- Mike Pejic
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Mike Pejic Personal information Full name Mike Pejic Date of birth 25 January 1950 Place of birth Chesterton, Stoke-on-Trent, England Playing position Left Back Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1968–1976 Stoke City 274 (6) 1976–1979 Everton 76 (2) 1979–1980 Aston Villa 10 (0) Total 360 (8) Teams managed 1984–1985 Leek Town 1985–1986 Northwich Victoria 1994–1995 Chester City 1998 Leek Town (Caretaker) 1999 Selangor FA * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Mike (Mick) Pejic (born on January 25, 1950 in Chesterton, Staffordshire), is a retired English-Serbian footballer. His father was Serbian and his mother was English.
Career
His playing career in what was then the Football League First Division (same level now as the FA Premier League) commenced in the 1968-69 season and lasted until the 1979 campaign. He also held coaching and managing positions upon retiring.
As a defender, Pejic played for Stoke City, Everton and Aston Villa. He had eight caps playing for England's U-23 squad and four more caps with the full England side in 1974. He was famously dropped by new caretaker England manager Joe Mercer in favour of Alec Lindsay because he "didn't smile enough".
He managed Leek Town until 1985 when he resigned to take over as manager of Northwich Victoria.[1] He was appointed youth coach at Port Vale in July 1986, being promoted to first team coach in December 1987. He was sacked in March 1992, twelve months later an employment tribunal ruled that he had been unfairly dismissed and Vale were forced to pay a four-figure compensation sum.[2]
Pejic was named Chester City F.C. manager in June 1994 after the shock resignation of Graham Barrow. Unfortunately he inherited a very bare side after the loss of several key players, and an immediate relegation back to Division 3 was inevitable after the side began the season without a point from their first seven games. Pejic was sacked in January 1995 after a 4-0 home thrashing by York City. He later had a spell managing non-league side Leek Town.
He went on to be the regional director for the North East FA and has coached such stars as Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing. He then taught FA coaching courses at NWHC in Nuneaton. In 1999 he managed Malaysian side Selangor FA.
In February 2007, he became Head of Youth Coaching at Championship side Plymouth Argyle. In June 2010 he left Argyle to take up a similar position at Ipswich Town.
Mike's younger brother, Mel, played for Stoke City, Hereford United and Wrexham. Shaun Pejic, the son of Mel and nephew of Mike, currently plays for C.P. Baltimore and was on the U-21 team of Wales.
On 14 November 2010 Mike Pejic was suspended from Ipswich Town.
Honours
- Football League Cup Winner 1972 (Stoke City)
- Football League Cup Runner Up 1977 (Everton)
References
- ^ "Leek Town FC Managers". Leek Town F.C.. http://www.leektown.co.uk/info/history.php#managers. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 229. ISBN 0952915200. http://www.amazon.ca/Port-Vale-Personalities-Jeff-Kent/dp/0952915200.
Northwich Victoria F.C. – managers Wootton (1935–47) · Ware (1947–48) · McNab (1948–49) · Ware (1949–51) · Russell (1951) · Ashley (1951–52) · Ware (1952–53) · Woodruff (1953–54) · Manley (1954) · Boothway (1955–57) · Carey (1957) · Bonnell (1958–62) · Clarke (1963–64) · Heardley (1964–65) · Kirkam (1965) · Cope (1965–66) · Reilly (1966–68) · Cumberlidge (1968) · Kelly (1968–69) · Moore (1969) · Bonnell (1969–71) · Green (1971–72) · Bradbury (1972–73) · Mudie (1973) · Taylor (1973–74) · Spratt (1974–75) · Ogden (1975–77) · R. Murphy (1977) · Heslop (1977–78) · R. Williams (1978–80) · Ogden (1980) · Storton (1980–81) · McNeill (1981) · Robertson (1981) · J. King (1981–84) · T. Murphy (1984–85) · Pejic (1985–86) · Pearson (1986) · Roberts (1987–91) · Dobson (1991) · McIlroy (1991–93) · Williams (1993–95) · Kettle (1995–96) · Hancock (1996) · Wilson (1996–98) · Gardiner (1998–2000) · Alexander (2000–01) · Quinn (2001–03) · Davis (2003) · McDonald (2003) · Teale (2003–04) · Burr (2004–07) · Redfearn (2007) · Warhurst (2007) · Maamria (2007–08) · Marsh (2008) · S. King (2008–09) · Preece (2009–)
Categories:- 1950 births
- Living people
- English footballers
- England international footballers
- Stoke City F.C. players
- Everton F.C. players
- Aston Villa F.C. players
- Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
- Chester City F.C. managers
- British people of Serbian descent
- The Football League players
- Leek Town F.C. managers
- Expatriate football coaches in Malaysia
- People from Chesterton, Staffordshire
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