Neil Megson (born 27 July 1962) is a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and former player who coaches youth soccer. A midfielder, he played two seasons in the North American Soccer League, nine in Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

and six in the USL First Division and its predecessors. He served as head coach to the Seattle Sounders for five seasons, winning the 1995 A-League championship and being named the 2000 USL Coach of the Year. Born in England, he earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1988. He is the brother of former West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson.

Playing career

Youth

Megson was born in Manchester, England. His father, Don, played for English clubs Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers from 1959 to 1972. He then coached the Rovers for five years before moving to the United States to coach the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1977. Megson played with the Frampton Rangers Youth Academy before joining Bristol Rovers F.C. as an apprentice when he was fourteen. He was sixteen when his father moved their family to Portland. On arriving in Oregon, Megson attended Lake Oswego High School, becoming an outstanding prep player. He was named the Oregon Player of the Year his senior year. Megson's family returned to England, but he elected to remain in the U.S. After high school, he attended a local community college for a year.

Professional

In 1983, the Seattle Sounders of the NASL signed Megson. He saw time in fourteen games, but the Sounders folded at the end of the 1983 season and Megson moved to the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: * Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. * Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the te ...

for the 1984 NASL season. The Roughnecks and the NASL folded at the end of the season. By the time the NASL had folded, Megson was firmly established as an indoor player with the Tacoma Stars of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He had signed with the Stars as the team's first player in the summer of 1983 and had played his first season in Tacoma during the 1983–84 NASL off season. He remained with the Stars until the team folded at the end of the 1991–92 season. In 1988, he had played with the Calgary Kickers. Following the collapse of the Stars, Megson played a single season with the Portland Pride of the

in 1993. In 1994, a new Seattle Sounders team was formed, this time in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

(APSL). Megson signed with the team as a free agent in March 1994 and spent most of his years with the team playing sweeper. In 1995, the Sounders won the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

championship. In March 1996, Megson took on the duties of coach, as well as player, with the Sounders. In that role, he led the team to the 1996 A-League title. In August and then again in October of that year, he suffered several injuries which put him out of play for several months. Megson continued to play with the team through the 1998 season. In 1999, he became the team's dedicated coach.

International

Megson earned his first of two caps with the U.S. national team in a 1–1 tie with Chile on 1 June 1988. He came on for

Bernie James Bernie James (born November 25, 1958 in Coventry, England) is a former U.S. soccer player and current youth soccer coach. James spent twenty-four years as a professional, both beginning and ending his career with different versions of the Seatt ...

who replaced Megson as head coach of the Sounders after Megson was fired. Megson's second cap came two days later in a 3–1 loss to Chile. He started the game, then came off for Chris Sullivan.

Coaching career

While playing with the Portland Pride in 1993, Megson also served as an assistant coach. When he moved to the Sounders in 1994, he served as both an assistant coach and player under

Alan Hinton Alan Thomas Hinton (born 6 October 1942) is an English former footballer who played at the top level of English football from 1961 to 1975. He famously wore white football boots. Playing career Wolverhampton Wanderers Hinton started his career ...

. On 3 March 1996, the Sounders elevated Megson from player to player-coach after the team fired Hinton. On 28 September 2000 he was named the USL A-League Coach of the Year. In 2003, Olympic College hired Megson to establish the school's men's and women's soccer teams. He coached the women's team's first season in 2004.OC Men's Soccer Records
/ref> In 2004, he became the Coaching Director of the WestSound Football Club and remained with the club through July 2007. In 2007, Megson rejoined the Sounders club as an assistant with the Sounders Crossfire W-League team. He now coaches several Franklin Pierce Fury teams in Tacoma, Washington.

Non soccer ventures

Over the years, Megson has owned at least two Baskin-Robbins ice cream stores and a hair salon.

References

External links

1983 Stats

1995 Sounders bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Megson, Neil 1962 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Continental Indoor Soccer League players English emigrants to the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Footballers from Manchester Portland Pride players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) coaches Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Tacoma Stars players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players United States men's international soccer players Lake Oswego High School alumni American soccer players American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Association football midfielders College men's soccer coaches in the United States College women's soccer coaches in the United States Calgary Kickers players