Obituary: Ian Greaves

Jan 5 2009 by Mel Booth, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Ian Greaves, the last man to take Town into the top flight, dies at home aged 76

Greaves’ daughter, Christine, said the funeral will be at Bolton Parish Church on a date to be fixed.

“We are very proud of what he achieved and he was a brilliant man, father and granddad,” she said.

“He was such an inspiration to those who knew him, especially his family, and he certainly motivated me in my life and in what I’ve achieved.

“He was always saying ‘you’ve got to persevere girl, get in there and give it your best shot.’ He always taught us to have good self esteem and to work hard and we’ve got a lot to thank him for.

“As for the football, his achievements speak for themselves and we would like to thank everyone at Town for the lovely tribute on Saturday, and both sets of fans. And, as an Oldham man, 1-1 was a great result for him.”

In his time at the helm, Greaves reduced Town’s average age in the first team to just 22 and made them one of the fittest teams in the country.

They were also well disciplined and, helped by his former Old Trafford colleague Henry Cockburn, Greaves fashioned a team of winners including ever-popular players like Terry Poole, Geoff Hutt, Roy Ellam, Steve Smith, Jimmy McGill and Jimmy Lawson alongside the internationals.

Without strengthening the squad, Town finished 15th in the top-flight season of 1970-71 and were relegated in 22nd the following campaign. They were relegated again the following season and after finishing 10th in their first ever season in the old Third Division (the same level the club are at now) Greaves resigned.

He joined Plymouth as coach but was soon back in management with Bolton Wanderers, where he again had Worthington spearheading the attack, and he led them to the Second Division title in 1978.

After leaving Burnden Park in 1980, he was assistant at Hereford and had short spells in charge of Oxford United and Wolves before becoming boss at Mansfield in January 1983. He led them to promotion from Division IV in 1986 and, the following year, to victory in the Freight Rover Trophy final against Bristol City down at Wembley.