Ernest Mangnall – A Unique Football Manager By Margaret Brecknell
Ernest Mangnall, who died 90 years ago in January 1932, may not be a household name today, but he holds a unique place in Manchester’s football history. Over the years the two Manchester clubs have been managed by some of the sport’s most high-profile figures, but only Mangnall has thus far managed both United and City.
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ames Ernest Mangnall, the son of a joiner, was born in Bolton on 4th January 1866. A keen amateur footballer, his first managerial role came when he was appointed club secretary/manager of his home town club, Bolton Wanderers in the late 1890s. In March 1900 Mangnall was appointed as the new manager of Lancashire rivals, Burnley. During his time at Burnley there was little hint of the successful managerial career which was to come. At the time of his arrival the club were battling relegation and duly lost their position in the top flight at the end of the season. Having challenged unsuccessfully for promotion during their first season in Division Two, matters went from bad to worse and the club finished bottom of the entire Football League in the 1902/03 season. Soon after, Mangnall left the Clarets to join Burnley’s Second Division rivals, Manchester United. The Manchester United which Mangnall joined in 1903 were a very different proposition to today’s sporting giants. The club had been founded as Newton Heath L&YR FC in 1878 (L&YR stood for “Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway”, the company for which the team’s players originally worked) and had only changed their name to Manchester United the year before Mangnall became manager. At the time of his arrival they played their home fixtures at Bank Street in Clayton, not far from where Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium is now situated. The development of United’s famous Old Trafford stadium was still seven years in the future.
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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
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