| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Ridding | ||
| Date of birth | (1911-04-04)4 April 1911 | ||
| Place of birth | Heswall,Cheshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 20 September 1981(1981-09-20) (aged 70) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Heswall PSA | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1928–1930 | Tranmere Rovers | 17 | (13) |
| 1930–1931 | Manchester City | 9 | (4) |
| 1931–1934 | Manchester United | 42 | (14) |
| 1934 | Northampton Town | 0 | (0) |
| 1935 | Tranmere Rovers | 1 | (0) |
| 1935–1936 | Oldham Athletic | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1942–1946 | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| 1950–1968 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Ridding (4 April 1911 – 20 September 1981)[1] also known asNibbler Ridding, was an Englishfootball player and manager, most notably in a 17-year period managingBolton Wanderers between 1951 and 1968, during which time the club won the1958 FA Cup.
Ridding started his playing career atTranmere Rovers in 1928, where he had his most successful run, scoring 12 goals in 13 games, before being transferred toManchester City in early 1930, for £3,500. He only made a handful of appearances for City before, in 1931, he was transferred to cross-town rivalsManchester United, then playing in the Second Division.
In the1932–33 season he was United's top scorer with eleven goals. He would go on to score league 14 goals for United in 42 matches before retiring due to injury in 1934 (aged 23), although he subsequently had brief spells atNorthampton Town in 1934, Tranmere Rovers andOldham Athletic in 1935.
In 1942, Ridding was appointed manager ofTranmere Rovers.[2] However, due to theSecond World War he only took charge of twenty matches in his four-year spell as manager.[3]
Ridding replacedWalter Rowley, who resigned due to ill health, in October 1950 as manager ofBolton Wanderers. The1950–51 season saw a significant improvement in Bolton's league performance, finishing eighth, six places higher than the previous season. The following season1951–52 they finished three places higher in fifth. AnFA Cup Final appearance followed a year later; however they lost a thrilling encounter against aStanley Matthews inspiredBlackpool team 4–3. Another fifth-place finish came in the1953–54 league season as well as a run to the quarter-finals of the cup. The1954–55 season saw Bolton struggle for form in the league, narrowly escaping relegation, finishing the season in eighteenth place. Bill Ridding's men bounced back thefollowing season to finish in a respectful eighth position, following that up with a ninth place in1956–57.
The1957–58 season saw Bolton win their fourth and, to date, lastFA Cup with a victory over a postMunichManchester United.Nat Lofthouse scored twice in a2–0 win. The team that won the cup had cost just £110 in signing-on fees.[4]
The FA Cup victory inspired Bolton in the league as they embarked on their finest league performance in 33 years, finishing the1958–59 season in fourth position. The1959–60 season saw Bolton finish sixth, a position it would take another forty five years to replicate.A slow and gradual demise in Bolton's fortunes started from here, linked somewhat to Lofthouse's retirement and respective finishes of eighteenth, eleventh and eighteenth foreshadowed what was to come. Ridding also missed out on signingAlan Ball, who joined Bolton on a trial in 1961. Ridding rejected Ball on the grounds that, at 5 ft 6 ins, he was too small to make the grade as a footballer, advising him that "You'll make a good little jockey!"[5]
The1963–64 season proved to be the nadir of Ridding's times at the club as a twenty first-place finish condemned Bolton to relegation, their first time out of the top flight since 1935. In the1964–65 season Bolton narrowly missed out on promotion back to the top flight, finishing the season in third position. Positions became gradually worse, with Bolton finishing ninth, twice, and then twelfth, at the time the club's worst ever position. Ridding left Bolton just before the start of the next season and was replaced by Lofthouse.[6]
Bolton Wanderers