| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Henry Cavanagh[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1928-06-29)29 June 1928 | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Date of death | 14 March 2007(2007-03-14) (aged 78) | ||
| Place of death | Driffield, England[1] | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–1950 | Preston North End | 0 | (0) |
| 1950–1952 | Stockport County | 32 | (2) |
| 1952–1956 | Huddersfield Town | 93 | (29) |
| 1956–1959 | Doncaster Rovers | 119 | (16) |
| 1959–1960 | Bristol City | 24 | (6) |
| 1960–1961 | Carlisle United | 33 | (4) |
| Total | 301 | (57) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1961 | Cheltenham Town | ||
| 1965–1966 | Brentford | ||
| 1983 | Rosenborg | ||
| 1985–1986 | Burnley | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Henry Cavanagh (29 June 1928 – 14 March 2007) was an Englishfootball player and coach. As a player, he was aninside-forward at six professional clubs, most notablyHuddersfield Town,Doncaster Rovers and wasplayer manager atCheltenham Town, Brentford, Newcastle, and Manchester United, leading the latter to win the FA cup in 1977.[2]
After retiring as a player, Cavanagh coached and later managedBrentford.[3] He coached atNottingham Forest from 1966 until 1972. He then linked up with his formerPreston teammateTommy Docherty as a coach atManchester United. During this time he worked with George Best, who notably bought him a white television for being late for training. Cavanagh stayed at United when Docherty was sacked in 1977 and became assistant manager under Docherty's successor,Dave Sexton,[3] but he left the club followingRon Atkinson's appointment in 1981. From 1976 to 1979 he was alsoNorthern Ireland assistant manager toDanny Blanchflower.[4] He later had a spell as coach atNewcastle United.[3]
Ahead of the1983 season, Cavanagh was hired as manager ofRosenborg.[3] InNorwegian, the terms coach and manager are used interchangeably. Cavanagh had previously done an excellent job as coach at Manchester United, but lacked abilities in team selection, tactics and inspiration.[5] He used players in the wrong position, and instructed the ball to be kicked over the midfield, making it impossible to use the playmaker. He believed in breaking down the players and then building them up, and was unarguably good at the former.[6] By the summer, his style was costing the club players:Knut Torbjørn Eggen transferred toOrkanger in the Fourth Division, whileØivind Husby transferred toBrøndby in Denmark. Cavanagh was fired in August, at which time the club was second-last in the league, andNils Arne Eggen took over as manager for the rest of the season.[7] The team finished on a seventh place.[8] PresidentErling Meirik withdrew as a consequence of the hiring, stating that in the future, the club should hire people based on more than their reputation and that they should seek judicial assistance with the contract.[7]
In 1985, he becameMartin Buchan's assistant atBurnley, and took over as manager when Buchan was sacked later that year. After leaving Burnley in 1986, he worked at the FA School of Excellence at Lilleshall until his retirement.[3]
In 2002, Cavanagh was diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease and died in March 2007, aged 78.[1][3]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Manchester United F.C. assistant manager 1977–1981 | Succeeded by |