Howard Riley Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 There's a fascinating article in today's Non League Paper (I get it because I'm also a part time Corby Town fan) about our former Manager Frank O'Farrell. He was our boss when we reached the 1969 FA Cup Final and also got us promoted back into the old First Division in the early 70's after we'd been relegated in 69. Does anyone remember him ? My Dad reckons he should never have left us to join Manchester United. He feels that the Leicester side at the time, Shilton, etc could have gone on to bigger and better things under O'Farrell. Which other managers do you think left us too early ? obviously Martin 0'Neill comes to mind, is there something strange about us and your surname beginning with an O!!!!!!!.
lee(lcfc) Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 pearson, if he stayed and the money we have he would off got us in the prem
THEFATBASTARD Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 Peter taylor, there was still damage to be done...
Vacamion Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 Jock Wallace. You can close the thread down now.
Howard Riley Posted 4 September 2011 Author Posted 4 September 2011 The Non League Paper article says O'Farrell went from managing in the Non League with Weymouth to taking over at Man United in six years. Along the way he took us to Wembley, got us relegated, and brought us back up again. That must be some kind of record. Apparently O'Farrell's autobiography is out. http://www.backpassmagazine.co.uk/book.html
accessory Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 The Non League Paper article says O'Farrell went from managing in the Non League with Weymouth to taking over at Man United in six years. Along the way he took us to Wembley, got us relegated, and brought us back up again. That must be some kind of record. Apparently O'Farrell's autobiography is out. http://www.backpassmagazine.co.uk/book.html That will be well worth a read. O'Farrell was clearly well out of his depth at OT, but had he stayed at Filbert Street, the 70s could have been so different for us. We may even have won trophies during that decade.
Libertine Dream Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 pearson, if he stayed and the money we have he would off got us in the prem Rubbish, hes spent 5mil on strikers and still cant score. Soon enough hoof ball will die out, even stoke are shying away
accessory Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 Rubbish, hes spent 5mil on strikers and still cant score. Soon enough hoof ball will die out, even stoke are shying away Did you see Mark Davies or Tom Cleverley play for us? If Pearson believed in hoofball, he wouldn't have signed either of them.
Fox92 Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 Soon enough hoof ball will die out, even stoke are shying away I do agree with loosing Pearson early, but you are right. Mainly because, hoof ball is worser than horrible. Thats one of the reasons I hate Stoke because of their play, and Burnley last season. Nigel Pearson did do a very good job, and I respect him for that, but his football was horrid.
accessory Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 I do agree with loosing Pearson early, but you are right. Mainly because, hoof ball is worser than horrible. Thats one of the reasons I hate Stoke because of their play, and Burnley last season. Nigel Pearson did do a very good job, and I respect him for that, but his football was horrid. We've seen a lot worse in the last decade - from Holloway, Kelly, Levein, Taylor, even Micky Adams in his last few months in charge. In Pearson's first season, when he was still very much learning his trade, results were the only thing that mattered. No-one at the club wanted to spend more than one season in the third division. At a higher level, Pearson was occasionally limited by the lack of resources made available to him. But players like Wellens and Gallagher didn't come here play hoofball - it wouldn't have suited their style.
smudger63 Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 There's a fascinating article in today's Non League Paper (I get it because I'm also a part time Corby Town fan) about our former Manager Frank O'Farrell. He was our boss when we reached the 1969 FA Cup Final and also got us promoted back into the old First Division in the early 70's after we'd been relegated in 69. Does anyone remember him ? My Dad reckons he should never have left us to join Manchester United. He feels that the Leicester side at the time, Shilton, etc could have gone on to bigger and better things under O'Farrell. Which other managers do you think left us too early ? obviously Martin 0'Neill comes to mind, is there something strange about us and your surname beginning with an O!!!!!!!. Frank O`Farrell played functional football, with a well drilled defence, and world class goalkeeper. His football wasn`t the best to watch, and him going to Man United, paved the way for Jimmy Bloomfield to come in, and play the best football i`ve ever had the pleasure to watch down the City. It`s true that we never won anything under Bloomfield, but at times, the football was a joy to behold. Although Frank O`Farrell got us promoted, from the 2nd division, i personally don`t believe we would have been as good in the top division under him, compared to Bloomfield, and so for me, him leaving for Man United, was a blessing, for the history of our club.
adam1 Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 I have a semi autobiography of George Best. Michael Parkinson wrote the chapters and George Best then gave his own views on what happened st the end of each chapter. It is an interesting read. Obviously it features a bit on Frank O'Farrell. From what I can remember he struggled at United because the players didn't have enough respect for him. There was a lot of big characters at the club at the time and Frank, as someone pointed out Weymouth to United in 6 years, didn't have the reputation which would allow him to control such a team.
Howard Riley Posted 4 September 2011 Author Posted 4 September 2011 But surely O'Farrell would have had to deal with some "big personalities" in our dressing room at the time. I'm thinking late 60's early 70's the likes of Shilton, Clark, Carlin. Rodrigus,Lockhead.
accessory Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 But surely O'Farrell would have had to deal with some "big personalities" in our dressing room at the time. I'm thinking late 60's early 70's the likes of Shilton, Clark, Carlin. Rodrigus,Lockhead. Clarke, Rodrigues and Lochhead were all moved on by O'Farrell, though he did promote quality replacements. History and the recollections of colleagues who lived through the time, suggest the Bloomfield side spent more time fighting relegation than in serious challenges for honours or even European places. Yes it could produce quality football, to rank along the best teams of the era, but this would only happen about six times a season, usually at Filbert Street when TV cameras were present. There were many other games where the team would appear listless and unmotivated, regularly succumbing to defeats against supposedly lesser sides. Bloomfield could not motivate a side in the way that O'Farrell did during various cup runs. Towards the end of Bloomfield's time at City, the team was being sussed out on a regular basis by opponents. Results suffered accordingly, causing sections of the fanbase to turn on Bloomfield and eventually force him out. It would be a generation before City would again emerge as a serious top-flight force.
smudger63 Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 Clarke, Rodrigues and Lochhead were all moved on by O'Farrell, though he did promote quality replacements. History and the recollections of colleagues who lived through the time, suggest the Bloomfield side spent more time fighting relegation than in serious challenges for honours or even European places. Yes it could produce quality football, to rank along the best teams of the era, but this would only happen about six times a season, usually at Filbert Street when TV cameras were present. There were many other games where the team would appear listless and unmotivated, regularly succumbing to defeats against supposedly lesser sides. Bloomfield could not motivate a side in the way that O'Farrell did during various cup runs. Towards the end of Bloomfield's time at City, the team was being sussed out on a regular basis by opponents. Results suffered accordingly, causing sections of the fanbase to turn on Bloomfield and eventually force him out. It would be a generation before City would again emerge as a serious top-flight force. That wasn`t the fault of Bloomfield though. That was because the club appointed Frank McLintock, who had absolutely no managerial experience, and was completely out of his depth, and actually broke up the Bloomfield team, and replaced them with the likes of, Lammie Robertson from 4th division Exeter, John Ridley from Port Vale, Alan Waddle a reserve from Liverpool, and an over the hill George Armstrong from Arsenal. Don`t even get me started on Roger bloody Davies. McLintock really had no idea. Under Bloomfield, we actually finished 12th, 16th, 9th, 18th, 7th and 11th, and won the charity shield against Liverpool.. Only in 1974/75 season, did we really struggle, and even then we were pretty much safe with 3 or 4 games to go. We also reached the FA Cup semi final in 1974, and was unfortunate to be drawn against a great Liverpool team in the semis. If we had been drawn against Burnley or Newcastle, i honestly believe we would have made it to the final. The season Bloomfield was sacked, we were actually challenging for europe, going into May, but lost the last 3 games, including a 5-0 hammering, that we took at home to west brom, when we were ripped apart by Laurie Cunningham. It was after that game that i seem to remember the fans starting to turn on Bloomfield. Bloomfield had built a team that had raised our expectations, and in the end, that was what done for him. The opinion that we only turned it on about 6 times a season, and then only for the tv cameras, doesn`t tally with my memories of that time, and seems a bit harsh. What i will say though, is that we had some big personalities at the club in those days, and i`m not sure that Bloomfield was able to keep them in check, as well as might have been best for the club.
Bert Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 Can anyone find the video if the crazy fan that went on about how he supported us since Frank O'Farrell was our manager? On YouTube, taken from SSN.
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 I'd sooner see City win playing 'hoofball' than lose trying to be too clever.
smudger63 Posted 4 September 2011 Posted 4 September 2011 I'd sooner see City win playing 'hoofball' than lose trying to be too clever. Well ultimately it`s about winning isn`t it, but i would still rather see us winning playing attractive football, than winning playing hoofball.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 5 September 2011 Posted 5 September 2011 Yup! I well remember Frank O'Farrell. A great manager, and really nice guy. I also well remember the real "Howard Riley." He was a brilliant, hard working, little right winger, who was superb at crossing the ball.
mikey54 Posted 5 September 2011 Posted 5 September 2011 I remember a Tv documentary featuring Frank O'Farrell in his time at Leicester, used to watch it on a Sunday morning - something to do with management training.Anybody else remember it. I seem to remember his daughter was bang tidy and went to school in Loughborough.
Howard Riley Posted 5 September 2011 Author Posted 5 September 2011 Did Richie Norman play in the O'Farrell team? I guess Colin Appleton had already left!!!!! What are Appleton, Norman and Howard Riley up to these days anyone know?
accessory Posted 5 September 2011 Posted 5 September 2011 Did Richie Norman play in the O'Farrell team? I guess Colin Appleton had already left!!!!! What are Appleton, Norman and Howard Riley up to these days anyone know? Norman left in summer 1968 before O'Farrell arrived. Appleton left in 1966. Howard Riley is still regularly featured in the Mercury. An interview with Colin Appleton, who is now living in retirement in Scarborough, appeared in a recent City match programme. No news on Richie Norman.
davieG Posted 6 September 2011 Posted 6 September 2011 According to this site - http://www.where-are...ster-city/n.php NORMAN, Richie. Leicester City, Peterborough United. (1959-1968). Qualified as a physio opening his own clinic in Leicester and acts as physio to non league Nuneaton Borough.Updated: 08-04-10 Neil Fissler
Howard Riley Posted 6 September 2011 Author Posted 6 September 2011 Interesting piece in today's Daily Mail about O'Farrell To be Frank with United Former Manchester United manager Frank O'Farrell was set to bring out his autobiography A Nice Day for an Execution, based on his turbulent 18 months in the Old Trafford hot seat, in the late Seventies. But the threat of legal action by United, especially over criticisms of his predecessor Sir Matt Busby, saw the book mothballed. Now, 40 years on from his brief time in charge of United, the 83-year-old will finally see publication of the Frank O'Farrell Story, now subtitled All Change at Old Trafford. It charts his strained relationship with Sir Matt and dealings with the holy trinity of Best, Law and Charlton. Don't count on it being sold at Old Trafford. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2034120/Charles-Sale-Phillips-Idowu-airport-snub-Charles-Van-Commenee.html#ixzz1XAkzXSDr
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.