Matthew Muirhead Gillies (12 August 1921 – 24 December 1998) 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 who played for, captained, coached and managed
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
for a total of 15 years between 1952–1955 and 1956–1968. He is the club's longest serving manager, lasting a decade in the manager's seat between November 1958 and November 1968. He took charge of Leicester for a club record 508 matches,
after making 111 appearances for the club as a player.
He was manager of the Leicester side nicknamed the
"Ice Kings", which chased the double in
1962–63.
Playing career
Gillies played for R.A.F. Weeton,
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
and
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, making a total of 248 appearances in
the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
.
Managerial career
Leicester City
Gillies took a brief break from football after finishing his playing career at Leicester in the summer of 1955, but returned to the club less than a year later to become part of the club's coaching staff under
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 ...
in April 1956, before being made the club's manager on 1 November 1958.
[
In 1959, Gillies signed then-unknown 22-year-old goalkeeper ]Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional care ...
from Chesterfield for £7,000. He also signed club stalwarts Dave Gibson, Mike Stringfellow, Lenny Glover and Derek Dougan
Alexander Derek Dougan (20 January 1938 – 24 June 2007) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, football manager, football chairman, pundit, and writer. He was also known by his nickname, "The Doog". He was capped by Northern I ...
. He was known as a fine nurturer and scout of young talent, bringing along Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper.
His 31-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the uni ...
, Frank McLintock
Francis McLintock (born 28 December 1939) is a Scottish former footballer, football manager and businessman. He also worked as a sports agent and football pundit in his later life.
He began his career in Scottish Junior football with Shawfiel ...
, Graham Cross
Graham Frederick Cross (born 15 November 1943) is a former professional footballer and cricketer. He is the record appearance holder for Leicester City, making 600 appearances for the club in all competitions (as Community Shield now considered ...
and David Nish
David John Nish (born 26 September 1947) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Nish's £225,000 transfer from Leicester City to Derby County in 1972 broke the British transfer record.BBC NewsWere you there.. ...
from the club's reserves.
Gillies took over the Foxes on 8 November 1958 as they sat bottom of the First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to:
Military
Airborne divisions
*1st Parachute Division (Germany)
*1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
* 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine)
* 1st Guards Airborne Division
Armoured divisions
*1st Armoure ...
and amidst fan unrest after his predecessor Dave Halliday had recently sold star striker Arthur Rowley
George Arthur Rowley Jr. (21 April 1926 – 19 December 2002), nicknamed "The Gunner" because of his explosive left-foot shot, was an English football player and cricketer. He holds the record for the most goals in the history of English lea ...
to Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...
. He brought in Bert Johnson as his assistant and head scout and the pair would embark in arguably the most successful period in the club's history.
Gillies managed to keep Leicester up in his first season, but could only manage the signings of Albert Cheesebrough and Gordon Banks (originally signed as back-up) in the summer of 1959, as the majority of his transfer bids were rebuffed, while scouting missions to watch the young Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football.
Huddersfield Town we ...
striker Denis Law
Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...
saw him give an unimpressive performance on two separate occasions and Leicester again struggled at the beginning of the season. However, an injury to first choice goalkeeper Dave MacLaren in September saw Banks come in as his replacement and within a month he had established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper. Gillies also promoted a young Frank McLintock from the reserves around the same time and although both players made an instant impact and were being touted as stars of the future, it took until December until Leicester's season picked up, eventually finishing in a very respectable 12th position.
Leicester continued to improve under Gillies and the following season, they finished 6th in the league, the club's highest league finish since finishing league runners-up in 1928–29. The club also reached the 1961 FA Cup final in which they faced a 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 ...
side chasing the double. Gillies made the sensational decision to drop striker Ken Leek
Kenneth Leek (26 July 1935 – 19 November 2007) was a Welsh footballer, who played as a centre forward or inside forward for several different clubs and for the Wales national team in a professional career which spanned from 1952 until 1968. H ...
, who had scored in every round of Leicester's cup run, due to his drinking problems. In the final itself Len Chalmers received an injury early in the game and had to hobble for the remaining 70 minutes or so, meaning Leicester were effectively down to ten men, and Leicester lost 2–0 as Tottenham clinched the double. Though this did mean Leicester had qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. The club were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
though, losing 3–1 on aggregate to eventual winners Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
after beating Glenavon 7–3 on aggregate in the preliminary round.
Two seasons later, in 1962–63, in what is considered Gillies' and often the club's peak, Leicester remarkably chased the double themselves, not only did they reach the FA Cup final
The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...
but they also sat top of the First Division with just five games to go. The worst winter for two decades led to a plethora of games being postponed. During these postponements Leicester quietly climbed the league in a then club record eighteen-match unbeaten run earning them the nickname in the national press of "the ice-kings". On Tuesday, 16 April 1963, 37,000 fans saw Leicester beat Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
4–3 at Filbert Street
Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...
, with Denis Law
Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...
and Ken Keyworth both netting hat-tricks (Law's hat-trick included an "outrageous bicycle kick" and Keyworth's was scored in just six minutes) to send Leicester top of the league. However, injuries, possibly feigned in precaution of the upcoming FA Cup final took their toll and Leicester's depleted squad gained just a single point from their remaining five games to slip down to 4th, then to add to the disappointment lost the FA Cup final 3–1 to the Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
side they had beaten just a month earlier.[Talking Football : When table-toppers Leicester led a Sixties revolution](_blank)
/ref>
However, there was some consolidation a season later to club's disappointment in missing out on the FA Cup and the league title, albeit in a less prestigious guise. The club won its first major trophy after beating Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
in the 1964 Football League Cup final
The 1964 Football League Cup Final, the fourth to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between Stoke City and Leicester City, both of the First Division, over two legs. Leicester City won 4–3 on aggregate.
Match rev ...
4–3 on aggregate. Though they tasted yet another cup final defeat a year later as they reached the League Cup final for the second season running, but lost 3–2 on aggregate to Chelsea.
Contract disputes with several of the club's star players however marred the 1964–65 season. Though most of the disputes were resolved, the loss of hugely influential Frank McLintock to 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 mostly ...
for a then club record incoming fee of £80,000 and the unrest over pay saw Leicester slump to 18th in the league.
The signing of Derek Dougan
Alexander Derek Dougan (20 January 1938 – 24 June 2007) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, football manager, football chairman, pundit, and writer. He was also known by his nickname, "The Doog". He was capped by Northern I ...
for £21,000 from Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough,
Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Peterborough United formed in ...
and Jackie Sinclair from Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries.
The earliest ...
for £25,000 the following summer though saw the club rejuvenated and again become a strong force in the First Division.
However, having just celebrated victory in the 1966 World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final to win their first ever ...
and having cemented a reputation as being one of the world's foremost goalkeepers, Gordon Banks was under pressure from upcoming youth star Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper.
His 31-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the uni ...
. Shilton wanted first team football and realised that with Banks in the side this was unlikely, so he requested a transfer. However, Gillies controversially decided to sell Banks to Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
instead and promoted Shilton to first choice. Just a month earlier he had also accepted an offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
for star striker Derek Dougan
Alexander Derek Dougan (20 January 1938 – 24 June 2007) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, football manager, football chairman, pundit, and writer. He was also known by his nickname, "The Doog". He was capped by Northern I ...
.
The sales of Banks and Dougan saw the club decline and although the signings of Lenny Glover and Allan Clarke (the latter for a British transfer record of £110,000) showed promise, a bout of tuberculosis and ill health saw Gillies forced to spend time away from the game and his assistant Bert Johnson took over team affairs between January and March 1968. The illness took its toll on Gillies though and saw his managerial abilities wain and on 28 November 1968, with the club sitting 17th in the league the board sacked his assistant Bert Johnson and first team coach George Dewis. Gillies resigned in protest. His resignation was officially announced at 16:00 on 30 November 1968, exactly ten years and 21 days after taking the job.
Nottingham Forest
In 1969, he became manager of 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 ...
and remained in charge of the club until 1972. Though his spell at Forest was ultimately disappointing and ended shortly after relegation in October 1972, he did sign John Robertson and Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...
for the club, both of whom would star for Forest in their European triumphs under Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
.
Death
He died in Nottingham on Christmas Eve 1998 at the age of 77. A minute's silence was held in his honour before Leicester's following home fixture with Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
.
Influence
Despite his Leicester side often falling at the final hurdle and thus the relative lack of honours, Gillies was regarded as being ahead of his time in terms of his tactical ability, and was held in high regard by the likes of Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...
and particularly Bill Shankly
William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. Shankly brought su ...
. Shankly once said of Gillies' side: "There's only one team to beware of and that's Leicester City." Shankly watched Gillies' Leicester side, while Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
were still in 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 ...
and was greatly influenced by his tactics.
Gillies and Johnson were one of the first managerial teams in England to experiment with practicing set pieces in training and his switching of Frank McLintock
Francis McLintock (born 28 December 1939) is a Scottish former footballer, football manager and businessman. He also worked as a sports agent and football pundit in his later life.
He began his career in Scottish Junior football with Shawfiel ...
at right-half and Graham Cross
Graham Frederick Cross (born 15 November 1943) is a former professional footballer and cricketer. He is the record appearance holder for Leicester City, making 600 appearances for the club in all competitions (as Community Shield now considered ...
at inside-right mid-game, proved revolutionary. Gillies saying it "confused opposition" as opposition players would often be asked to mark "our eicester'snumber eight, so they thought Cross was their man, when McLintock had replaced him" as "players hadn't got beyond thinking about numbers then."[Leicester City: The Official History DVD (2004)] Shankly later copied this trick as his Liverpool side were promoted to the First Division and went on to win First Division titles.
Honours
As a player
Leicester City
*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 ...
: 1953–54
As a manager
Leicester City
*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 ...
runners-up: 1961
Events January
* January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union.
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
, 1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
* League Cup: 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
; runners-up 1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillies, Matt
1921 births
1998 deaths
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. managers
Motherwell F.C. players
Scottish men's footballers
Scottish football managers
Nottingham Forest F.C. managers
Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players
Men's association football defenders
English Football League players
20th-century Scottish sportsmen