Mick Lyons (English footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Lyons | ||
| Date of birth | 8 December 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, Lancashire, England | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1982 | Everton | 390 | (48) |
| 1982–1985 | Sheffield Wednesday | 129 | (12) |
| 1985–1987 | Grimsby Town | 50 | (4) |
| 1991 | Nova Scotia Clippers | 6 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1978 | England B | 2 | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1985–1987 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 1991 | Nova Scotia Clippers (Assistant) | ||
| 1993–1995 | Brunei | ||
| 1995–1997 | Canberra Cosmos | ||
| 2002 | Brunei | ||
| 2004–2010 | Stirling Lions | ||
| 2011 | Cockburn City | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Michael Lyons (born 8 December 1951) is an English former footballer in the 1970s and 1980s. He is most famous as captain of Everton during this period.
Early life[]
Lyons was educated at the all-boys' De La Salle School in Liverpool. He was an Everton fan and his dream was to play for the football club.
Club career[]
Everton[]
Lyons signed as a professional at Everton in 1970 after having served an apprenticeship at the club. He made his first team debut in the Football League First Division in 1971. Utilized mostly as a defender, Lyons would be pushed forward into an attacking role in the last 10 minutes of a game.
Lyons was not considered the most technically gifted of players but more than made up for it by his desire to play for Everton,[1] the club he supported when he was a boy. Lyons' versatility made him a very useful player; he could play anywhere down the middle and was once Everton's top goalscorer.
Sheffield Wednesday[]
Lyons moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1982. He appeared for them 129 times, scoring 12 goals. Lyons helped Wednesday win promotion to the Football League First Division.
International career[]
Lyons won two England "B" caps in 1978.
Managerial career[]
Grimsby Town[]
Lyons became player-manager of Grimsby Town in 1985, replacing David Booth. The side could never get above mid-table and finished 15th. The 1986–87 season began well and most of the season was spent in the top half and on the fringes of the play-off race. However, a run of 8 losses and 2 draws in the last 10 games meant that Grimsby fell from 8th to 21st and the first of two consecutive relegations.
Nova Scotia Clippers[]
In 1991, he was an assistant coach with the Nova Scotia Clippers of the Canadian Soccer League and also appeared as a player in six matches, scoring once.[2]
Canberra Cosmos[]
Lyons was appointed coach of Canberra Cosmos in Australia's National Soccer League in 1995. A 9th-place finish in his first season showed sporadic promise, but this was not maintained as the club finished last the following season.
Stirling Lions[]
Lyons spent five years as the coach of the Stirling Lions in the Football West Premier League in Perth, Western Australia. He was dismissed in April 2011.[3]
Cockburn City[]
He was appointed as manager of Cockburn City in 2011 and his first came against Perth Soccer Club.[4] He was sacked in July 2012 leaving the club in fourth position, three points behind the league leaders.[5]
UWA Nedlands FC[]
Lyons was appointed as manager of UWA Nedlands Football club in 2013 for the upcoming 13/14 season. A mixed season saw the first team finishing 7th.
Legacy[]
It was at Everton that Lyons is best remembered and revered for his commitment and dedication to "the cause".[1] Lyons famously dived under Norman Hunter's boot to score from inside the six-yard box in a league game against Leeds United.
Honours[]
- League Cup: Everton 1977, runners up
Sheffield Wednesday Promotion to League Division One 1984
References[]
- ^ a b "Mick Lyons". toffeeweb.com. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ^ "Michael Lyons soccer statistics on StatsCrew.com".
- ^ "Stirling Lions Sack Mick Lyons Appoint Paul Lincoln". club-footballwa.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- ^ Mitaros, Elle. "Cockburn City 1 – 3 Perth SC". Perth Soccer Club. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "Miller back in charge of Cockburn after Lyons sacked". West Australian. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
External links[]
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Association football defenders
- English footballers
- England B international footballers
- England under-23 international footballers
- Everton F.C. players
- Grimsby Town F.C. players
- Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
- English football managers
- Grimsby Town F.C. managers
- Brunei national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Brunei
- Footballers from Liverpool
- Nova Scotia Clippers players