You Can't Take Carlisle From the Boy

As we look back on the noughties and achievements in football during the decade it is worth sparing a thought for a coach who achieved a lot in that decade. An MBE for his work in coaching, induction into his national sports Hall of Fame, and a listing in the Guinness Book of Records. A listing he still holds.

He also turned down the chance to move to a bigger club in 2007, preferring to stay with his employment of the previous 27 years. As a player he can look back on a career including international caps and a record transfer. Oh yes, and he once managed Carlisle United to promotion, so he's in a fairly select band of gaffers on the strength of that achievement alone.

Still struggling to name him? Well, you could be forgiven. Ivor Powell was in the Brunton Park dugout between 1960 and 1963. When we finished fourth in Division Four in the summer of 1962 Ivor led us to our first promotion. It was also his first success in a management career that had seen him labelled a harsh boss during previous player managing spells at Port Vale, Barry Town and Bradford City.

Having been schooled in RAF physical training methods, Ivor's fitness regimes did test his players, sometimes to destruction but in retrospect his early managing record doesn't do him justice. Ivor started managing lowly teams, who tended not to improve when he left.

He found success at Carlisle, pioneering a pragmatic approach of making the best of his limited talents and turning out teams who were hard to break down. Having achieved a higher league position than ever before, Carlisle struggled and Ivor eventually paid the price with his job. He went on to find a kindred spirit in Don Revie, working as a trainer to the fledgling side who would go on to dominate the English game.

Ivor had eight full Welsh caps, and other wartime appearances for his country to his credit and - by way of a spell coaching in Greece - found his way near to his native Wales. Having coached Bath City from 1964, he eventually settled to work at the university, home to Team Bath. He's been there since 1970, helping the small outfit to punch consistently above their weight.

Probably the greatest threat to his stable position there came when Paul Tisdale left to manage Exeter City in 2007. He is believed to have offered Ivor a role as assistant, not bad when you consider Ivor turned 91 that year. His age is the reason for his Guinness Book of Records listing. In 2006, while working at Team Bath, he was recognised as the oldest working football coach in the world. Nobody has come forward to dispute it since and Ivor is still at work.

In the course of preparing this piece I spoke to people at Team Bath, the club are based in the sports centre at the University. Ivor is in his fortieth year with them. He remains known and loved by everyone there, a receptionist took time to tell me Ivor was the kind of bloke who would stop for a chat on his way in, and the conversations revolved around how their various family members were getting on.

Even the press guy at Bath had an obvious affection for Ivor. The one person I couldn't speak to was Ivor himself, the press guy informing me he 'doesn't do interviews.' Ivor does - however - do conversations with all and sundry on the terraces, an Exeter City fan telling me:

He comes to watch Exeter City play quite often. Although he is always offered a seat in the directors box when he comes to Exeter, he often watches matches stood on the terraces and is more than willing to chat to anyone who wants a word with him. I think he took part in a charity penalty shoot out at half time a couple of seasons ago and scored. I really like him - he's a bit like an much older, much shorter, Welsh version of Alex Ferguson.

Ivor is the seventh son of a seventh son, he started work down the mines and despite commanding a record transfer fee for a half-back - £17,500 when moving from Blackpool to Aston Villa in 1948 - he had endured a career interrupted by the war and would go on to see it blighted by injury. It's a great story, and one worth celebrating whilst the man himself still lives.

The picture I built up chasing leads and leaving messages in the hope of speaking to Ivor himself is of a man who has learned from the school of hard knocks and now counts his blessings. He has never outgrown the game he loves or his feel for its grassroots level.

Neil Nixon has written four books about Carlisle United, the most recent being Blueseason 2008/2009, his other published works include a grimly funny novel; Workington Dynamo about local football. His website www.neilnixon.com gives more details.