Rodney William Marsh was born 11 October 1944 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. He was named after HMS Rodney by his father, who served on the battleship. Rodney played for Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City in the UK. But, will always be remembered for his time in the NASL with the Rowdies.Rodney was one of a generation of highly talented "maverick" players that emerged in English football during the 1960s and 1970s and never quite fulfilled their potential. He began his career with Fulham, for whom he made his debut in 1963, but his career there was hampered by injuries – a collision with a goal post and an opposing defender cost him the hearing in his left ear – and a dispute with manager Vic Buckingham, which ultimately saw him move across West London to join Queens Park Rangers, then in the Third Division, for £15,000 in March 1966. His first full season with Rangers 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 Marsh scoring the equaliser. The following year, QPR were promoted again to reach the First Division.
In 1972, he was signed for Manchester City by Malcolm Allison for a then club record £200,000. Upon signing 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. 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. Rodney 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.
Marsh revived his career with the Rowdies, where he made over 100 appearances. He signed for Cork Hibernians before briefly returning to Fulham during the 1976-77 season, where he linked up with old friends George Best and Bobby Moore before returning to Tampa Bay in 1977. He played from 1976 to 1979, and was a NASL first-team all star selection in 1978.
He retired after 1979, and coached the New York United and Carolina Lightnin' teams in the ASL, before returning to the Rowdies to coach their final NASL season in 1984. He was head coach from 1984 to 1988, and was the team's chief executive for 11 years. In 1986, he came out of retirement to play with the Rowdies, this time in the AISA. Marsh played in twenty games during the 1986/87 season, scoring 13 goals. He would also don the Rowdies jersey for one last time in 1989.
Upon retiring Rodney became a pundit, earning a reputation for his outspoken views on the game.
He was involved in a long-running banter with Bradford City and its supporters in the 1999-00 season, in which 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. Marsh honoured his bet and had his hair removed in the centre circle of Valley Parade Bradford City's home stadium and raised a lot of money for charity by doing so, much to the amusement of Jeff Stelling and co-presenters at Soccer Saturday, as well as the Bradford City supporters, who forgave him for his derogatory remarks.
Upon retiring Rodney became a pundit, earning a reputation for his outspoken views on the game.He was involved in a long-running banter with Bradford City and its supporters in the 1999-00 season, in which 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. Marsh honoured his bet and had his hair removed in the centre circle of Valley Parade Bradford City's home stadium and raised a lot of money for charity by doing so, much to the amusement of Jeff Stelling and co-presenters at Soccer Saturday, as well as the Bradford City supporters, who forgave him for his derogatory remarks.
Rodney made his England debut against Switzerland in 1971 and 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, Marsh 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," to which Marsh replied: “Crikey, Alf, at Manchester City all we get is an orange and a cup of tea.”. He was never selected for the England team again.
Today, Rodney pictured with his son Jonathan and his grandson, is now "retired" and enjoying life with his family in South Tampa, Florida. But, he does find time to play golf and write things on his blog: http://rodneysblog.net/ - he also has his own website at: http://rodneymarsh.net/index.php
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