Stanley Frederick Eyre (born 3 February 1944) is an English former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach. After retiring from the sport, Eyre became a successful businessman, author,

after-dinner speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...

and radio pundit. He is the father of former

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

manager

Steve Eyre Steven Frederick Eyre (born 9 May 1972) is an English football manager who was formerly assistant manager at Doncaster Rovers. Born in Salford, his father is ex-player and radio pundit Fred Eyre. Playing career Eyre played for several non-Leag ...

Career

Playing career

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Eyre played as a

wing half 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 ...

and began his early career as an apprentice at

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 Engla ...

club

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, where he cleaned

boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer Stre ...

for players including

Bert Trautmann Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann EK OBE BVO (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. In August 1933, (aged 9), he joined the Jungvolk, the junio ...

and

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

, his playing heroes. Eyre was Manchester City's first ever apprentice. Failing to make the grade at Manchester City, he signed with Lincoln City in 1963 and then had a trial with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

before signing for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

at the start of the 1964–65 season, but he never made a first-team appearance for either team. After leaving Crewe Alexandra in 1965, Eyre played in the English non-League system with a total of twenty clubs, including Oswestry Town, Rossendale United, New Brighton,

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

, Radcliffe Borough and

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. Hi ...

. Eyre returned to League football briefly during the 1969–70 season with

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

, making one appearance, before returning to Oswestry Town; he later played for

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

Coaching career

Eyre worked on the coaching staff of both

and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, and had a brief spell as caretaker manager of

in 1981, winning one game and drawing a second. He was also Assistant Manager of

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

in 1998, as well as being Chief Scout at the same club.

After football

Eyre started his own office supply company, became an after-dinner speaker, and published a book called ''Kicked into Touch'', which had sold over a million copies as of April 2005. One story that Eyre told involved Hungarian player

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

; on holiday in Australia, Eyre found himself on the same pitch as Puskás, who was coaching

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

at the time: As of 2009, Eyre co-commentated on Manchester City matches for

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford ...

. He was still in the role as of 2011, when he suffered from a 'mystery illness'.

Books

After retiring as a player he became a writer, publishing books including: :''Kicked Into Touch'' :''Another Breath Of Fred Eyre'' :''What A Game!'' (with Roy Cavanagh) :''Star Games'' :''Taking The Mike''

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Fred 1944 births Living people English men's footballers English football managers Manchester City F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Ellesmere Port Town F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Chadderton F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Wigan Athletic F.C. managers Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. non-playing staff Southport F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Manchester