Billy Ayre
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William Ayre (7 May 1952 – 16 April 2002) was an English
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 ...
who played for three clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred
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appearances in the process. After retiring from the playing side of the game, he became a manager, and took the helm at five clubs between 1984 and 2000. He guided
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
to two successive play-off finals, in
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and
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(winning promotion in the second appearance), during his four years in charge of the club.


Playing career

Billy Ayre was born in the
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
suburb of
Crookhill Crookhill is an area of Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Ryton in Tyne and Wear, England. The original terraced housing was built mostly as accommodation for NCB workers, and lies to the east of the centre of Ryton, approx 6 miles west of Newcastle upon Tyn ...
. After trying his hand at
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
ing in his teenage years, he played for several years in non-League football at two amateur clubs in
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
:
Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Footba ...
and
Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...
.


Scarborough

Ayre began his professional playing career at Scarborough in 1975 whilst balancing a teaching profession"Ex-Boro boss dies"
– ''Scarborough Evening News''
at St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham, where he taught art and physical education. He won the Scarborough Supporters' Player of the Year award in 1977. It was his uncompromising performances for ''Boro'' that earned him a move, also in 1977, to Hartlepool United.


Hartlepool United

Ayre played in over one hundred league games and score 27 goals for Hartlepool. He made his debut for ''Pools'' on 13 August 1977, in a 3–0 defeat at Grimsby Town in the League Cup.In The Mad Crowd – a Hartlepool United Resource
He made his league debut seven days later in a 2–1 home defeat to
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
. He was the club's top scorer in an ever-present season with the club, 1977–78, with thirteen goals, which assisted in his being named as the Supporters' Player of the Year. In 2008, Ayre was posthumously named United's "Player of the 1970s". In Ayre's second season at Hartlepool, 1978–79, he made 42 league appearances and scored five goals. In 1979–80, he made 43 league appearances and score nine goals. In his final season at the club, 1980–81, he made ten league appearances and scored one goal before he was sold to Halifax Town. He played against Hartlepool in Halifax's visit to
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
later in the season.


Halifax Town

At Halifax, Ayre made 63 league appearances and scored five goals in his first spell at The Shay.


Mansfield Town

The summer of 1982 saw Ayre move again, this time to
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...
, then managed by
Stuart Boam Stuart William Boam (born 28 January 1948) is an English retired footballer and manager who is probably best known for his eight-year spell with Middlesbrough. Boam grew up in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and began his career at his loc ...
. He spent two seasons with ''the Stags'', making 67 league appearances and scoring seven goals. He scored a headed goal on his first-team debut in a Football League Trophy tie at Field Mill. The following season, 1983–84, Ayre found himself acting as
caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...
after the sacking of Boam. Ian Greaves was eventually appointed as the new manager, and Ayre was released on a free transfer.


Halifax Town

Ayre re-joined Halifax for a second spell in 1984. In two years, he made 32 league appearances and scored two goals. He brought his playing career to a close with the club in 1986. On 5 August 1987, Halifax played a benefit match for Ayre against
Halifax RLFC The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They have been Rugby Leag ...
. At this point, he was the club's manager.


Managerial career


Halifax

In October 1984, Ayre took over as caretaker manager of Halifax for less than a month. Mick Jones, who is the godfather to Ayre's two children, was installed on 10 November. In December 1986, Ayre became manager of Halifax again, this time on a full-time basis. (He was also managing director of the club.) Three years later, in April of the 1989–90 season, he resigned,"25 years on: "There was never a dull moment with Billy Ayre"
– ''Blackpool Gazette'', 2 December 2015
having failed to get them out of the league's basement division.


Blackpool

A few days after departing Halifax, Ayre joined
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
as assistant to manager Jimmy Mullen. After Mullen's departure at the end of the month, Ayre worked alongside caretaker manager
Tom White Thomas, Tom or Tommy White may refer to: Entertainment * Thomas White (musician) (born 1984), British musician * ''Tom White'' (film), 2004 Australian drama film * Tommy White (artist), see List of Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 2007 * Tommy W ...
.
Graham Carr William Graham Carr (born 25 October 1944) is an English former professional footballer, manager and scout. He is currently an associate director for Northampton Town. Club career Carr, a half-back, joined his first professional club, North ...
was installed during the close season, and he kept Ayre on as assistant. When Carr himself was sacked in November 1990, Ayre was promoted in his place. His first game in charge was a draw at
Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
on 1 December 1990. As
Roy Calley Roy Calley is an English journalist. He works for the BBC in Salford but was brought up in Blackpool, Lancashire, but now lives full-time in Nice, France. He joined the BBC in 1990 at Radio Lancashire, working as a sports journalist. Three yea ...
wrote in his 1992 book, ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', Ayre, almost unknown outside the lower leagues, was "greeted reservedly by Blackpool supporters, yet in the space of two years adbecome the club's most popular – and certainly most successful – boss since Stan Mortensen". On matchdays, he wore the number 15 Blackpool shirt, in the days when only three substitutes (numbers 12 to 14) were permitted for league games. When Carr left, Blackpool were lying in eighteenth position in the Division Four table; six months later, however, the team had qualified for the play-offs after losing only five of their remaining thirty games. Between 10 November 1990 and 19 November 1991 two new (and still existing) club records were set: fifteen consecutive home League wins in what turned out to be a twenty-four-game unbeaten run at Bloomfield Road. (The match that set the ball rolling, a 4–2 victory over Aldershot, was under the guidance of Carr.) Their good fortune came undone at the last hurdle, however, when they lost in a penalty shoot-out to
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
in the final at Wembley and remained in the Fourth Division for another season. (In an interview at the final whistle, Ayre said, "I've never had a worse moment in my life, never mind football.") Ayre was able to keep largely the same team together and guided them back to Wembley the following 1991–92 season, in which they finally gained promotion after another, more successful penalties experience.
Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
were the unlucky team on this occasion. Blackpool had booked their place in the new
Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...
. Ayre dedicated the victory to his parents, who died the previous year. Ayre's son, David, was Blackpool's mascot, and accompanied his father in the pre-match walk out to the centre circle. The following season saw ''the Seasiders'' finish in a lowly eighteenth position after winning only twelve of their forty-six games. On the final day of the 1993–94 season, Blackpool avoided relegation by a single point by virtue of beating Leyton Orient 4–1 at Bloomfield Road. Ayre was sacked in June by then-chairman
Owen Oyston Owen John Oyston (born 3 January 1934) is an English former businessman best known as the former majority owner of Blackpool Football Club. Oyston was convicted of rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl in 1996. He served three years and ...
after ''the Seasiders'' failed to impress at their new level. He was succeeded by Sam Allardyce. Ayre's league record in his three-and-a-half years at Bloomfield Road: 191 games, 77 wins, 70 draws, 44 losses. At the time of his departure, Ayre was the sixth-longest-serving Blackpool manager in terms of Football League games in charge. Ayre achieved not only promotion but subsequently survival with very little financial backing from Oyston. After a defeat at his former club, Hartlepool United, on 2 October 1992, Ayre confronted the travelling support, who had been shouting to Ayre to spend some money. He explained how his access to finances were tied by his chairman. During this period, players such as
Alan Wright Alan Geoffrey Wright (born 28 September 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. He was a left back who has played over 750 league and cup games for eight clubs, including an eight-year spell in the Premier Le ...
, Paul Groves, and, most notably,
Trevor Sinclair Trevor Lloyd Sinclair (born 2 March 1973) is an English football coach, professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was winger who notably played in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, West Ham United and Manchester City. He a ...
all left the club for bigger and better things. Despite this, Ayre's sides battled, grafted, and occasionally shocked sides with far greater resources at their disposal. As demonstrated in the retrospective DVD '' The Seasiders'', a feature of the Geordie's time at Bloomfield Road was his "ticker-tape entrance" in games at Bloomfield Road – fans throwing paper aloft whilst Ayre made his way across to the dugout on the east side of the ground. He would acknowledge the fans, then clench his fists, urging ''the Seasiders'' faithful to back his team.


Scarborough

Ayre's next stop was Scarborough, where he arrived in August
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, some twenty years after playing for the Yorkshiremen. His reign at the McCain Stadium lasted just four months, after he was sacked for failing to turn around the Division Three strugglers.


Southport

A short-but-successful stint at non-League Southport followed during the 1994–95 season. Ayre had guided ''the Sandgrounders'' to a third-placed finishing position. He continued to manage the club in the 1995–96 season, in which they finished in 6th position.


Swansea City

In March 1996, Ayre was asked by new
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
boss
Jan Mølby Jan Mølby (; born 4 July 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in Engl ...
to be his assistant, but the duo arrived too late to prevent ''the Swans'' from sliding into Division Three. They reached the play-off final a year later, but a last-minute goal saw them lose to Northampton Town and miss out on promotion. Ayre and Mølby were both sacked soon after the disappointment.


Cardiff City

Ayre then assisted
Frank Burrows Frank Burrows (30 January 1944 – 24 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager who played as a central defender. Life and career Frank Burrows began his football career at Scottish club Raith Rovers. In 1965 he moved south to ...
at
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
and helped them to promotion to Division Two in 1998–99. After a month-long break while having a benign tumor removed, Ayre was installed to the manager's seat at Cardiff when Burrows resigned in January 2000. "This came as a complete shock," he said at the time. "I was on the motorway driving back to
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
when the chairman rang me. I want to keep the job, and I hope I'm given the chance to prove myself.""Billy Ayre takes control"
– CardiffCity.com
"There will be changes," he continued. "I will be tweaking a few things, and we will be looking at the playing system. I'm still stunned about what has happened, but we have to revitalise and rejuvenate the team quickly. Frank Burrows brought me to Cardiff and did everything within his power for the club. But we have to look forward, we have to work quickly. That's what Frank would want." Regarding the tumor, Ayre said: "That wasn't something which bothered me too much. That may sound strange, but it was outside my control, so I got on with things. Now the Cardiff City job has been given to me, albeit temporarily for now, and that ''is'' within my control. I haven't spoken to Frank yet, because he has gone away. But I will talk to him soon." Also regarding his tumor, he stated: "I'm not at all frightened. I know the risks. The odds of people not even surviving the treatment are 20–1, but that doesn't bother me. I've backed a few 20–1 winners in my time. One in four people get cancer, and I'm pleased it's me and not somebody else in my family. I'd rather take it, because I think I can deal with it." Ayre stayed on beyond the end of the season despite ''the Bluebirds'' falling back into Division Three. He was demoted to assistant manager when owner
Sam Hammam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...
installed Bobby Gould in August 2000. His services were disposed of completely two months later when Alan Cork was put in charge of first-team affairs and Gould was appointed general manager.


Bury

Ayre's final job in football came within weeks of leaving Cardiff. He joined Division Two side
Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
as assistant to Andy Preece, but in the spring of 2001 it was found that the
lymph node A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that inclu ...
cancer he had initially been diagnosed with in 1995 had returned.
Graham Barrow Graham Barrow (born 13 June 1954) is an English former footballer who has since become a professional manager in the English game. He is currently working for Exeter City as a Tactical Insights Coach for former Wigan Athletic manager Gary Caldw ...
was given the temporary job of assistant manager while Ayre received treatment for his illness, and he appeared to be recovering; however, he suffered a setback in early 2002 and was admitted to Clatterbridge Hospital in
Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Ne ...
, Merseyside.


Death

Ayre died from cancer on 16 April 2002, aged 49."Popular Billy laid to rest"
– '' Blackpool Gazette'', 22 April 2002
During a Tranmere Rovers v.
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
league encounter four days after Ayre's death, the away fans rang out an impromptu rendition of "There's Only One Billy Ayre", followed by spontaneous applause, in honour of their former manager. Mark Bonner, who Ayre nurtured through from the Blackpool youth ranks, was in the Cardiff team that day. Ayre's funeral took place on 21 April at St. Cuthbert's Church in
Halsall Halsall is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England, located close to Ormskirk on the A5147 and Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Description Historically known as Heleshala, Herleshala, (Domesday Book); Haleshal, 1224; Haleshale, 1275; ...
, near Ormskirk, and his final wish was to have the Blackpool team with whom he won promotion in 1992 be present. His wish was granted. During the service, Revd. Heather Penman related an event that had touched Ayre during the final year of his life. On 26 May 2001, Ayre had attended the Football League Two play-off final between Blackpool and Leyton Orient at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
in his then-home, Cardiff. As he was walking to the stadium, he was spotted by some Blackpool fans, who proceeded to pick up their former manager and carry him shoulder-high into the stadium. "I expect he did that famous fist sign as they took him in," said Penman. "And Elaine said Billy was absolutely delighted by that gesture." "He was a fantastic fella, I couldn't speak highly enough about him," said Phil Brown, who played alongside Ayre at Hartlepool United and Halifax Town and under him at the latter. "He tried to play the game the way it should be played. He had a funny side to him that not many people saw, and had the ability to turn a serious situation and make light of it. He was the salt of the earth, a man you could trust with your life. There weren't many people like him." On 17 April 2012, ten minutes into Blackpool's Championship fixture with Leeds United at Bloomfield Road, the home support sang "Billy Ayre's tangerine army", for ten minutes, while a photograph of their former manager appeared on the television screen, along with the words "Billy Ayre, gone but never forgotten". It marked ten years and one day since the death of Ayre. His daughter, Rachel, was in attendance. On 5 October 2012, a special tribute evening was held at Bloomfield Road in his honour. A specially-commissioned painting of Ayre was unveiled by his widow, his daughter and his son. To mark two decades since Ayre's death, a minute's applause was held in the 15th minute of Blackpool's match against Birmingham City at Bloomfield Road on 18 April 2022. Ayre was also featured on the front cover of the matchday programme. His wife and children were in attendance at the match, after which Blackpool manager
Neil Critchley Neil Critchley (born 18 October 1978) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League First Division for Crewe Alexandra. He was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers. He has previously ...
said he remembered Ayre when he used to bring his teams to Crewe Alexandra in the 1990s. "I remember him as a young boy myself, growing up when I was at Crewe. I remember Blackpool coming and seeing Billy, and he was different because he wore the kit. But you could see the passion he had, and you could see the connection he had with the Blackpool supporters.""Birmingham City Reaction , Neil Critchley"] – TangerineTV, Blackpool F.C., 18 April 2022


Honours


As a player

Hartlepool United * Voted Player of the 1970s


As a manager

Blackpool * Football League Fourth Division, Division Four play-off winner: 1991–92 * Lancashire Senior Cup: 1993–94


Managerial stats

:''League games only. Only statistics that are available are listed.'' Source
/small>


References

;Specific ;General
Ayre's managerial stats at Soccerbase
*
In The Mad Crowd – a Hartlepool United Resource
*


External links


"Billy Ayre: Blackpool to honour promotion-winning boss"
– BBC Sport, 2 October 2012 *




Obituaries



(includes two action photographs)
Clarets MAD

''Scarborough Evening News''

"Pool hero Ayre dies at 49"
– '' Blackpool Gazette''
Article on Ayre from the ''Halifax Courier''


– '' Manchester Evening News'', 20 April 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayre, Billy English footballers English football managers Crook Town A.F.C. players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. managers Mansfield Town F.C. managers Blackpool F.C. managers Scarborough F.C. managers Cardiff City F.C. managers Southport F.C. managers Swansea City A.F.C. non-playing staff Cardiff City F.C. non-playing staff Bury F.C. non-playing staff 1952 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Gateshead English Football League players Association football defenders Deaths from cancer in England