Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and

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 lea ...

who 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 ...

. He played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, where he made 213 league appearances in a decade at the club. He also played in 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, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

before finishing his career with non-league side Billericay Town. In 1991 he was part of Spurs

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

winning side wearing number 2 and he also won the League Cup with the club in 1999, despite being sent off in the final. Following retirement, he managed at non-league level for Fisher Athletic,

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former ...

and

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...

before taking Newport County to the Football League during a four-year tenure. He went on to manage both Gillingham and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

before once more winning promotion from the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

as he guided

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

back to the EFL in 2019. He remained manager of Orient at the time of his death in June 2019.

Playing career

A defender, usually employed as a left-back, Edinburgh started his career as a trainee with

, turning professional in August 1988. He helped the Shrimpers win promotion from the

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

in 1990. In all competitions he played 47 games for the seaside club, scoring one goal. He moved to

for £150,000 in January 1990, initially on loan. He joined Spurs permanently in July 1990, making his debut for them on 10 November 1990, as a substitute in a 4–2 win at home to

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

. He played for Spurs for most of the 1990s. He won an

winner's medal in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

despite just previously starting only 12 league games. He would also win a League Cup winner's medal with Spurs, in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. This second medal was awarded to Edinburgh despite his being sent off in the final for raising his arms to

Robbie Savage Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder, now a association football, football pundit and head coach at National League North club Macclesfield F.C., ...

, as the post-match analysis showed that Savage had distinctly over-reacted to a minimal contact and that the red card was unjustly awarded. In total, he made 213 league appearances for Tottenham, scoring once. Edinburgh left London for

in March 2000 for a fee of £175,000, playing 35 league games over the next two years, scoring once against Sheffield United. However, he did not play a single competitive game during Portsmouth's Division One title winning campaign ( 2002–03), and joined non-league Billericay Town as player-manager in July 2003.

Managerial career

Early career

In January 2006, he left Billericay to become manager of semi-professional club Fisher Athletic. Fisher finished third in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Premier Division in season 2005–06 and beat Hampton & Richmond 3–0 in the play-off final to win promotion to

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

. Edinburgh left Fisher by mutual consent in November 2006. He subsequently joined

as assistant manager to Andy King in December 2006, and took over as manager on 5 January 2007 after King's resignation. However, Edinburgh's first match in charge ended in disappointment as his team lost 3–1 to Southport. His reign as manager of Grays Athletic came to an end on 20 February 2008, when his contract was terminated by mutual consent, leaving the club 14th in the

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

. On 9 April 2008 it was announced that Edinburgh would become Colin Lippiatt's assistant at

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

following the departure of

Frank Gray Francis Tierney Gray (born 27 October 1954) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He played for Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Darlington, while he also represented Scotland 32 times. He managed Darlington, Farnbo ...

and Gerry Murphy.

Rushden & Diamonds

In October 2008, Edinburgh became assistant manager to

Garry Hill Garry Hill is an English football manager who was last the manager of National League club Ebbsfleet United. He previously managed Woking, Heybridge Swifts, St Albans City, Dagenham & Redbridge, Hornchurch, Weymouth and Rushden & Diamonds. ...

club

. On 10 February 2009 he was appointed as caretaker manager following Hill's resignation and on 24 April 2009, Edinburgh was appointed manager on a permanent basis. He guided the team to a fourth-placed finish in the 2009–10 season securing a play-off spot within the Conference Premier but they were unable to reach the Conference Play-off Final at Wembley after lacklustre performances in both games of the two legged tie against Oxford United. The games finished 1–1 and 2–0 to Oxford. The 2010–11 season saw Rushden & Diamonds secure a mid-table finish in 13th place but they never seriously challenged for promotion. In the summer of 2011, the club was expelled from the Football Conference and subsequently went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

, bringing Edinburgh's time at the club to an end.

Newport County

On 4 October 2011, Edinburgh was appointed manager of Newport County, taking over from Anthony Hudson with the team in 23rd place in the Conference Premier.

Jimmy Dack James Dack is an English professional football coach and manager. Most recently he is chief scout at Wigan Athletic. Playing career Dack began his career as a youth at Brentford. After being released, he played as a midfielder for a number of n ...

was appointed as his assistant manager on 6 October 2011. Newport County finished the 2011–12 season in 19th position hence avoiding relegation and reached the FA Trophy final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

on 12 May 2012 which Newport lost 2–0 to

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

. In August 2012, Edinburgh was selected as Conference Manager of the Month after Newport County won all five of their opening matches of the 2012–13 season. He led Newport to a 3rd-place finish that season, reaching the Conference Premier play-offs. Newport County won the

2013 Conference Premier play-off final The 2013 Conference Premier play-off final, known as the 2013 Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final for sponsorship purposes, was a football match between Wrexham and Newport County on 5 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the eleven ...

versus Wrexham at Wembley stadium 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to League Two. Edinburgh was named the

Manager of the Year. On 2 December 2013, Newport County announced on their official website that, having consulted Edinburgh, they had rejected an approach from Edinburgh's former club

to be interviewed as a successor to

Guy Whittingham Guy Whittingham (born 10 November 1964) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker from 1988 until 2005, notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday. Having started ...

as Portsmouth manager. In January 2014 Edinburgh stated he had rebuffed an unofficial approach directly to himself to be considered as manager of

. In his first season as a

manager Edinburgh led Newport County to a 14th-place finish in League Two for the 2013–14 season.

Gillingham

On 7 February 2015, with Newport County in sixth place in League Two, Edinburgh was appointed manager of

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club Gillingham, with Gillingham paying Newport compensation as Edinburgh was under contract. Edinburgh led the Gills to a 12th-place finish in the third tier of English football, after a poor start to the season led to the sacking of former manager

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

on 31 December. Gillingham had won just three of their first 15 league games, and were sitting 20th in League One, just two points above relegation. The 2015–16 was his first full season in charge, Edinburgh led the Gills to a second-place position at Christmas, after a 3–0 victory against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. Gillingham had also managed to defeat League favourites

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, with a 4–0 victory on the first day of the season. However, after a run of bad injuries to crucial players, Gillingham slipped to a ninth-place finish in League One, after losing on the last day of the season, against Millwall. Edinburgh was sacked on 3 January 2017, along with his entire coaching team, with the club placed 17th in League One.

Northampton Town

On 13 January 2017, Edinburgh was appointed manager of League One club

on a two-and-a-half-year contract, formally taking over on 16 January. Edinburgh was dismissed on 31 August 2017, following a poor run of results including losing the first four matches of the season.

Leyton Orient

On 29 November 2017, Edinburgh was appointed manager of

of the

on a two-and-a-half-year contract. Edinburgh guided Orient to the top of the National League winning the division and promotion back to the Football League in the 2018–19 campaign. On 24 January 2020, Leyton Orient announced that the West Stand at Breyer Group Stadium would be renamed the Justin Edinburgh Stand, which was officially commemorated the next day during the club's home match against Newport County.

Personal life and death

Edinburgh had two children with his wife Kerri. He owned two

Toni & Guy Toni & Guy (stylised as TONI&GUY) is a British international chain of hairdressing salons founded in the UK in 1963 by brothers Toni and Guy Mascolo. History In 1963, Toni Mascolo and his brother Guy opened their first salon in Clapham, Londo ...

hair salon franchises with his business partner, Jim Shaw. On 3 June 2019, Edinburgh went into sudden

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. He died at

Basildon University Hospital Basildon University Hospital is an acute general hospital in Basildon, Essex. It is managed by the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was built by Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Company, and opened in 1973. Facilities which ...

five days later, aged 49. Leyton Orient announced a period of mourning and opened the stadium to allow supporters to leave tributes.

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur *

: 1990–91 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 1998–99 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

(shared)

As a manager

Newport County *

play-offs:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

runner-up: 2011–12 Leyton Orient *

: 2018–19 *FA Trophy runner-up: 2018–19

Individual

* Conference Premier/National League Manager of the Month: April/May 2013, November 2018, March 2019 *

Hall of Fame

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edinburgh, Justin 1969 births 2019 deaths Footballers from Basildon English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Southend United F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players English football managers Billericay Town F.C. managers Fisher Athletic F.C. managers Grays Athletic F.C. managers Rushden & Diamonds F.C. managers Newport County A.F.C. managers Gillingham F.C. managers Northampton Town F.C. managers Leyton Orient F.C. managers National League (English football) managers English Football League managers 20th-century English sportsmen