View source for Ron Noades

{{Short description|English football club owner (1937–2013)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name        = Ron Noades
| fullname    = Ronald Geoffrey Noades<ref name="obituary"/>
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1937|06|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[London]], United Kingdom
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=yes|2013|12|24|1937|6|22}}
| death_place = [[Purley, London]], United Kingdom
| manageryears1 = 1998      | managerclubs1 = [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] (caretaker)
| manageryears2 = 1998–2000 | managerclubs2 = [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]]
}}

'''Ronald Geoffrey Noades''' (22 June 1937 – 24 December 2013) was an English businessman, best known for his investments in football clubs. He was the chairman of [[Southall F.C.|Southall]], [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]], [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] and finally [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]]. He was also the manager of Brentford from 1998 to 2000, and led the club to the [[List of winners of the EFL League Two and predecessors|Third Division championship]] in 1999.

== Football club ownership ==

===Southall===
The first club owned by Noades was non-league [[Southall F.C.|Southall]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weeks |first=Jim |date=2017-01-26 |title=Remembering Ron Noades, the Itinerant Entrepreneur of London Football |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/remembering-ron-noades-the-itinerant-entrepreneur-of-london-football/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Wimbledon===
Noades then took over [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]], who were elected to the [[English Football League|Football League]] in 1977. They won promotion from the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] in only their second season as a Football League club, although they were relegated after just one season. He then entered tentative talks with the [[Milton Keynes Development Corporation]] with a view to relocating the club to the [[Milton Keynes|new town]] some 70 miles away in [[Buckinghamshire]], but nothing came of this. Ironically, Wimbledon would ultimately be relocated to Milton Keynes more than 20 years later.

Noades remained chairman of Wimbledon until 1981, when the club won a second promotion to the Third Division. Just before departing, he appointed [[Dave Bassett]] as manager – a move which would bring the club great success.

=== Crystal Palace ===
As Crystal Palace chairman, he led them through their brightest period,<ref name="Timesonline">{{Cite web |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_2009/article6173620.ece |title=Ron Noades – Sunday Times Rich List |website=[[The Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612231623/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_2009/article6173620.ece |archive-date=12 June 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref> which included promotion to the old [[Football League First Division|First Division]] ([[1988–89 Football League#Second Division|1989]]), an [[FA Cup]] final ([[1990 FA Cup Final|1990]]), a third-placed finish in the First Division ([[1990–91 Football League#First Division|1991]]), and winning the [[Full Members Cup]] (also in [[1991 Full Members' Cup Final|1991]]). He took the club over just after their relegation from the First Division in 1981, and after three difficult seasons where they narrowly avoided dropping into the Third Division, the turning point came in May 1984 when he appointed the former [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and [[England national football team|England]] winger [[Steve Coppell]] as manager following his retirement from playing through injury.

In [[1985–86 in English football|1985–86]], Palace fell just short of promotion to the First Division, but they had just added striker [[Ian Wright]] from non-league [[Greenwich Borough F.C.|Greenwich Borough]] to their ranks, and then signed striker [[Mark Bright]] from [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] to create what was one of the most prolific strikeforces in the club's history. Promotion finally occurred in 1989, and a year later Palace took Manchester United to a replay in the [[1990 FA Cup Final|final]] of the FA Cup before a narrow defeat. They finished third in the league a year later.

In 1991, Noades provoked controversy with his comments on the racial make-up of his team: "The black players at this club lend the side a lot of skill and flair, but you also need white players in there to balance things up and give the team some brains and some common sense."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/jan/20/jimwhite|title='Of course he is not a Nazi. He is a man who likes history'|author=Jim White|work=The Guardian|access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref> The fall-out led to several black players leaving the club, including key players Ian Wright, Mark Bright and [[Andy Gray (footballer, born 1964)|Andy Gray]].{{CN|date=August 2021}}

Palace were relegated from the [[Premier League]] in 1993 at the end of its first season, but were promoted a year later, only to go down again after just one season, during which they were semi-finalists in both domestic cups. Promotion was achieved for the third time in less than a decade in 1997, but again Palace were relegated after just one season.

In 1998, Noades sold his interest in Palace to recruitment tycoon [[Mark Goldberg (football manager)|Mark Goldberg]] for £22,000,000<ref name="Timesonline"/>  (although Noades actually lent Goldberg £5,000,000 of this, as he could not afford it). Despite being advised against purchasing the club by Noades' own accountants, Goldberg continued with the negotiations. Noades had offered the club for £9m to a consortium of Kent and Surrey businessmen the previous year. The fee included the club and its players' contracts, but not [[Selhurst Park]], Palace's home ground.<ref name="Timesonline" />  As the club prepared for relegation from the Premier League, Noades acted as caretaker manager, after the appointment of [[Attilio Lombardo]] and [[Tomas Brolin]] failed to save Palace from relegation. Head coach [[Terry Venables]] took over management of the team following Noades departure from the club that summer.

With the sale of club completed, Goldberg's financiers withdrew their interest, and he found himself in debt to Noades. The club went through a subsequent administration, which lasted until 2000.

=== Brentford ===
After leaving Palace he became chairman and subsequently also first team manager of recently-relegated [[Football League Division Three|Division Three]] side [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] from July 1998 and took the side back to [[Football League Second Division|Division Two]] at the first time of asking.<ref name="TBBBOT90s">{{Cite book |title=The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties |last=Croxford |first=Mark |last2=Lane |first2=David |last3=Waterman |first3=Greville |publisher=Legends Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9781906796723 |location=Sunbury, Middlesex |page=270}}</ref><ref name="Chapman" /> He ended both roles in 2000 and sold his majority shareholding in the club to supporters group ''Bees United'' in January 2006.<ref name="Chapman" /> Noades' loans to the club were repaid by current owner [[Matthew Benham]] in 2007.<ref name="Chapman">{{Cite web |url=http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/ron-noades-1937-2013-1254421.aspx |title=RON NOADES 1937–2013 |last=Chapman |first=Mark |website=brentfordfc.co.uk |access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref>

== Ownership of Selhurst Park ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2015}}
Former Crystal Palace chairman [[Simon Jordan]] made public his intentions to either purchase and re-develop Selhurst Park, or move to a new stadium.  However, Noades announced in April 2006 that Jordan had not made any offers for the stadium, and that he had no intention of selling the stadium, either. Nonetheless, in October 2006, Jordan announced he had purchased the freehold of the stadium site four days previously for £12m, using an investment mechanism that kept his identity secret. It later turned out that this was incorrect and the freehold was owned by companies under the control of [[Paul Kemsley]]. Jordan announced in April 2008 that he had secured the football club a 25-year lease for Selhurst Park Stadium together with the option to purchase the freehold within that period.

Unbeknownst to Jordan, Ron Noades and Paul Kemsley knew each other and Noades was fully aware of what Jordan was doing prior to agreeing to the sale. Noades in fact wrote to Jordan prior to accepting the offer through Kemsley's investment group and offered him the Stadium for the same price. Jordan never replied and so Kemsley was allowed to purchase Selhurst Park.

== Business interests ==
Noades owned several golf courses in south-east England. Known as the Altonwood Group, it includes Surrey National Golf Club (formerly Happy Valley), Westerham Golf Club, The Addington Golf Club, Woldingham Golf Club (formerly Dukes Dene) and Godstone Golf Club (on a site formerly used as Crystal Palace's training ground).

== Death ==
Noades, who was a non-smoker, died from lung cancer on 24 December 2013 in [[Purley, London]].<ref name="obituary">{{cite web|first=Phil|last=Shaw |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ron-noades-football-club-owner-9027558.html | title=Ron Noades: Football club owner | work=The Independent | date=27 December 2013 | access-date=13 October 2018}}</ref> He was 76.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{soccerbase (manager)|id=1321}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{Succession box
|before=Raymond Bloye
|title=[[Crystal Palace F.C.#Chairmanship history|Crystal Palace chairman]]
|years=1980–1998
|after=[[Mark Goldberg (football manager)|Mark Goldberg]]
}}
{{Succession box
|before=Tony Swaisland
|title=[[Brentford F.C.|Brentford chairman]]
|years=1998–2000
|after=Eddie Rogers
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Crystal Palace F.C. managers}}
{{Brentford F.C. managers}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noades, Ron}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:English football chairmen and investors]]
[[Category:Crystal Palace F.C. directors and chairmen]]
[[Category:Brentford F.C. directors and chairmen]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:Crystal Palace F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Brentford F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Premier League managers]]
[[Category:English Football League managers]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in England]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]