Ronald M. Wylie is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 former football player, coach and manager. He played as a right 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...

 or inside forward

Inside forward

In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...

 for Notts County

Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

, Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 and Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

, making more than 550 appearances in the 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...

, and more than 700 in all competitions. As a manager, he took charge of West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

 between 1982 and 1984.

Playing career

An inside-forward, Wylie made his name at Notts County before transferring to Aston Villa in 1958. Wylie spent seven years at Aston Villa, establishing himself as the midfield schemer in the side, which won the Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 title and promotion

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 to the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 in the 1959–60 season and achieved League Cup

1961 Football League Cup Final

The 1961 Football League Cup Final was the inaugural League Cup final. It was contested by Rotherham United and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa won 3–2 on aggregate....

 success a year later. Highly regarded by the club's fans, he was not capped by Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

, likely due to the abundance of quality midfielders available at the time. In 1965, he transferred to Birmingham City. Considered past his best when he made the move, he went on to play nearly 150 games for the club, was appointed club captain, and retired in 1970 at the age of 37.

Management career

On retirement as a player, Wylie joined the coaching staff at Aston Villa before moving to Coventry City

Coventry City F.C.

Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

, first as coach and later as assistant manager. He took an advisory post in Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 before returning to England where he was appointed manager at West Bromwich Albion in 1982. With 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...

 being replaced by Ronnie Allen

Ronnie Allen

Ronald "Ronnie" Allen was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 276 goals. He also won five caps for England national team...

, the club had sold players such as Bryan Robson

Bryan Robson

Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...

, Remi Moses

Remi Moses

Remi Mark Moses is a former English football player whose main position was as a defensive midfielder.In 1981, Moses was transferred from West Bromwich Albion to Manchester United for £500,000...

 and Peter Barnes

Peter Barnes (footballer)

Peter Simon Barnes is an English former international footballer, and the son of footballer Ken Barnes. A textbook journeyman player, he played for numerous clubs across England, Wales, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Ireland, and the United States...

, leading to a decline in the club's fortunes. The side began the 1982–83 season well, winning 7 of the first 11 and were in contention for 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 for much of the season, but a late slump in form saw them finish 11th (the last time the club finished in the top half of the top flight).

The following season, West Brom's form was mediocre although the side were always several points clear. Wylie left the manager's position in February and was replaced by Johnny Giles

Johnny Giles

Michael John "Johnny" Giles is a former association footballer and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s...

.

He returned to Aston Villa to take charge of the reserve team

Reserve team

Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...

, later working as a scout

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

 before yet again rejoining Aston Villa as community liaison officer, a post which he held until retirement in 2003.

Personal life

Wylie's grandson, Alex Grove

Alex Grove

Alex Grove is a Scottish rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership.He plays as a centre but can also play on the wing.Grove previously played for Scotland at under-18, under-19, and under-20 level...

, plays rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 for Worcester Warriors and the Scotland national team

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

. Though born in England, Grove qualifies for Scotland through his Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

-born grandfather.

External links

• Profile at Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database