Mick Lyons (English footballer)

Mick Lyons

Personal information
Full name	Michael Lyons
Date of birth	8 December 1951
Place of birth	Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1971–1982	Everton	390	(48)
1982–1985	Sheffield Wednesday	129	(12)
1985–1987	Grimsby Town	50	(4)
National team
1978	England B	2
Teams managed
1985–1987	Grimsby Town
1991	Nova Scotia Clippers (Assistant)
1993-1995	Brunei
1995–1997	Canberra Cosmos
2004–2010	Stirling Lions
2011	Cockburn City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Michael "Mick" Lyons (born 8 December 1951) is an English former footballer in the 1970s and 1980s. He is most famous as captain of Everton during this period.

Early life

Lyons was educated at the all-boys' De La Salle School in Liverpool. He was an Everton fan and his dream was to play for the football club.

Club career

Everton

Lyons signed as a professional at Everton in 1970 after having served an apprenticeship at the club. He made his first team debut in the Football League First Division in 1971. Utilized mostly as a defender, Lyons would be pushed forward into an attacking role in the last 10 minutes of a game.

Lyons was not considered the most technically gifted of players but more than made up for it by his desire to play for Everton,^[1] the club he supported when he was a boy. Lyons' versatility made him a very useful player; he could play anywhere down the middle and was once Everton's top goalscorer.

Sheffield Wednesday

Lyons moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1982. He appeared for them 129 times, scoring 12 goals. Lyons helped Wednesday win promotion to the Football League First Division.

International career

Lyons won two England "B" caps in 1978.

Managerial career

Grimsby Town

Lyons became player-manager of Grimsby Town in 1985, replacing David Booth. The side could never get above mid-table and finished 15th. The 1986-87 season began well and most of the season was spent in the top half and on the fringes of the play-off race. However, a run of 8 losses and 2 draws in the last 10 games meant that Grimsby fell from 8th to 21st and the first of two consecutive relegations.

Canberra Cosmos

Lyons was appointed coach of Canberra Cosmos in Australia's National Soccer League in 1995. A 9th-place finish in his first season showed sporadic promise, but this was not maintained as the club finished last the following season.

Stirling Lions

Lyons spent five years as the coach of the Stirling Lions in the Football West Premier League in Perth, Western Australia. He was dismissed in April 2010.^[2]

Cockburn City

He was appointed as manager of Cockburn City in 2011 and his first came against Perth Soccer Club.^[3] He was sacked in July 2012 leaving the club in fourth position, three points behind the league leaders.^[4]

UWA Nedlands FC

Lyons was appointed as manager of UWA Nedlands Football club in 2013 for the upcoming 13/14 season. A Mixed season saw the first team finishing 7th although injuries plagued the season which could have seen the team finish as high as 4th. http://www.uwanfc.com.au/

Legacy

It was at Everton that Lyons is best remembered and revered for his commitment and dedication to "the cause".^[1] Lyons famously dived under Norman Hunter's boot to score from inside the six yard box in a league game against Leeds United.

Honours

• League Cup: Everton 1977, runners up

References

1. "Mick Lyons". toffeeweb.com. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
2. "Stirling Lions Sack Mick Lyons Appoint Paul Lincoln". club-footballwa.com.au. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
3. Mitaros, Elle. "Cockburn City 1 - 3 Perth SC". Perth Soccer Club. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
4. "Miller back in charge of Cockburn after Lyons sacked". West Australian. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

• Mick Lyons, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database