Ian Porterfield

Did You Know?

• Porterfield died of colon cancer, diagnosed earlier in 2007.
• A minute's silence was held before Sunderland's next home game, coincidentally against Reading.
• His grandsons Callum and Cameron were Sunderland mascots for that game.

Playing career

Porterfield, born in Dunfermline, had a trial with Leeds United at age 15 but returned to Scotland and joined Raith Rovers. He moved to Sunderland in 1967 and scored the winner in the 1973 FA Cup final, a shock victory over Leeds United. He spent ten years at Sunderland, with a brief loan at Reading in 1976, then moved to Sheffield Wednesday in July 1977 as a player and later player-coach. He was inducted into the Raith Rovers Hall of Fame in 2018.

Coaching and management career

After retiring as a player, Porterfield managed Rotherham United, winning the Third Division Championship, then joined Sheffield United on 6 June 1981. Tasked with taking the newly relegated Fourth Division side back to the First Division within five seasons, he won the Fourth Division championship in his first season. Despite financial losses, chairman Reg Brealey provided transfer funds, but United finished 11th. The following season, with a reduced playing staff, promotion was achieved only because Hull City beat Burnley 2–0; a third goal would have promoted Hull instead.

Ground improvements for the Second Division left no funds for new players, and Porterfield was replaced by Billy McEwan on 27 March 1986. In November 1986, he succeeded Alex Ferguson as manager of Aberdeen. In two years, Aberdeen reached the Scottish League Cup final and qualified for Europe twice. He resigned in 1988 and quickly became assistant manager to Bobby Campbell at Chelsea, overseeing promotion as Second Division champions in 1988–89.

He returned as Chelsea manager for 1991–92 after Campbell became personal assistant to owner Ken Bates. The 1991–92 season was uneventful; 1992–93 began with Chelsea as surprise Premier League title contenders, but form declined and he was dismissed on 15 February 1993 after 12 winless games, becoming the first manager sacked by a Premier League club. He later managed Zambia, Saudi Arabia, and Zimbabwe.