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Rodney Marsh was named after HMS Rodney by his father, who served on the battleship. Known as the Clown Prince of English Football, he played for Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City. Also the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the England national side. Latterly, he has been a pundit and a commentator on the game.
Rodney Marsh was one of a generation of highly-talented maverick players who emerged in English football during the 60s and 70s. This was along with the likes of George Best, Peter Osgood and Stan Bowles. He began his career with Fulham, for whom he made his debut in 1963. His career there was hampered by injuries. These included a collision with a goal post and an opposing defender cost him the hearing in his left ear. Later a dispute with manager Vic Buckingham, ultimately saw him move across West London to join Third Division Queens Park Rangers in March 1966 for 15,000 pounds.
Rodney’s first full season with QPR was his most successful. He scored 44 goals in 53 games as the club became Third Division champions and also won the League Cup, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in the final, with Rodney scoring the equaliser. The following year, QPR were promoted again to reach the First Division, though they were relegated after one season.
In 1972, he was signed for Manchester City by Malcolm Allison for a then-club record 200,000 pounds. Upon signing Rodney Marsh (in March of that year), City were four points clear at the top of the table but by the end of the season had slipped to 4th. Rodney Marsh himself has since claimed that it was he who cost the club the league title that year, with his style simply not suiting that of the team. He nevertheless became one of City’s star players, scoring 19 goals in 1972-73 and often dazzling the crowd with his skills. Marsh led the club to a League Cup final in 1974, though this time he was on the losing side as City were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers. He left the club shortly into the 1974-75 season after disagreements with new manager Tony Book.
Rodney Marsh revived his career with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL, where he made over 100 appearances. He briefly returned to Fulham during the 1976-77 season, where he linked up with old friends George Best and Bobby Moore. This was before returning to Tampa Bay in 1977. Rodney also played from 1976 to 1982, and was a first-team all star selection in 1978. He was head coach from 1984 to 1986, and was the team’s chief executive for 11 years.
Rodney Marsh made his England debut against Switzerland in 1971. He won a total of nine caps, scoring one goal, which came in a 3-0 victory over Wales. His career with the national team was ended prematurely after he made a sarcastic comment to the then manager, Alf Ramsey. In a 2005 interview, Rodney stated that Ramsey told him “I’ll be watching you for the first 45 minutes and if you don’t work harder I’ll pull you off at halftime”. Marsh replied “Christ, we only get a cup of tea and oranges at Fulham”. He was never selected for the England team again.
Upon retiring Rodney Marsh became a pundit, earning a reputation for his outspoken views on the game.
Rodney was involved in a long-running banter with Bradford City and its supporters in the 1999-00 season. He flippantly dismissed their chances of survival in the FA Premier League. Confident as he was in his prediction of their relegation he offered to shave all of his hair off if they stayed up, which they subsequently managed. Rodney honoured his bet and had his hair removed in the centre circle of Valley Parade Bradford City’s home stadium. This was much to the amusement of Jeff Stelling and co. at Soccer Saturday. Also the Bradford City supporters, who forgave him for his derogatory remarks.
Marsh was with Sky Sports for eleven years. However, he was dismissed in 2005 after making an ill-timed on-air pun “Why won’t David Beckham join Newcastle? Because of what the Toon Army did in Asia”. This was a reference to the Indian Ocean tsunami. However, the subject of the joke was Beckham and his supposed lack of intelligence, not the victims of the tsunami. Many fans of the show felt his sacking was unfair. In 2005, Marsh stated that he disagreed with Sky’s position, although he respected their right to sack him.
Rodney Marsh divides his time between Tampa in Florida and England.
