Those of you reading this article who have had occasion to tune into Torquay United matches on Radio Devon will no doubt be familiar with the dulcet tones of Ken Furphy.
Over the years, Ken
has imparted his personal wisdom and given his in-depth analysis of numerous
Gulls’ fixtures.
He became a local
radio pundit following a successful managerial career which saw him make his
name at Watford , Blackburn Rovers and
Sheffield United. He then moved across the Atlantic
to manage in the North American Soccer League in the 1970s and coached the New
York Cosmos who had players such as Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia in their
ranks.
As a player, he
started with Everton as a youngster and made his name as a defender with
today’s visitors Darlington . Whilst with the
Quakers Ken was involved in a number of memorable FA Cup runs. He helped
Darlington to defeat Chelsea
“We were winning 3-0 at half time and ended up drawing 3-3. We won the replay 4-1 and it was the first cup tie to be played under floodlights. People used to say to me that if I played in a cup tie every week, I’d be playing for
It was during his time
at Feethams that Ken first became interested in coaching following a meeting with
his Quakers team mate striker John Spuhler, who was one of the first FA
qualified coaches.
His stint in charge of
Workington proved to be a successful one as he guided them to promotion in
1964. The Reds also enjoyed a successful cup run during his tenure, which
included a 5-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
“After two years we
got promotion and, during that time, the crowds went up from 700 to 2,500. A
lot of people told me I couldn’t get out of the bottom league without playing
route one, but I was determined to prove them wrong and I did. We also had a
good cup run and beat Blackburn Rovers 5-1.”
Ken then moved on to Watford in 1964 where he would stay for a number of
years. During this time, he would guide the Hornets from Division Four to
Division Two and would lead them to the FA Cup Semi Finals in 1970 after
beating Liverpool in the Quarter Finals. Ken
also managed to unearth a number of promising youngsters, including future England
A new challenge
awaited him in 1971 as he left Vicarage
Road Ewood Park ,
but did not stay to see his plans bear fruition as he left Blackburn
to become manager of Sheffield United in 1973.
On arriving at Bramall
Lane, Ken found himself in charge of a number of familiar faces.
“When I went there
they were third from bottom in the First Division. Tony Currie, Keith Eddy and
Colin Franks were all at the club. I had worked with them when they were
youngsters at Watford .”
Ken managed to turn
things around at Bramall Lane
This proved to be the
start of a new beginning for Ken as he received an offer to take charge of the
North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos.
“It was coming up to
Christmas and I was phoned by Clive Toye (The Cosmos’ General Manager) and asked
to take charge of the New York Cosmos.”
At this time, the NASL
had become home to many high profile foreigners including Brazilian legend
Pele, who played under Ken at the New York Cosmos, as well as maverick Italian
striker Giorgio Chinaglia. After his stint managing the Cosmos, Ken also took
charge of Detroit Express and Washington Diplomats.
He was also given the
task of managing Team America in the 1976 Bicentennial Tournament against
England, Brazil and Italy.
In 1981, Ken returned
to the UK
