At 2.45pm. before our Boxing Day match with Linfield, Glentoran will be proud to honour three men who played an active and often highly successful part in Big Two battles over the course of forty years – Our surviving Championship winning managers – Roy Coyle, Tommy Jackson and Ronnie McFall. The three managers – who between them managed the club to no fewer than 39 trophies – will be formally inducted into the Glentoran 250 Club and receive honorary life membership of the club.
Remarkably, not only have these three men each managed the Glens to Gibson Cup wins, but they each won championship medals with the club as players. Each of them also played in legendary European matches for the club – Tommy v Benfica, Roy v Arsenal and Ronnie v Juventus.
The club is sure all Glens supporters will wish to join in honouring three men who as both manager and player played such a big part in the history of our club.
Roy Coyle (Glentoran Manager 1997-2006, player 1969-1972)
Roy, an East Belfast man from the Beersbridge Road, joined Glentoran from Ballymena United in the summer of 1969. In 3 seasons as a player, Roy won two league championships and winners medals in the City Cup and County Antrim Shield. He played 134 games for the Glens before leaving for full time football with Sheffield Wednesday and later Grimsby Town. He won 5 international caps for Northern Ireland.
Roy succeeded Tommy Cassidy as Glens manager in October 1997, having previously managed and won trophies with Linfield, Derry City and Ards. By the end of that season we had won the Irish Cup and in his first full season won the Gibson Cup. He won three Championships and four Irish Cups with the club. In total Roy won 17 trophies for Glentoran, making him the club’s most successful manager. Add to that another 34 trophies won with Linfield (he was also the Blues’ most successful manager), Derry City and Ards and Coyler stands alone as the most successful manager in the history of football in Northern Ireland.
Roy has been Director of Football at Glentoran since April 2010.
Tommy Jackson (Glentoran Manager 1987-1993, Player 1965-1967)
Tommy, from North Belfast, was a product of Glentoran seconds who made his first team debut as an 18-year old in the 1964/65 season. As a tenacious midfielder, Jacko played 77 games for the club before leaving for a great Everton team in 1968. While a player with the club he won two League Championship medals, the Ulster Cup, City Cup and County Antrim Shield. A member of the great John Colrain team and a Detroit Cougar, Tommy is probably best remembered by older Glenmen and women for his famous confrontations with Eusebio in the European Cup games with Benfica in 1967. Tommy later won an English Championship medal with Everton (who provided the opposition for his testimonial at the Oval in 1991) and subsequently played for Nottingham Forest and Manchester United in the old First Division. A regular international player for eight years, Tommy played 35 times for Northern Ireland in the company of greats such as George Best, Pat Jennings and Derek Dougan.
After winning trophies as manager of Waterford and Crusaders, Tommy returned to the Oval in January 1987. Again like Roy Coyle, he won the Irish Cup within months of taking the job. In his first full season he went one further by winning the Double, probably the only time most current supporters have seen this achieved. Tommy won 16 trophies for Glentoran, including two League Championships and three Irish Cups. After leaving the Oval in 1993 he had a brief spells as manager of Ballymena United . But he will always be identified with the Glens and as the architect of the never to be forgotten “7-Up” season of 1989/90 when his team beat Linfield seven times in a row.
Ronnie McFall (Glentoran Manager 1979-1984, Player 1975-1979)
Ronnie had the last but most successful spell of his playing career after signing for Glentoran as a 30-year old in 1975. He had previously played mostly with his hometown club, Portadown with spells at Dundee United and Ards. He was a regular in our League winning team in 1977 and also won winners medals in the Gold Cup (twice) and Ulster Cup. He played 148 times for the club before his surprise promotion to the manager role to succeed Arthur Stewart in February 1979.
After a slow start to his managerial career, Ronnie transformed the club in the summer of 1980 when he showed the first signs of his legendary acumen in the transfer market by adding future Glens legends such as Cleary, Jameson, Paterson, Harrison and Kingon to a squad already containing Gary Blackledge, Rab McCreery and a young Ron Manley. That season he achieved the remarkable feat of leading his new team to the Gibson Cup as the only undefeated team in the modern era, Northern Ireland’s own “invincibles”. In his six years as manager, Ronnie’s teams won six trophies, including our first Irish Cup in a decade in 1983.
After leaving the Glens, Ronnie returned to Portadown where he launched the most successful era in that club’s history, winning a remarkable 23 trophies before leaving and retiring from management in 2015.
For the match itself, Jonny Addis will be missing as he serves a one match suspension due to collecting five bookings so far this season. Manager Gary Haveron has a choice of three options on who takes Jonny’s place beside Calum Birney in central defence – Daniel Kelly, Willie Garrett or James Ferrin. The game has come too early for John McGuigan who is still some days away from full fitness. Ross Redman is over his injury but probably won’t come into the reckoning for Boxing Day as he hasn’t played for six weeks.
