Obituary: Much loved former Sunderland assistant manager Viv Busby
09/05/2024 07:00
Roker Report's Andrew Smithson looks back on the career of the late Viv Busby, an immensely popular figure on Wearside in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
It has been a rough couple of weeks for Sunderland supporters, who have had to come to terms with the deaths of a series of club favourites.
Viv Busby has now sadly become the latest former employee to have passed away, having played a massive part in SAFC's revival when he arrived at Roker Park as Denis Smith's right hand man in 1987 following a dreadful couple of years.
Born in Buckinghamshire in 1949, Busby enjoyed a long and varied career both on and off the pitch prior to the announcement on the 8th of May that he had died aged 74. An FA Cup finalist with Fulham in 1975, he also won promotion with Stoke City, Luton Town and York City having featured primarily as a striker for those clubs, as well as for several others including Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City and Tulsa Roughnecks.
Whilst with the Hatters he featured against the Lads during their own FA Cup run in 1973, playing the full 90 in a quarter-final that saw Sunderland winning 2-0.
Later in the decade he moved to Stoke where he first linked up with Smith, and he then followed his former teammate to York in 1982 as he began taking steps into coaching.
Busby combined his new duties with still playing in his first couple of seasons at Bootham Crescent, and the pair enjoyed great success with the Minstermen.
Several cup upsets and a superb Division Four title winning campaign brought them to the attention of Sunderland, and the partnership continued at Roker until late 1991 – bringing two more promotions before ending when Smith wanted to shuffle his backroom staff and fell out with his close friend.
Although Smith later admitted that their relationship never fully recovered, he refused to give evidence against Busby in court during a legal battle his former assistant later had with the club regarding pay.
He had a stint as manager of Hartlepool United before moving back to coaching at various other teams, and in 2000 successfully beat leukemia.
The news of his recovery was warmly greeted on Wearside at the time despite the unfortunate nature of his departure, and now the announcement of his passing in Spain following his emigration in 2011 has prompted further feeling for a man that will always be well remembered by Sunderland fans of a certain age.
My own memories of Busby are all very fond, starting with the time when as a very new fan I got his autograph at the Charlie Hurley Centre and he couldn't have better with me. I vaguely recall him being involved in a County Durham pub at the time as well, which I believe he took an advert out in the Roker Review for – Viv and his wife seemingly running The Three Cups in York for a period as well.
Busby always spoke fondly of his time at Sunderland afterwards, and his continued passion for the Lads shone through when he acted as a summariser on local radio alongside Charles Harrison on Metro – his warm and friendly voice having a formative impact on my young ears as he explained the ups and downs of the team I was now fully into. It is clear also that he had been a trusted figure amongst the players when working with them, as several mainstays of the side have since talked about his character with great affection.
Often the 'good cop' to Smith's sometimes disciplinarian approach, 'Buzzer' was vital for keeping morale high by all accounts. Always listed in the Roker Review as 'Chief Coach' as opposed to assistant manager, he was a bit of a joker too - he named Porky's as his favourite film in an early interview for the Sunderland match day programme, whilst anybody that has watched him in the 1989-90 promotion video as he sat with the squad and reviewed some of the key moments will tell you he was a big part of that group.
He was undoubtedly a class act, so rest in peace Viv, and thanks for the happy times.
