This is my first post on here. I've been researching the career of Gordon Milne and his father Jimmy, a truly remarkable tale that stretches across seven decades. The story was so fascinating that I was thinking of contacting him and suggesting we write a book together. Little did I know that he'd already written one! It came out last month, and having read it, I can tell you it's a fascinaitng read.
All that research won't going to waste, though. As a taster for the book, I'll post here a brief run through of the key moments in that story, with a special focus on Coventry City. I hope you enjoy it.
1) Two Hillsborough Cup Ties
It's a tale that covers most of the 20th Century, and to illustrate that, let's have a look at two cup ties at Hillsborough, 76 years apart.
In January 1911, Southern League Coventry City recorded the most impressive result yet in their short history. Having shaken the football world the previous season with their run to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals, they were at it again a year later. Given a tough away tie at Sheffield Wednesday in the First Round, they come away with a 2-1 win. This was an even bigger shock than the victories over Preston and Nottingham Forest the year before - Wednesday would finish the season in sixth place in Division One.
This was how the Athletic News opened its report:
Coventry were drawn away to fellow Southern Leaguers Brighton in the next round, and as they prepared for that game, nearly 400 miles away in Dundee, James Low Milne was born.
76 years later, Coventry City went back to Hillsborough for another famous FA Cup victory - this time in the semi-final against Leeds United. As they were preparing for the final, they went to Filbert Street to play a seemingly meaningless League game that finished 1-1. Except that it wasn't meaningless for Leicester City, or their General Manager Gordon Milne, son of James. Their failure to take three points that day was the key result in the run-in, taking their destiny out of their hands. Five days later, their drop into the second tier was confirmed.
That spoiled a proud record for the Milne family, as until that moment, neither father nor son, as player or manager, had experienced relegation. And strictly speaking, that record was still in tact, for as General Manager, Milne did not have direct control over first team affairs. That was Bryan Hamilton's job. Milne had 'moved upstairs' a year earlier, having successfully kept them in Division One for three seasons while he was in charge. Gordon was good at that - it's why Leicester City apponted him in the first place. Before he moved to Filbert Street, he was boss at Coventry City where, against all the odds, he had kept the Sky Blues in the top flight for nine years.
As we shall see though, that was not all he achieved in his time at Highfield Road.
2) Jimmy Milne
This is Jimmy Milne, the player. First in the black and white hoops of Dundee United (before they switched to tangerine) and then in the colours of Preston North End. He made his debut for Dundee United in 1930, aged 19, then transfered to Preston in 1932.
While at Deepdale, he was in the same half back line as another Scot, Bill Shankly. They both lived in club-owned houses, just yards from the ground, and Shankly would often play football in the street with Jimmy's young son Gordon. You can see on this map from the 1940s, with the Milne house highlighted, just how close to Deepdale it was. Shankly lived directly opposite:
There's a wonderful passage in Gordon's book in which he remembers those kick-abouts with Shankly - the title of the book, in fact, is 'Shankly, My Dad and Me'.
Preston made it to the FA Cup Final in 1937, where they lost to Sunderland. A year later they were back at Wembley, and this time they triumphed, beaitng Huddersfield 1-0. Bill Shankly had his first major honour, but it was heartbreak for Jimmy Milne. He missed the final through injury, a fate that his son would also suffer three decades later.
3) Gordon's Playing Days:
After the war, Jimmy became Preston's trainer. Gordon started his career at Deepdale shortly afterwards, but having your father around all the time it isn't an ideal situation. He wanted his independence, and in 1960 he moved to Anfield - signed, of course, by Bill Shankly.
He was a key member of the Liverpool side that won promotion in 1961/62, and a year later, Alf Ramsey gave him his England debut, against Brazil.
Look at this freeze frame, taken just 12 seconds into that match. Bobby Charlton is in possession on the left, and the man with his arms raised, eager to get his first touch in international football, is Gordon:
Let's see what happened next:
Had that gone in, it would have been the most sensational start ever to an England career.
Gordon won two League titles in the mid-60, but missed Liverpool'S first ever FA Cup win in 1965 because of injury. He would also miss out on the 1966 World Cup. He was chosen in the preliminary squad of 28, but left out of the final party. It may be some consolation that he went on to enjoy a more succesful managerial career than any of the 22 players Ramsey selected.
4) Move into Management
Jimmy Milne took over as boss at Deepdale shortly after Gordon left for Liverpool. That was at the start of the 60s, and at the end of the decade, Gordon himself moved into management, aged just 32. He joined the ambitious Northern Premier League club Wigan Athletic.
He enjoyed instant success, and caught the eye of the Football Association, who appointed him manager of the England Youth team in 1971. A year later came glory in Spain as he led England to victory in the European Youth Championships. It was that triumph that led to Coventry giving him the manager's job in 1972, alongside Joe Mercer.
This is not a great quality photo, but it captures a moment in time, just after he was given the job at Highfield Road. Young, suave and successful, he looks for all the world as though he's about to announce his candidacy for the presidency of the United States:
If anyone has a better quality version of that image, please post it below.
5) Milne v Clough
I mentioned that before I found out about his book, I was thinking of contacting Gordon, and in fact, I did speak to him last month. We chatted about the various stages of his career, and he stressed that at the start of every season at Highfield Road, the bookies had the Sky Blues down as relegation favourites. There were a few close scrapes in the years 1972-1981, but Gordon managed to keep Coventry up every time.
I think the most interesting season though was 1977/78, when Nottingham Forest pulled off that incredible title win. Look closely at that season and you see that at one point, Milne's team were right up there with Clough's side at the top of the table.
Look at this sequence of results in the autumn:
Looking back at match reports from that time, it's clear that Coventry were playing scintillating football:
From the 4-2 win over Man City: The second half must rank as the greatest 45 minutes of attacking football City have produced in ten years of First Division soccer.
From the 3-2 win at Spurs: From the first kick, they attacked. (that was in the League Cup)
From the 1-0 win v West Ham: They are prepared to gamble heavily on a total commitment to attacking football
From the 1-1 draw at Arsenal: The thunderous applause at the end was I’m sure for both clubs.
From the 4-1 win v QPR: They’re the best side we’ve faced this season by a long way (Rangers boss Frank Sibley).
All that left Coventry in third place in the table, just two points behind Forest after 16 games. Shortly after that came the key game - at the City Ground. Milne wasn't about to change the approach -they went out and attacked.
It ended in a 2-1 defeat, but Clough's assistant Peter Taylor said, They’re easily the best side we’ve played this season. Milne himself said, We get tremendodus satisfaction from playing this way and people get satisfaction from watching us. Sometimes that is more important than winning and losing.
What a glorious time that must have been. If you have memories of that autumn, I'd love to hear them.
I asked Gordon about that season and he said this:
I didn’t put this in the book, but Clough was receiving an award on Midlands TV and I was watching and he said "This shouldn’t be mine, this should be going to that young man in Coventry".
6) No Swearing
Right in the middle of that autumn came another fascinating Milne-Clough moment:
Do you remember this?
That was Clough's appeal to the Forest fans in October 1977. But it was actually a two-man campaign. A few days later, Gordon Milne made this appeal to Coventry City fans:
At Highfield Road two days later came that 1-0 victory over West Ham, and among the chants from the home end that day were:
'We are not allowed to swear' (to the tune of 'Bread of Heaven' - the 'we'll support you evermore' melody)
'You're a bounder, you're a bounder, you're a bounder referee!'
'What the flip, what the flip, what the flippin hell was that?'
Marvelous stuff, and another great moment from a great season.
Coventry faded a little and finished sixth, but that was the peak of his Highfield Road years (along with the 1981 League Cup run) .
There's so much more I could add, and below I'll post a few more highlights (including his incredibly successful time in Turkey), but here ends part one of the story.
All that research won't going to waste, though. As a taster for the book, I'll post here a brief run through of the key moments in that story, with a special focus on Coventry City. I hope you enjoy it.
1) Two Hillsborough Cup Ties
It's a tale that covers most of the 20th Century, and to illustrate that, let's have a look at two cup ties at Hillsborough, 76 years apart.
In January 1911, Southern League Coventry City recorded the most impressive result yet in their short history. Having shaken the football world the previous season with their run to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals, they were at it again a year later. Given a tough away tie at Sheffield Wednesday in the First Round, they come away with a 2-1 win. This was an even bigger shock than the victories over Preston and Nottingham Forest the year before - Wednesday would finish the season in sixth place in Division One.
This was how the Athletic News opened its report:
Coventry were drawn away to fellow Southern Leaguers Brighton in the next round, and as they prepared for that game, nearly 400 miles away in Dundee, James Low Milne was born.
76 years later, Coventry City went back to Hillsborough for another famous FA Cup victory - this time in the semi-final against Leeds United. As they were preparing for the final, they went to Filbert Street to play a seemingly meaningless League game that finished 1-1. Except that it wasn't meaningless for Leicester City, or their General Manager Gordon Milne, son of James. Their failure to take three points that day was the key result in the run-in, taking their destiny out of their hands. Five days later, their drop into the second tier was confirmed.
That spoiled a proud record for the Milne family, as until that moment, neither father nor son, as player or manager, had experienced relegation. And strictly speaking, that record was still in tact, for as General Manager, Milne did not have direct control over first team affairs. That was Bryan Hamilton's job. Milne had 'moved upstairs' a year earlier, having successfully kept them in Division One for three seasons while he was in charge. Gordon was good at that - it's why Leicester City apponted him in the first place. Before he moved to Filbert Street, he was boss at Coventry City where, against all the odds, he had kept the Sky Blues in the top flight for nine years.
As we shall see though, that was not all he achieved in his time at Highfield Road.
2) Jimmy Milne
This is Jimmy Milne, the player. First in the black and white hoops of Dundee United (before they switched to tangerine) and then in the colours of Preston North End. He made his debut for Dundee United in 1930, aged 19, then transfered to Preston in 1932.
While at Deepdale, he was in the same half back line as another Scot, Bill Shankly. They both lived in club-owned houses, just yards from the ground, and Shankly would often play football in the street with Jimmy's young son Gordon. You can see on this map from the 1940s, with the Milne house highlighted, just how close to Deepdale it was. Shankly lived directly opposite:
There's a wonderful passage in Gordon's book in which he remembers those kick-abouts with Shankly - the title of the book, in fact, is 'Shankly, My Dad and Me'.
Preston made it to the FA Cup Final in 1937, where they lost to Sunderland. A year later they were back at Wembley, and this time they triumphed, beaitng Huddersfield 1-0. Bill Shankly had his first major honour, but it was heartbreak for Jimmy Milne. He missed the final through injury, a fate that his son would also suffer three decades later.
3) Gordon's Playing Days:
After the war, Jimmy became Preston's trainer. Gordon started his career at Deepdale shortly afterwards, but having your father around all the time it isn't an ideal situation. He wanted his independence, and in 1960 he moved to Anfield - signed, of course, by Bill Shankly.
He was a key member of the Liverpool side that won promotion in 1961/62, and a year later, Alf Ramsey gave him his England debut, against Brazil.
Look at this freeze frame, taken just 12 seconds into that match. Bobby Charlton is in possession on the left, and the man with his arms raised, eager to get his first touch in international football, is Gordon:
Let's see what happened next:
Had that gone in, it would have been the most sensational start ever to an England career.
Gordon won two League titles in the mid-60, but missed Liverpool'S first ever FA Cup win in 1965 because of injury. He would also miss out on the 1966 World Cup. He was chosen in the preliminary squad of 28, but left out of the final party. It may be some consolation that he went on to enjoy a more succesful managerial career than any of the 22 players Ramsey selected.
4) Move into Management
Jimmy Milne took over as boss at Deepdale shortly after Gordon left for Liverpool. That was at the start of the 60s, and at the end of the decade, Gordon himself moved into management, aged just 32. He joined the ambitious Northern Premier League club Wigan Athletic.
He enjoyed instant success, and caught the eye of the Football Association, who appointed him manager of the England Youth team in 1971. A year later came glory in Spain as he led England to victory in the European Youth Championships. It was that triumph that led to Coventry giving him the manager's job in 1972, alongside Joe Mercer.
This is not a great quality photo, but it captures a moment in time, just after he was given the job at Highfield Road. Young, suave and successful, he looks for all the world as though he's about to announce his candidacy for the presidency of the United States:
If anyone has a better quality version of that image, please post it below.
5) Milne v Clough
I mentioned that before I found out about his book, I was thinking of contacting Gordon, and in fact, I did speak to him last month. We chatted about the various stages of his career, and he stressed that at the start of every season at Highfield Road, the bookies had the Sky Blues down as relegation favourites. There were a few close scrapes in the years 1972-1981, but Gordon managed to keep Coventry up every time.
I think the most interesting season though was 1977/78, when Nottingham Forest pulled off that incredible title win. Look closely at that season and you see that at one point, Milne's team were right up there with Clough's side at the top of the table.
Look at this sequence of results in the autumn:
Looking back at match reports from that time, it's clear that Coventry were playing scintillating football:
From the 4-2 win over Man City: The second half must rank as the greatest 45 minutes of attacking football City have produced in ten years of First Division soccer.
From the 3-2 win at Spurs: From the first kick, they attacked. (that was in the League Cup)
From the 1-0 win v West Ham: They are prepared to gamble heavily on a total commitment to attacking football
From the 1-1 draw at Arsenal: The thunderous applause at the end was I’m sure for both clubs.
From the 4-1 win v QPR: They’re the best side we’ve faced this season by a long way (Rangers boss Frank Sibley).
All that left Coventry in third place in the table, just two points behind Forest after 16 games. Shortly after that came the key game - at the City Ground. Milne wasn't about to change the approach -they went out and attacked.
It ended in a 2-1 defeat, but Clough's assistant Peter Taylor said, They’re easily the best side we’ve played this season. Milne himself said, We get tremendodus satisfaction from playing this way and people get satisfaction from watching us. Sometimes that is more important than winning and losing.
What a glorious time that must have been. If you have memories of that autumn, I'd love to hear them.
I asked Gordon about that season and he said this:
I didn’t put this in the book, but Clough was receiving an award on Midlands TV and I was watching and he said "This shouldn’t be mine, this should be going to that young man in Coventry".
6) No Swearing
Right in the middle of that autumn came another fascinating Milne-Clough moment:
Do you remember this?
That was Clough's appeal to the Forest fans in October 1977. But it was actually a two-man campaign. A few days later, Gordon Milne made this appeal to Coventry City fans:
At Highfield Road two days later came that 1-0 victory over West Ham, and among the chants from the home end that day were:
'We are not allowed to swear' (to the tune of 'Bread of Heaven' - the 'we'll support you evermore' melody)
'You're a bounder, you're a bounder, you're a bounder referee!'
'What the flip, what the flip, what the flippin hell was that?'
Marvelous stuff, and another great moment from a great season.
Coventry faded a little and finished sixth, but that was the peak of his Highfield Road years (along with the 1981 League Cup run) .
There's so much more I could add, and below I'll post a few more highlights (including his incredibly successful time in Turkey), but here ends part one of the story.
never been the same since.
