Emotions are raw at
John Sillett's home in Balsall Common following the sad news that his
great friend and mentor Jimmy Hill passed away a week before
Christmas. John and his wife Jean, who taught Jimmy to ride, had been
close friends of JH for over 50 years and his death has hit them both
hard. John is confined to the house whilst recovering from major
heart surgery a few weeks ago and the sad news from Sussex set the
tears flowing in the Sillett household that weekend.
John recalls that he
first met Jimmy in the late 1950s when he was a senior player at
Chelsea and Jimmy was the raw but keen chairman of the Professional
Footballers Association (PFA), the players union. Hill wanted to
know why there were only two Chelsea players in the PFA and John
organised for JH to talk to the players, most of whom signed up after
an inspiring speech from the bearded one.
Chelsea had a fine side
in those days, managed by Ted Drake, with talented youngsters like
Jimmy Greaves, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling alongside the
experienced former City 'keeper Reg Matthews and John's elder
brother, Peter, like John a full-back, who had won England caps.
John remembers his next
encounter with Hill with joy: 'Tommy Docherty had taken over from Ted
Drake and he wanted to make changes. One day I was sat at home when a
Rolls Royce pulled up outside and Jimmy and the Coventry chairman
Derrick Robins climbed out. They said they wanted me to sign for
Coventry and they'd agreed a fee with The Doc. I didn't really want
to drop to the Third Division but the two of them were very
persuasive'.
That was in 1962 and
the day Sillett arrived in Coventry a helicopter was manoeuvring the
spire of the new cathedral into place and one of his earliest games
was a friendly against Burnley to commemorate its opening. John was
one of JH's first signings and took his place in the new Sky Blue
shirt the following season as the JH revolution got under way.
John recalls: 'That
period under JH was the happiest of my career. We had a great Cup run
in 1963 and played Man United at Highfield Road and then won
promotion the following season. The secret was a great dressing room
– there were no rollockings from JH, if something went wrong he
would put his arm around you and boost your confidence.'
Hill could however
spring nasty surprises, John describes one such occasion: 'In the
promotion season I cracked a knee cap at Christmas and my knee was in
plaster. The team were playing at Reading and JH said to me, 'come
along for the ride on the coach, it'll cheer you up'. We went to a
hotel for lunch and as I wasn't playing I could ignore the alcohol
ban so I wound up the lads by knocking back a few glasses of wine. We
got to the ground and Jimmy says, 'you're playing'. Four players had
a stomach bug and couldn't turn out so the physio Norman Pilgrim cuts
the plaster off my leg and I go out with a fuzzy head. I don't
remember who their left winger was but he didn't get much change from
me and we got a good draw'.
'As a manager Jimmy did
everything differently. He watched the opposition in advance,
something we had never done at Chelsea. He introduced new training
methods that were fun. He got us involved in the city – if anything
was going on, we had to be there. All the stars would come to
Coventry Theatre in those days and he took us there to meet people
like Jimmy Tarbuck and Ken Dodd. Most of all he involved the wives,
something I did later when I became manager. In 1964 when we hit a
rocky patch in the promotion race he took all the wives to a top
ladies shop in the city and paid for new outfits then arranged a
dinner with the players and wives. It all helped the bond between the
players and undoubtedly was a reason for our success.'
John left Highfield
Road in 1966 but the great friends never lost touch. John recalls:
'He was a massive influence in my life. When I took my first
manager's job at Hereford he came down and spent a day with me,
giving me advice. Later when I was out of work he was the first on
the phone to offer his support and help me find work.'
In 1987 during the FA
Cup run JH took time out of his busy schedule to come to Ryton and
offer advice to John and George Curtis as they steered the Sky Blues
towards the club's first major Cup Final. On the day of the final
no-one watching BBC's coverage was in any doubt who Jimmy was
supporting and he was one of the first into the dressing room to
congratulate the victors.
'George and I took so
much from Jimmy that year. From the wives involvement to the trips
away to Bournemouth down to the codes the players used for
free-kicks, it was all geared to building a strong team ethic and it
worked!'
John stayed in touch
with Jimmy and Bryony during the last few years and last saw JH 2-3
months ago. 'Jimmy loved the musicals and we visited him at his care
home. It was upsetting that he didn't recognise us but the Sound of
Music came on the television and he sang along word-perfect to every
song.'
'Jimmy was marvellous
to me and one of my closest friends in football. He achieved so much
for football in general and Coventry City in particular. I will miss
him.'
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