Two of the stars of football in the 1960s and 1970s, Jimmy Neighbour and Mike Keen, passed away over the Easter period.
Jimmy made over 300 Football League appearances for
Spurs,
Norwich and
West Ham in the 1970s, while Mike is best remembered for leading
Queen’s Park Rangers to a unique double in 1966-67, winning the Football League Cup and the Third Division title.
Jimmy Neighbour was born in Chingford, Essex on 15 November 1950 and after a successful career as a schoolboy, which saw him win representative honours for London Boys, he went on to become an apprentice at Tottenham.
An old-fashioned style wing man, he made his first-team debut as a substitute against
Stoke in October 1970 and later that season he featured at outside left when Spurs overcame
Aston Villa to win the Football League Cup. However, it was not until early 1974 that he established himself as a first team regular and he retained his place until September 1976 when he was sold to Norwich City.
He went on to make over 100 appearances during his stay at Carrow Road, impressing with his darting runs down the flank before delivering a teasing cross into the area. Jimmy spent the summer of 1979 in the USA with Seattle Sounders before returning home to finish his senior career at West Ham, where he gained a League Cup runners-up medal in 1981.
Jimmy later worked as a youth coach for a number of clubs including West Ham and Spurs, and more recently had assisted the Premier Academy League as a match day assessor this season.
Jimmy passed away on Saturday 11 April after suffering a heart attack while recovering from a hip replacement operation in hospital in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.
Mike Keen was born in High Wycombe on 19 March 1940, signing professional forms for Queen’s Park Rangers shortly after reaching the age of 18. He made his senior debut at York in September 1959 and by the end of the season he had firmly established himself at right half in the Rangers’ line-up.
Tall and stylish, he was a model of consistency and did not miss a first-team game between March 1962 and September 1968, a remarkable run of 286 competitive matches. After being appointed club captain he led the club to the Third Division title in 1966-67, Rangers finishing 12 points clear of second-placed Middlesbrough, and one of the great shocks of modern times, when they defeated
West Bromwich Albion 3-2 to win the first-ever Football League Cup final to be played at Wembley.
The following season he took Rangers into the First Division for the first time in their history, but in January 1969 he moved on to
Luton, linking once more with his former manager Alec Stock. He gained further success at Kenilworth Road, assisting the Hatters to promotion to the old Second Division in 1969-70 and then had a spell at
Watford where he was also manager from June 1973 to April 1977.
Mike later had a spell as manager of Northampton Town from 1978 to 1979. His son Kevin also enjoyed a successful career in the game and is on the coaching staff at West Ham.
Mike passed away on the evening of Saturday 11 April after a short illness.
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