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James Greenhoff (born 19 June 1946) is an English former footballer. He was a skilful forward but, although capped five times at under-23 level (being on one of those occasions an over-age player), he never played for the full side and is labelled as the finest English player never to play for England. He made nearly 600 appearances in league football. His younger brother Brian Greenhoff was also a professional footballer.
Greenhoff began his career at Leeds United in 1963, at the time that the club sought promotion from the Second Division in 1963–64; Leeds went on to be First Division runners-up in 1964–65 and 1965–66. He also played in the 1967 and 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup finals. He won both the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and EFL Cup in 1968 before he was sold to Birmingham City. In 1969, he made a £100,000 move to Stoke City. He won the League Cup with Stoke in 1972 and also lifted the Watney Cup in 1973. He was moved on to Manchester United in 1976 and lifted both the FA Cup and Charity Shield in 1977. He was switched to Crewe Alexandra in December 1980 before joining Port Vale via Toronto Blizzard in August 1981. He was appointed player-manager at Rochdale in March 1983 before he resigned in March 1984.
Once again, they finished fourth in the First Division in 1967–68, five points behind champions Manchester City. Greenhoff played 37 games, including a memorable 7–0 victory over rivals Chelsea on 7 October. He went on to appear in the EFL Cup final in 1968 after recovering from a knee injury; United beat Arsenal 1–0 thanks to a strike from Terry Cooper. Greenhoff went on to score four of Leeds' 19 goals past minnows CA Spora Luxembourg in the 1967–68 instalment of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. He also appeared as a half-time substitute in the first leg of the final, a 1–0 home win over Ferencvárosi TC, which was enough to secure Leeds the trophy after a goalless draw in Budapest. Greenhoff played a total of 136 games for Leeds in league and cup, scoring 36 goals.
He played for the "Potters" at Wembley against Chelsea in the 1972 Football League Cup final, which ended in a 2–1 win for Stoke – the only major trophy in the club's history. He also helped the club to the FA Cup semi-finals in 1972, his goal at Old Trafford cancelling out George Best's effort and earning Stoke a replay, which they won. The win over Manchester United left Stoke again facing Arsenal in the semi-finals. A 1–1 draw at Villa Park led to a replay at Goodison Park; Greenhoff scored for City in the replay, but Arsenal won the game 2–1 after John Radford scored from a clear offside position. Former club Leeds beat the "Gunners" in the final. He played 54 games in 1971–72, scoring 16 goals, two fewer than John Ritchie.
He scored twenty goals in 46 appearances in 1972–73, making him the club's top-scorer. These goals included a hat-trick at home to Manchester City on 23 September and a brace against City at Maine Road in a 3–2 defeat in the FA Cup. He hit ten goals in 44 games in 1973–74, not including his brace against Hull City in the final of the Watney Cup at the Victoria Ground. Greenhoff then began to play to the best of his abilities with the arrival of Alan Hudson. He scored 15 goals in 47 games in 1974–75, making him the club's top-scorer for a second time after he outscored Terry Conroy and Geoff Hurst by two and four goals respectively. A volley against former club Birmingham in December 1974 was voted ITV's goal of the season. He hit 13 goals in 46 games in 1975–76, making him the club's joint-top scorer along with Ian Moores. England manager Don Revie picked Greenhoff to play against Wales in March 1976, but he was unable to play due to it clashing with a league fixture and never got another chance at international level.
After three goals in 16 games in 1976–77, he was sold to Tommy Docherty's Manchester United in November 1976 for £120,000; with Stoke needing the money to pay a bill for £250,000 to repair the Victoria Ground following a powerful wind-storm. Though Docherty intended him to play alongside Stuart Pearson, the move also meant that he would play alongside his brother, Brian Greenhoff. He scored 97 goals for Stoke in 338 league and cup starts, putting him ninth in the club's overall goalscoring charts. A legend at the club, many Stoke fans consider him to be the greatest England player never to win a senior cap.
He appeared in the 1977 FA Charity Shield, which ended as a goalless draw, leaving Manchester United and Liverpool to share the shield. Greenhoff finished the 1977–78 campaign with six goals in 28 games. He finished 1978–79 as the club's top-scorer with 17 goals, and supporters voted him Player of the Year. He also played in the 1979 FA Cup final, which Arsenal won 3–2 thanks to a last-minute Alan Sunderland goal. Though this was as close as manager Dave Sexton would come to a major honour as United boss, Sexton did sign Joe Jordan, who would form a successful partnership with Greenhoff. United finished second in 1979–80, two points behind Liverpool, as Greenhoff was limited to just five games due to injury. He played twelve games in 1980–81.
He returned to Stoke-on-Trent to sign a two-year contract with Port Vale in August 1981. He played 38 games in 1981–82, but scored just three goals for the Fourth Division side as manager John McGrath played him out of position on the left. Greenhoff struck twice in 17 games in 1982–83. Notably, on 6 November, local paper The Sentinel reported a "Heavy defeat for Port Vale" after Vale were 3–0 down to Rochdale at Spotland Stadium at half-time, only for Greenhoff to inspire a fightback for the "Valiants", and help the club to a 3–3 draw. On 3 January, he scored a volley from out in a 2–1 win over York City at Vale Park.
He joined Rochdale in March 1983, where he was appointed player-manager. He played 17 games for the "Dale" but did not find the net. Under his management, the club avoided the re-election zone in 1982–83 but again struggled in 1983–84, and he left the club in March 1984, later returning to Vale Park for a brief spell as a coach and assistant manager under John Rudge.
Stoke City
Manchester United
Birmingham City
He was bought by Birmingham City manager Stan Cullis in August 1968, who paid the Yorkshire club a £70,000 fee. The transfer came as a surprise to many Leeds fans. Greenhoff made a huge impact at Birmingham, scoring 15 goals in 36 games (in all competitions) as the "Blues" finished 1968–69 seventh in the Second Division. During the campaign he scored four goals in a 5–4 win over Fulham at St Andrew's on 5 October. Despite this, Cullis told him he was not scoring enough goals.
Stoke City
In August 1969, he left Birmingham for Tony Waddington's Stoke City in a deal worth £100,000, which was a club record for Stoke. He made the switch despite late interest from Everton. He hit nine goals in 37 games in 1969–70, a tally beaten by strike partners Harry Burrows and John Ritchie. He slotted in seamlessly in the team, connecting Ritchie with the midfield by feeding off Ritchie's knock-downs and bringing the wide players into the game. In 1970–71 he hit ten goals in 43 games, appearing in Stoke's FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual winners Arsenal. He missed an easy chance that would have put Stoke 3–0 ahead, and in an interview in 2011 he said the miss "still gets to me".
Manchester United
He scored twelve goals in 34 games for United in 1976–77, bagging a hat-trick against Newcastle United on 19 February. However, he greatest contribution would be in the FA Cup. He scored both United's goals in a 2–1 win over Southampton in a Fifth round replay before he put the "Red Devils" into the final by scoring past former club Leeds in a 2–1 semi-final victory at Hillsborough. He then went on to score the winner in the final after getting in the way of Lou Macari's wayward shot; in doing so he denied opponents and bitter rivals Liverpool the treble.
Later career
He was allowed to join Crewe Alexandra in December 1980. Greenhoff had scored a total of 36 goals in 123 appearances (including four substitute appearances) for Manchester United. He was reunited with former boss Tony Waddington, and though Crewe were a struggling Fourth Division side, Greenhoff managed four goals in eleven league games. He moved to North American Soccer League side Toronto Blizzard in March 1981, then led by Keith Eddy. The "Blizzard" were a poor side and finished bottom of their division, despite Greenhoff scoring six goals in 24 games.
Style of play
Greenhoff could play with both feet and was known for his dangerous runs into the opposition penalty area. He was a talented and skilful player who had great positional strength and a tremendous volley. He liked to play "no-look" passes.
Post-retirement
Greenhoff suffered a financial crisis following a failed insurance venture and took up work in a warehouse. The crisis came about after discovering that his friend and business partner of nine years had been conning him out of large sums of money.
Career statistics
Playing statistics
Source:
+ Appearance and goals by club, season and competition Leeds United 1962–63 Second Division 0 1963–64 Second Division 0 1964–65 First Division 3 1965–66 First Division 2 1966–67 First Division 10 1967–68 First Division 18 1968–69 First Division 0 Birmingham City 1968–69 Second Division 15 Stoke City 1969–70 First Division 9 1970–71 First Division 11 1971–72 First Division 19 1972–73 First Division 20 1973–74 First Division 13 1974–75 First Division 15 1975–76 First Division 13 1976–77 First Division 3 Manchester United 1976–77 First Division 12 1977–78 First Division 6 1978–79 First Division 17 1979–80 First Division 1 1980–81 First Division 0 Crewe Alexandra 1980–81 Fourth Division 4 Toronto Blizzard 1981 North American Soccer League 6 Port Vale 1981–82 Fourth Division 3 1982–83 Fourth Division 2 Rochdale 1982–83 Fourth Division 0 1983–84 Fourth Division 0
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenure Rochdale 1 March 1983 12 March 1984
Honours
Leeds United
External links
Categories: 1946 Births, Living People, Footballers From Barnsley, English Men's Footballers, Men's Association Football Forwards, England Men's Under-23 International Footballers, English Football League Representative Players, Leeds United F.c. Players, Birmingham City F.c. Players, Stoke City F.c. Players, Manchester United F.c. Players, Crewe Alexandra F.c. Players, English Expatriate Men's Footballers, Expatriate Men's Soccer Players In Canada, English Expatriate Sportspeople In Canada, Toronto Blizzard Players, Port Vale F.c. Players, Rochdale A.f.c. Players, English Football League Players, North American Soccer League Players, Men's Association Football Player-managers, English Football Managers, Rochdale A.f.c. Managers, English Football League Managers, English Football Coaches, Port Vale F.c. Non-playing Staff
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