Michael Lyons (born 8 December 1951) is an English former
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 le ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. He is most famous as captain of
Everton during this period.
Early life
Lyons was educated at the all-boys'
De La Salle School in Liverpool. He was an Everton fan and his dream was to play for the football club.
Club career
Everton
Lyons signed as a professional at Everton in 1970 after having served an apprenticeship at the club. He made his first team debut in the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
in 1971. Utilized mostly as a defender, Lyons would be pushed forward into an attacking role in the last 10 minutes of a game.
Lyons was not considered the most technically gifted of players but more than made up for it by his desire to play for Everton,
the club he supported when he was a boy. Lyons' versatility made him a very useful player; he could play anywhere down the middle and was once Everton's top goalscorer.
Sheffield Wednesday
Lyons moved to
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 of ...
in 1982. He appeared for them 129 times, scoring 12 goals. Lyons helped Wednesday win promotion to the Football League First Division. He was appointed as Youth Team Coach for the 1984/85 season.
International career
Lyons won two
England "B" caps in 1978.
Managerial career
Grimsby Town
Lyons became player-manager of
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
in 1985, replacing
David Booth. The side could never get above mid-table and finished 15th. The 1986–87 season began well and most of the season was spent in the top half and on the fringes of the play-off race. However, a run of 8 losses and 2 draws in the last 10 games meant that Grimsby fell from 8th to 21st and the first of two consecutive relegations.
Nova Scotia Clippers
In 1991, he was an assistant coach with the
Nova Scotia Clippers
The Nova Scotia Clippers were a professional soccer team based in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but played their matches in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at Beazley Field. They played only a single season i ...
of the
Canadian Soccer League
The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...
and also appeared as a player in six matches, scoring once.
Canberra Cosmos
Lyons was appointed coach of
Canberra Cosmos
Canberra Cosmos Football Club was an Australian soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1995/96 season until the end of the 2000/01 season, after which it folded, primar ...
in Australia's
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...
in 1995. A 9th-place finish in his first season showed sporadic promise, but this was not maintained as the club finished last the following season.
Stirling Lions
Lyons spent five years as the coach of the
Stirling Lions in the
Football West Premier League
The National Premier Leagues Western Australia is a regional Australian semi-professional Association football, soccer league comprising teams from Western Australia. The league name is often abbreviated to NPL Western Australia or NPL WA. As a ...
in Perth, Western Australia. He was dismissed in April 2011.
Cockburn City
He was appointed as manager of Cockburn City in 2011 and his first came against Perth Soccer Club. He was sacked in July 2012 leaving the club in fourth position, three points behind the league leaders.
UWA Nedlands FC
Lyons was appointed as manager of
UWA Nedlands Football club in 2013 for the upcoming 13/14 season. A mixed season saw the first team finishing 7th.
Legacy
It was at Everton that Lyons is best remembered and revered for his commitment and dedication to "the cause".
Lyons famously dived under
Norman Hunter's boot to score from inside the six-yard box in a league game against
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 S ...
.
Honours
*
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 ...
: Everton
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, runners up
Sheffield Wednesday Promotion to League Division One 1984
References
External links
Mick Lyons Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Mick
1951 births
Living people
Association football defenders
English footballers
England B international footballers
England under-23 international footballers
Everton F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
English football managers
Grimsby Town F.C. managers
Brunei national football team managers
Expatriate football managers in Brunei
Footballers from Liverpool
Nova Scotia Clippers players