Peter Shreeves
Encyclopedia
Peter Shreeves is a Welsh
former football player, manager and coach.
in South Wales
where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II
, but was brought up in Islington
, London
. He began his career with non-league Finchley
from where he joined Reading
in January 1959. He made over 100 league appearances for Reading over the next seven years, but his professional career was curtailed by a broken leg. He left Reading in 1966 to join Southern League
club Chelmsford City
.
In the summer of 1969, Shreeves joined Wimbledon
where he remained until taking up a coaching post at Charlton Athletic
in 1974. Later that year he joined Tottenham Hotspur
as youth coach. In 1977, Tottenham manager Keith Burkinshaw
promoted him to manager of the reserve team, and then as his assistant in 1980.
In June 1984, Shreeves was promoted to the manager's seat after Burkinshaw's resignation and took Spurs to third place in the league at the end of his first season as manager. This would normally have earned them a UEFA Cup
place, but the ban on English clubs in European competition began at this time due to the Heysel Stadium disaster
. Tottenham finished 10th the following season and Shreeves was sacked in favour of David Pleat
in March 1986.
In August that year Shreeves joined the coaching staff at Queens Park Rangers
and in December 1988 was made assistant manager after Trevor Francis
had been appointed as player-manager. He then worked as assistant to Steve Perryman
at Watford
before working as Wales
assistant manager under Terry Yorath
.
Shreeves returned to Tottenham as manager in July 1991 after Terry Venables
had moved upstairs to become Chief Executive. Tottenham had won the FA Cup
under Venables, but Shreeves was sacked after just one season with Tottenham finishing 15th in the league.
From 1993 to 1996 he was assistant manager at Chelsea
before Glenn Hoddle
became England
manager and Ruud Gullit
did not include Shreeves in his management team.
Shreeves then became assistant manager to David Pleat at Sheffield Wednesday
, and worked alongside subsequent manager Ron Atkinson
. He remained for a short while under the next manager, Danny Wilson, but left to re-join Atkinson at Nottingham Forest
, where the duo were unable to prevent the club from being relegated. Shreeves acted as interim manager of the club for a short while following Atkinson's retirement at the end of the season, but left upon the arrival of David Platt as manager.
He was out of work until March 2000, when he was asked to return to Sheffield Wednesday as caretaker manager after Danny Wilson was sacked. The Owls were struggling at the bottom of the Premiership, and despite managing a few decent results, Shreeves was unable to prevent relegation. He did not get the manager's job on a permanent basis, but was retained as assistant manager to Paul Jewell
, and got the job permanently when Jewell was sacked in February 2001. The Owls were looking in real danger of a second successive relegation at the time, but Shreeves kept them clear, earning the Manager of the Month award for March 2001 in the process. However, he resigned in October 2001 with the Owls struggling in the league.
Shreeves made a return to football as manager of Conference
side Barnet
in February 2002, earning the Conference Manager of the Month Award for his first month in charge. However, he resigned after just one year in charge, with the Bees struggling to make the Conference play-offs.
In June 2009 Shreeves was appointed Director of Football at Grays Athletic
, and the club appointed him as caretaker manager
following Gary Phillips being placed on gardening leave on 10 September, until appointing a new manager on 16 September.
On 26 January 2010, Shreeves returned to Barnet
as a coach. He left the Bees after Ian Hendon
was sacked in April 2010.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
former football player, manager and coach.
Career
Shreeves was born in NeathNeath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
in South Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but was brought up in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He began his career with non-league Finchley
Finchley F.C.
Finchley Football Club was an English football club based in Finchley, Greater London. Established in 1874, the club merged with Wingate to form Wingate & Finchley in 1991.-History:...
from where he joined Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
in January 1959. He made over 100 league appearances for Reading over the next seven years, but his professional career was curtailed by a broken leg. He left Reading in 1966 to join Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
club Chelmsford City
Chelmsford City F.C.
Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...
.
In the summer of 1969, Shreeves joined Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
where he remained until taking up a coaching post at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
in 1974. Later that year he joined Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
as youth coach. In 1977, Tottenham manager Keith Burkinshaw
Keith Burkinshaw
Harry Keith Burkinshaw is an English former professional footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...
promoted him to manager of the reserve team, and then as his assistant in 1980.
In June 1984, Shreeves was promoted to the manager's seat after Burkinshaw's resignation and took Spurs to third place in the league at the end of his first season as manager. This would normally have earned them a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
place, but the ban on English clubs in European competition began at this time due to the Heysel Stadium disaster
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy...
. Tottenham finished 10th the following season and Shreeves was sacked in favour of David Pleat
David Pleat
David John Pleat is an English football player turned manager and sports commentator.He is remembered by his contemporaries primarily for his career as manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town football clubs, and for an oft-televised clip of him running onto the pitch in 1983 to celebrate after...
in March 1986.
In August that year Shreeves joined the coaching staff at Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
and in December 1988 was made assistant manager after Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
had been appointed as player-manager. He then worked as assistant to Steve Perryman
Steve Perryman
Stephen John "Steve" Perryman MBE is a former English international football player and current manager who is best remembered for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s...
at Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
before working as Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
assistant manager under Terry Yorath
Terry Yorath
Terence Charles Yorath is a former footballer and has been a manager at both club and international level. He is also the father of television presenter Gabby Logan....
.
Shreeves returned to Tottenham as manager in July 1991 after Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
had moved upstairs to become Chief Executive. Tottenham had won the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
under Venables, but Shreeves was sacked after just one season with Tottenham finishing 15th in the league.
From 1993 to 1996 he was assistant manager at Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
before Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
became England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
manager and Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
did not include Shreeves in his management team.
Shreeves then became assistant manager to David Pleat at Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, and worked alongside subsequent manager Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
. He remained for a short while under the next manager, Danny Wilson, but left to re-join Atkinson at Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, where the duo were unable to prevent the club from being relegated. Shreeves acted as interim manager of the club for a short while following Atkinson's retirement at the end of the season, but left upon the arrival of David Platt as manager.
He was out of work until March 2000, when he was asked to return to Sheffield Wednesday as caretaker manager after Danny Wilson was sacked. The Owls were struggling at the bottom of the Premiership, and despite managing a few decent results, Shreeves was unable to prevent relegation. He did not get the manager's job on a permanent basis, but was retained as assistant manager to Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell
Paul Steven Jewell is a former English footballer who is currently the manager of Ipswich Town.His playing career started with Liverpool before moving to Wigan Athletic and then a ten-year spell with Bradford City...
, and got the job permanently when Jewell was sacked in February 2001. The Owls were looking in real danger of a second successive relegation at the time, but Shreeves kept them clear, earning the Manager of the Month award for March 2001 in the process. However, he resigned in October 2001 with the Owls struggling in the league.
Shreeves made a return to football as manager of Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
side Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
in February 2002, earning the Conference Manager of the Month Award for his first month in charge. However, he resigned after just one year in charge, with the Bees struggling to make the Conference play-offs.
In June 2009 Shreeves was appointed Director of Football at Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic F.C.
Grays Athletic Football Club is an English football club currently based in Corringham, Essex after leaving the New Recreation Ground in Grays at the end of the 2009–10 season...
, and the club appointed him as caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
following Gary Phillips being placed on gardening leave on 10 September, until appointing a new manager on 16 September.
On 26 January 2010, Shreeves returned to Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
as a coach. He left the Bees after Ian Hendon
Ian Hendon
Ian Michael Hendon is an English professional former footballer, and development coach at West Ham United.-Career:...
was sacked in April 2010.