Billy Ayre facts for kids
Billy Ayre around 1990
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Ayre | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | Crookhill, England | ||
| Date of death | 16 April 2002 (aged 49) | ||
| Place of death | Ormskirk, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Darlington | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1971–1973 | Crook Town | ? | (?) |
| 1974–1975 | Bishop Auckland | ? | (?) |
| 1975–1977 | Scarborough | ? | (?) |
| 1977–1981 | Hartlepool United | 141 | (27) |
| 1981–1982 | Halifax Town | 63 | (5) |
| 1982–1984 | Mansfield Town | 67 | (7) |
| 1984–1986 | Halifax Town | 32 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1983–1984 | Mansfield Town (caretaker) | ||
| 1984 | Halifax Town (caretaker) | ||
| 1986–1990 | Halifax Town | ||
| 1990–1994 | Blackpool | ||
| 1994 | Scarborough | ||
| 1995–1996 | Southport | ||
| 2000 | Cardiff City | ||
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William Ayre (born 7 May 1952 – died 16 April 2002) was an English footballer and manager. He played as a defender for several clubs over 16 years, appearing in more than 300 League games. After his playing career, he became a manager, leading five different clubs between 1984 and 2000. He is best known for guiding Blackpool to two play-off finals in a row, in 1991 and 1992. His team won promotion in the second final.
Contents
Playing Career
Billy Ayre was born in Crookhill, a part of Gateshead. When he was a teenager, he tried being a referee. Later, he played for several years in non-League football, which means amateur clubs not in the main professional leagues. He played for Crook Town and Bishop Auckland in County Durham.
Scarborough
Ayre started his professional playing career at Scarborough in 1975. At the same time, he worked as a teacher at St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham. He taught art and physical education there. In 1977, the Scarborough fans voted him their Player of the Year. His strong performances for Boro led to him moving to Hartlepool United in the same year.
Hartlepool United
Ayre played over 100 league games and scored 27 goals for Hartlepool. He played his first game for Pools on 13 August 1977. It was a 3–0 loss to Grimsby Town in the League Cup. His first league game was a week later, a 2–1 home loss to Torquay United.
In the 1977–78 season, he played in every game and was the club's top scorer with 13 goals. This helped him win the Supporters' Player of the Year award. In 2008, after his death, Ayre was named United's "Player of the 1970s."
In his second season, 1978–79, he played 42 league games and scored five goals. In 1979–80, he played 43 league games and scored nine goals. In his last season, 1980–81, he played ten league games and scored one goal. He then moved to Halifax Town.
Halifax Town
In his first time at Halifax, Ayre played 63 league games and scored five goals at The Shay.
Mansfield Town
In the summer of 1982, Ayre moved to Mansfield Town. Stuart Boam was the manager there. Ayre spent two seasons with the Stags, playing 67 league games and scoring seven goals. He scored a header in his first game for the team.
The next season, 1983–84, Ayre became a temporary manager after Boam was sacked. This is called a caretaker manager. Ian Greaves was later hired as the new manager. Ayre was then allowed to leave the club for free.
Halifax Town (Second Spell)
Ayre returned to Halifax for a second time in 1984. Over two years, he played 32 league games and scored two goals. He ended his playing career with the club in 1986. On 5 August 1987, Halifax held a special match for Ayre against Halifax RLFC. At this time, he was the club's manager.
Managerial Career
Halifax
In October 1984, Ayre became the temporary manager of Halifax for less than a month. Mick Jones, who is the godfather to Ayre's daughter Rachel, took over on 10 November.
In December 1986, Ayre became the full-time manager of Halifax again. He also worked as the club's managing director. Three years later, in April of the 1989–90 season, he resigned. He left because he couldn't help the team move up from the lowest division of the league.
Blackpool
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A few days after leaving Halifax, Ayre joined Blackpool as assistant to manager Jimmy Mullen. After Mullen left, Ayre worked with temporary manager Tom White. Graham Carr became the new manager and kept Ayre as his assistant. When Carr was sacked in November 1990, Ayre was promoted to manager. His first game in charge was a draw against Hereford United on 1 December 1990.
According to Roy Calley's 1992 book, Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992, Ayre was "greeted reservedly" by Blackpool fans. But in just two years, he became "the club's most popular – and certainly most successful – boss since Stan Mortensen". On game days, he wore the number 15 Blackpool shirt. Back then, only three substitute players were allowed in league games.
When Carr left, Blackpool was in 18th place in the Division Four table. Six months later, the team had made it to the play-offs. They had lost only five of their last 30 games. Between 10 November 1990 and 19 November 1991, Blackpool set two new club records. They won 15 home League games in a row. They also had a 24-game unbeaten run at Bloomfield Road.
However, their good luck ended in the final. They lost in a penalty shoot-out to Torquay United at Wembley. This meant they stayed in the Fourth Division for another season. After the game, Ayre said, "I've never had a worse moment in my life, never mind football."
Ayre managed to keep most of the same team. He led them back to Wembley the next 1991–92 season. This time, they finally won promotion after a more successful penalty shoot-out. Scunthorpe United was the unlucky team. Blackpool earned a spot in the new Division Two. Ayre dedicated the win to his parents, who had passed away the year before. Ayre's son, David, was Blackpool's mascot and walked out with his father to the center circle before the game.
The next season, the Seasiders finished in a low 18th place. They won only 12 of their 46 games.
On the last day of the 1993–94 season, Blackpool avoided being moved down to a lower league by just one point. They beat Leyton Orient 4–1 at Bloomfield Road. However, Ayre was sacked in June by the chairman, Owen Oyston. This happened because the Seasiders didn't do well enough at their new level. Sam Allardyce took over from him. Ayre's league record in his three and a half years at Blackpool was: 191 games, 77 wins, 70 draws, 44 losses. When he left, Ayre was the sixth-longest-serving Blackpool manager based on Football League games managed.
Ayre achieved promotion and then kept the team in the division with very little money from the chairman. After a loss at his old club, Hartlepool United, on 2 October 1992, Ayre spoke to the away fans. They had been shouting for him to spend more money. He explained that his ability to spend was limited by his chairman. During this time, players like Alan Wright, Paul Groves, and especially Trevor Sinclair left the club for bigger opportunities. Despite this, Ayre's teams fought hard and sometimes surprised teams with much more money.
A special part of Ayre's time at Bloomfield Road was his "ticker-tape entrance" before games. Fans would throw paper into the air as Ayre walked to the dugout. He would wave to the fans and then clench his fists, asking the Seasiders fans to support his team.
Scarborough
Ayre's next job was at Scarborough. He arrived in August 1994, about 20 years after playing for them. His time at the McCain Stadium lasted only four months. He was sacked because he couldn't improve the team, who were struggling in Division Three.
Southport
He then had a short but successful period at non-League Southport during the 1994–95 season. Ayre led the Sandgrounders to a third-place finish. He continued to manage the club in the 1995–96 season, where they finished in sixth place.
Swansea City
In March 1996, Jan Mølby, the new boss at Swansea City, asked Ayre to be his assistant. However, they joined too late to stop the Swans from moving down to Division Three. A year later, they reached the play-off final. But a goal in the last minute meant they lost to Northampton Town and missed out on promotion. Ayre and Mølby were both sacked soon after this disappointment.
Cardiff City
Ayre then helped Frank Burrows at Cardiff City. They helped the team get promoted to Division Two in 1998–99.
After a month-long break to have a non-cancerous tumor removed, Ayre became the manager of Cardiff. This happened when Burrows resigned in January 2000. "This came as a complete shock," he said at the time. "I was driving back to South Wales when the chairman called me. I want to keep the job, and I hope I'm given the chance to prove myself."
"There will be changes," he continued. "I will be adjusting a few things, and we will look at how the team plays. I'm still surprised by what happened, but we need to make the team better quickly. That's what Frank would want."
Regarding his tumor, Ayre said: "That wasn't something which bothered me too much. That may sound strange, but it was outside my control, so I got on with things. Now the Cardiff City job has been given to me, even if it's temporary for now, and that is within my control."
He also said about his health: "I'm not at all scared. I know the risks. The chances of people not even surviving the treatment are 20–1, but that doesn't bother me. I've bet on a few 20–1 winners in my time. One in four people get cancer, and I'm glad it's me and not someone else in my family. I'd rather take it, because I think I can deal with it."
Ayre stayed on after the season ended, even though the Bluebirds went back down to Division Three. He was made assistant manager when owner Sam Hammam hired Bobby Gould in August 2000. Ayre's time at the club ended completely two months later. This was when Alan Cork took charge of the first team, and Gould became general manager.
Bury
Ayre's last job in football came a few weeks after leaving Cardiff. He joined Division Two team Bury as assistant to Andy Preece. But in the spring of 2001, it was found that the lymph node cancer he had been diagnosed with in 1995 had returned. Graham Barrow became the temporary assistant manager while Ayre received treatment. He seemed to be getting better. However, he had a setback in early 2002 and was admitted to Clatterbridge Hospital in Bebington, Merseyside.
Death and Legacy
Billy Ayre passed away from cancer on 16 April 2002, at the age of 49.
Four days after Ayre's death, during a game between Tranmere Rovers and Cardiff City, the away fans started singing "There's Only One Billy Ayre." They then gave a round of applause to honor their former manager. Mark Bonner, who Ayre had helped develop from the Blackpool youth teams, was playing for Cardiff that day.
Ayre's funeral was held on 21 April at St. Cuthbert's Church in Halsall, near Ormskirk. His final wish was for the Blackpool team he led to promotion in 1992 to be there. His wish was granted.
During the service, Revd. Heather Penman shared a story that had touched Ayre in his last year. On 26 May 2001, Ayre had gone to the Football League Two play-off final between Blackpool and Leyton Orient. The game was at the Millennium Stadium in his home city of Cardiff. As he walked to the stadium, some Blackpool fans saw him. They picked up their former manager and carried him on their shoulders into the stadium. "I expect he did that famous fist sign as they took him in," said Penman. "And Elaine said Billy was absolutely delighted by that gesture."
"He was a fantastic fella, I couldn't speak highly enough about him," said Phil Brown. Brown played with Ayre at Hartlepool United and Halifax Town, and played under him at Halifax. "He tried to play the game the way it should be played. He had a funny side to him that not many people saw. He could make a serious situation seem less serious. He was a very honest and trustworthy person. There weren't many people like him."
On 17 April 2012, ten minutes into Blackpool's game against Leeds United at Bloomfield Road, the home fans sang "Billy Ayre's tangerine army" for ten minutes. A photo of their former manager appeared on the television screen with the words "Billy Ayre, gone but never forgotten." This marked ten years and one day since Ayre's death. His daughter, Rachel, was there.
On 5 October 2012, a special tribute evening was held at Bloomfield Road in his honor. A painting of Ayre was shown by his wife, daughter, and son.
To mark 20 years since Ayre's death, a minute of applause was held in the 15th minute of Blackpool's match against Birmingham City at Bloomfield Road on 18 April 2022. Ayre was also on the front cover of the matchday program. His wife and children were at the match. After the game, Blackpool manager Neil Critchley said he remembered Ayre from when he used to bring his teams to Crewe Alexandra in the 1990s. "I remember him as a young boy myself, growing up when I was at Crewe. I remember Blackpool coming and seeing Billy, and he was different because he wore the kit. But you could see the passion he had, and you could see the connection he had with the Blackpool supporters."
Honours
As a Player
Hartlepool United
- Voted Player of the 1970s
As a Manager
Blackpool
- Division Four play-off winner: 1991–92
- Lancashire Senior Cup: 1993–94
Managerial Stats
- These stats are for League games only. Only available statistics are listed.
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Blackpool |  |
30 November 1990 | 10 June 1994 | 191 | 77 | 44 | 70 | 40.31 |
| Scarborough | |
1 August 1994 | 12 December 1994 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 24.00 |
| Southport | |
22 March 1995 | 4 May 1996 | 55 | 23 | 14 | 18 | 41.81 |
| Cardiff City |  |
2 February 2000 | 14 August 2000 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 26.31 |
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