| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maurice Edgar Setters | ||
| Date of birth | (1936-12-16)16 December 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Honiton,Devon, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 November 2020(2020-11-22) (aged 83) | ||
| Place of death | Doncaster,South Yorkshire, England | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1952–1954 | Exeter City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1954–1955 | Exeter City | 10 | (0) |
| 1955–1960 | West Bromwich Albion | 120 | (10) |
| 1960–1965 | Manchester United | 159 | (12) |
| 1965–1967 | Stoke City | 86 | (5) |
| 1967 | →Cleveland Stokers (guest) | 9 | (3) |
| 1967–1970 | Coventry City | 51 | (3) |
| 1970 | Charlton Athletic | 8 | (1) |
| Total | 434 | (31) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1971–1974 | Doncaster Rovers | ||
| 1983 | Rotherham United (assistant) | ||
| 1983 | Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker) | ||
| 1986–1995 | Republic of Ireland (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Maurice Edgar Setters[1] (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an Englishfootball player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances inthe Football League forExeter City,West Bromwich Albion,Manchester United,Stoke City,Coventry City andCharlton Athletic,[2] and in theUnited Soccer Association with theCleveland Stokers (Stoke City under another name).[3] Setters played in the leftwing half position.[4] As manager, he took charge ofDoncaster Rovers and (briefly)Sheffield Wednesday,[5] and spent several years as assistant manager of theRepublic of Ireland.[6]
Setters died on 22 November 2020 at theDoncaster Royal Infirmary, aged 83.[7][8]
Setters started his career withExeter City reserves, making his first-team debut against Southend United in March 1954, his only appearance for the "Grecians" in the1953–54 season. He played a further nine games for Exeter in the1954–55 season.First Division teamWest Bromwich Albion showed interest in acquiring Setters. Exeter were reluctant to let him go but the £3,000 transfer fee was sufficient at a time of financial problems for the club. Setters went on to play 120 games for West Brom.[9]
In January 1960, he was transferred toManchester United for a fee of £30,000.Matt Busby signed Setters as a replacement for the injuredWilf McGuinness who had suffered a career ending leg break. Setters developed his reputation for being one of footballs 'hard men' and his combative style made him a key part of the team.[7] A poor1962–63 league campaign saw Manchester United nearly relegated in the Second Division but they did beatLeicester City 3–1 in the1963 FA Cup Final. A much improved1963–64 season brought a 2nd-place finish behindLiverpool. A 7–0 win overAston Villa early in the1964–65 season was Setters 159th and final game for Manchester United as he was sold toStoke City for £30,000.[10][9]
He played 19 times for Stoke in1964–65 as Stoke claimed a mid-table finish of 11th position.[10] At the end of the campaign, with the squad training for their pre-season in the United States, Setters was involved in a 'bust-up' with teammateCalvin Palmer.[10] Setters apologised to managerTony Waddington and was allowed to travel to the United States but Palmer did not apologise and was forced to stay in England.[10] Out in America, Setters played nine times for theCleveland Stokers scoring three goals. He missed just three matches in1965–66 playing in 45 fixtures.[10] His run in the first team continued in1966–67 until he sustained injury againstLiverpool on 4 March 1967 which allowedAlan Bloor to take his place.[10] After failing to dislodge Bloor, Setters joinedCoventry City in November 1967 for a £25,000 fee.[10][9] During this time he played nine games as a guest player with theCleveland Stokers in the North AmericanUnited Soccer Association.[3] Setters made 59 appearances for Coventry in just under three years atHighfield Road and ended his career with a four-month spell withSecond DivisionCharlton Athletic from January 1970, playing in eight games.[10][9]
Setters played forEngland School Boys and theEngland Youth teams. He made 16 appearances for theunder-23 team.[9]
Setters was included in theprovisional England squad for the1958 FIFA World Cup squad but was not selected for the main team.[11]
Setters was appointed manager ofDoncaster Rovers in May 1971 and remained until November 1974 when he was dismissed. Setters later won a case for unfair dismissal.[9] He had a short break from football before becomingJack Charlton's assistant atSheffield Wednesday in 1977. When Charlton resigned on 27 May 1983, Setters stayed on ascaretaker manager for four weeks, although the club played no matches during this period.[12][13] Setters became assistant manager and coach at Rotherham United in 1983 and in 1984 was chief scout at Newcastle United.[9]
Setters later linked up with Jack Charlton again from 1986 to 1995 as assistant manager with theRepublic of Ireland senior squad.[12][13] He was also SirBobby Charlton's best man at his wedding in 1961.[14]
When Charlton resigned as Ireland manager in 1995 theFootball Association of Ireland (FAI) assumed Setters would follow him. However he continued to turn up to work as assistant manager of the national team and manager of the under-21 team. Setters was sacked but initiated a claim for unfair dismissal. Charlton appeared at the tribunal to support Setters and the FAI eventually settled the claim.[11]
Setters had Alzheimer's disease from around 2016 and from 2018 was in a residential care home. He became ill in mid-November 2020 and died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary on 22 November, aged 83.[15]
Source:[2]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[A] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Exeter City | 1953–54 | Third Division South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1954–55 | Third Division South | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | 1955–56 | First Division | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 1956–57 | First Division | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| 1958–59 | First Division | 41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||
| 1959–60 | First Division | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Total | 120 | 10 | 12 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 132 | 10 | |||
| Manchester United | 1959–60 | First Division | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 1960–61 | First Division | 40 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| 1961–62 | First Division | 38 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| 1962–63 | First Division | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 1963–64 | First Division | 32 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 5 | |
| 1964–65 | First Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 159 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 192 | 14 | ||
| Stoke City | 1964–65 | First Division | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 3 | |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| 1967–68 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 86 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 5 | ||
| Cleveland Stokers (loan) | 1967[16] | United Soccer Association | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Coventry City | 1967–68 | First Division | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 1968–69 | First Division | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
| 1969–70 | First Division | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 3 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 1969–70 | Second Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Career Total | 443 | 34 | 47 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 508 | 36 | ||
Source:[17]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Doncaster Rovers | 1 May 1971 | 15 November 1974 | 158 | 47 | 42 | 69 | 029.75 |
Manchester United
Setters spent the last two years in a residential home but became ill a week ago and passed away at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary on Sunday.
