Adam Scott Mathieson Duncan (2 November 1888 – 3 October 1976) was a Scottish football player and manager, who played as an

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He made over 100 appearances for Rangers, played in England for Newcastle United, winning

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

title in 1908–09. He also had three spells with

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, and played for

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

and guested for Celtic. As a manager, he led

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

and

before going to England, where he managed Manchester United and then

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, the latter for 18 years.

Career

Playing career

Born in

, Duncan was working as a law clerk when he joined his home-town club

in 1906. He moved to Newcastle United in March 1908 for a fee of £200. A versatile forward, although primarily an outside-right, he scored 12 times in 81 league games for the Magpies and was a member of the 1908–09

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

championship winning side. In May 1913, he returned to Scotland, moving to Rangers for a fee of £750. He remained with Rangers during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in which he served as a signalling instructor in the Royal Field Artillery. He also played two wartime games for Celtic. In 1918 he rejoined Dumbarton and in the 1920 close season signed for

. In 1922 he rejoined Dumbarton for a third time, but retired at the end of the 1922–23 season.

Managerial and coaching career

Duncan was appointed as secretary-manager of

in the summer of 1923. He left in October 1925 to take over as secretary-manager of

and had seven successful years at the club, keeping them in the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...

throughout his time in charge. In June 1932 he was appointed as secretary-manager of Manchester United. Despite spending a lot of money on players, United were almost relegated to the Third Division in the 1933–34 season. However, Duncan turned things around and led United to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

championship in the 1935–36 season. However, they were relegated the following season and, in November 1937, he resigned to become manager of

, who were then a Southern League side. At the end of the 1938–39 season Ipswich were elected into the

despite finishing third in the Southern League. Duncan remained with Ipswich Town as manager for 18 years, winning the

Third Division (South) The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to o ...

title in the 1953–54 season. However, Town were relegated the following season and Duncan stood down as manager in August 1955 season when Alf Ramsey took over. He remained as secretary for three further years. He was honoured with a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at the end of the 1957–58 season against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internation ...

, which Ipswich won 3–1. He returned to live in Scotland in his retirement until his death in 1976, at the age of 87.

Honours

As a player

;Newcastle United * First Division: 1908–09 * FA Charity Shield:

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...

As a manager

;Manchester United *

: 1935–36 ;Ipswich Town *

Division Three South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to o ...

: 1953–54

Managerial statistics

References

External links

*
Manager's profile
at Pride of Anglia (fansite) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Scott 1888 births 1975 deaths Scottish footballers Dumbarton F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Celtic F.C. wartime guest players Scottish football managers Hamilton Academical F.C. managers Cowdenbeath F.C. managers Manchester United F.C. managers Ipswich Town F.C. managers Scottish soldiers Royal Field Artillery soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Scottish Football League managers Sportspeople from Dumbarton Footballers from West Dunbartonshire Association football outside forwards Clydebank Juniors F.C. players Glasgow United F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players