| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1932-04-09)9 April 1932 | ||
| Date of death | 28 December 2009(2009-12-28) (aged 77) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1947–1949 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1955 | Arsenal | ||
| 1955–1958 | Folkestone | ||
| 1958–1959 | Ramsgate | ||
| 1959–1960 | Margate | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Feltham | |||
| 1967–1974 | Walton & Hersham | ||
| 1974–1977 | Wimbledon | ||
| Hillingdon Borough | |||
| 1980–1983 | Wealdstone | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Allen Batsford (9 April 1932 – 28 December 2009) was an Englishfootball player and manager.
He was appointed manager of Walton & Hersham in 1967 and led them to theAthenian League title in 1969 and theAmateur Cup in 1973.[1] Batsford first tasted glory in theFA Cup when Walton heldBrian Clough's Brighton to a draw before beating them4–0 in the replay. Before the game, Clough had described the pairing as "donkeys against thoroughbreds", but the result from Batsford's team spoke for itself.
In 1974, he left to joinWimbledon, then a semi-professional club in theSouthern League. He led them to three consecutive league titles and ultimately election tothe Football League in 1977.[2][3][4]
Most famously, he steered Wimbledon to the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1975, having beaten Burnley in the third round, at that time one of the strongest clubs in Britain. It was the first victory by a non-League club at the ground of a First Division team for 54 years. In the fourth round, they travelled toElland Road and held the mightyLeeds United, then League Champions, to a heroic goal-less draw before narrowly losing the replay 0–1 due to a deflected own goal fromDave Bassett.
Only six months after achieving Football League status, Batsford resigned from Wimbledon[3] following disagreements with the club chairman,Ron Noades, and was succeeded by team coachDario Gradi.[5]
Batsford then returned to managing in non-league football, first with a short stint atHillingdon Borough before thriving once more withWealdstone, whose squad included the future England internationalStuart Pearce. In 1981–82, Batsford led Wealdstone to success in both the Southern League's championship, which secured promotion to theAlliance Premier League (the equivalent of the current National League),Southern Football League Cup, Championship Shield, Championship Cup and then to third place in their first season in the Alliance. In the 1984–85 season, the club, now under the management of Batsford's assistant and former Wimbledon coach Brian Hall, became the first in history to achieve the non-league double of being Alliance Premier League champions andFA Trophy winners.
Batsford suffered heart trouble and decided to leave Wealdstone, but he recovered sufficiently to coach atQueen's Park Rangers, then serve as general manager ofDulwich Hamlet before running theMillwall youth team again and also acting as a talent scout for Dave Bassett during his former protégé's managerial stints withWatford,Sheffield United andNottingham Forest. In 2004–05 he held the honorary position of President of his first club, Walton & Hersham.[6]
He died at the age of 77 having suffered a fatal heart attack on his way home from watchingChelsea playFulham atStamford Bridge.[7]