Terry Neill

Born in Belfast, Neill played as a youth for Bangor, before moving in December 1959 to Arsenal. He spent a year in Arsenal's youth side, before making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday on 23 December 1960, aged eighteen. At first, he played sporadically during the early 1960s, getting between 10 and 20 games a season through the first half of the decade, though on one occasion he became the youngest Arsenal captain in the club's history at 20 years of age. Playing either at centre-half or wing-half, Neill established himself in the side in 1964–65, with 29 league appearances, and as one of the younger members of Billy Wright's team, was kept by Wright's successor Bertie Mee when he took over in 1966. Neill became a first-choice player through the mid-sixties, playing over 40 games a season for three consecutive seasons, and also playing in the 1968 Football League Cup Final against Leeds United, which Arsenal lost. Neill played no part in Arsenal's European Fairs Cup 1969–70 final win but he made five appearances earlier in the cup run. During this time, Neill had also become a regular for Northern Ireland, having made his debut as far back as 1961. He became captain of his country in 1968, but a bout of jaundice restricted his appearances for club and country in 1968–69 and he missed the 1969 Football League Cup Final, which Arsenal lost to Swindon Town. Unable to regain his first-team place, Neill only made 25 appearances in 1969–70 and it became clear that he was…

Although still only 28, Neill was signed by Hull City in July 1970 as player-manager, one of the youngest ever managers in the history of the game; he later became player-manager of his country as well. Neill retired from playing in 1973, by which time he had won 59 caps for Northern Ireland, breaking Danny Blanchflower's record (although Pat Jennings would go on to break Neill's record in due course). Neill left Hull a year later to succeed Bill Nicholson as manager of Arsenal's fiercest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. He managed Spurs for two seasons, narrowly avoiding relegation in his first term. Having improved Tottenham Hotspur's fortunes with a 9th-place finish in his second season in charge, Neill was recruited by the Arsenal board to replace Bertie Mee on 9 July 1976 and at the age of 34 he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date. With new signings like Malcolm Macdonald and Pat Jennings, and a crop of talent in the side such as Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton, the club enjoyed their best form since the 1971 double, reaching a trio of FA Cup finals (1978, 1979 and 1980). Arsenal lost the other two FA Cup finals that Neill guided the club to, but were victorious in the 1979 final, with the Gunners winning 3–2 against Manchester United in one of the most exhilarating endings to an FA Cup final in history. In the 86th minute, Arsenal were leading 2–0. United scored two late goals to equalise. With the game poised for extra time, Alan Sunderland scored a last-minute…

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Neill goal.

Neill opened sports bars in Hendon and Holborn. He also commentated on Arsenal matches for Arsenal TV. Neill headed up the business development department of The Hub (London), a total media management company in the City. Politically, he was a Conservative. Neill died in July 2022, aged 80.