The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Irishman became Posh legend and popular city figure
Noel Cantwell, who captained Manchester United to victory in the 1963 FA Cup final and made 36 appearances for Ireland, took over as manager of Peterborough United in October 1972 when the club languished at the foot of the old Fourth Division. Within 18 months of taking over Cantwell had made Posh Division Four champions and the team were unbeaten at London Road that season. The style of the title success cemented Noel’s place in Posh folklore and his reputation wasn’t harmed by his departure from the club in acrimonious circumstances in May 1977. He resigned to seek greater financial security for his family outside of football, although he soon found work managing in the United States. Noel spent four years in the States before returning to this country and settling again in Peterborough, where he opened and managed Canters nightclub. The lure of London Road saw Noel return as manager in November 1986, in place of John Wile.
“His charisma and obvious love of Posh in particular, and Peterborough in general, made him the only choice,” remarked club chairman Steve Kendrick at the time. That statement was borne out by an immediate increase of 1,500 on the gate for his first home match. Posh went on to finish 10th in Division Four – eight places higher than when Noel had arrived. Noel led the team to a seventh-place finish the following season, missing out on a play-off place on the final day, before he moved upstairs to become general manager. Noel died in 2005 after a brave battle with cancer aged 72. His funeral was held at the Cathedral and it was attended by Sir Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, Tommy Docherty and other football luminaries and was followed by a private cremation.