William Marsden (10 November 1901 – 19 September 1983) was an English international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played as a

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, and later managed

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

Early and personal life

Marsen was born in

Silksworth Silksworth is a suburb of the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial ...

, the fourth of five children. His father was a coal mine hewer. He was married with one daughter.

Playing career

Marsden began his career with Silksworth Colliery and

Ryhope Ryhope ( ) is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. With a population of approximately 14,000, measured at 10.484 in the 2011 census, Ryhope is 2.9 miles to the centre of S ...

. He signed for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in October 1920, and scored 2 goals in 3 games for them. He moved to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

in May 1924, scoring 9 goals in 205 league games for them, before retiring in May 1930 after receiving a spinal injury whilst playing for England. He played for Sheffield Wednesday's reserves at the start of the 1930–31 season, but was injured again and was left unconscious. He earned three caps for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

between 1929 and 1930.

Coaching career

Before World War Two, he was a coach in the Netherlands. In December 1931 he became manager of HBS, leaving in July 1934. He then was a trainer at

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, but left the club in December of that year after not being made manager as he had been promised. He then returned to HBC, moving on to

Be Quick 1887 Be Quick 1887 is a football club from Groningen, Netherlands. The club was established in 1887, and is currently playing in the Vierde Divisie. History 19th century Be Quick 1887 was founded on 4 October 1887 by students of a local gymnasiu ...

by March 1935. He also managed Hermes-DVS. He was appointed manager of Doncaster Rovers in August 1944 for the

Wartime League The Wartime League was a football league competition held in England during World War II, which replaced the suspended Football League. The exclusion of the FA Cup in these years saw the creation of the Football League War Cup and it was a friendly ...

, and was replaced by

Jackie Bestall John Gilbert Bestall, (24 June 1900 – 11 April 1985) was an English international association football, footballer, he also played top-division football and captained Grimsby Town F.C., Grimsby Town, and later managed Doncaster Rovers F.C., D ...

in March 1946 as Rovers prepared for the resumption the post war

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 Engla ...

in Division 3 North. He was manager of

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History First clu ...

for a season from May 1953.

Later life and death

He later became a publican in Sheffield, including at The Robin Hood Inn, The White Lion and the Crosspool Tavern. He died in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

on 19 September 1983, aged 81.

References

1901 births 1983 deaths Sportspeople from the City of Sunderland Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers England men's international footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players English Football League players Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers English football managers HBS Craeyenhout football managers Be Quick 1887 managers English Football League representative players Men's association football wing halves English expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands {{England-footy-midfielder-1900s-stub