Andy Beattie
Encyclopedia
Andrew "Andy" Beattie (11 August 1913 – 20 September 1983) was a Scottish
professional football player and manager. He was the first manager of the Scottish national team
.
and was employed as a young quarry-man at the Inverurie
Loco Works. He was soon to join the Inverurie Loco Works FC where he established himself as an accomplished full-back before attracting the interest of English First Division
club Preston North End
. They paid £135 for him in March 1935, but World War II
was to sadly interrupt his career and he made just 125 Football League appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring five goals, before retiring from his only professional club in March 1947.
The war also curtailed a promising international career which saw him awarded seven Scotland caps between April 1937 and December 1938. In spite of spending part of his military service abroad Beattie was also to gain a further five unofficial caps for Scotland during wartime internationals and appear as a 'guest' player for several clubs. Most notably though he helped his own side Preston North End secure the 1940–41 double of the North Regional League Championship and the Wartime League Cup, which they won by beating Arsenal
2–1 after a 1–1 draw.
, then a mid-table club in the old English regional Third Division North
, after leaving Preston in March 1947. Barrow had long been 'also-rans' and in the 25 years since joining the Football League had already been forced to seek re-election five times – but Beattie’s arrival was to change all that. The 1946–47 season saw them finish 9th but Beattie was to create a local sensation by having his players report back for pre-season training a whole month before the new season’s start. The new team spirit he fostered paid rich dividends and, after beating Halifax Town 2–1 on Boxing Day, his Barrow team topped the table for the first time ever.
Beattie’s Barrow ‘Bluebirds’ would at last finish a creditable seventh and also experienced some FA Cup
success along the way. A club record gate of 14,081 saw their 3–2 ‘derby’ victory over Carlisle United in the first round before a 1–0 success at non-League Runcorn set up an away tie at Chelsea
in round three. Some 44,336 crammed into Stamford Bridge to see Beattie’s team lose 0–5, but the attendance is still the largest Barrow have ever played before. Finally a third club record gate was achieved on Good Friday when 11,644 watched a 1–1 draw with Wrexham, their biggest ever crowd for a home league fixture.
Beattie then shocked Barrow when, only two weeks before the 1948–49 season was due to begin, he handed in his resignation following a dispute with the club chairman. After the board refused to accept this, the chairman and another director resigned and Beattie carried on, but his team began to slip down the table and attendances fell.
, also a Third Division North club, whom he transformed from a mid-table side into promotion challengers in late 1951–52. It was then that top-flight Huddersfield Town approached Beattie and asked him to become their manager.
Under Andy Beattie, Huddersfield Town performed strongly in Division Two; during 1952–53 Town and Sheffield United left the rest behind with United eventually pipping Town for the title by two points as both Yorkshire clubs gained promotion. Along the way Huddersfield had also recorded an 8–2 thrashing of Everton, a 6–0 beating of Barnsley, and 5–0 wins over Lincoln City and Southampton. The entire defence of Jack Wheeler, Ron Staniforth, Laurie Kelly, Bill McGarry, Don McEvoy and Len Quested played in every fixture, as did winger Vic Metcalfe, while 30-goal top scoring centre forward Jimmy Glazzard missed only one match as Town gained an immediate return to the top flight.
Back in Division One, Beattie’s team then continued the charge despite being wracked by injury, and eventually finished in a very creditable third place. They were just two points behind runners-up West Bromwich Albion and six behind champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. This remains Huddersfield’s highest finish in the Football League since World War Two, yet a decline was soon to set in. 1954–55 saw them slip down to 12th spot, despite a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals, and Beattie offered to resign that August only to be persuaded to stay on. At this point Town appointed Bill Shankly
to assist Beattie, the two men having been former team-mates at Preston North End years earlier, but relegation was again around the corner.
Huddersfield struggled in vain to avoid the drop, in a season that saw the emergence of future England full-back Ray Wilson, and they succumbed to the inevitable ironically with Sheffield United, the side with whom they had been promoted three years before. Beattie resigned in November 1956 as he felt he had taken the team as far as he could. Bill Shankly was thus left in charge as Beattie sought out a new career as a sub-postmaster at Penwortham, Preston, where he could spend more time with his wife and four children.
, where he stayed until moving to top-flight Nottingham Forest
in 1960.
His next stop was at Plymouth Argyle
, where he was appointed manager in 1963. There he helped stave off relegation from Division Two in 1963–64 but his next job was to end in disaster.
He was appointed caretaker manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers
in November 1964, replacing Stan Cullis
. The team were bottom of the table at this point, with just three points. Beattie was unable to halt their slump and the club dropped to the Second Division
after 23 seasons in the top flight. He began the new season still at the helm but resigned after nine games, ending with a 9–3 thrashing at in September 1965.
After a stint scouting for , Beattie's next port of call was , who made him 'advisor' to Peter Doherty in December 1965. In March 1967 County made him general manager where he remained until joining John Harris
at as assistant manager in October 1967, and before retiring he also held coaching or scouting positions with both and .
, Scotland’s first entry into the competition, he resigned after claiming his four game stint with a squad of 13 players placed him in an impossible situation. Shortly afterwards they were hammered 7–0 by Uruguay and were knocked out of the tournament.
In March 1959 he was once again appointed Scotland manager, but resigned in November 1960 because of his commitments with Forest.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
professional football player and manager. He was the first manager of the Scottish national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
.
Playing days
Andy Beattie was born in Kintore, AberdeenshireAberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
and was employed as a young quarry-man at the Inverurie
Inverurie
Inverurie is a Royal Burgh and town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north west of Aberdeen on the A96 road and is served by Inverurie railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line...
Loco Works. He was soon to join the Inverurie Loco Works FC where he established himself as an accomplished full-back before attracting the interest of English First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
club Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
. They paid £135 for him in March 1935, but World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was to sadly interrupt his career and he made just 125 Football League appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring five goals, before retiring from his only professional club in March 1947.
The war also curtailed a promising international career which saw him awarded seven Scotland caps between April 1937 and December 1938. In spite of spending part of his military service abroad Beattie was also to gain a further five unofficial caps for Scotland during wartime internationals and appear as a 'guest' player for several clubs. Most notably though he helped his own side Preston North End secure the 1940–41 double of the North Regional League Championship and the Wartime League Cup, which they won by beating Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
2–1 after a 1–1 draw.
Barrow
After the war, and with his playing days now behind him, Beattie accepted the position of secretary-manager with BarrowBarrow A.F.C.
Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...
, then a mid-table club in the old English regional Third Division North
Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North of The Football League was a tier in the English association football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran parallel to Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to one or the other according to geographical position...
, after leaving Preston in March 1947. Barrow had long been 'also-rans' and in the 25 years since joining the Football League had already been forced to seek re-election five times – but Beattie’s arrival was to change all that. The 1946–47 season saw them finish 9th but Beattie was to create a local sensation by having his players report back for pre-season training a whole month before the new season’s start. The new team spirit he fostered paid rich dividends and, after beating Halifax Town 2–1 on Boxing Day, his Barrow team topped the table for the first time ever.
Beattie’s Barrow ‘Bluebirds’ would at last finish a creditable seventh and also experienced some FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
success along the way. A club record gate of 14,081 saw their 3–2 ‘derby’ victory over Carlisle United in the first round before a 1–0 success at non-League Runcorn set up an away tie at Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in round three. Some 44,336 crammed into Stamford Bridge to see Beattie’s team lose 0–5, but the attendance is still the largest Barrow have ever played before. Finally a third club record gate was achieved on Good Friday when 11,644 watched a 1–1 draw with Wrexham, their biggest ever crowd for a home league fixture.
Beattie then shocked Barrow when, only two weeks before the 1948–49 season was due to begin, he handed in his resignation following a dispute with the club chairman. After the board refused to accept this, the chairman and another director resigned and Beattie carried on, but his team began to slip down the table and attendances fell.
Stockport County
By the end of March 1949 he at last left the troubled Bluebirds to join Stockport CountyStockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
, also a Third Division North club, whom he transformed from a mid-table side into promotion challengers in late 1951–52. It was then that top-flight Huddersfield Town approached Beattie and asked him to become their manager.
Huddersfield Town
The Yorkshire club offered Beattie a reported salary of around £2,500 but despite his efforts to save the club from the drop he was simply too late. Huddersfield were relegated to Division Two for the first time in their history but Beattie, then one of the youngest managers in the Football League, and who had now nailed two lucky horseshoes to his office wall, was already planning ahead. During the summer months he was to make three crucial signings. Full-back Ron Staniforth and utility player Tommy Cavanagh followed him across the Pennines from Stockport County, whilst inside forward Jimmy Watson came down from Motherwell to pep up the attack.Under Andy Beattie, Huddersfield Town performed strongly in Division Two; during 1952–53 Town and Sheffield United left the rest behind with United eventually pipping Town for the title by two points as both Yorkshire clubs gained promotion. Along the way Huddersfield had also recorded an 8–2 thrashing of Everton, a 6–0 beating of Barnsley, and 5–0 wins over Lincoln City and Southampton. The entire defence of Jack Wheeler, Ron Staniforth, Laurie Kelly, Bill McGarry, Don McEvoy and Len Quested played in every fixture, as did winger Vic Metcalfe, while 30-goal top scoring centre forward Jimmy Glazzard missed only one match as Town gained an immediate return to the top flight.
Back in Division One, Beattie’s team then continued the charge despite being wracked by injury, and eventually finished in a very creditable third place. They were just two points behind runners-up West Bromwich Albion and six behind champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. This remains Huddersfield’s highest finish in the Football League since World War Two, yet a decline was soon to set in. 1954–55 saw them slip down to 12th spot, despite a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals, and Beattie offered to resign that August only to be persuaded to stay on. At this point Town appointed Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
to assist Beattie, the two men having been former team-mates at Preston North End years earlier, but relegation was again around the corner.
Huddersfield struggled in vain to avoid the drop, in a season that saw the emergence of future England full-back Ray Wilson, and they succumbed to the inevitable ironically with Sheffield United, the side with whom they had been promoted three years before. Beattie resigned in November 1956 as he felt he had taken the team as far as he could. Bill Shankly was thus left in charge as Beattie sought out a new career as a sub-postmaster at Penwortham, Preston, where he could spend more time with his wife and four children.
More clubs
However, football had been his life and in May 1958 he answered the call to manage Carlisle UnitedCarlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
, where he stayed until moving to top-flight Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
in 1960.
His next stop was at Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
, where he was appointed manager in 1963. There he helped stave off relegation from Division Two in 1963–64 but his next job was to end in disaster.
He was appointed caretaker manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
in November 1964, replacing Stan Cullis
Stan Cullis
Stanley Cullis was a professional footballer and manager, most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964 Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the British game, winning the league title on three occasions, and playing a series of high-profile...
. The team were bottom of the table at this point, with just three points. Beattie was unable to halt their slump and the club dropped to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
after 23 seasons in the top flight. He began the new season still at the helm but resigned after nine games, ending with a 9–3 thrashing at in September 1965.
After a stint scouting for , Beattie's next port of call was , who made him 'advisor' to Peter Doherty in December 1965. In March 1967 County made him general manager where he remained until joining John Harris
John Harris (footballer)
John Harris was a Scottish footballer nicknamed "Gentleman John".-Playing career:Harris was born to be a footballer, being the son of former Scottish international centre-forward and Newcastle United player Neil Harris....
at as assistant manager in October 1967, and before retiring he also held coaching or scouting positions with both and .
Scotland Manager
Andy Beattie had the honour of becoming Scotland’s first manager in February 1954, although his brief tenure was something of a farce. In the middle of the 1954 World Cup held in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Scotland’s first entry into the competition, he resigned after claiming his four game stint with a squad of 13 players placed him in an impossible situation. Shortly afterwards they were hammered 7–0 by Uruguay and were knocked out of the tournament.
In March 1959 he was once again appointed Scotland manager, but resigned in November 1960 because of his commitments with Forest.