Joseph Royle was born on 8 April 1949 and is an English football manager and former footballer.
27 Facts About Joe Royle
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Joe Royle was born in the Norris Green area of Liverpool on 8 April 1949.
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Joe Royle attended Ranworth Square Primary School in Norris Green and Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool's Allerton suburb, where he was an all-round sportsman.
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Joe Royle went on to make 270 appearances for Everton, scoring 119 times.
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Joe Royle made his debut at the age of 16 and held the record of being the youngest player to play for Everton until James Vaughan beat the record on 10 April 2005 by 11 days.
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Joe Royle left Maine Road in November 1977 to join Bristol City and had a further stint with Norwich City, including winning Norwich City player of the year in 1981, before being forced to retire from the game in 1982 due to a knee injury.
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Joe Royle was awarded the first of his six England caps against Malta in 1971.
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In June 1982, Joe Royle moved into management in the Second Division at Oldham Athletic.
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Joe Royle spent more than 12 years in charge at Boundary Park, taking them into the First Division in 1991 as Second Division champions.
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Joe Royle's teams won many friends with their cavalier style of play, which was particularly evident during the season that they played on artificial turf on their home ground.
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When England national football team manager Bobby Robson announced in May 1990 that he would be quitting the job after the World Cup that summer, Joe Royle's name was strongly linked with the role and the Football Association shortlisted him along with Graham Taylor and Howard Kendall.
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Incredibly, Joe Royle was selected on the shortlist ahead of Terry Venables, the Tottenham Hotspur manager whose managerial CV included taking Barcelona to the Spanish league title and to a European Cup final, as well as guiding Queen's Park Rangers to an FA Cup final in 1982.
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Joe Royle was able to attract established stars to Oldham, as well as developing talent which would go on to excel at a higher level.
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Joe Royle remained in charge of Oldham despite their relegation, and oversaw their first few months in Division One.
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Joe Royle permanently signed Scottish striker Duncan Ferguson, who was at Everton on loan.
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Everton were just four points above the relegation zone when Joe Royle resigned, their form having dipped since the sale of Andrei Kanchelskis to Fiorentina two months earlier.
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Joe Royle was named an Everton Giant in 2004 for his successes as both a player and a manager for the team.
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When Joe Royle arrived the club was battling against relegation from Division One.
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However, City were relegated straight back to Division One and Joe Royle was sacked in May 2001.
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Joe Royle twice led Ipswich to the play-offs, in 2004 and 2005, but lost on both occasions to West Ham United in the semi-finals.
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In December 2006, Joe Royle was appointed as a Patron of Trust Oldham, the official supporter's association of Oldham Athletic.
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In November 2007, Joe Royle was under serious consideration for the Leicester City and Wigan Athletic managerial roles, but decided to pull out of the running for both.
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On 15 March 2009, Joe Royle was re-appointed to Oldham Athletic on a temporary basis, following the resignation of John Sheridan.
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On 2 June 2014, Joe Royle joined Norwich City as a footballing consultant to new manager Neil Adams.
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On 12 May 2016, following the departure of Roberto Martinez, Joe Royle assisted Unsworth in taking charge of Everton's final game of the season against Norwich.
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In October 2018, Joe Royle was appointed as a director at Wigan Athletic, following the club's takeover.
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In July 2022, Joe Royle has been appointed as the director of Oldham Athletic after its takeover from the previous owners.