Martin Reagan

Martin Reagan
Personal information
Full name Charles Martin Reagan
Date of birth (1924-05-12) 12 May 1924
Place of birth Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
Playing position Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1946 York Railway Institute
1946–1947 York City 1 (0)
1947–1948 Hull City 18 (1)
1948–1951 Middlesbrough 24 (4)
1951–1952 Shrewsbury Town 58 (9)
1952–1954 Portsmouth 5 (0)
1954–1956 Norwich City 34 (4)
1956– March Town United
Total 140 (18)
Teams managed
1979–1990 England Women

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Charles Martin Reagan (born 12 May 1924) is an English former professional footballer and coach / manager. During his playing career, Reagan played in the Football League for York City, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Shrewsbury Town, Portsmouth and Norwich City, And coach of the England women's national football team. Prior to his football career Reagan served as a Sgt Tank Commander in World War II.

Playing career

In 1948 Middlesbrough spent £4,000 to sign Reagan from Hull City. Over the next three years he scored four goals in 25 league and cup appearances before joining Shrewsbury Town.[1] On New Year's Eve 1952 Portsmouth bought Reagan from Shrewsbury for £12,000 and played him in their next five matches. Reagan did not play for Portsmouth again but remained with the club until August 1954 when he joined Norwich City. After two years with Norwich, Reagan became player manager at March Town United in the Eastern Counties Football League.[2]

Coaching career

He was head coach of the England women's national football team for 11 years from 1979 until 1990.[3] Reagan took England to the final of the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football, where they lost a two–legged tie with Sweden after a penalty shoot out at Kenilworth Road in Luton.[4] Despite also winning the Mundialito (known as the little World Cup) twice in 1985 and 1988, the Women's Football Association (WFA) sacked Reagan in 1990 when a 6–1 UEFA Women's Euro 1991 quarter final aggregate defeat by Germany cost England a place at the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup.[5]

At the 1985 Mundialito Reagan had noticed the potential of the United States women's national soccer team, when England beat them 3–1 in their third ever match. He wrote a prescient letter to his American counterpart Mike Ryan which said "The day cannot be very distant when you will be a world force."[6] From 1989–2003 Reagan was director of coaching at the Two Rivers Soccer Camp in California, USA.[3]

Personal life

As well as his football career Reagan worked as a self–employed sales agent.[7] As of January 2013, Reagan is the oldest surviving Middlesbrough FC player and lives in Kirk Hammerton.[1][8] Prior to his football career, Reagan served as a Sgt Tank Commander in 204 Armoured Assault Squadron, Royal Engineers, during World War II.[9][10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Senior Servant Stan's The Man". Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  2. ↑ "Toast season 2 # 38 Musical links". Vital Pompey. 2009-05-10. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  3. 1 2 "Camp Directors". Two Rivers Soccer. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  4. ↑ Lopez 1997, p. 102
  5. ↑ Lopez 1997, p. 103
  6. ↑ "U.S. WNT First Games". USSoccer.com. 2005-01-27. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  7. ↑ "Reagan, Martin". Where are they now?. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  8. ↑ "Boro's Surprise For Oldest Star". Middlesbrough F.C. 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  9. ↑ "IJzendijke, The Netherlands". Royal Canadian Legion. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  10. ↑ "Sad Memories: Holland 1944". BBC. 2003-03-07. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  11. ↑ "Martin Reagan: Women's Football Boss Was D-Day Hero". Women's Football Archive. 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

Bibliography

  • Lopez, Sue (1997). Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football. London, England: Scarlet Press. ISBN 1857270169. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.