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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Royle | ||
| Date of birth | (1949-04-08)8 April 1949 (age 76) | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1974 | Everton | 232 | (102) |
| 1974–1977 | Manchester City | 99 | (23) |
| 1977–1980 | Bristol City | 101 | (18) |
| 1980–1982 | Norwich City | 42 | (9) |
| Total | 474 | (152) | |
| International career | |||
| 1967 | England Youth | 3 | (1) |
| 1968–1971 | England U23 | 10 | (4) |
| 1971–1977 | England | 6 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1982–1994 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| 1994–1997 | Everton | ||
| 1998–2001 | Manchester City | ||
| 2002–2006 | Ipswich Town | ||
| 2009 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| 2016 | Everton (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an Englishfootball manager and former footballer. In his playing career as astriker, he debuted forEverton at the age of 16 and went on to play forManchester City,Bristol City,Norwich City, and theEngland national team. Later, he managedOldham Athletic, Everton, Manchester City, andIpswich Town. He is a director atOldham Athletic.[1]
Royle was born in theNorris Green area ofLiverpool on 8 April 1949. He attended Ranworth Square Primary School in Norris Green andQuarry Bank High School in Liverpool'sAllerton suburb, where he was an all-round sportsman. Unusually for a grammar schoolboy, he played for the Liverpool schoolboys team, which was usually drawn from secondary modern schools.
A number of clubs were interested in signing Royle, includingManchester United, but it was his hometown clubEverton that succeeded in recruiting him to their ranks. He went on to make 270 appearances for Everton, scoring 119 times. He made his debut at the age of 16 and held the record of being the youngest player to play for Everton untilJames Vaughan beat the record on 10 April 2005 by 11 days. For five seasons he was Everton's top scorer, notably scoring 23 goals in the Championship-winning side of1969–70.Manchester City managerTony Book bought Royle for £170,000 in 1974 and he went on to claim further honours as he helped them to win theLeague Cup in 1976.
He leftMaine Road in November 1977 to joinBristol City and had a further stint withNorwich City, including winningNorwich City player of the year in 1981, before being forced to retire from the game in 1982 (aged 33) due to a knee injury. In 2002, he was voted into the club'shall of fame by Norwich supporters. His time at Bristol City, however, had not been so fruitful. After a storming on-loan debut, scoring four, he only tallied another 14 goals in the remaining 100 games with them.
Royle was awarded the first of his six England caps againstMalta in 1971.
In June 1982, Royle moved into management in the Second Division atOldham Athletic. He spent more than 12 years in charge atBoundary Park, taking them into the First Division in 1991 (a year before it became theFA Premier League) as Second Division champions. Royle's teams won many friends with their cavalier style of play, which was particularly evident during the season that they played on artificial turf on their home ground. Oldham reached a cup final for the first time in 1990 when they reached the final of theLeague Cup, but they were beaten 1–0 byNottingham Forest. They also reached the FA Cup semi-finals that season, and heldManchester United to a 3–3 draw in the first match atMaine Road before losing the replay 2–1.
WhenEngland national football team managerBobby Robson announced in May 1990 that he would be quitting the job after theWorld Cup that summer, Royle's name was strongly linked with the role andthe Football Association shortlisted him along withGraham Taylor andHoward Kendall. This was despite Royle having yet to manage in the First Division; whereas in contrast Kendall had won two league titles, an FA Cup andEuropean Cup Winners' Cup with Everton, and Taylor had taken bothAston Villa andWatford to runners-up spot in the top flight and Watford to an FA Cupfinal. Incredibly, Royle was selected on the shortlist ahead ofTerry Venables, theTottenham Hotspur manager whose managerial CV included takingBarcelona to the Spanishleague title and to aEuropean Cup final, as well as guidingQueen's Park Rangers to an FA Cup final in1982. Venables himself had expressed interest in the job – which would finally become his in January 1994. In the event, Graham Taylor was appointed as England's new manager.[2]
In 1991, Oldham finished champions of the Second Division, and were promoted to the First Division where they had last played 68 years earlier.[3]
Royle was able to attract established stars to Oldham, as well as developing talent which would go on to excel at a higher level. These included strikerGraeme Sharp – one of the most accomplished goalscorers of the past decade – who was signed from Everton in 1991,[4] midfielderMike Milligan (who was sold to Everton for £1million in 1990 and signed back for £600,000 a year later),[5] left backEarl Barrett (who was one of the most expensive defenders in England when he was sold toAston Villa for £1.7million in early 1992)[6] and right-backDenis Irwin, who was signed on a free transfer fromLeeds United in 1986 and was sold toManchester United for £625,000 in 1990, where he went on to win numerous domestic and European honours over the next 12 years.[7]
The Latics finished 17th in1991–92 season – their first top flight campaign for almost 70 years – and secured their place in the new Premier League. A key game which helped ensure survival was a 5–1 home win over eventually relegatedLuton Town, in which Graeme Sharp scored four goals. They also hosted Manchester United on Boxing Day 1991, and went down 6–3 in one of the most thrilling league contests of the season.
They survived on goal difference on the last day of the1992–93 with a remarkable 4–3 home win overSouthampton, their survival also boosted by an earlier 1–0 away win overAston Villa – a victory which handed the title to Oldham's local rivalsManchester United.[8] This result sentCrystal Palace down instead.
However,1993–94 brought another battle against relegation and this time the Latics were unable to win it. They were rarely outside the bottom three all season. Another away win over Southampton at the end of March 1994 lifted the Latics out of the relegation zone[9] and a 4–1 home win overQPR in the next game put them three points clear of the drop zone with two games in hand.[10] However, a late Manchester United equaliser put their FA Cup dream on ice in the Wembley semi-final and they were defeated 4–1 three days later in theMaine Road replay.[11] The Premier League campaign had already brought two thrilling matches between Oldham and their bigger local rivals - a 5–2 win for United at Boundary Park just after Christmas, and at the beginning of April the return match atOld Trafford saw the hosts win a closely-fought game 3–2.
The Latics failed to win any of their final eight games and a 1–1 draw atNorwich City on the final day of the season was not enough to stave off relegation. Royle remained in charge of Oldham despite their relegation, and oversaw their first few months in Division One.[12]
After 12 years of managing Oldham, Royle returned to Everton in November 1994 to succeed managerMike Walker, who had been sacked after less than a year in charge following Everton's worst start to a league season, with no wins from their first 12 league games. He permanently signed Scottish strikerDuncan Ferguson, who was at Everton on loan. Ferguson would go on to play a big part in Everton's success after Royle's arrival, and would remain loyal to the team after retiring as a player in 2006 (taking a position as a trainer at Everton and even having an interim spell as manager in the2019–20 season when he took over as temporary manager for three games before the arrival ofCarlo Ancelotti).
Everton's league form improved under Royle, and they achieved Premier League survival at the beginning of May, finally achieving a 15th-place finish. After defeatingTottenham Hotspur 4–1 in theFA Cup semi-final, they went on to beatManchester United 1–0 inthe final, which remains their most recent major trophy to date.[13][14]
That summer, Royle signed Manchester United's top scorerAndrei Kanchelskis for a club record £5 million, and Everton progressed further in1995–96 as they finished sixth in the league, although they only reached the second round of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup, their first European campaign for 11 years. He then signed wingerGary Speed fromLeeds United for £3.5 million in the summer of 1996, and paid a club record £5.75 million forMiddlesbrough forwardNick Barmby later in 1996, but Everton's form in1996–97 was less convincing and on transfer deadline day in 1997 he was not permitted to sign NorwegiansTore André Flo andClaus Eftevaag by chairmanPeter Johnson, which led to his resignation.[15] Everton were just four points above the relegation zone when Royle resigned, their form having dipped since the sale of Andrei Kanchelskis toFiorentina two months earlier.[16]
Royle was named an Everton Giant in 2004 for his successes as both a player and a manager for the team.[17]
After 11 months out of the game, he accepted the challenge to manage Manchester City in February 1998. When Royle arrived the club was battling against relegation from Division One. They won their final game of the season 5–2 away toStoke City, but both teams were relegated due to the other three relegation-threatened teams all winning. Royle's services were retained and he delivered an instant promotion the following season, as City beatGillingham on penalties in the1999 Division Two play-off final after drawing 2–2 in open play.[18]A year later, he delivered City a second successive promotion as they finished runners-up in Division One and clinched a place in the Premier League on the final day of the league season. However, City were relegated straight back to Division One and Royle was sacked in May 2001.[19]
After more than a year out of the game, Royle returned to football in October 2002 to manageIpswich Town, who had been relegated from the Premier League the previous season and had dismissed long-serving managerGeorge Burley.[20] From February to May 2003 the club was inadministration, which led to the exit of several key players and a restriction of transfer and wage funds.[21] Royle twice led Ipswich to the play-offs, in 2004 and 2005, but lost on both occasions toWest Ham United in the semi-finals. Several players were subsequently sold off to Premier League sides, and Ipswich finished 15th in the2005–06 season, their lowest finish since 1966, and Royle left the club by mutual consent.[22]
In December 2006, Royle was appointed as a Patron ofTrust Oldham, the official supporter's association ofOldham Athletic. In November 2007, Royle was under serious consideration for theLeicester City andWigan Athletic managerial roles, but decided to pull out of the running for both.[23]
During his break from management, Royle co-commentated alongside the likes of John Helm and Tony Jones onFive's UEFA Cup Football coverage.
On 15 March 2009, Royle was re-appointed to Oldham Athletic on a temporary basis, following the resignation ofJohn Sheridan.[24] In April, he was offered the job on a permanent basis,[25] but turned it down on 28 April, and announced that he would be leaving the club after the final game.[26] On 2 May, in his final game, and the club's final game of the season, Royle led Oldham to a 2–1 away victory atWalsall.[27]
On 2 June 2014, Royle joinedNorwich City as a footballing consultant to new managerNeil Adams. On 14 July of the same year, Royle was appointed to help oversee the youth development at Everton, alongsideDavid Unsworth. On 12 May 2016, following the departure ofRoberto Martinez, Royle assisted Unsworth in taking charge of Everton's final game of the season against Norwich.[28][29]
In October 2018, Royle was appointed as a director at Wigan Athletic, following the club's takeover.[30]
In July 2022, Royle has been appointed as the director of Oldham Athletic after its takeover from the previous owners.[31]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[b] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Everton | 1965–66 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |
| 1967–68 | First Division | 34 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 20 | |
| 1968–69 | First Division | 42 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 29 | |
| 1969–70 | First Division | 42 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 23 | |
| 1970–71 | First Division | 40 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 23 | |
| 1971–72 | First Division | 28 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 9 | |
| 1972–73 | First Division | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 7 | |
| 1973–74 | First Division | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 1974–75 | First Division | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | |
| Total | 232 | 102 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 276 | 119 | ||
| Manchester City | 1974–75 | First Division | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 1975–76 | First Division | 37 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 59 | 19 | |
| 1976–77 | First Division | 39 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 9 | |
| 1977–78 | First Division | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | |
| Total | 99 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 124 | 32 | ||
| Bristol City | 1977–78 | First Division | 26 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 |
| 1978–79 | First Division | 40 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 7 | |
| 1979–80 | First Division | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | |
| Total | 101 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 20 | ||
| Norwich City | 1980–81 | First Division | 40 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 10 |
| 1981–82 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 10 | ||
| Career total | 474 | 152 | 35 | 11 | 36 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 559 | 181 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record[32] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Oldham Athletic | 14 July 1982 | 10 November 1994 | 615 | 227 | 166 | 222 | 036.91 |
| Everton | 10 November 1994 | 27 March 1997 | 118 | 47 | 36 | 35 | 039.83 |
| Manchester City | 18 February 1998 | 21 May 2001 | 172 | 74 | 47 | 51 | 043.02 |
| Ipswich Town | 28 October 2002 | 11 May 2006 | 189 | 81 | 48 | 60 | 042.86 |
| Oldham Athletic | 15 March 2009 | 8 May 2009 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 011.11 |
| Everton (joint caretaker) | 12 May 2016 | 15 May 2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Career total | 1,104 | 431 | 301 | 372 | 039.04 | ||
Everton
Manchester City
Oldham Athletic
Everton
Manchester City
Individual
