| Born on March 1st 1952 in Kilrea, Northern Ireland, Martin O'Neill
signed for Manchester City in June 1981, manager John Bond paying his
old club Norwich City £275, 000 for the talented midfield player as he
looked to strengthen his squad to challenge for honours after the
success of the 1980/81 season. He arrived with a wealth of experience
under his belt, having previously spent ten years with Brian Clough's
great Nottingham Forest side where he had picked up winner's medals in
the European Cup, the League Championship and the League Cup, and had
also earned 40 caps for Northern Ireland.
With a great deal of
optimism around the club O'Neill made his debut in the opening game of
the 1981/82 campaign, a 2-1 home victory over West Bromwich Albion
earning City their first three points in what was the initial season of
three points for a win. With only one defeat in the first six games, a
3-0 away reverse at Birmingham City, the Blues moved into fourth place
in the table when Leeds United were on the receiving end of a 4-0
mauling at Maine Road, the midfield combination of O'Neill and Gerry Gow
showing early signs of promise along with new striker Trevor Francis
who had been brought in for £1.2 million. Progress was also made in the
League Cup after a 2-2 aggregate draw with Stoke City in the second
round led to a 9-8 win on penalties, the first time that a domestic
match in England had been settled by this method.
There then
followed a serious dip in form in October, when only one goal was scored
in five games leading to a slump down to sixteenth place, and both
O'Neill and Gow lost their places in the side. The team then recovered
sufficiently over the next two months to be briefly at the top of the
table over the Christmas period, but Martin had only managed to make a
single league appearance in that time when he came in for the injured
Tommy Caton in a 2-0 loss at Ipswich Town. It was becoming increasingly
clear that he wasn't part of manager Bond's plans any longer, and an
outing in a 1-1 home draw with Stoke City in early January turned out to
be his last game for the club. His previous club Norwich City agreed a
fee of £125, 000 for him to return to Carrow Road four weeks later, and
he departed Maine Road having made just 16 league and cup appearances
(including one as a substitute) in his eight months with the club.
After
two years at Norwich, during which time he captained his country in the
1982 World Cup finals, he went on to play for Notts County where he
eventually decided to call time on his playing career in 1985, being
forced to retire from the game with a knee injury at the age of 33. He
then made a living selling insurance but was tempted back into the game
in 1987 when he took over as manager at non-league Grantham Town. After
briefly taking over the reins at Shepshed Charterhouse he moved on to
Conference side Wycombe Wanderers, guiding them into the football league
in 1993, and from there he went on to even further managerial success
at Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic and Aston Villa as he became one
of the most popular figures in the game. In 2004 his contribution to
the game was recognised when he was awarded the OBE for services to
sport. (David Redshaw)
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