Famous Southern League Managers (Part One)

In this series, we`ll look at the well-known managers in the league over the years.

We have already covered some of the top players to have graced the Southern League during its long and illustrious history.

There have also been some well-known managers in charge of its member clubs, some who had long spells with one club and others who were perhaps renowned former players who `passed through` the league before making a name for themselves in the Football League.

ARTHUR ROWE was certainly one of the latter.

As a player, he signed amateur forms with Tottenham Hotspur in 1923 but developed his skills with the Northfleet nursery club, as well as with Cheshunt, until he turned professional with Spurs in May 1929, retiring through a cartilage injury in 1939 following 182 appearances.

He was capped once for England in a 4-1 win against France in a friendly on his home ground of White Hart Lane in December 1933.

In May 1939, Rowe became a coach in Budapest for the summer and offered a contract by the Hungarian FA to coach their Olympic side. However, World War II broke, and he became a PT instructor.

In July 1945 he became the secretary-manager at Southern League club Chelmsford City.

Under Rowe`s management, Chelmsford won the Southern League and cup `double` in 1945/46.

Rowe`s side pipped Hereford United to the title and went on to complete a famous double by winning the League Cup against Worcester City, thumping them 6-1 at New Writtle Street after a 3-3 away draw.

Rowe`s former club Tottenham Hotspur appointed Rowe as their manager in May 1949 after months of speculation and remained until June 1955, leaving on health grounds.

But he left an indelible mark on Spurs supporters, winning promotion in his first season and the following season the First Division championship was won as well.

These back-to-back championships made Spurs the first post-war team to win back-to-back titles and his style became renowned as being 'push and run' football.

After recovering from illness, Rowe went on to manager Crystal Palace in two spells.

Somerset-born ALEX STOCK (pictured) was someone whose playing career was severely affected by the Second World War and he made a few League appearances for Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers.

But he became something of a war hero, rising to captain before being wounded in action and sent home to convalesce.

His ambition after the war was to become a bookmaker. Instead, his wife persuaded him to answer an advertisement for a manager from his local club, Southern League Yeovil Town, in 1946.

A shortage of personnel forced him to play again, now as an inside-forward on Yeovil's notorious sloping pitch at The Huish.

Yeovil's total wage bill then was a mere £80 a week, but early in 1949, they knocked Second Division Bury out of the FA Cup at home.

Then it was First Division Sunderland, with such stars as Len Shackleton. Stock scored the first goal in a remarkable 2-1 win, although he would later say that the 3-1 win over Bury had given him more satisfaction.

Reality intervened when Manchester United beat Yeovil, away from the slope, 8-0 in the next round.

In the league, Stock led the Glovers to fourth and then two eighth-placed finishes before leaving to take charge of Third Division Leyton Orient in September 1949 where he stayed for ten years, apart from a short spell in charge of Italian giants AS Roma.

He went on to successfully manage QPR, Luton Town, Fulham, who he took to the 1975 FA Cup Final and at one time had the mercurial talents of Bobby Moore, Rodney Marsh and George Best all playing together.

His managerial career ended with just over a year at AFC Bournemouth and was later a director of QPR.

But, despite all the successes as a League boss, Stock will perhaps always be remembered for that famous FA Cup run at Yeovil.

The name of George Best also cropped up in the fledgling managerial career of BARRY FRY.

Fry started his playing career as a later `Busby Babe` and was briefly a team-mate of a young Best at Old Trafford before being released.

Spells with Bolton, Luton and Leyton Orient followed before he went into non-League football with Gravesend & Northfleet, Romford, Bedford Town, Dunstable Town and St Albans City.

In 1974 he returned to Dunstable, initially as player-manager and then, under Keith Cheeseman, as a youthful tracksuit boss with a substantial cheque book which saw promotion from the Southern League Division One North achieved as runner-up in his first full season in charge.

With Cheeseman`s cash, Fry was able to sign high-profile players such as former West Bromwich Albion and England centre-forward Jeff Astle and, briefly, George Best.

Cheeseman`s successor as chairman, Billy Kitt, sacked Fry though during the following season after some poor performances in the Premier Division – the club was to fold at the end of that campaign before re-forming in 1998.

Fry moved on to have unsuccessful short spells in charge of Hillingdon Borough and hometown Bedford Town before taking over at Barnet, then in the Southern Premier, in 1978.

He had two management spells with the Bees covering almost thirteen seasons and plenty of success.

He went on to manage Maidstone United, Southend United, Birmingham City and Peterborough United.

It`s probably ironic to have RON ATKINSON`s name following that of Barry Fry as the two of them starred in a TV programme called `Big Ron Manager`!

In many ways, `Big Ron` has had a more controversial career than his big mate.

Released by Aston Villa in 1959 without making a first-team appearance, Atkinson went on to play over 500 times for Oxford United, starting in the Southern League before they were elected to the Fourth Division in 1962.

The combative half back was handed the task to revitalise a stumbling Kettering Town side in 1971 after they had been relegated to the Southern League Division One North under Steve Gammon.

They were mid-table in December 1971 when Atkinson arrived. But an unbeaten 12-match run saw them score 22 goals and concede only one with 11 wins and a single draw putting them firmly in the driving seat at the top of the table.

The following season, with stellar signings like Joe Kiernan, Roy Clayton for a fee of £8,000, George Cleary and Colin Harrington, the Poppies stormed to the Southern Premier Division title.

Atkinson`s own managerial credentials were not going unnoticed and he was linked with several posts in the Football League.

In December 1974, Kettering were drawn away to Fourth Division Swansea City, then managed by Harry Gregg, in the FA Cup First Round Proper.

Atkinson had known before the trip that he would soon be departing to take over as manager at Fourth Division Cambridge United.

Graham Atkinson, the manager’s younger brother, earned the Poppies a deserved replay in a 1-1 draw.

However, what `Big Ron` couldn’t have known, was that his final game in charge of the Poppies would also be his brother Graham’s final appearance in a Kettering shirt also.

As the replay unfolded, a superb performance by Kettering saw them comfortably sweep aside Swansea 3-1, but the victory was marred when a reckless tackle from a young Robbie James scythed down Graham Atkinson and his leg was broken in two places and his football career was over.

Ron`s managerial career, of course, is well chronicled, building a successful and very attractive side at West Brom and producing some wonderful football at Manchester United.

Spells with Athletico Madrid, Sheffield Wednesday, his boyhood club Aston Villa, Coventry and Nottingham Forest was followed by a successful and popular career in the media until that controversially ended in 2004.

It`s perhaps fitting that the next manager to appear in this list should be DAVID PLEAT as he and Ron Atkinson were not only to become great mates, but their careers took very similar paths, both in football management and in the media.

Towards the end of the 1970/71 season in the Southern League Premier Division, Nuneaton Borough, struggling in mid-table, announced that player-manager Malcolm Allen would be replaced at the end of the campaign.

Maurice Setters, one-time star of Manchester United, West Brom and Coventry City and one of the most colourful characters in British football, looked to be favourite to become the new player-manager of Nuneaton.

Setters, then with Charlton Athletic, met the Manor Park board and afterwards club chairman Alf Scattergood said that the only thing holding up his appointment was that he had a cartilage operation and his leg had not responded as it should have done.

Scattergood wanted a player-manager and there was now a doubt as to whether then then-34-year-old Setters would play again.

In the end, Scattergood decided not to pursue Setters, who went on to spend many years alongside Jack Charlton at Sheffield Wednesday and the Republic of Ireland as his right-hand man.

Nuneaton, meanwhile, went for a virtual `unknown` in Peterborough United winger David Pleat

Pleat, who was still only in his mid-twenties, was a fully qualified FA coach and had been recommended to Nuneaton by some of the top people inside the Football League.

Scattergood said at the time: “He has been tipped as a top manager of the future.

“His ambition is to become a Football League manager.”

Pleat had joined his local side, Nottingham Forest, as an apprentice and won England caps at Schoolboy and Youth international level.

He had only made 6 appearances for Forest when he was signed by Luton Town for an £ 8,000 fee.

Unfortunately, Pleat had joined Luton at a bad time as they had just been relegated to the Fourth Division and then he broke his leg in training during his first season.

His return to the team was premature and this caused him to have back problems.

This affected his natural speed which he had used well and after the injury he became a different type of player.

For the next few years, Pleat moved around the lower divisions, his best spell coming at Exeter City, where he scored 13 goals in 66 appearances.

Then in May 1971, whilst still only 26, Pleat joined Nuneaton Borough as player-manager.

After finishing 14th and then 9th the following season, in September 1973, Pleat resigned after a weekend of behind the scenes drama at Manor Park.

Ironically, Pleat handed in his resignation after a 4-1 defeat at Ron Atkinson`s Kettering - Boro’s sixth league game without a win.

The board announced that reserve team manager Geoff Coleman would take over for the next month.

The club’s transfer of John Gill to rivals Atherstone Town is believed to be one of the reasons behind Pleat’s decision.

They turned down an initial approach from the Adders and then sold Gill – against Pleat’s wishes.

Scattergood said at the time: “We are sorry to see David go, but it was getting more difficult with his travelling to and from Luton. He was never refused anything he wanted, but he became an expensive luxury when he stopped playing.

“Financially, we are £5,000 down since he took over, despite the progress he made, and it got to the stage where things were getting worse.”

Coleman, manager of Lockheed Leamington for four years and formerly in charge of Redditch United, took over and was in charge until 1976 when he later managed Wealdstone.

Pleat re-joined Luton as a coach after a period of unemployment. His role at Kenilworth Road involved coaching the juniors, visiting the local schools to coach, and selling lottery tickets.

Harry Haslam, the Luton manager, had promoted him to chief coach in December 1978 and when Haslam moved to Bramall Lane to manage Sheffield United, Pleat was appointed manager.

Luton struggled against relegation to the Third Division in his first full season but after that, they challenged for promotion and won the Second Division championship in 1981/82, 8 points clear of runners-up Watford.

Pleat established the Hatters as a First Division club, although there were seasons when they struggled against relegation.

Luton avoided the drop in 1982/83 after winning their last game at Manchester City, with a goal from Raddi Antic - a result which relegated City instead, the images of Pleat galloping across the pitch to hug his players became almost legendary.

Luton were desperately unlucky to lose 2-1 to Everton in the 1985 FA Cup semi-finals and in the following season they reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup in 1985/86, again losing to Everton.

It was at the end of that season Pleat was offered the manager’ s job at Tottenham Hotspur which he accepted in May 1986.

Pleat introduced a style of play that used five midfield players and one front-runner. It was a style of play enjoyed by the fans, but it just failed to bring trophies to the club.

In 1987, Spurs lost in an FA Cup Final for the first time in their history, to Coventry City 3-2, finished third in the league and also reached the semi-final of the League Cup where they lost to their local rivals, Arsenal.

In October 1987, Pleat lost his job at White Hart Lane after disclosures about his private life, and after a couple of months out of the game, he became the manager of Leicester City.

It was to be Pleat`s most uncomfortable time as a manager where despite spending £4m on 25 players, he was unable to find a winning combination and the fans became disillusioned.

He was sacked in January 1991 with Leicester on the brink of relegation to the Third Division.

In June 1991, he returned to Luton as manager but despite playing attractive soccer, the club were relegated to Division Two after ten years in the First Division.

Since leaving management, Pleat has been a regular co-commentator on BBC, both on TV and radio.

MARTIN O`NEILL enjoyed a stellar career as a player, most notably with Nottingham Forest where, under Brian Clough, he won the promotion back to the First Division in 1977, won the league title and League Cup a year later, followed by further League Cup success a year later.

He was dropped to the substitutes bench for Forest's first European Cup victory over Malmö in 1979 after failing to fully recover from an injury but played in their 1980 win over Hamburg.

He made over 300 appearances for Forest and went on to play for Norwich City, Manchester City and Notts County and won 64 caps for Northern Ireland.

He retired as a player in 1985 due to a persistent knee injury.

In 1987, he was approached by Southern League Midland Division club Grantham Town in an attempt to raise their profile.

After a good deal of work behind the scenes by then-chairman Tony Balfe, O'Neill took over the reins at Grantham for the first away game of the 1987/88 season at Merthyr Tydfil.

During his two seasons at London Road, O'Neill's signings including Football League stars Alan Kennedy, John Robertson, Kenny Burns, Terry Curran, Mick McGuire and Gary Crosby – the latter being snapped up by Forest manager Brian Clough midway through the 1987/88 season for a club record fee of £20,000.

The Gingerbreads just missed out on promotion in O'Neill's first season and they finished fifth in 1988/89, before the Irishman moved on to pastures new, briefly taking over at Northern Premier League side Shepshed Charterhouse.

Then O'Neill's managerial career went from strength to strength, with great success at Wycombe Wanderers, where he took over in February 1990 and led them into the Football League, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland, before taking on the Republic of Ireland job.

He then had a brief, albeit unhappy spell back at his beloved Nottingham Forest as manager from January to July 2019.