Robert Wilson Flavell (1 September 1921 – 18 March 2005) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

. His senior playing career, which was delayed by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, had its high point at

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, where he won two

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

winners' medals in consecutive years. Flavell won two caps for the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. ...

, both in 1947. He later became a manager of

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

, St Mirren and

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scott ...

Playing career

Flavell was born in

Annathill Annathill () is a small village located near Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, although closer to Glenboig. The name "Annathill" is thought to be derived from a patron saint's church. Annathill is on the banks of the Mollins Burn, a tribu ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

in 1921. He joined the senior game by signing for Airdrie in 1937 as a teenager, but only played two seasons before the war broke out; he had to wait until the 1946–47 season to make another league appearance. During the conflict, Flavell had made guest appearances for both

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

and

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

. When the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

resumed in 1946, Flavell scored over a goal per game for Airdrie and won his two caps for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, which convinced Heart of Midlothian to pay £10,000 to acquire his services. Flavell again scored frequently at Hearts, but he became a football outcast on 12 June 1949 by signing for

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

, of the breakaway Colombian league, a move that Hearts manager Dave McLean said meant he would "never play for Hearts again". Flavell played alongside the legendary

Alfredo Di Stefano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Fil ...

in Bogota, but at the end of the Colombian season returned to Scotland in December 1950; he was punished heavily for his actions in going to Colombia, attracting far stronger sanctions than English players who had made a similar move. He was fined £150 – then a record fine for a Scottish player – and suspended from playing until May 1951. He was transfer-listed by Hearts in February 1951, before signing for

in April, making his debut for the club in a Dewar Shield game against St Johnstone on 5 May 1951. Flavell scored goals in both the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

Finals, which helped Dundee win the cup in successive years. He also played in the 1952 Scottish Cup Final, which ended in a 4–0 defeat by

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

. He also played for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

and St Mirren before retiring as a player.

Coaching career

Flavell had five stints as a manager at three clubs, starting with

in 1961. He quickly moved to St Mirren, whom he guided to the

1962 Scottish Cup Final The 1961–62 Scottish Cup was the 77th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers who defeated St Mirren in the final. First round Replays Second round Replays Third round Replay ...

. He briefly returned to Ayr, before having two spells at

. Flavell later became a director of Albion Rovers.

References

External links

*
London Hearts profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flavell, Bobby 1921 births 2005 deaths Footballers from North Lanarkshire Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Scotland wartime international footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Colombia Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Scottish Football League players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Millonarios F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Categoría Primera A players Scottish football managers Ayr United F.C. managers St Mirren F.C. managers Albion Rovers F.C. managers Scottish Football League representative players Scottish Football League managers Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Association football forwards Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players