Don Revie
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Don Revie, OBE, (1927-1989), was a football player for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep lying centre-forward. He managed the England national football team from 1974 until 1977, after managing Leeds United (1961-1974).
Revie was born in Middlesbrough on 10 July 1927 and first signed as a footballer for Leicester City in 1944. From there he went on to play for Hull City in 1949 (transfer fee £20,000), Manchester City in 1951 (£25,000), Sunderland in 1956 (£22,000) and Leeds United in 1958 (£12,000). The combined transfer fees paid over his career was at the time (i.e. in 1958) a record in English football.
He won six caps for England, was Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1955 and won an FA Cup winners medal with Manchester City in 1956. At Manchester City the playing tactic of using a deep lying centre-forward (Revie's position, evolved from the more traditional inside-right), and based on the style of the successful Hungarian national team, became known as the "Revie plan".
Revie was made player manager on his arrival at Leeds, and after an initial slow start developed the team that would by the early 1970s be the major force in English football. He was named English Manager of the Year in 1969, 1970, and 1972, and was awarded the OBE in 1970.
In 1974 Revie was offered the job of England national football manager, but was unable to reproduce the success he had enjoyed at Leeds. In 1977 he controversially quit the role to become coach to the United Arab Emirates. The FA suspended Revie on a charge of bringing the game into disrepute, which Revie successfully overturned in court. After leaving the UAE coaching role in 1980 he took over management of Al Nasr, followed in 1984 by the Egyptian club Al Al of Cairo.
In 1988 he revealed that he was suffering from motor neurone disease, and he died in Edinburgh in May 1989, aged 61.
Although never popular with the English national press (which is largely based in London and Manchester) he continues to be worshipped by the Leeds supporters and beloved by his former team. A stand at Leeds United's ground, Elland Road, is named after him.
Template:England national football team manager
| Preceded by: Tom Finney | Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1955 | Succeeded by: Bert Trautmann |