View source for Johnny Giles

{{Short description|Irish footballer and manager}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
|           name = John Giles
|          image = Giles in 2013.jpg
|        caption = Giles pictured in 2013
|       fullname = Michael John Giles
|     birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|11|6|df=y}}
|    birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
|         height = 1.61 m<ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnny Giles |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe92493/johnny-giles/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=worldfootball.net |language=en}}</ref>
|       position = [[Midfielder]]
|    youthyears1 = 1954–1956 |youthclubs1 = [[Stella Maris F.C.|Stella Maris]] 
|    youthyears2 = 1956–1957 |youthclubs2 = [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
|         years1 = 1957–1963 |clubs1 = [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]       |caps1 = 99  |goals1 = 10
|         years2 = 1963–1975 |clubs2 = [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]                 |caps2 = 383 |goals2 = 88
|         years3 = 1975–1977 |clubs3 = [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] |caps3 = 75  |goals3 = 3
|         years4 = 1978      |clubs4 = [[Philadelphia Fury (1978–80)|Philadelphia Fury]]  |caps4 = 21  |goals4 = 0
|         years5 = 1977–1983 |clubs5 = [[Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers]]           |caps5 = 42  |goals5 = 11
|      totalcaps = 620|totalgoals = 112
| nationalyears1 = 1959–1979 |nationalteam1 = [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] |nationalcaps1 = 59 |nationalgoals1 = 5
|  manageryears1 = 1973–1980 |managerclubs1 = [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] (player-manager)
|  manageryears2 = 1975–1977 |managerclubs2 = [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] (player-manager)
|  manageryears3 = 1977–1983 |managerclubs3 = [[Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers]] (player-manager)
|  manageryears4 = 1981–1983 |managerclubs4 = [[Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–84)|Vancouver Whitecaps]]
|  manageryears5 = 1984–1985 |managerclubs5 = [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]
}}

'''Michael John Giles''' (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former [[association football]] player and [[manager (association football)|manager]] best remembered for his time as a [[midfielder]] with [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as the senior analyst on [[RTÉ Sport]]'s coverage of association football from 1986 until 2016. He was nominated for the [[1972 Ballon d'Or|1972]] [[Ballon d'Or]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy.html|title=European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")|author1=Rob Moore|author2=Karel Stokkermans|date=21 January 2011|website=[[RSSSF]]|access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref>and the [[Football Association of Ireland|FAI]] voted Giles as the greatest Irish player of the last 50 years at the [[UEFA Jubilee Awards]] in 2004.

After winning an [[FA Cup]] winner's medal under [[Matt Busby]] at Manchester United, Giles moved to Leeds in 1963 where he played in midfield alongside [[Captain (association football)|captain]] [[Billy Bremner]]. The duo formed a central midfield partnership which was one of the best in English and European club football. Their pairing helped yield several major trophies in the most successful era in Leeds' history. Giles and Bremner both scored 115 goals for the club.

In his later years in football, Giles pursued a managerial career which saw him installed as player-manager and manager of, among others, [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]], the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]], [[Vancouver Whitecaps]] and [[Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers]]. Despite having an outstanding knowledge of the game, Giles personally never liked being a manager. He became disillusioned with aspects of the job, such as suffering at the hands of non-committal boardrooms, and left management permanently in 1985. He later declared that he had no regrets about quitting managerial life.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2005/apr/29/smalltalk.sportinterviews | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Paul | last=Doyle | title=John Giles | date=29 April 2005|access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref>

After repeated encouragement from childhood friend [[Eamon Dunphy]], Giles inadvertently entered the world of football punditry in 1986 and became a [[Color analyst|senior analyst]] on [[RTÉ Sport]] until 2016. In December 2019, he was employed as an analyst for Premier Sports' live coverage of the English Premier League matches. Also, he writes two columns per week for the Irish ''[[The Herald (Ireland)|Evening Herald]]'' newspaper, and offers his opinions about the game on radio station [[Newstalk 106]].

==Club career==
Giles grew up in [[Ormond Square, Dublin|Ormond Square]], a [[working class]] area of inner-city [[Dublin]], where he developed many of the skills that would aid him in becoming a professional footballer.<ref>{{harvnb|Giles|Lynch|2011|p=15}}</ref> He was encouraged to enter the game through his father [[Christy Giles|Christy]] who played for [[Bohemian F.C.|Bohemians]] in the 1920s<ref>Bohemian FC match programme, Vol. 54, no. 16</ref> and managed [[Drumcondra F.C.|Drumcondra]] during the 1940s.

Growing up, Giles remarked "I didn't consider myself Irish". This was due to the outsider status of association footballers in the mainstream sports-life of the Republic, where Gaelic Games were a much more dominant force in the '50s of his youth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/john-giles-review-i-didn-t-consider-myself-irish-1.3142160|title=John Giles review: 'I didn't consider myself Irish'|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref>

Giles was spotted in Dublin playing for [[Stella Maris F.C.|Stella Maris]], before he began his English career with [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]. He joined [[Matt Busby]]'s team for a £10 signing-on fee in 1956. He was given an early first-team debut in 1959 after eight of the team died in the [[Munich air disaster]] in February of the previous year. Among the dead was [[Billy Whelan|Bill Whelan]], who was five years older than Giles and also came from the Cabra district of Dublin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Irish Footballers : Manchester United : players from Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland : Played for Man Utd|url=http://www.soccer-ireland.com/manchester-united/irish-footballers.htm|website=www.soccer-ireland.com|access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref>

He was also chosen to play for the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] team by the age of 18.

Giles was a regular first-team player over the next four years, playing alongside [[Bobby Charlton]] and [[Denis Law]]. Manchester United won the [[FA Cup]] in [[1962–63 FA Cup|1963]], where Giles played the defence-splitting pass which started the move towards a winning goal by [[David Herd (footballer)|David Herd]].

After being out of favour, he asked for a transfer and joined [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] for £33,000. "I am going to haunt him", is what Giles said of Busby, to his wife Anne, after the Scotsman had forced his departure when freezing him out of the starting team.<ref>{{cite news|title=Interview: Leeds legend John Giles|url=http://www.scotsman.com/sport/interview-leeds-legend-john-giles-1-1370246|access-date=1 September 2016|work=The Scotsman|date=13 November 2010}}</ref>

Giles would soon evolve into one of the finest central midfielders in England, as Leeds won the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] title in his first season there. In 1965, he was in the team which came close to a [[Football League First Division|League championship]] and [[1964–65 FA Cup|FA Cup]] "[[Double (association football)|double]]" but missed out on both, to Manchester United and to [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] respectively.

Giles formed a strong partnership with [[Billy Bremner]] as Leeds manager [[Don Revie]] built a new team around them. The players had similarities in their styles and were a tremendous foil for one another. Giles was known as the creative force and Bremner as the ball-winner, but each was capable of doing the other's primary job.

In the [[1967–68 in English football|1967–68]] season Leeds won both the [[1967–68 Football League Cup|League Cup]] and the [[1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|Fairs Cup]]. That was the first season in which Giles was affected by injury, which meant he missed the second leg of the Fairs Cup final.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final Second Leg.|url=http://www.ozwhitelufc.net.au/11-09-1968%20Ferencvaros%20v%20LUFC.htm|website=ozwhitelufc.net.au |access-date=6 December 2020}}</ref> In the [[1968–69 in English football|1968–69]] season, Giles was instrumental in Leeds becoming league champions in a then record 67 points from 42 matches at 2 points for a win, a record that stood for ten seasons. In [[1969–70 in English football|1970]], Giles again had a magnificent season as Leeds chased three trophies but lost all three, the League went to [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]; the [[1969–70 FA Cup|FA Cup]] to [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] after a [[1970 FA Cup Final|replay]]; and the [[1969–70 European Cup|European Cup]] campaign ended at the hands of [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] in the semi-finals.

In the fifth round of the [[1970–71 FA Cup|1971 FA Cup]], when Leeds were unexpectedly beaten 3–2 by [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]], Giles scored Leeds' second goal as they almost came back from 3–0 down. Leeds regained the [[1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|Fairs Cup]] but lost the League title on the last day, with [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] getting the victory they needed to earn the championship and form one half of a successful "double" bid.

Leeds won their first [[1971–72 FA Cup|FA Cup]] and Giles his second when they defeated Arsenal 1–0 at Wembley in [[1972 FA Cup Final|1972]], yet again they missed out on the League on the final day of the season after defeat to [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]]. [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] and [[A.C. Milan]] beat Leeds in the finals of the [[1972–73 FA Cup|FA Cup]] and the [[1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners Cup]] in 1973, rendering Leeds trophyless again. [[Jack Charlton]]'s retirement in 1973 also left Giles as the most senior member of the squad. In the same year, he started to combine his Leeds duties with a spell as player-manager of his country.

In 1974, a 29-match unbeaten run at the start of the season helped Leeds coast to their second title, but then controversy reigned after Revie quit to take over the [[England national football team|England]] team. Revie recommended to the Leeds [[board of directors]] that Giles, nearly 34 and approaching the end of his playing career, should be his successor. The board instead appointed [[Brian Clough]], a brilliant manager but a controversial choice as he had been publicly critical of Leeds in the past and was not an admirer of Revie. Clough and the players never got on – the players had wanted Giles too – and the board reacted by dismissing Clough with a big pay-off after just 44 days in charge. Giles still did not get the job though (that went to [[Jimmy Armfield]]) and concentrated on playing as Leeds chased a place in their first European Cup final. Giles himself never applied for the Leeds vacancy on those two occasions, his name had instead been put forward as a candidate by others. Also in 1974, Giles was nominated—along with [[Danny Blanchflower]]—by [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]] as his successor at [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]. The Spurs board appointed [[Terry Neill]] instead.<ref>[https://www.footballpools.com/news/remembering-spurs-last-gasp-survival-of-197475 Remembering Spurs' last-gasp survival of 1974/75], The Football Pools</ref>

Giles was outstanding in Leeds' European campaign but was no longer an automatic fixture in the side. After appearing in the [[1975 European Cup Final|1975 final]], which Leeds lost 2–0 to [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]], Giles accepted an offer in June 1975 from [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] to become their player-manager, while still playing for and managing the Irish team.

==Status within the game==
Giles is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers to have come out of the Republic of Ireland.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fitzmaurice|first1=Aidan|title=Top marks for Ireland's pass master – UEFA.com|url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/01ed-0f86210d96e6-d225efacf7bf-1000--top-marks-for-ireland-s-pass-master/|access-date=1 September 2016|work=UEFA|date=26 January 2011}}</ref> High tributes have been conferred on Giles by hugely successful former managers such as Alf Ramsey, Matt Busby and Brian Clough. His status at Leeds United was noted when supporters there named him in the greatest Leeds XI of all time. His place in English football history was recognised in 1998 when [[the Football League]], as part of its centenary celebrations, listed Giles on its list of [[Football League 100 Legends|100 League legends]].<ref>{{cite web|title=England Player Honours - Football League Legends|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsFtLgLegends.html|website=www.englandfootballonline.com|access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> When Giles was quizzed as to the differences between himself and another highly regarded former Irish player, [[Roy Keane]], he said: "If forced to compare us, I'd say I was slightly more creative than him and he [Keane] was a better ball-winner."<ref name="guardian"/>

==Reputation as a hard player==
In the early part of his career, Giles endured some rough treatment. This occurred when he suffered a career-threatening ankle injury at the hands of [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]]'s [[Johnny Watts (English footballer)|Johnny Watts]], and knee ligament damage sustained when tackled by [[Eddie McCreadie]] at [[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]].<ref>{{cite web|title=English Readers Join Giles High Club|url=http://pogmogoal.com/the-blog-reel/english-readers-join-giles-high-club/890/|website=pogmogoal.com|date=6 January 2011 |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> Being a creative and diminutive figure, Giles thereafter accepted he would have to become a tougher player in order to avoid being singled out by opponents. On later becoming a pundit, Giles at length wrote about how he felt he had to become "a lion rather than a lamb" on the pitch so as to help achieve his full potential.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mihir Bose " Johnny Giles: Bosses playing mind games are just bullies|url=http://www.mihirbose.com/index.php/johnny-giles-bosses-playing-mind-games-are-just-bullies/|access-date=1 September 2016|work=mihirbose.com|date=30 November 2010|archive-date=11 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911084746/http://www.mihirbose.com/index.php/johnny-giles-bosses-playing-mind-games-are-just-bullies/|url-status=dead}}</ref> His primary reason for this was to avoid being labelled a hypocrite when the time came for him to give judgement on tough tackling by others.

==Player-manager career==
Giles showed much promise as a young player-manager of the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]], as he combined his duties in charge of West Brom, where after a slow start, he won the majority of Baggies supporters over. Under his leadership, they were promoted from the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in April 1976, and finished 7th in the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] in [[1976–77 in English football|1976–77]]. He recently said the time he spent at West Brom was amongst the happiest of his career despite him not winning trophies there. However, his spell at the club also witnessed several clashes with the club's board over the financial running of the club, an area that Giles felt the board excluded him from too much. Giles even tendered his resignation over the matter on the day promotion was secured, although he was persuaded to change his mind and oversee the First Division campaign.<ref>Glenn Willmore, ''The Hawthorns Encyclopedia'', Mainstream Publishing, 1996, p. 82</ref> He resigned as player-manager at West Brom on 21 April 1977, the very same day as his former team-mate [[Jack Charlton]] resigned his managerial post at [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]], and moved back to Ireland to manage [[Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers]] until 1983.

He returned to [[the Hawthorns]] for a second spell as manager during the 1983–84 season, steering the side to safety despite losing his first game in charge 1–0 to Third Division [[Plymouth Argyle F.C.|Plymouth Argyle]] in the FA Cup.<ref name="Hawthorns83">Willmore, ''The Hawthorns Encyclopedia'', p. 83</ref> The following season saw Albion start well and they were as high as 5th at Christmas, but finished 12th. However Giles' decision to sell fan favourite [[Cyrille Regis]] and top scorer [[Garry Thompson (footballer, born 1959)|Garry Thompson]] led to supporter disgruntlement, with the replacements Giles signed - [[Garth Crooks]] and [[Imre Varadi]] - proving unsuccessful.<ref name="Hawthorns83"/> He resigned as manager in October 1985 following a 3–0 defeat at [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]], a record ninth consecutive defeat for Albion.<ref>Willmore, ''The Hawthorns Encyclopedia'', p. 84</ref> Youth team manager [[Nobby Stiles]], who was also Giles' brother-in-law, replaced him although, despite a slight improvement in results, the club could not climb off the foot of the table and, under [[Ron Saunders]], finished in bottom place.<ref>Willmore, ''The Hawthorns Encyclopedia'', pp. 162-3</ref>

==Managing career==

===Republic of Ireland===
As player-manager of the Republic of Ireland between October 1973 and March 1980, Giles oversaw a revival in the fortunes of the national side which had struggled for the previous decade. The [[UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying|1976 European Championship qualifiers]] saw the international debut of [[Liam Brady]] and a more respectable showing. In the [[1978 FIFA World Cup]] [[1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|qualifiers]], the side finished only two points short of qualification, defeating [[France national football team|France]] at home during that campaign.

===Shamrock Rovers===
During his five-and-a-half-year spell in charge at [[Glenmalure Park]] Rovers won the [[FAI Cup]] in 1978, he scored 2 goals in 4 appearances in the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners Cup]] and captained Ireland nine times, scoring once. Giles played his last game on 14 December 1980 at Milltown, he was 40 years of age.

He resigned at [[Glenmalure Park|Milltown]] on 3 February 1983, after having left his Ireland job in March 1980, and ventured across the [[Atlantic]] for spells in charge of clubs in the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|North American Soccer League]]. In 1981, he was hired to coach the [[Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–84)|Vancouver Whitecaps]] of the NASL. He held that position for three seasons, being named the [[1982 North American Soccer League season|1982 North American Soccer League]] Coach of the Year.

==Media career==
[[File:RTÉ Soccer Panel.jpg|thumb|Johnny Giles (second seat from the right inside the little box) and the rest of the RTÉ soccer panel at [[Croke Park]] during the first leg of the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]] play-off with [[France national football team|France]]]]
Giles later returned to Ireland and settled into a much-admired career in journalism and started out as a pundit on [[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]] (RTÉ) in November 1986. He featured on ''[[Premier Soccer Saturday]]'' and its international and European soccer coverage, particularly their coverage of games involving the [[Republic of Ireland national football team]]. Giles contributed to [[RTÉ Sport]]'s coverage of the 2010 World Cup<ref>{{cite news| author=Black, Fergus | url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/rte-hopes-ossie-and-squad-will-spur-fans-to-back-home-team-2203365.html | work=Irish Independent | title=RTÉ hopes Ossie and squad will spur fans to back home team | date=2 June 2010 | access-date=2 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=O'Malley, Carl | url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0602/1224271676683.html | newspaper=The Irish Times | title=RTÉ roll out big guns for their 56 live games | date=2 June 2010 | access-date=2 June 2010 | archive-date=21 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021053654/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0602/1224271676683.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> where prior to it starting he correctly predicted [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]] would win the tournament. He is the leading soccer analyst on [[Newstalk]].

Of the English [[Premier League]], Giles is often critical of the methods of modern coaching, and in particular, younger managers, saying in 2016:

<blockquote>When you hear the younger managers talking, it's all about tactics now. If their players are not playing well, they change the formation. There's nothing about not passing the ball to each other or misplacing passes. It's all about, well the tactics were wrong. I've seen it so often, you hear it on the television as well. Their team is playing very poorly, they're 2–0 down at half-time, they're giving the ball away, kicking it out of play. Well what do you have to do, and they start talking about changing the formation. No matter what formation you play you have to pass the ball to each other.</blockquote>

He was also part of RTÉ Sport's studio coverage of the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]].

Giles left RTÉ Sport after [[UEFA Euro 2016]] after 30 years with the broadcaster, his last appearance was on the night of the [[UEFA Euro 2016 Final|Euro 2016 final]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/im-not-retiring-john-giles-confirms-he-is-leaving-rte-34567981.html|title='I'm not retiring' – John Giles confirms he is leaving RTE|date=24 March 2016|work=Irish Independent|access-date=24 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rte.ie/sport/euro-2016/2016/0710/801543-giles-tribute/|title=Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady pay tribute to John Giles|date=11 July 2016|work=RTÉ Sport|access-date=13 July 2016}}</ref>

==Retirement==
Giles resides in the [[Harborne]] area of the city of [[Birmingham]] in England. He has played [[golf]] for many years, and at one time, played off a [[Handicap (golf)|handicap]] of five, but with his advancing age his handicap has risen to 12, "a bad 12" he claims. To coincide with his 70th birthday, Giles compiled a first-ever autobiography chronicling his life in and outside of football which was released in November 2010.<ref>{{cite news|title=Johnny Giles: Leeds United legend's new book|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/johnny-giles-leeds-united-legend-s-new-book-1-3013984|access-date=1 September 2016|work=Yorkshire evening Post|date=29 October 2010}}</ref> In 2010, his autobiography, titled ''A Football Man'', became the best selling book in the Republic of Ireland.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/giless-book-more-than-a-match-for-bestsellers-2425506.html | work=Irish Independent | first=John | last=Spain | title=Giles's book more than a match for bestsellers | date=18 November 2010}}</ref> In it, he claims to be an admirer of [[cricket]] where he attended the occasional game in his spare time as a footballer.

==Media portrayals and successful legal action==
Giles was portrayed by actor [[Peter McDonald (actor)|Peter McDonald]] in the 2009 film ''[[The Damned United]]'', which centred on [[Brian Clough]]'s ill-fated 44-day spell as Leeds United manager in 1974. Giles successfully sued the author of the book, [[David Peace]], who printed the work in 2006, from which the film was made. He said of Peace: "His book was outrageous. I'm portrayed as the scheming leprechaun. He [Peace] had me in conversations with Clough that never happened. It made Clough out to be a wild man whereas he wasn't drinking then. I didn't get on with him but I found him highly intelligent. Peace said the novel was fiction based on fact, trouble is, people assume it's the official version. The movie was a misinterpretation of the misinterpretation that was the book!"<ref>{{cite news| title=Publish and be Damned: Giles fights back for Revie and Clough |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/publish-and-be-damned-giles-fights-back-for-revie-and-clough-2132719.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/publish-and-be-damned-giles-fights-back-for-revie-and-clough-2132719.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | date=13 November 2010}}</ref>

In another interview in relation to his taking court action, Giles said: "I took my stand because I was the only one alive who could do anything about it. The Clough family had no comeback. They couldn't do anything as Brian was dead, that was a huge influence (on taking the legal action)."<ref name="yorkshirepost">{{cite news|title=Exclusive: Clough portrayal helped drive Giles's libel bid|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/exclusive-clough-portrayal-helped-drive-giles-s-libel-bid-1-3025001|access-date=1 September 2016|work=The Yorkshire Post|date=12 November 2010}}</ref>

As part of the settlement in the 2008 High Court dispute, the publisher of the book, [[Faber and Faber]], was ordered to remove from any future editions the references perceived by Giles as damaging and untrue.<ref name="yorkshirepost"/>

==Family==
In 1966, Giles married Anne, sister of Irish Olympic sprinter [[Paul Dolan (athlete)|Paul Dolan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ballyshannon-musings.blogspot.com/2013/03/ballyshannon-links-to-two-unusual.html|title=Ballyshannon Links to Two Unusual Olympic Games|date=9 March 2013|publisher=Ballyshannon Musings}}{{self-published source|date=September 2021}}</ref> with whom he had four sons and two daughters. Two of his sons, Michael and Chris, played for Shamrock Rovers; Michael from 1981 to 1983 and Chris from 1993 to 1995. Giles' father, [[Christy Giles]], played for Bohemians in the 1920s and won a league title in his first season at [[Dalymount Park]]. His uncle [[Chris Giles (Irish footballer)|Chris Giles]] also played for Ireland. Giles is a brother-in-law of [[Nobby Stiles]], his former Manchester United team-mate, who married into the Giles family. His uncle Matt managed [[Transport F.C.|Transport]] to FAI Cup success in 1950.

==John Giles Foundation==
In 2008, the Football Association of Ireland founded a non-profit trust to fund grassroots clubs and football at youth level. Giles, who had previously hosted charity golf events to raise money for good causes, allowed the FAI the right to use his image for the charitable organisation, thus giving rise to the John Giles Foundation. This would involve grassroots clubs taking part in sponsored walks called the "Walk of Dreams", whereby half the money raised by each club would go to the club themselves, and the other half going to clubs selected by the foundation.<ref name="Irish Independent">{{cite web |last1=Tighe |first1=Mark |title=John Giles Foundation to be wound down by FAI |url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/john-giles-foundation-to-be-wound-down-by-fai-42004984.html |website=Independent.ie |date=20 September 2022 |publisher=Irish Independent |access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref>

The inaugural event in 2011 was met with negative criticism, as the main walk ending at the [[Aviva Stadium]] was marred by inadequate toilet facilities at the stadium endpoint, along with expensively priced food, a lack of bottled water and the absence of Republic of Ireland senior international footballers, whose attendance at the event had been promised, all of which went on to be discussed on [[RTÉ Radio 1]]'s ''[[Liveline]]'' programme.<ref name="Irish Independent"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tighe |first1=Mark |last2=Rowan |first2=Paul |title=Champagne Football |date=2020 |publisher=Sandycove |location=Dublin |page=96}}</ref>

While the John Giles Foundation raised some €700,000 for its causes during its lifetime, it emerged in 2019 that the FAI, under the stewardship of [[John Delaney (football administrator)|John Delaney]] had paid over €500,000 to former footballer Con Martin jnr, for the concept of the foundation, the fundraising walks and a kit-purchasing idea, payments of which were unknown to Giles at the time.<ref name="Irish Independent"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tighe |first1=Mark |last2=Rowan |first2=Paul |title=Champagne Football |date=2020 |publisher=Sandycove |location=Dublin |page=98}}</ref>

In September 2022, the FAI announced the winding down of the John Giles Foundation, with a final donation of €55,000 being made to the FAI's Football For All schools programme.<ref name="Irish Independent"/>

==Career statistics==

===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="ENFA">{{ENFA}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|[[FA Cup]]
!colspan="2"|[[Football League Cup|League Cup]]
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
|[[1959–60 Manchester United F.C. season|1959–60]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|10||2||0||0||0||0||10||2
|-
|[[1960–61 Manchester United F.C. season|1960–61]]
|First Division
|23||2||0||0||2||1||25||3
|-
|[[1961–62 Manchester United F.C. season|1961–62]]
|First Division
|30||2||7||1||0||0||37||3
|-
|[[1962–63 Manchester United F.C. season|1962–63]]
|First Division
|36||4||6||1||0||0||42||5
|-
|[[1963–64 Manchester United F.C. season|1963–64]]
|First Division
|0||0||0||0||1||0||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!99||10||13||2||3||1||115||13
|-
|rowspan="13"|[[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]
|[[1963–64 in English football|1963–64]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|40||7||3||0||2||0||45||7
|-
|[[1964–65 in English football|1964–65]]
|First Division
|39||7||7||1||0||0||46||8
|-
|[[1965–66 in English football|1965–66]]
|First Division
|40||6||2||1||12||0||54||7
|-
|[[1966–67 in English football|1966–67]]
|First Division
|29||12||7||2||12||4||48||18
|-
|[[1967–68 in English football|1967–68]]
|First Division
|20||7||5||1||10||2||35||10
|-
|[[1968–69 in English football|1968–69]]
|First Division
|32||8||0||0||7||0||39||8
|-
|[[1969–70 in English football|1969–70]]
|First Division
|32||13||9||2||9||4||50||19
|-
|[[1970–71 in English football|1970–71]]
|First Division
|34||13||4||2||8||1||46||16
|-
|[[1971–72 in English football|1971–72]]
|First Division
|38||6||7||4||6||0||51||12
|-
|[[1972–73 in English football|1972–73]]
|First Division
|33||6||8||1||8||1||49||8
|-
|[[1973–74 in English football|1973–74]]
|First Division
|17||2||2||0||0||0||19||2
|-
|[[1974–75 Leeds United A.F.C. season|1974–75]]
|First Division
|29||1||7||1||9||0||45||2
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!383||88||61||15||83||12||527||115
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]
|[[1975–76 in English football|1975–76]]
|Second Division
|38||2||4||0||5||1||47||3
|-
|[[1976–77 in English football|1976–77]]
|First Division
|37||1||0||0||4||1||41||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!75||3||4||0||9||2||88||5
|-
! colspan=3 | English career total
!557||101||78||17||95||15||730||133
|}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref>{{NFT player|20282|name=Johnny Giles}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=6812|title=List of International Matches|date=11 July 2016|work=eu-football.info|access-date=13 July 2016}}</ref>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="21"|[[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]]
|1959||1||1
|-
|1960||3||0
|-
|1961||4||1
|-
|1962||2||0
|-
|1963||3||0
|-
|1964||5||1
|-
|1965||3||0
|-
|1966||4||0
|-
|1967||1||0
|-
|1968||2||1
|-
|1969||2||0
|-
|1970||2||0
|-
|1971||1||0
|-
|1972||1||0
|-
|1973||1||0
|-
|1974||5||0
|-
|1975||4||0
|-
|1976||3||0
|-
|1977||4||0
|-
|1978||5||1
|-
|1979||3||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!59!!5
|}

===Managerial===
Source:<ref name="ENFA"/>

{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center"
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
|-
!rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|From
!rowspan=2|To
!colspan=5|Record
|-
!{{abbr|P|Matches played}}!!{{abbr|W|Matches won}}!!{{abbr|D|Matches drawn}}!!{{abbr|L|Matches lost}}!!{{abbr|Win %|Win percentage}}
|-
|align=left|[[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]
|align=left|5 July 1975
|align=left|24 May 1977
{{WDL|101|41|31|29|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|West Bromwich Albion
|align=left|14 February 1984
|align=left|29 September 1985
{{WDL|75|24|15|36|decimals=1}}
|-
!colspan=3|Total
{{WDLtot|176|65|46|65|decimals=1}}
|}

==Honours==
'''Manchester United'''<ref name="Honours">{{cite web|title=Johnny Giles - Irish Football Great|url=http://www.soccer-ireland.com/irish-soccer-players/johnny-giles.htm|website=pogmogoal.com|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref>
*[[FA Cup]]: [[1962–63 FA Cup|1962–63]]

'''Leeds United'''<ref name="Honours"/><ref>{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=491}}</ref>
*[[Football League First Division]]: [[1968–69 Football League First Division|1968–69]], [[1973–74 Football League First Division|1973–74]]
*[[Football League Second Division]]: [[1963–64 Football League|1963–64]]
*FA Cup: [[1971–72 FA Cup|1971–72]]; runner-up: [[1964–65 FA Cup|1964–65]],<ref>{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=490}}</ref> [[1969–70 FA Cup|1969–70]]<ref name="FACW"/> [[1972–73 FA Cup|1972–73]]<ref name="FACW">{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=491}}</ref>
*[[Football League Cup]]: [[1967–68 Football League Cup|1967–68]]
*[[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1969 FA Charity Shield|1969]]
*[[Inter-Cities Fairs Cup]]: [[1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|1967–68]], [[1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|1970–71]]
*[[European Cup]] runner-up: [[1974–75 European Cup|1974–75]]

'''Shamrock Rovers'''
*[[FAI Cup]]: 1978
*[[Tyler Cup]]: 1978–79

'''Individual'''
*''Rothmans Golden Boots Awards'': 1972, 1973<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/1969-70-british-team-of-the-season.1794502/ |website=BigSoccer |date=31 July 2011 |title=1969-1970 British Team of the Season |access-date=17 April 2024 }}</ref>
*[[Ballon d'Or]] nominee: [[1972 Ballon d'Or|1972]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy.html|title=European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")|author1=Rob Moore|author2=Karel Stokkermans|date=21 January 2011|website=[[RSSSF]]|access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref>
*[[PFA Team of the Year]]: [[PFA Team of the Year (1970s)|1973-1974]]<ref name=Lynch140>{{cite book |first=Tony |last=Lynch |title=The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes |year=1995 |publisher=Random House |location=London |isbn=978-0-09-179135-3 |page=140}}</ref>
*[[Football League 100 Legends|100 League Legends]]: 1998
*[[UEFA Jubilee Awards|UEFA Jubilee Award]] – [[UEFA Jubilee Awards|Republic of Ireland's Golden Player]]: 2004
*[[English Football Hall of Fame]]: 2010 Inductee
*[[Trinity College Dublin]] honorary doctorate: 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcd.ie/registrar/honorary-degrees/2013-14/|title=Registrar : Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Ireland|website=www.tcd.ie|access-date=2020-01-27}}</ref>
*[[FAI International Football Awards|FAI Hall of Fame]]: Inducted 2020<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/giles-and-gorham-recognised-in-fai-awards|title =Giles and Gorham recognised in FAI Awards|date=1 September 2021|work=[[Football Association of Ireland]]|access-date=1 September 2021}}</ref>

==References==
;General
* {{Citation|last1=Giles|first1=John|first2=Declan|last2=Lynch|title=A Football Man: The Autobiography|publisher=[[Hodder & Stoughton]]|year=2011|isbn=978-1-444-72096-9}}

;Specific
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208003926/http://johngilesfoundation.com/ John Giles Foundation]}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards
| bg = gold
| fg = navy
| list1 = 
{{1973–74 Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{1975–76 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{UEFA Jubilee Awards}}
{{English Football Hall of Fame}}
{{Football League 100 Legends}}
}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Managerial positions
| list1 = 
{{Republic of Ireland national football team managers}}
{{West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers}}
{{Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers}}
{{NASL Vancouver Whitecaps coaches}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Johnny}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
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[[Category:Manchester United F.C. players]]
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[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States]]
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[[Category:Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players]]
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[[Category:Television personalities from Dublin (city)]]
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[[Category:The Herald (Ireland) people]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
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[[Category:20th-century Irish sportsmen]]