.jpg) Aitken in 1917 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William John Aitken[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1894-02-02)2 February 1894[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Peterhead, Scotland[1] | ||
| Date of death | 9 August 1973(1973-08-09) (aged 79)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Gateshead, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kirkintilloch | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1916–1918 | Queen's Park | 62 | (14) |
| 1918–1919 | Rangers | 21 | (2) |
| 1919–1920 | Port Vale | 30 | (4) |
| 1920–1924 | Newcastle United | 104 | (10) |
| 1924–1926 | Preston North End | 56 | (11) |
| 1926 | Chorley | ||
| 1926–1927 | Norwich City | 14 | (0) |
| 1927–1928 | Bideford Town | ||
| 1928–1930 | Juventus | 0 | (0) |
| 1930–1934 | Cannes | ||
| 1934–1936 | Reims | ||
| 1936–1939 | Antibes | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 293+ | (41+) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1928–1930 | Juventus | ||
| 1932–1934 | Cannes | ||
| 1934–1936 | Reims | ||
| 1937–1939 | Antibes | ||
| 1947–1948 | Union SG | ||
| 1949 | Brann | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William John Aitken (2 February 1894 – 9 August 1973) was a Scottishfootball player andmanager.
Aforward, he was known for his trait ofbouncing the ball on his head whilst running along the touchline, and was normally known asWillie orBilly. He began his career atKirkintilloch before joiningRangers viaQueen's Park in 1918. He signed withPort Vale in 1919 before he was sold toNewcastle United for £2,500 in May 1920. He spent four seasons at Tyneside before joiningPreston North End in 1924. He spent two years with the "Lambs", and had spells atChorley,Norwich City and Bideford Town.
He was appointed ashead coach at Italian clubJuventus in 1928. He moved on to France the following year to play forCannes. He played in the1932Coupe de France final victory and was later appointed as club manager. He then spent 1934 to 1936 asplayer-manager atReims and then took charge atAntibes between 1936 and 1938. DuringWorld War II, he worked as a defence contractor atVickers-Armstrongs, and hecoached across Europe, in addition to working for a wine and spirits distributor.
Aitken played for amateur sidesKirkintilloch andQueen's Park,[3] before joiningRangers for the1918–19 season. He scored two goals in 21 league games as they finished second toOld Firm rivalsCeltic in theScottish League Division One. Aitken then leftIbrox for England to play forPort Vale in the summer of 1919.[1]
He scored on his Port Vale debut at inside-right in a 2–0 win atAston Villa Reserves in a Central League match on 20 August 1919.[1] After Vale were promoted to theFootball LeagueSecond Division in October 1919, the Vale were forced to pay £500 to Rangers for his andPeter Pursell services.[1] He scored nine goals in 44 games in1919–20 and was in the cup-winning sides of 1920.
He transferred toNewcastle United for £2,500 in May 1920, considered a bargain at the time.[4] He began playing as an inside-forward atSt James' Park, and although he only scored ten goals in 110 league games in four seasons at the club, his unselfishness in attack and overall contribution to the team was greatly appreciated. Newcastle finished fifth in theFirst Division in1920–21, with Aitken claiming three goals in 38 appearances.[4] He was limited to 16 games as United finished seventh in1921–22.[4] They then finished fourth in1922–23, with Aitken scoring four goals in 26 matches.[4] He scored three goals in 30 appearances as Newcastle posted a ninth-place finish in1923–24.[4] He played alongsideStan Seymour andTommy McDonald.[4]
In 1924 Aitken signed forPreston North End for £1,000.[4]
He then joinedChorley,Norwich City andBideford Town.
He travelled to Italy, and impressedJuventus chairmanEdoardo Agnelli with his idea of exporting the playing system pioneered byArsenalmanagerHerbert Chapman.[5] However, not everyone was convinced by his new methods, and some "Juve" players were unwilling to put in the extra work required to make the system work.[5] He nevertheless led the "Old Lady" to a third-place finish in1929–30.[5] Though he found little success atStadio di Corso Marsiglia, his methods were built upon by futurecoaches at the club.[5] He was unable to take to the field as a player, as foreigners were not permitted to play in the Italian leagues.[5]
He eventually ended up playing and coaching football in France forCannes,Reims andAntibes. At Cannes, he was part of the team that reached theCoupe de France final at theStade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir on 24 April 1932, which theywon 1–0 overRoubaix. They also finished as runners-up in theLigue de Football Professionnel in1932–33. With Reims, he won theChampionnat de France amateur league in 1935.[6]
He returned to Britain duringWorld War II and worked as a defence contractor atVickers-Armstrongs. He later coached in Belgium (Union SG) and Norway (Brann) and became a representative of a wine and spirits distributor inTyne and Wear.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers | 1918–19 | Scottish Division One | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 3 |
| Port Vale | 1919–20 | Second Division | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 4 |
| Newcastle United | 1920–21 | First Division | 35 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 3 |
| 1921–22 | First Division | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| 1922–23 | First Division | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 4 | |
| 1923–24 | First Division | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 3 | |
| Total | 104 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 110 | 10 | ||
| Preston North End | 1924–25 | First Division | 41 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 6 |
| 1925–26 | Second Division | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | |
| Total | 56 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 11 | ||
| Norwich City | 1926–27 | Third Division South | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
Cannes
Reims