Joe Royal is pictured above on 22nd November 1975 playing for Manchester City.
A short biography of his England caerer is below followed by a history of his days at Man City.
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Squarely-built Everton centre forward Joe Royle was accompanied by three other debutants when he played his first England match in a qualifier for the 1972 European Championships against Malta, which England won 1-0. He didn't disappoint, but Alf Ramsey still had his settled XI in place for tougher assignments than a trip to Valletta, and only after interests in that tournament had ended entirely did big Joe receive a recall to the team, again picked in a side full of inexperience, including a first cap for Mick Channon. Royle smacked in England's goal via the crossbar in the 1-1 draw against Yugoslavia, a chance made somewhat easier by the eccentric visiting goalkeeper's presence near the corner flag at the time, but even a scoring second appearance couldn't convince Ramsey, who had already fast-tracked Tottenham's Martin Chivers into the team as the main target man (he debuted at the same time as Royle) and then took an instant liking to Channon.
It took three and a half years and a move to Manchester City (he is pictured above playing for the Blues) before Royle was deemed worthy of another stint for his country, with Don Revie throwing him on as a sub for Kevin Keegan in a 4-0 destruction of Northern Ireland in the 1976 Home Internationals. Royle won a place on the summer tour of the USA, playing a pivotal role with three separate assists in a stunning comeback from two down to beat Italy 3-2 in New York. As he aged, he managed two more caps - both were victorious appearances in qualifiers for the 1978 World Cup - including a goal against Finland which proved crucial in England's 2-1 win. Royle was rated by Revie, but his international career ended with his manager's, as Ron Greenwood's elevation to the job in 1977 produced no further caps for Joe, who by now was losing favour at Maine Road. A move to Bristol City produced plenty of goals but by now he was way too far down the pecking order, an issue which also explained his absence from more squads during his peak years with Everton. (Matthew Rudd)
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A powerfully built 'old fashioned' centre-forward, Joe Royle was born in
Liverpool on 8th April 1949. He began his footballing career with
Everton and by the time he was 16 he had already progressed to their
first team. By 1974 Joe had scored 102 League goals for Everton although
he'd been struggling to overcome the effects of a back operation and
his first team opportunities had become infrequent. On Christmas Eve
that year City boss Tony Book took a chance on Royle's fitness and
brought him to Maine Road for a fee of £170, 000. In 16 League games in
his first season Royle managed just a solitary goal (in a 3-1 home win
against Birmingham) but in his second, 1975/76, only Dennis Tueart's 24
beat Joe's overall total of 18. Royle crowned his first full season with
the Blues by playing on the winning side as Newcastle were beaten in
the League Cup Final. Royle himself had a goal ruled out at Wembley, a
somewhat disappointing end to a campaign that had seen him score in
everyone of the previous rounds.
Playing alongside the likes of Tueart,
Peter Barnes, Asa Hartford and later Brian Kidd, Royle was a key member
of a formidable City attack and played in 48 games of the 1975/76
campaign, a figure that eliminated for good any doubts about his
fitness. Joe was in such good form that season that he even regained his
place in the England set-up - he had first played for his country in
February 1971 whilst an Everton player. In 1976/77 City finished
runners-up to the powerful Liverpool side by a single point at the top
of Division One. Royle's contribution to City's goalscoring tally (60 in
the League) was 7 from 39 appearances but it was Kidd and Tueart who
benefited largely by Royle's bravery and skill in opposition's penalty
areas when they scored 39 times between them. In November 1977, Royle
left Maine Road (after124/2 appearances and 32 goals) with a move to
Bristol City where he scored four times on his debut. A knee injury
whilst playing for Norwich in 1982 ended his playing career. Less than
three months after retiring from playing, Royle was back in his native
north-west and behind the manager's desk at Second Division Oldham
Athletic.
He had twelve hugely successful and popular seasons at
Boundary Park before taking over back at Goodison Park and guiding his
first club to an FA Cup Final win over Manchester United some six months
later. He and Everton parted company in the spring of 1997 and Royle
was out of work until February 1998 when he was offered a job he'd been
linked with during his time with Oldham: that of manager of Manchester
City. This time Royle took the position but with just 15 games left he
was unable to reverse the trend of a struggling side and City were
relegated to the Second Division; the third tier of English football and
the lowest point in the club's history. Royle's first full season as
manager at Maine Road ended with the miraculous comeback game against
Gillingham at Wembley and promotion at the first attempt. Remarkably
this was only the beginning and a 4-1 win at Blackburn on 7th May 2000
meant Royle had achieved the impossible of back-to-back promotions and
had returned City to the Premiership. Regrettably, though, all good
things must come to an end and after just one season in the top flight
the Blues were once again relegated. It proved to be the end of his time
at Maine Road as he was replaced in the summer by Kevin Keegan. (Ian
Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)
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