31 Facts About Ron Atkinson

Ron Atkinson has referred to then Villa coach Jimmy Hogan as his biggest influence.

Ron Atkinson was transferred to Headington United in the summer of 1959 on a free transfer.

Ron Atkinson went on to make over 500 appearances in all competitions as a wing-half for the club, earning, in his playing days the nickname: "The Tank", and scoring a total of fourteen goals.

Ron Atkinson was United's captain through their rise from the Southern League to the Second Division, achieved in only six years from 1962 to 1968.

Ron Atkinson was the first ever footballer to captain a club from the Southern League through three divisions of the Football League and played three seasons in the Second Division.

In January 1978, Ron Atkinson moved to manage First Division West Bromwich Albion.

Ron Atkinson soon signed Brendon Batson from his former club, to play alongside Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis.

Ron Atkinson was seen as the man who could bring the spark to Manchester United that had been so sorely lacking under his predecessor.

Ron Atkinson gave a debut to promising young forward Norman Whiteside in April 1982, just before the player's 17th birthday.

Rather than plunge into the transfer market for a big name, Ron Atkinson shifted Norman Whiteside into midfield to fill the gap left by Wilkins and allowed Hughes to form a partnership with the experienced Frank Stapleton.

Ron Atkinson returned to West Brom in the autumn of 1987, by which time they had fallen into the Second Division and were battling against relegation to the Third Division.

Ron Atkinson went on to manage Sheffield Wednesday from February 1989 to June 1991.

On 31 May 1991 Ron Atkinson stated he would be remaining as Wednesday's manager, only to leave for Aston Villa a week later, a move that upset many Sheffield Wednesday fans.

Ron Atkinson was replaced by Brian Little, who kept Villa in the top flight and built a new younger team.

Three months after being sacked by Villa, Ron Atkinson became manager at Coventry City replacing Phil Neal, who was purposely and acrimoniously sacked to make way for him.

Ron Atkinson took over in mid-February 1995, with the Sky Blues just above the Premier League relegation zone.

Survival was finally confirmed as Ron Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to a 16th-place finish.

Ron Atkinson was already working as a pundit for ITV Sport and after leaving management he continued in this role.

Ron Atkinson was the main co-commentator for ITV's coverage of the European Championships and the World Cup during this period.

Ron Atkinson fronted two series of Extra Time with Ron Atkinson for Central Television, with Ron interviewing football personalities like Kevin Keegan, Terry Venables and Martin O'Neill.

Ron Atkinson was the second housemate to be evicted on Day 9 after receiving the fewest votes to save him against Charlotte Crosby, Courtney Stodden, Lauren Harries and Louie Spence.

Ron Atkinson left his job as a columnist for The Guardian "by mutual agreement" as a result of the comment.

Ron Atkinson spent the 2006 World Cup recording an amateur video blog and distributing it through the UK-based video sharing site SelfcastTV.

Ron Atkinson provided commentary on the World Cup for the UK digital channel UKTV G2.

In 2006, Ron Atkinson took part in the BBC Two programme Excuse My French.

Ron Atkinson briefly made a return to television, appearing as a pundit on Football Italia broadcast on Bravo.

Ron Atkinson left the programme when Bravo lost the broadcast rights to Italian football.

Ron Atkinson returned to the screen on 16 August 2009 on the Channel 4 reality show Celebrity Wife Swap.

Ron Atkinson is currently a pundit on William Hill's "The Punt" podcast and on Manchester United's channel MUTV.

On 23 January 2007, Ron Atkinson returned to Kettering Town, the club he had managed more than thirty years previously, as director of football.

In December 2018, Ron Atkinson was announced as an ambassador for worldwide six-a-side football firm, Leisure Leagues, as part of the deal he was to act as Director Of Football for the England 6-a-side team.