Ron Atkinson
Atkinson in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Frederick Atkinson | ||
| Date of birth | 18 March 1939 | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Playing position | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1956–1959 | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
| 1959–1971 | Oxford United | 384 | (14) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1971–1974 | Kettering Town | ||
| 1974–1978 | Cambridge United | ||
| 1978–1981 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| 1981–1986 | Manchester United | ||
| 1987–1988 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| 1988–1989 | Atlético Madrid | ||
| 1989–1991 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 1991–1994 | Aston Villa | ||
| 1995–1996 | Coventry City | ||
| 1997–1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 1999 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ronald Frederick "Ron" Atkinson (born 18 March 1939), commonly known as Big Ron, is an English former football player and manager. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was one of Britain's best-known football pundits.
He spent his playing career at Oxford United, where he still holds the club record for appearances. As a manager, he won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1983 and 1985 and the Football League Cup with Sheffield Wednesday in 1991 and Aston Villa in 1994.
Atkinson, who was born in Liverpool but moved to Warwickshire shortly after his birth, did not achieve great heights in his playing career. After beginning his career as a ground staff boy at Wolverhampton Wanderers, he was signed by Aston Villa from works team BSA Tools at the age of 17, but never played a first-team match for them. He has referred to then Villa coach Jimmy Hogan as his biggest influence.
He was transferred to Oxford United (then called Headington United) in the summer of 1959 on a free transfer. There he played alongside his younger brother Graham Atkinson. He went on to make over 500 appearances in all competitions as a wing-half for the club, earning, in his playing days the nickname: "The Tank", and scoring a total of 14 goals. He was United's captain through their rise from the Southern League to the Second Division, achieved in only six years from 1962 to 1968, an impressive achievement. He was the first ever footballer to captain a club from the Southern League through three divisions of the Football League.
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