Micky Quinn
Encyclopedia
Michael "Micky" Quinn (born 2 May 1962 in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

) is a former footballer. He was predominantly a centre forward during a career in which he scored 228 goals from 515 games in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

.

Club career

Quinn was born in inner city Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 in 1962, the oldest of four children born to Michael Quinn and Patricia Silvano. From the age of five, he lived on the Cantril Farm estate.He was the grandson of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 born boxer Luigi Silvano (known professionally at Lou Sullivan)who died in 1948.

Quinn began his career as an apprentice with Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 signing for the East Midlands club upon leaving school in 1978. However, he only lasted four months at the Baseball Ground
Baseball Ground
The Baseball Ground was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby County Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 1997. It was commonly referred to as the "BBG".As the name suggests, the stadium was...

, and returned to his Merseyside home due to homesickness. Eager though to turn professional, Quinn joined Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

 in September 1979.

After helping Wigan gain promotion to the Third Division in 1982, manager Larry Lloyd
Larry Lloyd
Laurence Valentine Lloyd was a footballer, a burly and tough central defender who won honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's all-conquering Nottingham Forest side of the late 1970s....

 considered Quinn too inexperienced for the higher level of league football, and was given a free transfer to Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

, where he did establish himself as a regular goalscorer. Now having proven his worth, he caught the eye of Joe Royle
Joe Royle
Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...

 at Second Division Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

, and joined the club for £53,000 in January 1984.

Quinn joined Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 just shy of transfer deadline day in March 1986 - Alan Ball paying £150,000 for Quinn's services in an attempt to push for promotion to the First Division, but just missed automatic promotion by a whisker. In April 1986, he was found guilty of drink-driving and received a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

100 fine as well as a one-year driving ban. He breached the driving ban twice later that year, and in January 1987 was sentenced to 21 days in prison, but was freed after serving 14 days.

Despite this, he was Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

's top goalscorer with 24 goals in all competitions as they finished Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 runners-up and reclaimed the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 place that they had last held in the late 1950s. However, Portsmouth were relegated back to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 after just one season. Quinn stayed at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...

 for the 1988–89 season and scored 20 league goals, but Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 finished 20th in the league and their good early season form was perhaps all that saved them from a second successive relegation. Halfway through the season, manager Alan Ball had left to be succeeded by John Gregory, and this transition was largely blamed for Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

's slump in form. Gregory did appoint Quinn as the new first team captain and when his contract expired at the end of the season, he was offered a new deal but rejected the offer and put in a transfer request.

Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 manager Jim Smith
Jim Smith (footballer)
James Michael "Jim" Smith is a retired English footballer and manager. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division of The Football League, representing Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City and Colchester United, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United of the...

 paid £680,000 for Quinn in July 1989, just after their relegation to the Second Division. Portsmouth manager John Gregory had demanded £1.5million for Quinn, but Smith had offered just £250,000 and the fee was set by a tribunal
Tribunal
A tribunal in the general sense is any person or institution with the authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title....

. Other clubs interested in signing Quinn at the time included Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

 and Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

.

He scored four goals on his debut in a 5–2 home win over Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 on 19 August and finished as the Football League's top goalscorer in 1989–90
1989-90 in English football
-European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...

 with 34 league goals. He managed 39 in all competitions. Newcastle were beaten to the automatic promotion places by Leeds and Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

, and their promotion hopes were ended when they lost to Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 in the playoffs. He scored 20 goals for them the following season, but the club's league form slumped and they finished 10th. Before the season ended, Quinn and his team-mates had a new manager after Jim Smith resigned to be succeeded by Ossie Ardiles.

Quinn was ruled out of action for three months when in October 1991 he suffered a knee injury, and managed just seven goals in 22 games. 1991–92
1991-92 in English football
- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of, among others, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister...

 was arguably the worst season in Newcastle United's history as they only narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier of the English league. Ardiles was sacked on 5 February 1992 to be succeeded by Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

, but Quinn fell out with Keegan soon afterwards over newspaper speculation that Quinn had condemned the set-up as a "shambles". When the 1992–93 season
1992-93 in English football
The 1992–1993 season was the 113th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:This season saw the birth of the FA Premier League. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions....

 began, Quinn was no longer a first choice player in the team and on 20 November 1992 he was sold to Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

. Bobby Gould
Bobby Gould
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...

 paying for £250,000 Quinn, after an undisclosed bid from Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 was rejected.

During his first six months at Highfield Road, Quinn scored 17 Premier League goals – 10 of them in his first 6 games. Scoring in his first four games makes him one of only six players to perform this feat., of which he scored a brace against each of Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Aston Villa. His performances were not enough to bring Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

 beyond 15th place in the final table (although they had occupied fourth place at one stage), but they improved to 11th place the following season with Quinn scoring eight league goals, starting the 1993–94 season with a hat-trick against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 in a 3–0 away win.

Quinn had been seriously considered for inclusion into the England squad
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 in early 1993, at a time when Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

 and David Platt were both unavailable due to injuries, but the international call-up from Graham Taylor never materialised. However, he was dropped from the team at the end of August after falling out with manager Phil Neal
Phil Neal
Philip George "Phil" Neal is a former footballer who was, at one time, the most successful player in English football history. He played for Liverpool 650 times over an eleven year period and is the only player to have appeared in the first five of their European Cup finals, winning four of them...

 following his dismissal against Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

 in the third game of the season, and within two weeks he was pushed further down the pecking order by the arrival of £2 million striker Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...

 from Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

.

He had unproductive loan spells with Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 (in November 1994), and Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

 (in March 1995) before new manager Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...

 gave him a free transfer on 1 May 1995. On leaving Coventry, Quinn had a brief spell playing in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 with PAOK Thessaloniki FC. Around this time, his younger brother died in his mid-twenties, and his mother died of cancer.

Image and profile

Quinn appeared on BBC TV's Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...

as part of their Cult Heroes series in 2005, inspired by his relatively prolific two seasons as Highfield Road. Whilst at Coventry, he was nicknamed 'Sumo' and famously quoted that he was the Premier League's "fastest player over a yard". He attracted the crowd chant of "Who Ate All the Pies?
Who Ate All the Pies?
"Who Ate All the Pies?" is a football chant sung by fans in Britain. It is usually sung to the tune of "Knees Up Mother Brown" and is aimed at overweight footballers, officials or opposing supporters.-Background and origin:...

" due to his physique, which he used as the title of his 2003 autobiography. Other nicknames included "Sumo" and "Bob", the latter from football fans who claimed that he bore a physical resemblance to the television presenter Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees is a comedy entertainer who appeared on the Saturday morning TV series Tiswas and then later in its adult versions O.T.T. and Saturday Stayback. He is best-known for appearing with a puppet named Spit the Dog.-Career:In the early 1970s Carolgees ran a DJ and modelling school at 11A...

.

Later career

Quinn applied for the manager's job at Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

 in 1996, but it went to Adrian Heath
Adrian Heath
Adrian Paul Heath is an English football manager and former player. He manages American USL Pro Orlando franchise. As a player he is remembered as part of the Everton side of the 1980s, where he won several trophies...

 instead, and he decided to retire from football and concentrate on his career as a racehorse trainer. He now has stables at Newmarket, Suffolk. He also covers horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 and football for the radio station TalkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....

.

Further reading

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