Stanley Frederick Eyre (born 3 February 1944) is an English former professional football player and coach. After retiring from the sport, Eyre became a successful businessman, author, after-dinner speaker and radio pundit. He is the father of former Rochdale manager Steve Eyre.
Eyre worked on the coaching staff of both Bradford Park Avenue and Southport,[5] and had a brief spell as caretaker manager of Wigan Athletic in 1981, winning one game and drawing a second.[2] He was also Assistant Manager of Sheffield United in 1998,[2] as well as being Chief Scout at the same club.[3]
After football
Eyre started his own office supply company, became an after-dinner speaker, and published a book called Kicked into Touch, which had sold over a million copies as of April 2005.[2] One story that Eyre told involved Hungarian player Ferenc Puskás; on holiday in Australia, Eyre found himself on the same pitch as Puskás, who was coaching South Melbourne at the time:
Then came a masterstroke, a touch of genius, a lifetime spent playing, studying and reading about the game all came together in the next glorious second. Ocsi! I shouted, the nickname meaning 'Little Brother' he'd been given as a child in Hungary. He spun round with a look of astonishment as I fired a peach of a pass which he sizzled into the roof of the net with that trusty old left foot. Scorer Ferenc Puskas, assist Fred Eyre, the stuff of dreams. We walked off the pitch arm in arm.[6]
— Fred Eyre
As of 2009, Eyre co-commentated on Manchester City matches for BBC Radio Manchester.[7] He was still in the role as of 2011, when he suffered from a 'mystery illness'.[8]
Books
After retiring as a player he became a writer, publishing books including: