Greats of football world at Greaves funeral

Jan 13 2009 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Tributes from the footballing world for ‘top man’ Ian Greaves

“I played under a lot of managers, and I’m being honest when I say only Sir Alf Ramsey was better,” said Worthington.

“Sir Alf won a World Cup, and that shows just how much regard I hold Greavesie in.

“He was a key figure in my formative years, first as a coach then as manager, and he was a strong character who you would listen to.

“It’s well documented that I used to get myself into all sorts of awkward scrapes, but Greavesie was great at handling me.

“He was very astute and he soon worked out what I was all about. I prided myself on not letting any manager tie me down, but Greavesie knew how much rope to give me without me knowing he was doing it!

“I enjoyed playing under him and helping Town into the old First Division, and it was great to be reunited with him at Bolton.

“We also achieved a promotion there and I was lucky enough to finish top scorer in what is now the Premier League in 1978-79. Greavesie played a big part in making that possible, and he was just a top manager, and equally importantly, a top man.”