Noel Lloyd George Blake (born 12 January 1962) is a former professional footballer and current coach. He was formerly the head coach of the England national under-19 football team. He played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Shrewsbury Town, Birmingham City, Portsmouth, Leeds United, Stoke City, Bradford City and Exeter City, and in the Scottish Football League for Dundee.
Playing career Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Blake moved to England and played football with non-league side Sutton Coldfield Town. He was spotted by scouts at Aston Villa who signed Blake a year later. He struggled to force his way into the Villa side and went out on loan to Shrewsbury Town in 1982. He left Villa upon his return and joined local rivals Birmingham City. He quickly became a fan favourite with Birmingham as he scored against Villa in December 1982.
He spent two years with Birmingham before signing with Portsmouth on the south coast. Whilst he did enjoy some success at 'Pompey' winning promotion as Second Division runners-up in 1987, Blake had problems with racial abuse from his own supporters, at a time when racism was still rife in English football. After making over 150 appearances with Portsmouth, Blake joined Leeds United on a free transfer and he helped to club to promotion as Second Division champions in the 1989–90 season. However his opportunities were limited the following season and so he was sold to Stoke City just after promotion was achieved, with Howard Wilkinson looking to spend heavily on new players to build a squad capable of competing with the very best in the First Division.
Blake's old manager at Portsmouth Alan Ball tempted Blake to join him at Stoke City in 1990. Ball was sacked in February 1991 as Stoke went on to record their worst league position of 14th in the third tier. Stoke's new manager Lou Macari only used Blake sparingly and later joined Bradford City on loan in 1992. He joined Bradford permanently and latter played for Scottish side Dundee before ending his playing career with Exeter City.Matthews, Tony: "The Who's who of Stoke City " (Breedon's, )
Coaching career Blake held the position of manager of Exeter City from January 2000 until September 2001.
A qualified coach and holder of the UEFA Pro Licence, Blake was appointed in February 2007 as one of the Football Association's National Coaches to work with players in England's youth teams and to assist with coach education. He was placed in charge of the England under-19 team in 2009, leading the side to the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in both 2010 and 2012 before leaving the Football Association in June 2014.
On 1 July it was reported that Blake was about to become first-team coach at Blackpool. On 27 October Blake was put in temporary charge following the departure of Jose Riga. He left Blackpool in December 2014.
Personal life Blake suffered a stroke in August 2015.
Career statistics As a player + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAston Villa1979–80First Division30000000301980–81First Division00000000001981–82First Division1000000010Total4000000040Shrewsbury Town (loan)1981–82Second Division6000000060Birmingham City1982–83First Division3733040004431983–84First Division392508000522Total7658012000965Portsmouth1984–85Second Division4232040004831985–86Second Division4242171315471986–87Second Division4132030304931987–88First Division190410000231Total144101021416117414Leeds United1988–89Second Division4442030205141989–90Second Division70002020110Total514205040624Stoke City1989–90Second Division1800000001801990–91Third Division4433040105231991–92Third Division130102040200Total753406050903Bradford City1991–92Third Division60000000601992–93Second Division3233120304031993–94Second Division70201010110Total453513040573Dundee1993–94Scottish Premier Division1994–95Scottish First DivisionTotal542502030642Exeter City1995–96Third Division4421020004721996–97Third Division4662020205261997–98Third Division3812020104311998–99Third Division70100000801999–2000Third Division71000020912000–01Third Division5000000050Total1471060605016410Career total6023740348127171742
A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs Full Members Cup.
As a manager TeamFromToRecordGWDLWin %Exeter City10 January 200024 September 2001England U198 September 200926 June 2014
Honours Portsmouth Football League Second Division runner-up: 1986–87
Leeds United Football League Second Division: 1989–90
Individual PFA Team of the Year: 1986–87 Second Division
References
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