Ron and Graham Atkinson at Oxford United
But it was as a football manager that Ron left his indelible mark on the world of late 20th Century English football. Ron was big in stature, and larger in lifestyle - being infamous as the greatest of the Champagne and cigar managers.
Ron cut his teeth in football management at Kettering Town, Cambridge United (where he won the Fourth Division Championship in 1977) and West Bromwich Albion. But the big time finally came when he was appointed manager of Manchester United, at a time when the club was attempting to return from also rans to Super Club status. That was later achieved by Sir Alex, but during Ron's five years in charge, Man U. did win the F.A.Cup twice in 1983 and 1985 - the club's only trophies that decade - and were League Cup runners up in 1983 also.
It wasn't enough, Ron was sacked and had to rebuild his managerial career back at West Bromwich Albion. A very brief move to Athletico Madrid was followed by a more successful one to Sheffield Wednesday which culminated in winning the League Cup in 1991, Wednesday's first major trophy in 56 years. Next, there was a prodigal return to Aston Villa, the club that first signed him as a player, but did not give him a League game.
Villa's reward was a League Cup win in 1991 and their highest Premier League place to date as runners-up in 1992-93. In the twilight of his career, Ron has acted in largely emergency roles at Coventry City, back at Sheffield Wednesday, and ultimately at Nottingham Forest. At Forest the press portrayed Ron rather more as a parody of himself than a serious appointment to rescue the club from the drop. Flown in from his holiday in Barbados the sun - tanned Ron made the headlines, but inevitably failed to turn round the club's fortune. Ron announced his retirement at 60 on the Forest team bus after the team's defeat against Villa.
Ron presided over 201 Premiership matches, which at the start of the 2000-2001 season was more than all but 4 other men (Ferguson, Kinnear, Graham & Redknapp), but surely his managerial career is behind him. New generations of football fans have come to know Ron as a football expert-commentator, t.v. celebrity, newspaper columnist, and hero of the computer game, 'Football World Manager'!
However, in 2004 Ron's pundit career came to an abrupt end following the use of the racially sensitive 'n' word during a live broadcast on a microphone he believed was switched off. Ironic for a man who famously played so many black players as a football manager long before it was common to do so.
Slowly Big Ron ate sufficient humble pie to be allowed back onto our tv screens. Over the 2006 World Cup he launched a series of Podcasts in which he offered his comments on the games, and in July 2006 he starred in the BBC 2 television series Excuse My French in which he publically learnt French from scratch. In August 06 Yorkshire radio station, Real Radio gave Ron a regular show as a phone-in host. There followed a successful television series Big Ron Manager, in which Ron offered his vast experience to a couple of unwilling managers in League football. This largely ended in tears for the managers, but made great telly for those of us hooked on the show.
The comeback now seems to be complete as Ron, at the age of 68, has now twice played a 'consultancy' role for non-league clubs. In January 2007 has returned to Kettering Town of the Conference North as Director of Football, which lasted till the end of the season, and then in October 2007 he took up a helping role at Halesowen in the Southern Premier league. This prooves what we all already knew anyway: 1) you can't keep a good man down; and 2) no-one can give up the drug that is football...
League Appearances:
Team | Source | Signed | Played | Games | Subs | Goals |
Aston Villa | BSA Tools | 05.56 | | | | |
Oxford United | Transfer | 07.59 | 1962-71 381 | 383 | 1 | 14 |
Total: 384/14 | | | | 383 | 1 | 14 |
For further links on this site see ...
Commentators
See Ron on Johan Cruyff in December 2000 News
Big Ron is the 'King of the Clichés' -see August 2001
Ron is on 'Johnny Vaughan Tonight' and has a CD out, September 2002
More on the CD, see October 2002
Ron releases a single, see December 2002
Appears in 'Beano', see February 2003
Appears on Patrick Kielty Almost Live, see August 2003 - this also includes a profile of Ron
Ron resigns from everything following alleged racist comment, see April 2004
Ron does his own World Cup Podcasts, see Summer 2006
Ron stars in the BBC 2 television series Excuse My French, see Summer 2006 (2)
Ron has his own phone-in on Real Radio, see August 2006
Real-life or television show? Ron's progress as a troubleshooter for Peterborough United is captured on Sky One's Big Ron Manager, see September 2006
Ron becomes Director of Football at Kettering Town, see January 2007
Ron becomes a consultant at Halesowen Town October 2007
For links on other sites see ...
Find some career details at Ron Atkinson
Read his regular colunm for the Guardian at Guardian Unlimited Football Columnists
See Ron's Podcasts at Blinkx Selfcast
Hear Ron on Real Radio at Real Radio 106~108fm
See Big Ron Manager at Sky One
Thanks to Ian Corry for sending the 2nd picture as you scroll down.- 'Big Ron'.