Len Boyd

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Len Boyd
Personal information
Full name Leonard Arthur Miller Boyd
Date of birth 11 November 1923(1923-11-11)
Place of birth    Plaistow, England
Date of death    14 February 2008 (aged 84)
Place of death    Melton Mowbray, England
Playing position Wing half
Youth clubs
Ilford
Royal Navy
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1945–49
1949–56
1959		 Plymouth Argyle
Birmingham City
Hinckley Athletic		 078 0(5)
255 (14)   
National team
1952 England B 001 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Leonard Arthur Miller "Len" Boyd (11 November 1923 − 14 February 2008) was an English professional footballer who played as a wing half. He made more than 300 appearances in the Football League, playing for Plymouth Argyle and Birmingham City. As Birmingham captain he led the team to the championship of the Second Division in 1954–55 and to the FA Cup Final the following season. He represented his country at "B" international level.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Early career

Boyd was born in Plaistow, East London. He played in the same West Ham Schools team as Ken Green, later to be a Birmingham team-mate, and for Ilford F.C. as a youth, but the outbreak of the Second World War when Boyd was 15 put paid to an early entry into football as a career.[1] He joined the Royal Navy, and while serving in Malta was spotted playing for a Navy team by a Plymouth Argyle supporter, who recommended him to the club. After a trial, Boyd signed professional forms in December 1945. At the time, he was playing as an inside forward, but when Plymouth manager Jack Tresadern switched him to right half it became clear that he was better suited to that position.[2] After around 80 games for the Devon club, helping them avoid relegation from the Second Division for three consecutive seasons,[3][4] Boyd was sold to First Division club Birmingham City in January 1949 for a fee of £17,500, the first five-figure fee ever received by Plymouth for a player.[2]

[edit] Birmingham City

He went straight into the first team as replacement for Frank Mitchell who had joined Chelsea earlier that month, and made his debut in a goalless draw away at Preston North End.[5] In the 1949–50 season, his first full season with Birmingham, he established himself in the first team but was unable to prevent his new team's relegation to the Second Division.[6] When Fred Harris retired at the end of that season,[7] manager Bob Brocklebank appointed Boyd as his successor as club captain, a post which he retained for the remainder of his Birmingham career.[8]

Under Boyd's captaincy Birmingham reached the semifinals of the FA Cup in 1951, when they were defeated by the powerful Blackpool side of Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen only after a replay.[9] They twice came close to winning promotion, missing out by three points in 1950–51[10] and then on goal average the following year.[11] Boyd's performances were recognised with selection for England B against Netherlands B, a match played in front of a crowd of 60,000 at the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium,[12] but this, and a selection as reserve for a Football League representative side in 1954,[13] was as close as he came to full international honours.

Though Birmingham narrowly failed to reach yet another FA Cup semifinal in 1953, losing in the sixth round to Tottenham Hotspur after two replays,[14] and manager Brocklebank had significantly strengthened the playing staff,[15] their league results failed to improve.[16] In late 1954, Arthur Turner was appointed manager, and his ability to instil a positive approach in the players transformed a team stagnating in mid-table into one needing to win the last game of the season, away at Doncaster Rovers, in order to be promoted as champions on goal average. Boyd led the team to a 5–1 win, later recalling:

The ground was packed and alive with supporters wearing the colours of Birmingham City. We knew we would win – and so too did those fans – and our performance that day was quite brilliant.[17]

The same squad of players carried their promotion form into the 1955–56 season in the First Division, achieving the club's highest league finish of sixth place, and reaching the FA Cup final.[16] They became attractive to the media; after the FA Cup semifinal victory, Boyd signed an exclusive contract committing himself and his team-mates to appearing only on BBC programmes in the weeks leading up to the final.[18]

Fellow wing half Roy Warhurst injured a thigh in the sixth round at Arsenal and played no further part in the season.[19] Boyd himself had for some time been suffering from a debilitating back problem, and relied on injections to keep him playing;[1] he missed five of the last seven games of the season,[20] and was sufficiently doubtful for the final that manager Turner named four half-backs in his 13-man squad on the eve of the game.[21] In the event, Boyd played, in Warhurst's position at left-half, and the 22-year-old Johnny Newman came in on the right.[22] With Warhurst missing and Boyd out of position and not fully fit, Birmingham's strength and balance was disrupted, leaving them particularly vulnerable to Manchester City's unconventional "Revie Plan".[23] At half-time, a row erupted between the manager and some of the players, Boyd included, about their fitness;[24] in the second half, whether due to physical and mental exhaustion or the effects of the row, Birmingham were soundly beaten.[24][25]

On their return to Birmingham, the team received a civic welcome; Boyd told the crowds outside the Council House that the team felt they had let the supporters down.[26] He played only one more game for the club, two weeks after the Cup Final. Not fit for their first game in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, against Internazionale in the San Siro, he played their next, a 1–0 win against a Zagreb Select XI in Yugoslavia.[27] Injury then forced his retirement, at the age of 32.[28]

[edit] Style of play

Boyd was a tall man with a long stride. He was hard-working, combining industry with composure and skill on the ball.[2] His dynamism was regularly mentioned; The Times' match report of the 1953 FA Cup sixth round replay against Tottenham Hotspur, a 2–2 draw in which Boyd both scored and had his name taken, attributed Birmingham's second-half comeback to their captain's performance:

And behind it all there was the constant driving force of Boyd, their captain, at right-half. Boyd, in fact, one would say, was the final hero of a desperate day. Up in attack and back in defence he played a magnificent game to inspire and keep his colleagues going.[29]

Against Arsenal in the 1956 cup run he was "a champion who covered every inch of Highbury's mud, a dynamo and a man of steel",[30] and, later the same season, The Times' correspondent wondered rhetorically "was there ever such a human dynamo at wing-half?"[31]

Birmingham based their success of the 1950s on "their acutely drilled and disciplined defence – founded upon the authority of their half-backs Boyd, Smith and Warhurst".[30] Though these three did much more than protect their defenders,

... the towering young Smith, centre-half in the England Intermediate (Under 23) XI, is flanked by two men, Boyd and Warhurst, who keep the ball flowing forward quickly all the time. There are no superfluous frills about them. Their accent is on a quick release along the lines of longitude. They are the real driving force.[32]

they acquired a fearsome reputation. Boyd himself once played four matches carrying an injury which turned out to be a hairline fracture of his leg,[2][33] and team-mate Alex Govan

... wouldn't say Boydy was a dirty player but he was hard, very hard, although all Birmingham defenders were then! I used to think 'thank God I'm playing in front of them and not against them'! Birmingham probably had the hardest defenders in the First Division in those days, with Len, Trevor Smith, Roy Warhurst, Jeff Hall and Ken Green – no one liked the idea of playing against them.[33]

[edit] Life outside football

Boyd was married to Dolly, and had two children.[2] According to Govan, "Len was a typical cockney really. He was hard on the pitch but soft off the field, he wouldn't do anybody a bad turn."[33]

After retiring from professional football he kept a pub in Birmingham.[2] After two-and-a-half years out of the game, in early 1959, he attempted a comeback with Leicestershire side Hinckley Athletic, but found himself unable to play a full game.[1] He remained involved with football for a few more years, acting as coach and scout for Redditch of the West Midlands Regional League between 1960 and 1965. Settling in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, he went on to become one of the town's first traffic wardens.[4] In later life he moved into a care home in Melton, where he died in February 2008 at the age of 84.[33]

[edit] Honours

with Birmingham City

[edit] References

General
Specific
  1. ^ a b c Matthews, Tony (2006). The Legends of Birmingham City. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-519-7. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Ponting, Ivan. "Len Boyd: Steely Birmingham City skipper", The Independent, Independent News & Media, 2008-02-19. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. 
  3. ^ Plymouth Argyle. Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  4. ^ a b "Len Boyd: The strong man in Birmingham City's star Fifties side", Melton Times, Johnston Press, 2008-02-28. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. 
  5. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 23, 111.
  6. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 185.
  7. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 94.
  8. ^ Club Officials & Backroom Staff. The Birmingham City FC Archive. Tony Jordan (2002-01-02). Archived from the original on 2003-10-04.
  9. ^ Matthews, Stanley (2001). The way it was. London: Headline, p. 363. ISBN 978-0-7472-6427-9. 
  10. ^ Football League 1950-51. Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  11. ^ Football League 1951-52. Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  12. ^ Courtney, Barrie (2004-03-21). England - International Results B-Team - Details. RSSSF. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  13. ^ "Football League XI" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1954-02-01, p. 9. Retrieved on 2008-05-08. 
  14. ^ English FA Cup 1952/1953. Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  15. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 24–25.
  16. ^ a b Birmingham City. Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  17. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 27, 190.
  18. ^ "Cup Final team's B.B.C. contract" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-03-28, p. 10. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. 
  19. ^ "To-day's football" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-04-18, p. 14. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. 
  20. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 191.
  21. ^ "Birmingham's F.A. Cup decision" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-05-04, p. 14. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. 
  22. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 114, 191.
  23. ^ "Manchester's New Triumph: F.A. Cup Attacking Plan Succeeds" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-05-07, p. 14. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. "Time and again, Hall, Green, Newman, Smith and Boyd found themselves out of alignment and cleverly pierced by the skilful Manchester approach." 
  24. ^ a b Shaw, Dennis. "Wembley dream rekindles Birmingham spirit", The Times, 1991-05-24. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. "There was a furious dispute in the dressing room at half-time between the manager, Arthur Turner, and players over their fitness. With internal arguments still simmering the demoralised team simply did not perform in the second half." 
  25. ^ 'Manchester's New Triumph', The Times, "Their spirit and iron determination, whatever the signs might have been, were two qualities not to be lightly disregarded. But having patched up the scar of that shattering opening blow, drawn level at the quarter-hour, and then immediately taken control for a period of 20 minutes, they dissipated their strength. The effort had taken too much out of them physically and mentally and there was no reserve when the Manchester flower blossomed fully later on."
  26. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 29.
  27. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 241.
  28. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 74.
  29. ^ "The F.A. Cup: Great rally saves Birmingham" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1953-03-05, p. 11. Retrieved on 2008-05-08. 
  30. ^ a b "Birmingham worthy victors: Storming test survived: Arsenal 1 Birmingham City 3" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-03-05, p. 4. Retrieved on 2008-05-08. 
  31. ^ "Still in the hunt: Blackpool break a sequence: Birmingham City 1, Blackpool 2" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-03-26, p. 5. Retrieved on 2008-05-08. 
  32. ^ "Birmingham's power at half-back: Brown's three goals upset Charlton" (Times Digital Archive 1785-1985), The Times, 1956-02-06, p. 3. Retrieved on 2008-05-08. 
  33. ^ a b c d Govan's tribute to captain Boyd. Birmingham City F.C. (2008-02-15). Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
Persondata
NAME Boyd, Len
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boyd, Leonard Arthur Miller
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1923-11-11
PLACE OF BIRTH Plaistow, London, England
DATE OF DEATH 2008-02-14
PLACE OF DEATH Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England