Don Welsh
Encyclopedia
Donald "Don" Welsh was an English
football
player and manager. As a player he played at inside left for Charlton Athletic
and for England
, winning the FA Cup
with Charlton in 1946–47
.
. An extremely versatile player, he could play equally well at inside left, centre forward, centre half or left half. He soon became captain and skippered Charlton to consecutive promotions from the Third Division
to the First Division
. In 1938 he gained the first of three caps for England
against Germany
. He later played for the national team against Switzerland
and Romania
, scoring once against the latter in 1939.
During the Second World War he made guest appearances for Charlton and Liverpool
. He scored 100 goals in 119 games for Charlton and 43 goals in 40 games for Liverpool. Welsh also led Charlton to two War Cup finals in 1943 and 1944, winning in 1944 by beating Chelsea
. He also made nine appearances for England in the semi-official wartime matches, scoring twelve goals.
He returned playing for Charlton at the end of the war. He captained the side to FA Cup
finals in 1946
and 1947
, winning the latter game against Burnley
. He left the club in November 1947 in order to begin his management career.
season. Brighton recovered to finish 6th and 8th in the next two years. Following this he joined Liverpool as manager on 5 March 1951 as a result of George Kay
's decision to step down through ill-health.
In 1954 Welsh became the first manager to guide Liverpool into relegation for over 50 years. Unfortunately, that day also saw Everton
promoted back to the First Division. He had almost accomplished that feat the season before finishing 17th, and only a scrappy win over Chelsea
on the last day of the season kept Liverpool up. After this relegation Liverpool would stay in the Second Division for eight more seasons. Liverpool came near to being promoted again in 1955–56
, but Welsh would not be given another chance and was sacked as Liverpool manager in 1956. He became the first of the only two Liverpool managers to ever be sacked by the club.
After leaving Liverpool, Welsh became a publican for a while in the West Country before the lure of football brought him back into club management again, this time at Bournemouth in the newly-formed and non-regional Third Division just before the start of the 1958–59
season. After two average seasons (they finished 12th and 10th), he was dismissed in February 1961 following a string of poor results. In 1962 he worked for the London County Council Education Department as a Football Coach/Teacher at Tollington Park School in North London. He left the LCC to manage non-League Wycombe Wanderers for a brief spell between July 1963 and November 1964 before returning to the club where he had enjoyed such success as a player, Charlton Athletic, to become a member of their administrative staff. He died in 1990, aged 78.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and manager. As a player he played at inside left for Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
and for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, winning the 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...
with Charlton in 1946–47
1946-47 in English football
The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1946–47 season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Eighty-eight teams competed over four divisions. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over...
.
Playing career
Welsh joined Charlton Athletic in 1935, costing a fee of £3,250 from Torquay UnitedTorquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
. An extremely versatile player, he could play equally well at inside left, centre forward, centre half or left half. He soon became captain and skippered Charlton to consecutive promotions from the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
to the 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....
. In 1938 he gained the first of three caps for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
against Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
. He later played for the national team against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
and Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
, scoring once against the latter in 1939.
During the Second World War he made guest appearances for Charlton and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. He scored 100 goals in 119 games for Charlton and 43 goals in 40 games for Liverpool. Welsh also led Charlton to two War Cup finals in 1943 and 1944, winning in 1944 by beating 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...
. He also made nine appearances for England in the semi-official wartime matches, scoring twelve goals.
He returned playing for Charlton at the end of the war. He captained the side to 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...
finals in 1946
1946 FA Cup Final
The 1946 FA Cup Final, the first since the start of the Second World War, was contested by Derby County and Charlton Athletic at Wembley. Derby won 4–1 after extra time, with goals from Bert Turner , Peter Doherty and a double from Jackie Stamps.-Match summary:The game was goalless until the...
and 1947
1947 FA Cup Final
The 1947 FA Cup Final was contested by Charlton Athletic and Burnley at Wembley, England on April 26, 1947. Charlton, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal, scored in extra time by Chris Duffy....
, winning the latter game against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
. He left the club in November 1947 in order to begin his management career.
Management career
With his playing days over, Welsh started his managerial career at Brighton & Hove Albion in November 1947 aged 36 years old. His managerial career did not start well – Brighton finished bottom of the Third Division (South) at the end of the 1947–481947-48 in English football
The 1947–48 season was the 68th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour...
season. Brighton recovered to finish 6th and 8th in the next two years. Following this he joined Liverpool as manager on 5 March 1951 as a result of George Kay
George Kay
George Kay was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool.The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley, the so-called White Horse Final.He was manager of Liverpool for 15 years and...
's decision to step down through ill-health.
In 1954 Welsh became the first manager to guide Liverpool into relegation for over 50 years. Unfortunately, that day also saw Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
promoted back to the First Division. He had almost accomplished that feat the season before finishing 17th, and only a scrappy win over 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...
on the last day of the season kept Liverpool up. After this relegation Liverpool would stay in the Second Division for eight more seasons. Liverpool came near to being promoted again in 1955–56
1955-56 in English football
The 1955–56 season was the 76th season of competitive football in England. The First Division was won by Manchester United, the fourth time they had won that particular accolade.-Awards:Football Writers' Association...
, but Welsh would not be given another chance and was sacked as Liverpool manager in 1956. He became the first of the only two Liverpool managers to ever be sacked by the club.
After leaving Liverpool, Welsh became a publican for a while in the West Country before the lure of football brought him back into club management again, this time at Bournemouth in the newly-formed and non-regional Third Division just before the start of the 1958–59
1958-59 in English football
The 1958–59 season was the 79th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:August 1958: The Football League season begins with the new national Third and Fourth divisions that have been created from the old Third Division North and Third Division South.September 1958: Manchester...
season. After two average seasons (they finished 12th and 10th), he was dismissed in February 1961 following a string of poor results. In 1962 he worked for the London County Council Education Department as a Football Coach/Teacher at Tollington Park School in North London. He left the LCC to manage non-League Wycombe Wanderers for a brief spell between July 1963 and November 1964 before returning to the club where he had enjoyed such success as a player, Charlton Athletic, to become a member of their administrative staff. He died in 1990, aged 78.
As a player
Charlton AthleticCharlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
- FA CupFA CupThe 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...
winner: 19471947 FA Cup FinalThe 1947 FA Cup Final was contested by Charlton Athletic and Burnley at Wembley, England on April 26, 1947. Charlton, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal, scored in extra time by Chris Duffy.... - FA CupFA CupThe 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...
runner-up: 19461946 FA Cup FinalThe 1946 FA Cup Final, the first since the start of the Second World War, was contested by Derby County and Charlton Athletic at Wembley. Derby won 4–1 after extra time, with goals from Bert Turner , Peter Doherty and a double from Jackie Stamps.-Match summary:The game was goalless until the...
External links
- England profile
- Management statistics at Soccerbase
- Manager profile at LFChistory.net