Frederick "Fred" Eyre is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former professional football player and coach. After retiring from the sport, Eyre became a successful businessman, author, after-dinner speaker and radio pundit. He is the father of Rochdale A.F.C.

Rochdale A.F.C.

Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...

 manager Steve Eyre

Steve Eyre

Steve Eyre is a football manager, now at Rochdale. He was appointed manager of Rochdale on 13 June 2011. Born in Salford, His father is ex-player and radio pundit Fred Eyre.-Managerial career:...

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Playing career

Born in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Eyre played as a wing half

Wing half

In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...

 and began his early career as an apprentice at Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 club Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

, where he cleaned boots

Football boot

Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the bottom to aid grip...

 for players including Bert Trautmann

Bert Trautmann

Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper...

 and Denis Law

Denis Law

Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....

, his playing heroes. Eyre was Manchester City's first ever apprentice. Failing to make the grade at Manchester City, he signed with Lincoln City

Lincoln City F.C.

Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

 in 1963 and then had a trial with Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 before signing for Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra F.C.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

 at the start of the 1964–65 season, but he never made a first-team appearance for either team. After leaving Crewe Alexandra in 1965, Eyre played in the English non-League system

Non-league football

Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 with a total of twenty clubs, including Oswestry Town

Oswestry Town F.C.

Oswestry Town F.C. was a football club, formerly playing in the League of Wales.The club was founded as Oswestry United in 1860, which meant they were one of the world's oldest football clubs. Matches were latterly played at Park Hall stadium, Oswestry, after a spell at Victoria Road...

, Rossendale United

Rossendale United F.C.

Rossendale United F.C. was an English football club based in Newchurch, near Rawtenstall, Lancashire. The club was formed in 1898 but was expelled from the North West Counties League Premier Division on 18 June 2011....

, New Brighton

New Brighton A.F.C.

-Revived club:New Brighton A.F.C. were reborn in 1993, and joined the Birkenhead and Wirral League, which they won in their first season. In 1995 the club switched to the South Wirral League. After upgrading their new ground, the club were admitted to the Second Division of the West Cheshire League...

, Ellesmere Port, Radcliffe Borough

Radcliffe Borough F.C.

Radcliffe Borough F.C. is an English football club based in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. The club was formed on 24 April 1949 and currently plays in the Northern Premier League Division One North...

 and Chadderton

Chadderton F.C.

Chadderton F.C. are a Semi-Professional football club in the North West Counties Football League, Division One. Founded in 1947 They are based in Chadderton, Greater Manchester...

. Eyre returned to League football briefly during the 1969-70 season with Bradford Park Avenue

Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.

Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...

, making one appearance, before returning to Oswestry Town

Oswestry Town F.C.

Oswestry Town F.C. was a football club, formerly playing in the League of Wales.The club was founded as Oswestry United in 1860, which meant they were one of the world's oldest football clubs. Matches were latterly played at Park Hall stadium, Oswestry, after a spell at Victoria Road...

; he later played for Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

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Coaching career

Eyre had a brief spell as caretaker manager of Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

 in 1981, winning one game and drawing a second. He was also Assistant Manager of Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 in 1998, as well as being Chief Scout at the same club.

After football

Eyre started his own office supply company, became an after-dinner speaker, and published a book called Kicked Into Touch, which had sold over a million copies as of April 2005. One story that Eyre told involved Hungarian player Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954...

; on holiday in Australia, Eyre found himself on the same pitch as Puskás, who was coaching South Melbourne

South Melbourne FC

South Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...

 at the time:
As of 2009, Eyre co-commentates on Manchester City matches for BBC Radio Manchester

BBC Radio Manchester

BBC Radio Manchester is a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to Greater Manchester in North West England. It broadcasts 24 hours a day from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays via a transmitter at Holme Moss, with a small repeater at Saddleworth covering Tameside and Saddleworth...

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