John Green (22 May 1939 – 15 August 2010) 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played a total of 250 league games in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

. He moved from

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...

Stockton Heath Stockton Heath is a civil parish and suburb of Warrington, in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is located to the north of the Bridgewater Canal and to the south of the Manchester Ship Canal, which divides Stockton Heath from Lat ...

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

in February 1958. He played 21 league games before he was

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

red to top-flight Blackpool in March 1959. He went on to make 145 appearances for the club, before he was signed by

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...

for

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in September 1967. He was allowed to spend summer 1968 in Canada with

Vancouver Royals The Vancouver Royals were a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1967 as the Vancouver Royal Canadians, they were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA), and when the USA an ...

, who were then

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed by Ferenc Puskás. He returned to help Vale to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the Fourth Division in 1969–70, and was also named as the club's

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

. He later served as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

of Northwich Victoria in 1971–72.

Career

Tranmere Rovers

John Green was born and grew up near to

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, like his lifelong friend

Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 286 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, ...

; both played as amateurs for

before becoming professional footballers. Green began his professional career with

, signing in February 1958, with the club in the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

. At the end of the 1957–58 season the Third Division North and South were dissolved and replaced by the Third Division and the Fourth Division. Tranmere were allowed to join the new Third Division having finished in the top twelve in 1957–58 – they finished ahead of thirteenth place

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

on goal average.

Blackpool

National service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

from August 1959 to August 1961 limited his appearances in his first couple of seasons as a Blackpool player. Green made his debut for

Ron Suart Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

's Blackpool on 5 March 1960, in a 4–2 victory at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

.Calley, Roy (1992). '' Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 294 Green went on to make a further six appearances in the 1959–60 campaign. The following season, 1960–61, Green made just one league appearance, on 8 October 1960, as Suart rang the changes following a single-goal defeat at Preston North End in the

West Lancashire derby The West Lancashire derby (sometimes also known as the '' M55 derby'') is a local rivalry in English football between Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Preston North End. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of English football, but not t ...

in the previous outing.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 296 In 1961–62, Green made nine league appearances. He also scored his first goals for the club. The first came on 14 April 1962, in a 3–2 defeat at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

. A second followed seven days later, this time in a 3–1 victory over Manchester City at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

. Green also made two appearances for the club in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

: firstly in their third-round tie at

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Locat ...

on 5 November, his strike being the only goal of the game; and secondly in their semi-final second leg game at home to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

on 16 April 1962, which proved to be their elimination match.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 298 Green made twelve league appearances in 1962–63, scoring one goal in the process.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 300 It was during the 1963–64 season that Suart gave Green an extended run in the team. He made 23 appearances and scored two goals.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 302 In 1964–65, though, he was ever-present throughout Blackpool's 42 league games. He also scored twice.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 304 Green returned to being a rotation player in 1965–66, making 26 appearances.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 306 For 1966–67, Green's final season with the club, the midfielder became one of two Greens in the team, after the arrival of

Tony Green Anthony John "Tony" Green (born 29 January 1939) is an English sports commentator and television presenter. Darts career A former amateur player, who played county darts for Lancashire, he was the BBC's lead commentator when they showed t ...

, a Scot, from Albion Rovers. The Englishman made fifteen league appearances, a third of which occurred under new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a ha ...

. Green's final appearance for the club took place in the penultimate league game of the season, a 3–1 defeat at home to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

on 6 May 1967. After maintaining a First Division status during Green's eight seasons with the club, Blackpool were

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

at the end of the campaign.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Breedon Books Sport, p. 308 Green had played a total of 145 league and cup games for Blackpool, scoring a total of 11 goals in all competitions.

Port Vale

In September 1967, Green was signed for Fourth Division

, who Green had admired from childhood and alongside whom he had played towards the end of Matthews' playing career with Blackpool. He made a 'superb' start to his Vale career, and was seen as one of the club's most skilful players. However, he soon lost his first team place, and made just eleven appearances in 1967–68. Green then spent May to October 1968 with

. Although Green was originally recruited by

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

, by the time he joined Vancouver Royals, Robson had been replaced as

by Ferenc Puskás, who made Green captain for his season with the Canadian club. While there he notched 4 goals in 25 matches as the Royals struggled in the North American Soccer League, and finished bottom of the Pacific Division. Returning to

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

for the rest of the 1968–69 campaign, he found himself working under a new manager in

Gordon Lee Gordon Lee may refer to: *Gordon Lee (comic store owner) (1958–2013), American comic book store owner charged with distributing obscene materials *Gordon Lee (congressman) (1859–1927), U.S. congressman from Georgia *Gordon Lee (footballer) (193 ...

. Green struggled with his fitness but played twelve games, finding himself on the scoresheet in home wins against Newport County and Chester. He then helped the club to win

in 1969–70, and was an ever-present with 46 league and six cup appearances. He was given the club's

Player of the Year award Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is h ...

for his contribution to the campaign. He said that "It came as a complete surprise, all the lads were sure it would be John James". However, he could not translate this success over to the 1970–71 Third Division campaign, and new signings

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...

and

Tony Lacey Anthony John Lacey (born 18 March 1944) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder for Stoke City, Port Vale, Rochdale, and Stafford Rangers. He made 288 league appearances in a ten-year career in the Football League, and won ...

established themselves in the

first XI The First XI (or, less commonly, First 11) are the eleven primary players in an organisation's leading team, particularly a football or cricket team. A player who is considered a core part of the starting line-up in a First XI team is often the ...

. He was not offered a new

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

at the end of the season. Green had played a total of 98 league and cup games for Port Vale, scoring a total of 9 goals in all competitions.

Later career

Green rounded off his career in professional football as

of Northern Premier League side Northwich Victoria for the latter part of the 1971–72 season.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Individual *

Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited t ...

: 1969–70 * Football League Fourth Division promotion: 1969–70

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, John 1939 births Footballers from Warrington English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Warrington Town F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Vancouver Royals players Northwich Victoria F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Northern Premier League players Men's association football player-managers English football managers Northwich Victoria F.C. managers Northern Premier League managers Deaths from cancer in England 2010 deaths