Edward Liddle (27 May 1878 – 22 November 1968)
(sometimes Liddell) was an English
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, manager and
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
** Scouts BSA, sect ...
. He 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
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...
,
Clapton Orient, with whom he spent the majority of his playing career, and
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 ...
, and spent time with a number of other clubs at varying levels.
Liddle went on to manage four teams
Southend United,
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
,
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
and
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
in league football.
Playing career
Liddle was born in
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
and during his playing career, he played as a
wing half
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
for a number of clubs.
He started off with East End Black Watch in 1901 before moving to Whitburn (Durham) in 1903 and then
Seaham White Star. After this he went on to play for
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
,
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
,
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...
and
Southend
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
. In between he had his most successful spell as a player, at
Clapton Orient, for whom he made over 200 appearances.
He ended his league career at
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 ...
, joining the club in 1914. He played two league games in
1914–15, his debut coming against
Hull City on 2 April 1915;
he continued to play for the club during the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and was a member of Arsenal's reserve team until his retirement in the 1920 close season.
Managerial career
In 1920 he was appointed manager of Southend
and, although his tenure only lasted a year,
he oversaw their rise into the football league.
In 1920 he moved to
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
where he was manager for four years
before returning to Southend as assistant manager.
His next role was as chief scout for
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
and he subsequently went on to become their third manager in five years when he took up the post in 1929,
taking over from the same person as he had at Southend,
Joe Bradshaw.
He finished his managerial career at
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
between 1936 and 1938.
He continued to scout for other clubs, including
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
,
up until his death at the age of 90.
External links
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, Ned
1878 births
1969 deaths
Footballers from Sunderland
Men's association football wing halves
English men's footballers
Arsenal F.C. players
Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players
Leyton Orient F.C. players
Seaham Harbour F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Southern Football League players
English Football League players
English football managers
Fulham F.C. managers
Luton Town F.C. managers
Southend United F.C. managers
Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Brentford F.C. non-playing staff