Nobby Stiles

Manchester United

Stiles supported Manchester United and his talent was swiftly recognised when he played for England Schoolboys at the age of 15. He achieved a childhood ambition when, in the same year, the club he supported gave him an apprenticeship in September 1959. Stiles was an unlikely-looking footballer in many ways – he was short, at a time when teenagers were being rejected by clubs purely because of their lack of height; he also had several teeth missing and wore dentures, the removal of which prior to matches gave him a gap-toothed expression which had the potential to scare. He became significantly bald at a young age and sported a dramatic comb-over. He was also severely short-sighted and needed strong contact lenses when playing, and wore thick spectacles off the field. Nevertheless, Manchester United manager Matt Busby saw something in Stiles. He was given his debut as a full back in October 1960 against Bolton Wanderers. Stiles's simple passing game and ball-winning skills saw his conversion into a "holding" midfield player of a type now a feature of all top teams but still a rarity at a time when forward lines consisted of five players and the midfield was restricted to covering half-backs. His ability to gain and retain possession also allowed his teammates, such as Bobby Charlton and, later, George Best, to utilise more space on the field. Stiles's defensive skills were also utilised by United managers to great effect throughout his career. That…

1966 FIFA World Cup

With England hosting the World Cup in 1966, manager Alf Ramsey had no competitive qualifying campaign to prepare; therefore, he spent the prior two years meticulously assessing players in friendly matches and British Home Championship games. With Bobby Charlton the only certainty for his World Cup midfield, he needed to create a trio of players to complement the Manchester United attacker and among those was the requirement for a "spoiler". Stiles was tested out for this role in a 2–2 draw against Scotland at Wembley on 10 April 1965. He kept his place for eight of the next nine internationals, scoring the only goal in a Wembley win against West Germany along the way, and by the time Ramsey confirmed his 22, it was thought likely that he would be in England's starting team for the World Cup. Stiles won his 15th cap as England kicked off the competition with a goalless draw against Uruguay and maintained his place as the uncompromising hardman playing ahead of the back four and making sure there was space and time for the likes of Charlton ahead of him. With Stiles not missing a minute, England progressed through the group with wins over Mexico and France and then scraped past a violent Argentina side in the last eight. In the France game, Stiles seriously injured their midfielder Jacques Simon with a late tackle and there were calls from the media and FA for Stiles to be dropped. Ramsey publicly defended Stiles, being sure that the tackle was…

In August 1975, Stiles was appointed as caretaker manager of Preston when Bobby Charlton resigned in protest at the transfer of defender John Bird to Newcastle United, but he resigned a week later in support of his former Manchester United teammate. Stiles returned to Preston to serve as manager from 22 July 1977 to 5 June 1981 when he was sacked along with his assistant after the club were relegated. Stiles joined the exodus of ageing and semi-retired European players to the NASL in 1981, to become coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, spending three years at the Canadian club. On 29 September 1985, Stiles took over as manager of West Bromwich Albion; however, he was sacked the following February after the side managed only three wins under his leadership, and this was his final stab at management. He later revealed his struggle with depression while in the job, finding it tough to cope with working in the Midlands and the daily commute from Manchester where his family lived. Between 1989 and 1993 he worked for Manchester United as their youth team coach, developing the considerable skills of teenage prodigies such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil, also came through at this time. In 2000, Stiles was awarded an MBE after a campaign by sections of the media who highlighted that five of the 1966 team had never been officially decorated for their achievements. Stiles duly joined Alan Ball, Roger Hunt, Ray Wilson and…

Stiles grew up in Collyhurst, a working-class district of North Manchester, attending the local St Patrick's Catholic (Primary) School. He was born in the cellar of the family home during an air raid, the son of Charlie, a manager of an undertakers' parlour in a family business, and Kitty, who supplemented the family income working as a machinist. He was of Irish descent.