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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William John Terence Neill | ||
| Date of birth | (1942-05-08)8 May 1942 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 28 July 2022(2022-07-28) (aged 80) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Bangor | |||
| 1959–1960 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1960–1970 | Arsenal | 241 | (8) |
| 1970–1973 | Hull City | 103 | (4) |
| Total | 344 | (12) | |
| International career | |||
| 1961–1973 | Northern Ireland | 59 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1970–1974 | Hull City | ||
| 1971–1974 | Northern Ireland | ||
| 1974–1976 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| 1976–1983 | Arsenal | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William John Terence Neill (8 May 1942 – 28 July 2022) was a Northern Irishfootball player and manager. Acentre-back, hecaptained and later managedArsenal, guiding the club to a European final in 1980 and three consecutive FA Cup finals between 1978 and 1980, winning a dramatic final againstManchester United in 1979. Before his seven-year spell as manager of Arsenal, he managedHull City,Tottenham Hotspur, andNorthern Ireland.[1]
Born inBelfast, Neill played as a youth forBangor, before moving in December 1959 toArsenal. He spent a year in Arsenal's youth side, before making his debut againstSheffield Wednesday on 23 December 1960, aged eighteen. At first, he played sporadically during the early 1960s, getting between 10 and 20 games a season through the first half of the decade, though on one occasion he became the youngest Arsenal captain in the club's history at 20 years of age.[1]
Playing either atcentre-half orwing-half, Neill established himself in the side in1964–65, with 29 league appearances, and as one of the younger members ofBilly Wright's team, was kept by Wright's successorBertie Mee when he took over in 1966. Neill became a first-choice player through the mid-sixties, playing over 40 games a season for three consecutive seasons, and also playing in the1968 Football League Cup Final againstLeeds United, which Arsenal lost. Neill played no part in Arsenal'sEuropean Fairs Cup 1969–70 final win but he made five appearances earlier in the cup run.[2]
During this time, Neill had also become a regular forNorthern Ireland, having made his debut as far back as 1961. He became captain of his country in 1968, but a bout ofjaundice restricted his appearances for club and country in1968–69 and he missed the1969 Football League Cup Final, which Arsenal lost toSwindon Town. Unable to regain his first-team place, Neill only made 25 appearances in1969–70 and it became clear that he was surplus to requirements at Arsenal. In total he played 275 times for Arsenal, scoring ten goals.[3]
Although still only 28, Neill was signed byHull City in July 1970 as player-manager, one of the youngest ever managers in the history of the game; he later became player-manager of his country as well. Neill retired from playing in 1973, by which time he had won 59 caps for Northern Ireland, breakingDanny Blanchflower's record (althoughPat Jennings would go on to break Neill's record in due course).[4]
Neill left Hull a year later to succeedBill Nicholson as manager of Arsenal's fiercest rivals,Tottenham Hotspur. He managed Spurs for two seasons, narrowly avoiding relegation in his first term.[4]
Having improved Tottenham Hotspur's fortunes with a 9th-place finish in his second season in charge, Neill was recruited by the Arsenal board to replaceBertie Mee on 9 July 1976 and at the age of 34 he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date.[5] With new signings likeMalcolm Macdonald andPat Jennings, and a crop of talent in the side such asLiam Brady andFrank Stapleton, the club enjoyed their best form since the 1971double, reaching a trio ofFA Cup finals (1978,1979 and1980).[4]
Arsenal lost the other two FA Cup finals that Neill guided the club to, but were victorious in the 1979 final, with the Gunners winning 3–2 againstManchester United in one of the most exhilarating endings to an FA Cup final in history. In the 86th minute, Arsenal were leading 2–0. United scored two late goals to equalise. With the game poised for extra time,Alan Sunderland scored a last-minute winner for Arsenal to end the match 3–2.[6]
In 1979, Neill came close, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to pull off a major transfer coup for Arsenal by signingDiego Maradona as a highly rated teenager fromArgentinos Juniors.[7] Neill also wanted to sign midfielderGlenn Hoddle from Spurs, but Hoddle had reservations about moving across North London to join his team's arch rival. Hoddle later said: "I don't think my brother would have ever spoken to me again if I had joined Arsenal."[8]
Neill guided Arsenal to the1980 final of theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the semi-final againstJuventus, Arsenal drew 1–1 in the first leg at Highbury, and were expected to have a formidable task in the second leg in Turin. But a late goal two minutes from time by Arsenal's teenage substitutePaul Vaessen gave Arsenal a 1–0 away victory and a 2–1 aggregate win. It was the first time Juventus had lost to a British team on home soil.[9] In the final, Arsenal lost onpenalties toValencia in front of 40,000 people atHeysel Stadium.[10]
Arsenal's success in cup competitions could not be matched in the league. The retirement of Malcolm Macdonald at the premature age of 29 due to a knee injury, and the departures of stars such as Brady and Stapleton, hampered Arsenal's league title ambitions.[citation needed]
In the 1980–81 season, Neill guided Arsenal to a third-place finish in the final table – the closest in 10 years that they had come to winning the league title.[11] In the 1981–82 season, Arsenal finished fifth in the league.[12]
Neill's 1982 summer signing of strikerLee Chapman fromStoke City for £500,000 was not a success,[13] with Chapman scoring just four goals in 23 appearances for Arsenal before being sold toSunderland for £200,000.[14][citation needed] In the 1982–83 season, Arsenal reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and theLeague Cup, but lost both semi-finals toManchester United.[citation needed]
In June 1983, Neill signedstrikerCharlie Nicholas, fromCeltic for £800,000.[15]Liverpool and Manchester United had also been keen to buy Nicholas, who had scored an impressive total of 50 goals in all competitions for Celtic in the 1982–83 season. Nicholas reportedly became the highest paid footballer in Britain after his move to Arsenal, and later became a cult figure at the club.[16][17]
After being given an improved three-year contract at the start of the 1983–84 season, Neill was sacked by Arsenal on 16 December 1983. The dismissal was a decision which club chairmanPeter Hill-Wood had reportedly agonised over.[18][19]Neill subsequently retired from football when only 41 years old.[20]
Neill opened sports bars inHendon andHolborn. He also commentated on Arsenal matches forArsenal TV.[citation needed] Neill headed up the business development department of The Hub (London), a total media management company inthe City.[citation needed]
Politically, he was aConservative.[21]
Neill died in July 2022, aged 80.[22]
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| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 March 1965 | Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Netherlands | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 23 May 1972 | London, England |  England | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1972 British Home Championship |
Arsenal
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|---|---|
| National | |
