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John Charles Sillett (20 July 1936 – 30 November 2021) was an English football player and manager. He played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle. He won the Championship with Chelsea in 1955, playing alongside his brother Peter Sillett. He was manager of Coventry City from 1986 until 1990, winning the FA Cup in 1987, and also had two spells as manager of Hereford United.

Early life

John Sillett was born in Southampton, Hampshire, on 20 July 1936. His father, Charlie Sillett, was a footballer, playing for Southampton between 1931 and 1938 and his younger brother, Peter Sillett, was also a footballer.

Playing career

John and Peter Sillett both followed their father in signing for Southampton, although John never played for the first team. The brothers moved on to Chelsea as teenagers, where John won the First Division title in 1954–55. He played over 100 games for Chelsea, scoring once. Sillett left Chelsea after the arrival of Tommy Docherty as manager, joining Coventry City in June 1962, who were at the time being managed by Jimmy Hill. Sillett helped Coventry to win the Third Division title in 1963–64, but his playing days were limited after suffering a back problem. In July 1966, he joined Plymouth Argyle, where he ended his playing career.

Managerial career

Hereford United

After retirement from playing, Sillett moved into coaching. He was appointed Bristol City youth coach in 1968 under manager Alan Dicks, a former Chelsea and Coventry colleague, and took the team to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals. From 1970 to 1974, Sillett was first team coach and played a significant part in the development of the team which went on to achieve promotion to the top flight in 1976. In June 1974, he was appointed manager of Hereford United.

During Sillett's first season, Hereford finished in a mid-table position, an improvement on the previous season's 18th place. In 1975–76, the team won the Third Division title, with the prolific Dixie McNeil scoring 35 goals. A year later they were relegated, having won only eight matches and finishing bottom of the Second Division. Sillett initially stayed on as manager, but resigned in February 1978.

Coventry City

Jimmy Hill invited Sillett to join the Coventry coaching staff in 1979. He left the club in 1984 after a falling-out with manager Bobby Gould, but returned in 1985 under Gould's successor, Don Mackay. When Mackay departed in 1986 with just three games of the season left, Sillett was appointed chief coach alongside George Curtis. They managed two wins and avoided relegation on the final day of the season.

Under Sillett, Coventry reached the 1987 FA Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, winning the game 3–2. TV commentator John Motson is quoted as saying it was "the most exciting FA Cup final on which I've had the pleasure of commentating". Sillett's efforts in guiding Coventry to their first ever major trophy was rewarded with promotion to first team manager. Two months later, he made his first major signing for Coventry. David Speedie was signed from Chelsea for £750,000.

Under Sillett, Coventry played attractive football and kept clear of relegation battles and almost returned to Wembley in 1990, but lost to Nottingham Forest in a League Cup semi-final. Two years after winning the trophy, the club were knocked out of the competition by non-League Sutton United in 1989, although the league form was impressive with the team lying as high as third in the table in March.

In November 1990, Sillett was sacked as Coventry manager. He received the news via a phone call from chairman John Poynton whilst in bed at home feeling unwell. In his four full seasons in charge, Coventry's league placings were tenth, tenth, seventh and twelfth.

Later career

In 1991, Sillett returned to Hereford as manager, but left at the end of his first full season. This was his last major involvement with football, although he did some scouting work for the England national team under Sven-Göran Eriksson. He also worked on Central TV's weekly football coverage, and was part of the commentary team covering Coventry City matches for the Coventry local radio station Mercia Sound.

Death

Sillett died in the morning of 30 November 2021, at the age of 85.

Honours

Player

Chelsea

• Football League First Division: 1954–55

Coventry City

• Football League Third Division: 1963–64

Manager

Coventry City

• FA Cup: 1986–87

Hereford United

• Div 3 Champions: 1975–76

References

1. "John Sillett". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
2. ^ Sutcliffe, Aaron (30 November 2021). "Tributes paid to Sky Blues FA Cup winning manager John Sillett who passes away at age 85". Coventry Observer. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
3. Hornby, Mark (19 March 2020). "Supremos: A profile of John Sillett". Coventry City F.C. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
4. "Hereford Utd Memory Lane". Archived from the original on 4 December 2009.
5. ^ "John Sillett: Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup-winning manager dies aged 85". BBC Sport. 30 November 2021.
6. "John Sillett: 1936–2021". Bristol City F.C. 30 November 2021.
7. "League Division Three end of season table for 1974–75 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises.
8. "League Division Three end of season table for 1973–74 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises.
9. ^ Goddard, Ben. "Title winning Hereford United manager John Sillett dies". Hereford Times.
10. "League Division Two end of season table for 1976–77 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises.
11. Turner, Andy (30 November 2021). "Coventry City writer Andy Turner laments the loss of a Sky Blues legend". CoventryLive.
12. "How Coventry City shocked Tottenham Hotspur to win the 1987 FA Cup final". the Guardian. 16 May 2014.
13. Turner, Andy (15 April 2020). "Coventry City legend David Speedie talks about his time at club". CoventryLive.
14. "Farewell to John Sillett, the man with nose for one of the biggest FA Cup shocks". The Independent. 30 November 2021.
15. "Coventry's FA Cup-winning boss John Sillett dies aged 85". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 30 November 2021.
16. "Former Chelsea full-back Sillett dies aged 85". BBC Sport. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
17. "Former Hereford United Manager John Sillett Passes Away". Hereford F.C. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

External links

• Obituary on Chelsea FC website
• John Sillett at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
• Management statistics on Soccerbase

• 1936 births
• 2021 deaths
• Footballers from Southampton
• English footballers
• English Football League players
• Southampton F.C. players
• Chelsea F.C. players
• Coventry City F.C. players
• Plymouth Argyle F.C. players
• English football managers
• English Football League managers
• Hereford United F.C. managers
• Coventry City F.C. managers
• Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
• Bristol City F.C. non-playing staff
• Association football fullbacks
• Association football coaches
• Association football scouts