Joe Royle was born in 1949 in Norris Green, Merseyside. He made his professional debut at 16 years old in 1966 for Everton, before going on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City and Norwich City. He won six England caps before a knee injury brought an early end to his playing career in 1982.
After he hung up his boots, Royle continued to work within the world of football as a manager, starting his new career at Oldham Athletic before moving to his old team, Everton, in 1994. He then joined Manchester City in 1998 until he was dismissed by them in 2001. After working as a media analyst he returned to management in 2002 at the helm of Ipswich Town.
Bill Thornton, who collaborated with Joe Royle on his autobiography, has been a national newspaper sports journalist for 33 years, on the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Daily Star. Most recently, he worked with David Batty, the former Leeds and England midfielder, on his autobiography.