Warren Joyce

Warren Joyce( b. 10 January 1965 in Oldham, Greater Manchester) is a former footballer who played in the English football league.

The son of Walter Joyce the former Burnley F.C., Blackburn Rovers and Oldham Athletic A.F.C. player, he began his career as a trainee with Bolton Wanderers in 1981. Working his way up into the first team he became known for being a tigerish midfielder who never gave less than 100%. This made him a firm favourite with the Burnden Park fans and in six years with the club made a total of 216+5 appearances for the Trotters scoring 21 goals.

In October 1987 however Preston North End manager John McGrath came in for him offering £35,000 for his services. With Warren's father Walter now a coach at Deepdale (he had previously coached at Oldham Athletic) Warren decided to make the move. Preston at the time were struggling but the additions of Joyce along with Brian Mooney and Tony Ellis not only added flair to the team but also some much-needed bite.

Over the next five years he became a much loved figure at Preston earning him the nickname Psycho, due to his never-say-die commitment to the cause. In all he played 203+5 matches for the Lilywhites scoring 44 goals, not only picking up the club's player of the year award along the way but also being being made club captain. However when Plymouth Argyle F.C. made a £160,000 offer for him, cash-strapped Preston were forced to accept and he was on his way to Home Park.

His stay in Devon however was short-lived, with Joyce playing only 38+2 games scoring 4 goals in his year there. Plymouth decided to cash in and when Burnley F.C. offered £140,000 for him he was on his way back to Lancashire. In three years at Turf Moor he became something of a cult hero with the fans, playing 85+5 games and scoring 12 goals.

A loan stay though at Hull City F.C. in January 1995 paved the way for a permanent deal 18 months later, so in July 1996 Joyce signed on the dotted line for Hull. He went on to play a total of 168+2 games for Hull scoring 19 goals. He soon became club captain at Boothferry Park, putting in some talisman type performances over the next two years. Indeed his influence at the club was so apparent that in November 1998 he was asked to stand in as caretaker manager following the departure of Mark Hateley.

City soon made the appointment permanent with Joyce taking on the dual role of player-manager. At the time of his appointment, City were rooted to the foot of the 4th division table and looked to be heading out of the Football League - and into bankruptcy. However, under Joyce's stewardship, City staged a remarkable turnaround and achieved survival with games to spare - City fans christened this season "the Great Escape".

City's chairman however decided to replace Joyce as manager with the more experienced and well-known Brian Little. Many fans though felt that Joyce was a little hard done by because, considering the state the club was in at the time, he had done a fine job just keeping them in the league. For this achievement, he will always be remembered as a City legend.

In all Joyce's playing career spanned nineteen years scoring 100 goals in 710+21 appearences for his various clubs all of which still hold him in high regard. He has since held coaching roles with Leeds United, Stockport County and Tranmere Rovers.