Dave Sexton was one of the leading thinkers in the English game and introduced coaching methods which had never been seen before. PFA Head of Coaching Jim Hicks pays tribute.
The Professional Footballers’ Association would like to pay tribute to Dave Sexton, a player, coach and manager who died in November 2012 aged 82, leaving his wife Thea, children Anne, David and Christopher, and a diverse football legacy spanning nearly 60 years.
Innovator, listener, thinker...these are the recurring tribute themes for the strong family man born in Islington, north London in 1930, who was admired by all for his ability to quickly comprehend complex situations and explain them with such simplicity to others.
An art collector and lover of jazz, there was a lot more to Sexton than demonstrated through football. Sexton’s father Archie had been a Southern Area middleweight boxing champion but most of young Dave’s early fights were in Cassettari’s Cafe opposite West Ham’s ground, but more verbal in nature against the likes of Malcolm Allison, John Bond, Noel Cantwell and Ken Brown, all of whom went on to innovate as managers within the English game.
Their thirst for knowledge, particularly of emerging European training methods, lead them all through early coaching qualifications and into positions of influence within the English game. Sexton became a life-long learner, completing an Open University degree in Humanities while managing Coventry City.
He frequently attended philosophy lectures at Warwick University and when asked why a Football League manager would need this information, he smiled softly and replied with a question: “Have you seen the chairmen and players I have to deal with?”
A playing career spanning five league clubs ended early through injury but Sexton was quickly into an
assistant coach’s role at Chelsea under Tommy Docherty, before managing Leyton Orient at just 34 years of age.
He worked briefly at Fulham and Arsenal as assistant manager before returning to Chelsea as manager in 1967. The Arsenal players were shocked by his departure, Sexton having established a fresh and exciting edge to training previously unseen at the club.
Arsenal’s loss was Chelsea’s gain, as 1970 saw the FA Cup back in London following an epic replay against Leeds United at Old Trafford. With a playing style that coupled possession with rugged ball winners, Sexton took Chelsea to their first European trophy (the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971), again following a replay against Real Madrid in Greece.
This Chelsea era was characterised by overspending, particularly on a new stand, which resulted in key playing figures departing. With the nucleus of the exciting 70/71 team gone, Sexton left Chelsea in 1974 for a new west London challenge in Shepherds Bush with QPR, where he achieved possibly his greatest success.
With freedom to impose his new ideas, a QPR side combining Frank McLintock, Stan Bowles and Gerry Francis came within a point of winning the League title in 1975/6, pipped only by Liverpool winning their last game of the season at Wolves. The introduction of match preparation, video analysis (which Sexton did himself) and fitness revolutionised the thinking of even the most senior players, and was a forerunner for significant changes to English domestic football.
Sexton went on to manage Manchester United from 1977 to 1981 (again replacing Docherty) with relative success, United finishing as runners-up to Liverpool in 1979/80, but the level of expectation was now much higher and the politics more intrusive.
He broke the club transfer record four times, signing Ray Wilkins, Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen, but his first £1million signing Garry Birtles was not a goalscoring success, which accelerated his departure. His last club management role was with Coventry from 1981-1983, keeping them in Division One on the last game of the season, only to be sacked that evening.
An involvement with England teams as a coach, Under-21 manager and scout transcended the tenures of Ron Greenwood, Bobby Robson, Glenn Hoddle, Terry Venables, Kevin Keegan and Sven-Goran Eriksson.
His 13 years in charge of the England U21s brought European titles in 1982 and 1984, and he is also fondly remembered as the FA’s first Technical Director, helping to nurture the emerging stars at the FA National School at Lilleshall, including Sol Campbell, Michael Owen and Scott Parker.
Legend has it that Sexton attended the 1958 World Cup in Sweden on a motorbike, watching games and training sessions wherever possible, hoping to share with his colleagues back in England.
He was also a devotee of the total football being played by Ajax under Rinus Michels and flew to Holland on spare weekends at a time when travel was much more difficult and expensive.
Those who played under Sexton talk of his humility, intellect and patience in slowly building confidence.
Both he and his players were thinkers, encapsulated beautifully by memories of Sexton, cigar puffing and emptied matchbox open, drawing another tiny diagram and softly asking another open question.
Ultimately he will be remembered for hat rare ability to get the very best from his players, the hallmark of an unconventional but brilliant leader.
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