Edward Lawson Birnie (25 August 1878 – 21 December 1935) was an English professional football player and manager. He played for Sunderland Seaburn,

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 ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, Chelsea and

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 ...

In his managerial career, he took on the reins at

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 ...

, staying in charge of the seaside club until his retirement in 1934.Southend United managers
Retrieved 9 April 2009

Playing career

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 ...

, Birnie began his career at local club Sunderland Seaburn before joining Newcastle United. The commanding

centre half 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 ...

played in 19 matches between 1898 and 1903. Birnie went on to play for Crystal Palace where he featured in 29 matches in all competitions (22

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

). In August 1906 he joined Chelsea, making his debut on 8 September 1906 in a 0–0 draw away at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. Birnie participated in 108 games in all competitions and scored on three occasions for the

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

club. After Chelsea decided against renewing his contract, Tottenham Hotspur signed him in 1910, playing in four matches and scoring a single goal at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

Coaching and managerial career

After his playing career had ended, Birnie joined German club 1. FC Mülheim as a coach. He then had spells as a trainer at

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. In 1922 he became manager of Southend United and spent 12 seasons in charge of the club, becoming the only manager to preside over a Southend team for more than 500 matches (April 2009). Birnie retired in May 1934, but would be beset with ill-health and died in December 1935 aged 57.

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnie, Ted 1878 births 1935 deaths Footballers from Sunderland Footballers from Essex English men's footballers Men's association football central defenders English Football League players Southern Football League players Newcastle United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Southend United F.C. managers English football managers