Robert Francis Dudgeon Ancell (16 June 1911 – 5 July 1987) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for St Mirren,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He won two full

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. They compete in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA ...

who he also represented in an unofficial war time match. He managed

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

and

during the 1950s and 1960s.

Player

Born in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

, Ancell grew up with a marked aptitude for sport, thanks in no small part to his father, a physical training instructor at

Dumfries Academy Dumfries Academy is one of four secondary schools in Dumfries in south west Scotland. It is a state funded secondary school for both girls and boys. The schools moto is "doctrina promovet" which translates from Latin to "learning promotes" which ...

. As a teenager, he represented his home town at both cricket and rugby and one of his first jobs was as an assistant golf professional, a sport in which he retained a keen interest, eventually playing off a handicap of three.Bobby Ancell
, Queen of the South FC, 10 December 2011 Ancell's playing career began with local side Mid Annandale, from where he moved to St Mirren in 1930. He was a stylish, intelligent full back. Ancell stayed with the Paisley club for six years, where the best league finishes were fifth in 1932 and seventh in 1933. In 1934 he played for St Mirren in a Scottish Cup final defeat against Rangers in front of a crowd of 113,430.Few Thrills at One-sided Cup Final Rangers Outplay St Mirren at Hampden
The Glasgow Herald, 23 April 1934 However the team was in decline and was relegated in 1935. This was the only relegation of Ancell's career as either player or manager. The drop of a division was short lived though, and promotion straight back up followed the season after. Ancell was signed by

for a fee of £2,750 for the start of season 1936–37. Within months of joining Newcastle, Ancell received international recognition. He made his

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

debut in a 3–1 victory over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He second and last cap was shortly after in the season against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Ancell received a third, unofficial cap, against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in December 1939 played at Newcastle's

St. James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the 8th largest football stadium in England. St James' Park has been the home ground of New ...

. Having returned north upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ancell served the war as a PT instructor as many players did. Guesting for numerous teams before joining

in 1944, he had a spell as coach to the Norwegian army. Ancell helped Dundee lift the Second Division championship in 1946–47 and their first season back in the top flight ended in fourth spot. In season 1948–49 he left the ''Dark Blues'' to join a side managed by a fellow native of Dumfries,

Dave Halliday David Halliday (11 December 1901 – 5 January 1970) was a Scottish football player and manager. He achieved numerous distinctions and high rankings as a prolific goal-scoring forward with six senior clubs; St Mirren, Dundee, Sunderland, Arsen ...

.Bobby Ancell
AFC Heritage Trust Ancell returned to Dundee play a small number of games in the season after.

Manager

Ancell then turned his hand to management in 1950 with

, then of the

East of Scotland League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

, turning down an offer from

who at that point were making headlines from board room disputes. Ancell was then approached by Dunfermline again in 1952 and with a completely new set of directors running the club, and accepted the offer. The ''Pars'' had been without a manager during the previous season and, having released no fewer than eighteen players at the end of it, Ancell had to rebuild the squad with very little money. The upheaval led to a mediocre season but Ancell was happy to develop young talent and shape them into the kind of players he wanted. One of his first signings was 17-year-old Jimmy Millar. The Dunfermline improved in all three seasons under Ancell and achieved promotion to the First Division in 1955 after an absence of eighteen years; however Ancell moved on. Bobby_Ancell_Motherwell_Underpass

was Ancell's next port of call in 1955 where he appointed ex-Dundee teammate Reuben Bennett to his training staff. At

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

, he was able to put his purist principles into practice and developed a dynamic young side known as the 'Ancell Babes'.Ancell's Babes: Steelmen, Sinners and the Saint
The Football Pink, 12 February 2019 Under his guidance, no fewer than eight players gained international recognition featuring players like

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key m ...

, Charlie Aitken and Willie Hunter. The club's best finish in Ancell's tenure was third place in 1959 followed by finishes in fifth spot in the two subsequent seasons. Ancell next rejoined former club Dundee where his best finish was sixth in 1967. He took Dundee to an autumn 1967 Scottish League Cup Final against the previous season's

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

winners, Celtic. Ancell's team scored three times at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

but still lost out 5–3. In the

1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The tenth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1967–68 season. The competition was won by Leeds United over two legs in the final against Ferencváros. It was the first English victory in the competition, despite sides from the country ...

, Dundee eliminated opposition from Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland to meet

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in the semi-final; after a 1–1 draw at Dens, a 1–0 second leg win took Leeds through on their way to lifting the trophy. From his first to last season in management, not once did his side finish a season having been fighting for divisional survival. After a year working as reserve team coach at Dens Park, he acted for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in a scouting role before finally retiring from the game to spend more time on the golf course prior to his death on 5 July 1987.

Honours

Player

St Mirren *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Dundee *

Scottish Division Two The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct 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 k ...

: 1946–47

Manager

Dunfermline Athletic *

: promotion 1951–52 Dundee *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...

: Runners-up 1967–68 *

Forfarshire Cup The Forfarshire Cup is a football competition in Scotland competed for by teams in the Forfarshire Football Association from Angus, Dundee and Perth. The name of the competition is often baffling to some, as "Forfarshire" is an archaic and angli ...

: 1965–66, 1966–67

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancell, Bobby 1911 births 1987 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Mid-Annandale F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Scottish football managers Berwick Rangers F.C. managers Dunfermline Athletic F.C. managers Motherwell F.C. managers Dundee F.C. managers English Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish rugby union players Footballers from Dumfries Scottish Football League managers Scotland men's wartime international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Scottish football coaches Scottish football scouts Burnley F.C. wartime guest players Derby County F.C. wartime guest players Blackpool F.C. wartime guest players Blackburn Rovers F.C. wartime guest players Aberdeen F.C. wartime guest players Rochdale A.F.C. wartime guest players British Army personnel of World War II