Vivian Dennis Busby (19 June 1949 – May 2024) was an English professional footballer and manager. He played for Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Fulham, Norwich City, Stoke City, Sheffield United, Tulsa Roughnecks, Blackburn Rovers and York City.
Playing career Born in Slough, Buckinghamshire, Busby started his playing career at Wycombe Wanderers in 1966, but was unable to hold down a regular place in their team. He moved to Luton Town in January 1970. At Kenilworth Road, he scored four goals in his first nine matches, helping the club gain promotion to the Second Division in 1969–70. He scored eight goals in 1970–71 but struggled to find form in 1971–72 and spent time out on loan at Newcastle United. He was sold to Fulham in August 1973 where he had the most prolific spell of his career. He scored 12 goals in 1973–74 and 18 in 1974–75 of which six were in the FA Cup helping Fulham reach the 1975 FA Cup final, losing 2–0 against West Ham United. After scoring 38 goals in 155 matches for the Cottagers, he moved to First Division Norwich City where he scored 11 goals in his first 18 matches, including a hat-trick against Leicester City on New Year's Day 1977.
However, he fell out of favour in 1977–78 and moved on to Stoke City. In 1978–79, he helped Stoke gain promotion to the First Division. He scored 12 goals for Stoke in 60 matches and spent a short time on loan at Sheffield United before moving to the United States to play for Tulsa Roughnecks. He stayed in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 1980 North American Soccer League season before returning to England with Blackburn Rovers, and then ended his playing career with York City.
Managerial and coaching career Busby worked as a coach at York City between 1982 and 1987. He was Sunderland AFC first team coach under Denis Smith between 1987 and 1991. He became manager of Hartlepool United on 15 February 1993 and left the position on 24 November 1993. He was a youth team coach at Swindon Town in 2001, during which time he underwent six months of treatment for leukaemia. He was named as assistant manager at York City in September 2004. He became the caretaker manager at York City in November 2004 following the sacking of Chris Brass. He left York by mutual consent on 10 February 2005, when he was replaced by Billy McEwan. Busby worked as Youth Academy Manager at Gretna, but left after a change to the backroom staff. He was appointed assistant manager at Workington in September 2007. He left in October 2011 to emigrate to Spain.
Personal life and death Busby was the older brother of former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Martyn Busby. Busby died in May 2024, at the age of 74.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsWycombe Wanderers1966–67Isthmian League1250000001251967–68Isthmian League1680000001681968–69Isthmian League1540000001541969–70Isthmian League7200000072Total50190000005019Luton Town1969–70Third Division94000000941970–71Second Division2780010002881971–72Second Division2020010102221972–73Second Division212103020272Total77161050308616Newcastle United (loan)1971–72First Division4210000052Fulham1973–74Second Division381220200042121974–75Second Division3811126310054181975–76Second Division3761130915081976–77Second Division50002030100Total1182915710112115538Norwich City1976–77First Division171110000018111977–78First Division5000003080Total22111000302611Stoke City1977–78Second Division2232100002441978–79Second Division1861031002271979–80First Division101004000141Total50103171006012Sheffield United (loan)1979–80Third Division3100000031Tulsa Roughnecks1980North American Soccer League191———191Blackburn Rovers1980–81Second Division8100000081York City1982–83Fourth Division1640000001641983–84Fourth Division3020000050Total194200000214Career total37094218222181431105
Managerial statistics + Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordHartlepool United15 February 199324 November 1993York City (caretaker)8 November 200410 February 2005Total—
Honours Luton Town Football League Third Division second-place promotion: 1969–70
Fulham FA Cup runner-up: 1974–75 Anglo-Scottish Cup runner-up: 1975–76
Stoke City Football League Second Division third-place promotion: 1978–79
York City Football League Fourth Division: 1983–84
References
External links