Ricky Hill

Ricky Hill (born 5 March 1959) is an English former footballer, most recently the head coach of Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Ricky Hill
Personal information
Full name Ricky Anthony Hill
Date of birth (1959-03-05) 5 March 1959
Place of birth Paddington, London, England[1]
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1989 Luton Town 436 (54)
1989–1990 Le Havre 20 (1)
1990–1991 Leicester City 16 (1)
1992 Tampa Bay Rowdies
– Chertsey Town
– Cocoa Expos
National team
1982–1986 England 3 (0)
Teams managed
1992 Tampa Bay Rowdies
2000 Luton Town
2003–2005 San Juan Jabloteh
2011–2014 Tampa Bay Rowdies[2]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Hill attended John Kelly Boys' Technology College in Neasden, where he was spotted playing for his school team by then Luton Town reserve coach David Pleat.

Playing career

Hill joined Luton in 1975, and made 436 League appearances, scoring 54 goals in the process, from 1976 to 1989.[3]

He earned 3 full England caps during this time, making his debut on 22 September 1982[1] as a substitute for Bryan Robson in England's 2–2 draw with Denmark in Copenhagen - the nation's first match under the management of Bobby Robson. He was only the fourth black player to represent England at the highest level. He was capped three times in total for England, with his last appearance being against Egypt on 29 January 1986.[1]

He helped Luton win promotion to the First Division in 1981-82 as Second Division champions, and in 1987-88, he was part of the team that won their first - and only to date - major trophy as they achieved a thrilling 3–2 win over Arsenal in the Football League Cup final. In 1989, he moved on a free transfer to French club Le Havre.[3]

In 1990, he transferred to Leicester City for £100,000, rejoining David Pleat for a brief spell, before heading abroad to be player/coach with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the US. As a player-coach where he took them to two national championships and was named 1992 'Coach of the Year'.[3]

On his return to England, Ricky had a brief spell as a player with non-league Chertsey Town and Hitchin. He returned to the US for two seasons at Cocoa Expos, before moving into coaching in England.[3]

Coaching career

In 1996, he was appointed the youth team coach (under-19) at Sheffield Wednesday again by David Pleat. He then had a spell coaching youth (under-17) at Tottenham Hotspur.

Hill returned to Luton Town as manager in July 2000, but it was an unsuccessful stint in which he won only two games of a Luton side now playing in Division Two, and he left the post in November 2000. Luton finished the season relegated.[4]

On 18 January 2011, Hill was announced as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League.[5] In 2012, Hill led the Rowdies to the league championship with a win in Soccer Bowl 2012.[6]

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References
  1. England stats at thefa.com
  2. Formerly known as FC Tampa Bay through 2011.
  3. James Garley. "Where Are They Now?". Luton Town Official Site. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  4. Ricky Hill management career stats at soccerbase
  5. Brian Quarstad (18 January 2011). "the Tampa Bay Rowdies Announce New Coach Ricky Hill". IMSoccer News. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  6. NASL. "Tampa Bay Wins NASL Championship Series After Penalty Shootout - Rowdies Lift Soccer Bowl Trophy In Dramatic Fashion". North American Soccer League.
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