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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1891-09-21)21 September 1891 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Date of death | 18 April 1954(1954-04-18) (aged 62) | ||
| Place of death | Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Eccles | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1911 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | (0) |
| 1911–1915 | Distillery | 91 | (14) |
| 1919–1926 | West Ham United | 237 | (15) |
| 1927 | Stockport County | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 333 | (29) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1929–1931 | Luton Town | ||
| 1931–1936 | Southampton | ||
| 1936–1951 | Liverpool | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
George Kay (21 September 1891 – 18 April 1954) was an Englishfootball player and manager ofLuton Town,Southampton andLiverpool.
The highlight of his playing career was when he captainedWest Ham United in the firstFA Cup final to be played atWembley, theWhite Horse Final.
He was manager of Liverpool for 15 years (1936–1951) and led them to theFootball League title in1947, the first post-war football season, as well as taking them to the1950 FA Cup Final (the club's first in thirty-six years).
Kay was born inManchester and joinedBolton Wanderers in 1911. After failing to agree re-signing terms, he joined Belfast clubDistillery at the start of the 1911–12 season, helping to win theGold Cup and theCAS despite a long-term injury interrupting his playing career,[2] and becoming the firstEnglishman to captain anIrish Football League representative team.[3]
He served with theRoyal Garrison Artillery during theFirst World War and, following the war, he moved back to England to joinWest Ham United in July 1919, where he spent the next seven seasons.[4] He made his debut at home againstBarnsley in September 1919 and, having taken over the captaincy fromBilly Cope for the1922–23 season, led the West Ham side that gained promotion to theFirst Division and reached theFA Cup Final against his former club, Bolton Wanderers, in 1923.[5] This was the firstFA Cup final to be played atWembley, the so-calledWhite Horse Final. He was one of the few members of the Cup Final side never to win an international cap but became the first West Ham player to play over 200 league games for the club.[5]
Even at this age, Kay's health was never good and on a tour of Spain in 1926 he fell ill and he remained in Spain for three weeks before he was fit enough to return to England. As a result, he retired from active playing, although he did turn out twice forStockport County in 1927.
| Season | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 1919–20 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
| 1920–21 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| 1921–22 | 39 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 5 |
| 1922–23 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 42 | 5 |
| 1923–24 | 40 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 4 |
| 1924–25 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 47 | 3 |
| 1925–26 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Total | 237 | 15 | 22 | 2 | 259 | 17 |
In 1927, he became coach atLuton Town, before moving up to manager in 1929. In his two seasons as manager, the Hatters languished in mid-table in theThird Division South, finishing 13th and 7th, before Kay accepted the challenge to runSouthampton in May 1931.
He joinedSouthampton in May 1931, following the resignation ofArthur Chadwick, who had stood down after Saints had embarked on a policy of selling their best players to survive financially.
In an effort to rebuild the club's fortunes and help them survive during these difficult times financially, Kay created Saints' first nursery side, and before long a new generation of young players came into the first team having come through the nursery ranks, includingTed Drake (who later joinedArsenal and played forEngland) andCharlie Sillett (father ofJohn andPeter), thus ushering in a new era for the club.
Kay "was tremendously enthusiastic and he worked hard throughout his stay atThe Dell, using up a considerable amount of nervous energy at every match. He 'played' every kick and his body would visibly vibrate to the stresses and strains on the playing field".[6]
During Kay's five seasons at The Dell, Southampton languished in Division 2, finishing each season in the lower half of the table and being eliminated from theFA Cup each year in the early stages. He started his Southampton career brightly with an opening day victory overBurnley on 29 August 1931 and by mid-September they topped the division. Such form could not last, however, and injuries soon resulted in the club sliding down the table. Kay was unable to field a settled side and used 30 different players during the season, including six differentcentre forwards. Other than the emergence of youngsters such as Drake and Sillett, the bright spots of thisfirst season in charge wereJohnny Arnold, who was top scorer with 20 goals, andArthur Haddleton, who scored in eight consecutive games at the start of the season.
During the 1932 close season, in order to balance the books several players left the club includingBill Fraser,Bert Jepson and Haddleton (who all joinedFulham),Johnny McIlwaine (who joinedLlanelli after failure to agree terms) andWillie Haines, who retired to joinWeymouth. Despite the large number of departures the team had a more settled look about it and during the1932–33 season Kay had a squad of 15 players of whom twelve were the mainstay of the side. Led by Ted Drake, the team improved slightly on the previous season, winning a club record 15 out of 21 home matches, but only registering three away victories. Once again the directors needed to raise cash and in February 1933 they soldArnold andMike Keeping to Fulham for a combined fee of £5,000.Jimmy McIntyre, the former Saints manager now in charge at Fulham boasted that this was "the best deal I ever brought off".[7] The fans were now disillusioned with the club and attendances dropped to record lows, with only 2,949 turning out for the match againstBradford City on 25 February, well below the break-even target of 14,000. Despite the financial difficulties faced by the club, the team were not badly affected and ended the season in mid-table.
In the1933–34 season, Saints equalled the record of 15 home victories, but their away form was abysmal failing to win even once and picking up only six draws. The most significant events of the season involvedTed Drake, who scored ahat trick in the opening day's match against Bradford City, was sent off againstGrimsby Town in December and, inevitably, was sold for a record fee of £6,000 to Arsenal in March. Despite finishing his Saints season two months early, Drake was comfortably the side's top scorer with 22 league goals, with no other player managing more than six. As a result of their poor away form, Saints ended the season well down the table in 14th place.
The departure of Drake, although balancing the club's finances, left a large gap in the Saints forward line which Kay was not able to fill satisfactorily. In the summer of 1934, Kay signedLaurie Fishlock fromMillwall as a winger and promotedNorman Cole from the reserves, but the side lacked any real firepower. McIlwaine returned from his "exile" at Llanelli in an effort to bolster the defence. The season started badly with only two points from the first five games. The depressing form continued until Christmas, when the team won three consecutive matches, including their first away victory (againstSwansea Town) ending a run of 33 away games without a win. They managed only one further away victory and were serious candidates for relegation, finishingthe season in 19th place. Cole was top scorer with eight league goals as Saints managed a miserly total of only 46 goals. The club's finances were now so dire that the supporters club had to make a loan of £200 to help finance the summer wage bill.
1935–36 was Southampton's fiftieth season since their original formation in 1885, but the club approached their jubilee season in a gloomy state with little to celebrate. They did, however, venture into the transfer market signing centre-forwardVic Watson from Kay's former clubWest Ham United. The team made a superb start to the season with four wins and two draws in the first six games and by the end of September Saints were top of the table. Once again, this form could not be sustained, and only three further games were won before the new year. The slump continued into 1936 being partly relieved by a 7–2 victory overNottingham Forest on 15 February. On 28 March Saints suffered their heaviest-ever league defeat, going down 8–0 away toTottenham Hotspur and two days later had their lowest ever home attendance for a league match, when only 1,875 turned out on a Monday night to witness a 1–0 defeat againstPort Vale. Predictably, the directors responded by selling their better players, with goalkeeperBilly Light (another product of the nursery side) being sold toWest Bromwich Albion for £2,000. Once again Saints finished the season in a disappointing 17th position, with Watson top-scorer on 14 goals.
In June 1936, the entire board of directors resigned, to be replaced with a new board. In order to reduce the company's wage bill, the new board asked Kay to resign.[8] In August, Kay accepted an offer fromLiverpool along with long-serving trainerBert Shelley. Kay's position as manager at Southampton was filled by the promotion ofGeorge Goss, the company secretary, who took charge of the team, with captainJohnny McIlwaine taking on the role of assistant manager.
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At Southampton, severe financial problems and the continual sale of the club's best players, prevented Kay from realising his full potential as a manager. He was, however, experienced, well respected and knowledgeable and not afraid to try out new ideas, and the combination of these qualities brought him to Liverpool's attention when it was clear thatGeorge Patterson would be unable to continue the managerial side of his role.
Kay's career as Liverpool manager started poorly, with only three wins and four draws from the first twelve matches. This run included a 2–6 defeat atPortsmouth'sFratton Park on 2 September and a 2–5 defeat atBrentford; the only bright spot in this spell was a 7–1 victory overGrimsby Town on 12 September, with two goals fromFred Howe. Results improved slightly as the season progressed and Liverpool finished Kay'sfirst season in charge in 18th place in Division 1.
Despite the set-back of an opening day 1–6 defeat atChelsea'sStamford Bridge, Liverpool finished the1937–38 season comfortably in mid-table, withAlf Hanson top scorer on 14 league goals. In thefollowing season, Liverpool again finished in 11th position in the table, withBerry Nieuwenhuys,Willie Fagan andPhil Taylor joint top scorers in the league with 14 goals each.
In readiness for the next season, Kay snapped up young defenderBob Paisley on a free transfer fromBishop Auckland, as well as another future Liverpool legendBilly Liddell, but all their careers were then interrupted by the outbreak ofWorld War II.
After the war, the club took the unusual decision to tour the United States and Canada. It was Kay's theory that the climate and diet in North America would be extremely beneficial to the players. The punishing schedule of 10 matches in less than a month meant that the Liverpool squad startedthe first post-war season in far better physical shape than many of their competitors.
The season started slowly, with four victories and three defeats in the first seven games. The victories included a 7–4 match againstChelsea on 7 September, in which Bob Paisley made his league debut for the club and Billy Liddell scored his first league goal. There was also a 5–0 defeat away toManchester United (played atMaine Road). Things began to improve and a run of seven consecutive victories in February and March set the club on the way to the championship.
Liverpool had a long run in the F.A. Cup, eventually going out toBurnley in the semi-final, after a replay. The club did, however, pick up the Lancashire Senior Cup, Lancashire County Combination Championship Cup andLiverpool Senior Cup along the way.
As the season reached its climax, several clubs were still in contention and on 31 May 1947 Liverpool went toMolineux to meet the leaders,Wolverhampton Wanderers needing to win to take the championship, as well as other results going in their favour. Liverpool won the match 2–1, other results went their way and the Reds were champions of the Football League for a fifth time. It was George Kay's finest moment as a football manager.
Top scorers in the Championship season wereJack Balmer andAlbert Stubbins with 24 league goals each. They continued to be prolific scorers during Kay's period in charge but the club was unable to come close to another championship, finishing each of the next three seasons in the lower part of the top half of the table. In 1950, they reached theFA Cup Final for the first time in 36 years, but the match atWembley ended in a 2–0 victory forArsenal.
By now, Kay was clearly not a well man and he retired in January 1951 and he died in Liverpool three years later on 18 April 1954.
Lisburn Distillery
West Ham United
Liverpool