- Ian Porterfield
Infobox Football biography
playername= Ian Porterfield
fullname = John Porterfield
height =
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date|1946|2|11|df=y
cityofbirth =Dunfermline
countryofbirth =Scotland
dateofdeath = death date and age|2007|9|11|1946|2|11|df=y
cityofdeath =Surrey
countryofdeath =England
position =Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1964–1967
1967–1977
1976
1977–1979
clubs = Raith Rovers
Sunderland
→ Reading (loan)
Sheffield Wednesday
caps(goals) = 117 (17)
229 (17)
005 0(0)
106 0(3)
manageryears = 1979–1981
1981–1986
1986–1988
1989–1991
1991–1993
1993–1994
1996–1997
2000–2001
2001–2002
2003–2006
2006–2007
managerclubs = Rotherham United
Sheffield United
Aberdeen
Reading
Chelsea
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Oman
Trinidad and Tobago
Kumasi Asante KotokoBusan I'Park
ArmeniaJohn "Ian" Porterfield (
11 February 1946 –11 September 2007 ) was aprofessional footballer, and an experienced football coach who worked at both club and international level for almost 30 years. Up until his death, he was the coach of the Armenian national team. He has the distinction of being the very first manager to be sacked in the FA Premier League, when he was fired by Chelsea. He is currently the last man to have replacedAlex Ferguson as a football manager, at Aberdeen in 1986.Playing career
Born in
Dunfermline ,Scotland , Porterfield started his career withRaith Rovers , moving south of the border in 1967 to join Sunderland where he experienced his finest moment as a player when he scored the winner at Wembley in the 1973 FA Cup Final, giving them a shock victory over Leeds United, who were among the finest club sides inEurope at this time. He stayed at Sunderland for ten years, with a brief loan spell at Reading in 1976, before moving ontoSheffield Wednesday , first as a player and then as player-coach.Coaching career
Upon retirement as a player he went on to manage Rotherham United winning the Third Division Championship before joining Sheffield United on
June 6 1981 . He was given the task of gettingthe Blades , newly relegated to the Fourth Division back into the First Division in five seasons with a long-term contract exceeding that particular time-frame.Given funds by new Chairman,
Reg Brealey , Porterfield strengthened the team and achieved step 1 of his mission, winning the Fourth Division Championship in his first season. Despite huge financial losses, Brearley continued to provide transfer funds for United's march toward the top division. However, United were never in the hunt for promotion, finishing 11th.The following season, the playing staff was cut and promotion was achieved, but only due to
Hull City only beatingBurnley F.C. 2-0. A third goal would have seen them promoted instead. However, ground improvement required by promotion to the Second Division meant there was no further funds for new players. Porterfield was unable to complete the final step into the First Division and finally paid the price being replaced by Billy McEwan onMarch 27 1986 .In November 1986, he was appointed as manager of Aberdeen in the
Scottish Premier Division following the departure ofAlex Ferguson to Manchester United. However, his time atPittodrie was not a success and he had left by the end of the following season.He made a quick comeback to football as assistant manager to
Bobby Campbell at Chelsea and oversaw their promotion back to the First Division and Second Division champions in 1988-89.In October 1989, Porterfield was named manager of Third Division side Reading but was sacked 18 months later, having failed to mount a promotion challenge.
Porterfield returned to Chelsea as manager for the 1991-92 season, following Bobby Campbell's decision to resign as manager and become PA to assistant
Ken Bates . 1991-92 was an uneventful season, but 1992-93 began with Chelsea looking like surprise contenders for the firstPremier League title. However, the good form had gone byChristmas and Porterfield was dismissed in January 1993, gaining the distinction of being the first manager to be sacked by a Premier League club.Porterfield was named manager of the Zambia in the summer of 1993 and later managed Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe, all very much developing countries on the football map.
He was given the task of rebuilding the Zambian team following a tragic air crash in 1993 that claimed the lives of many of the nation's most gifted players. However he was to resign before the rebuilding process was completed after becoming entangled in a row over money with the former Wimbledon and Aston Villa player
John Fashanu .In January 1996, he returned to British football to become the assistant manager of struggling Premier League team Bolton Wanderers. The club had been rooted to the bottom of the table for the most part of the season and Bolton's new manager
Colin Todd was looking to his former Sunderland team mate Porterfield to assist an unlikely escape from relegation, but survival was not achieved.A drink-driving charge in May 1996 prompted his hasty resignation from Bolton and he returned abroad to manage both the Oman and Trinidad & Tobago national teams.
In 2003 he was appointed as the manager of Korean club side
Busan I'Park and he led them to aKorean FA Cup victory in 2004. The team went on to claim theK-League first half title, as it simultaneously continued its unbeaten run through the group stage of theAFC Champions League .Porterfield left
Busan I'Park onApril 4 2006 . He signed a contract to coach the Armenian national team in August 2006.He died, aged 61, on
11 September 2007 , as a result ofcancer of thecolon , which had been diagnosed earlier in the year. [ [http://www.safc.com/news/?page_id=13117 Ian Porterfield dies] ]Honours
As a player
Sunderland
* 1973 F.A. Cup: winner
References
External links
*soccerbase (manager)|632
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2441974.ece Obituary from "The Times"]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/13/db1302.xml Obituary from "The Daily Telegraph] "
* [http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/porterfield/2635906 Obituary and Public Tribute]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wear/content/image_galleries/safc_porterfield_sunderland_minster_gallery.shtml BBC Wear - Pictures: Ian Porterfield memorial at Sunderland Minster]
* [http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/FA-Cup-hero-Ian-Porterfield.3192621.jp 1973 Sunderland FA Cup hero: Tributes and on-line book of condolences]
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