
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
.
Managerial and coaching career
Busby worked as a coach at
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
between 1982 and 1987. He was
Sunderland AFC
Sunderland Association Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Formed in 187 ...
first team coach under Denis Smith between 1987 and 1991. He became manager of
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
on 15 February 1993 and left the position on 24 November 1993. He was a youth team coach at
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded as Swindon A ...
in 2001, during which time he underwent six months of treatment for
leukaemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
.
He was named as assistant manager at York City in September 2004.
He became the caretaker manager at York City in November 2004 following the sacking of
Chris Brass
Christopher Paul Brass (born 24 July 1975) is an English football Manager (association football), manager and former professional Association football, player who works in a senior recruitment role at Premier League club Nottingham Forest F.C., ...
.
He left York by mutual consent on 10 February 2005, when he was replaced by
Billy McEwan.
Busby worked as Youth Academy Manager at
Gretna,
but left after a change to the backroom staff.
[ ] He was appointed assistant manager at
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
in September 2007.
He left in October 2011 to emigrate to Spain.
Personal life and death
Busby was the older brother of former
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
midfielder
Martyn Busby.
Busby died in May 2024, at the age of 74.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
Luton Town
*
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 ...
second-place promotion:
1969–70
Fulham
*
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 ...
runner-up:
1974–75
*
Anglo-Scottish Cup
The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format ...
runner-up: 1975–76
Stoke City
*
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 ...
third-place promotion:
1978–79
York City
*
Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...
:
1983–84
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busby, Viv
1949 births
2024 deaths
Footballers from Slough
English men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
Luton Town F.C. players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Norwich City F.C. players
Stoke City F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Isthmian League players
English Football League players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
English football managers
Hartlepool United F.C. managers
York City F.C. managers
English Football League managers
National League (English football) managers
York City F.C. non-playing staff
English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
English expatriate men's footballers
English football coaches