Nicknamed "The Tank" during his playing career, he represented Oxford United for twelve years, and still holds the club record for appearances.

[6] After beginning his career as a ground staff boy at Wolverhampton Wanderers,[7] he was signed by Aston Villa from works team BSA Tools at the age of 17, but never played a first-team match for them.

He went on to make over 500 appearances in all competitions as a wing-half for the club, earning, in his playing days the nickname: "The Tank", and scoring a total of fourteen goals.

They finished fourth in 1981, and shortly after this Atkinson was appointed the manager of Manchester United following the dismissal of Dave Sexton.

[citation needed] In the 1982–83 season, two appearances at Wembley, one of which was an FA Cup victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, coupled with another third-place finish in the league, fuelled speculation that United were back in a big way.

They finished fourth in the league, having topped the table at several stages once again, before injuries to key players counted against them and they dropped points.

Rather than plunge into the transfer market for a big name, Atkinson shifted Norman Whiteside into midfield to fill the gap left by Wilkins and allowed Hughes to form a partnership with the experienced Frank Stapleton.

There was more disappointment for United's fans when the sale of Mark Hughes to Spanish club Barcelona was announced at the end of the season.

Atkinson had prepared for Hughes' departure in March 1986 by paying Nottingham Forest £570,000 for England striker Peter Davenport.

The 1986–87 season began poorly with three successive defeats, and despite a minor upturn in September and October which included a 5–1 home win over Southampton in the league, the pressure on Atkinson remained intense and the board finally ran out of patience on 6 November 1986 when he was dismissed as manager two days after a 4–1 exit at the hands of Southampton in the League Cup.

[10] In October 1988, Atkinson was finally appointed manager of Atlético Madrid, winning his first game in charge 6–1 against Espanyol.

As of 2021, Atkinson's second place remains the highest-ever finish by an English manager in the Premier League, subsequently equalled by Kevin Keegan in 1995–96.

[13] With survival looking certain several games before the season ended, Atkinson was named Premier League Manager of the Month for March 1995.

The penultimate game of the season brought another fine result when the Sky Blues travelled to North London and beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–1.

[15] In December 1995, Atkinson guided the Sky Blues to one of their best results of the 1990s, a 5–0 home win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers.

Under Atkinson, Wednesday's form picked up immediately and they pulled well clear of relegation trouble, but he was not offered a permanent contract and left the club at the end of the season.

[18] Atkinson took over as manager on 11 January 1999[19] and Forest's relegation was confirmed on 24 April with a 2–0 defeat at his old club Aston Villa.

For a number of years, he covered most of the channel's live matches, sometimes as a studio guest, but more often as the "ex-football insider" member of a two-man commentary team.

He was the second housemate to be evicted on Day 9 after receiving the fewest votes to save him against Charlotte Crosby, Courtney Stodden, Lauren Harries and Louie Spence.

"[25] A BBC Radio documentary about Batson, Cunningham and Regis, entitled Three Degrees West, repeated on 16 May 2004, was cancelled owing to Atkinson's central contributions.

"[26] On Celebrity Big Brother in 2013, he jokingly asked fellow contestant, Irish doctor Danielle Marr, "you're not carrying a bomb with you, are you?

Just a week later the cameras turned up at Peterborough United's ground, London Road, to begin filming for the documentary called Big Ron Manager.

[34] On 23 January 2007, Atkinson returned to Kettering Town, the club he had managed more than thirty years previously, as director of football.

[35] It was announced on 19 April 2007 that he had left the post at the Conference North club following his disapproval over the sacking of manager Morell Maison.