Terry Neill, the first man to manage on both sides of the north London divide and who led the red half to FA Cup glory in 1979, has died at the age of 80. The Northern Irishman spent the majority of his playing career as a centre half with Arsenal from 1960 to 1970 — including a year as the club’s youngest captain at 20 — before spending the final three seasons of his career as player-manager at Hull and for his country.
He made his Northern Ireland debut in 1961 and was named captain in 1968 on his way to 59 caps, then a national record before being overtaken by Pat Jennings — a player Neill would later manage at Arsenal.
At the age of 32, he succeeded Bill Nicholson as manager of Tottenham, staying for two seasons before swapping N17 for N5. It was at Arsenal that he enjoyed his greatest successes, leading the Gunners to three consecutive FA Cup finals from 1978 to 1980 and winning the middle one.
That was the famed ‘Five-Minute Final’, won by Alan Sunderland’s 89th-minute goal seconds after Manchester United had cancelled out Arsenal’s 2-0 lead. A year later Neill masterminded one of Arsenal’s most famous European victories, becoming the first English team to win at Juventus’s Stadio Communale courtesy of a header by Paul Vaessen, who was thrown on by Neill with 15 minutes to play.
It took Arsenal to the Cup-Winners’ Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Valencia. In 1979 he came close to one of the great transfer coups, but was thwarted by work-permit rules. ‘When I was 19, Arsenal tried to buy me, but it didn’t happen,’ said Diego Maradona. ‘I sometimes wonder what might have happened.’ Lee Chapman arrived instead.
In 1983, Neill was shown the door with Arsenal 16th in the First Division, and quit the game at 41. He later worked as a newspaper columnist, TV pundit and managed sports bars. An Arsenal statement read: ‘Terry Neill’s status as both club captain and manager made him a major influence on 20th-century Arsenal. His fantastic contribution — and indeed his character — will always be appreciated by all associated with the club.’
