Harry Potts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harry Potts (22 October 1920—16 January 1996) was an English football player and manger, most famous for his connections with Burnley Football Club, whom he guided to Championship glory in 1959-60.
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[edit] 1920 - 1946
Born in Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham, he grew up in the similarly-named village of Hetton, as did another well-known name from football, Bob Paisley. The duo spent much of their childhood playing various sports, but it was football that Potts loved most. A promising young footballer as well as a good scholar, he was forced to choose between sport and studies, and he chose football as his career.
He joined Burnley, who had one of the first youth development systems in football. His development was interrupted by the outbreak of war in 1939, which came before he could make his début for the club. He served for the British Army mainly in India as a P.T. instructor. Although playing for the club a few times in wartime fixtures, his first league action for Burnley was after the war, and although he took time to return to the form that saw him regarded as a promising youngster, he eventually became a success as a Burnley player.
[edit] Playing career
He made his Burnley first-team début on August 31, 1946, in a position then referred to as "inside-left", which would now be considered as one of the striker positions. He wore the number 10 shirt associated with that position, and played in 40 of Burnley's 42 Division Two games that season, becoming the club's leading goalscorer with 15 goals. Burnley finished second in the division and were promoted, and also reached the Wembley final of the FA Cup. Potts played all nine of Burnley's cup games, including the final, which Charlton Athletic won 1-0.
In the following season, the challenge of top-flight football did not seem to slow his progression. Burnley finished 3rd, and Potts scored 14 goals in the 38 game season. Burnley settled into a mid-table position over the next few years, and Potts added to his tally of goals. He eventually got 47 from 165 matches, before moving to Everton in October 1950. His next Burnley match would have been a trip to his native Sunderland. In his stead, future Burnley star Jimmy McIlroy would make his debut at inside-left.
Everton were relegated in his first season with the Liverpool-based club. They were promoted in 1954 and then spent two top-flight seasons in mid-table. He ended his career as a player at Everton in 1956, having scored 15 in 59 games for the club.
[edit] Managerial career
After Potts left Everton, he was offered a coaching job at Leeds United but turned it down. Instead he took the more senior position of manager, albeit at a less prestigious club, Shrewsbury, but he spent just over half a season at the Shropshire club before Burnley lured him back to become their manager in February 1958.
Burnley finished 1957-58 in 6th position and in his first full season in charge (1958-59) Burnley finished 7th. Potts made his first cash signing for the club, left back Alex Elder. His second cash signing was made an incredible eight years later.
1959-60 brought Burnley's their second league championship success (their first came in 1921). The following season the club represented England in the European Cup, reaching the quarter-finals. In 1962 Burnley were runners-up in both the FA Cup and First Division.
In 1963, when forced to sell Jimmy McIlroy to raise funds for the club, Potts's relationship with Burnley fans suffered. This dissipated, and Potts stayed on to steer the Clarets to European competition again, in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Cup) in 1966-67.
21 February 1970 saw Burnley thrash Nottingham Forest 5-0 at Turf Moor. It was to be Potts’s last game as manager. He moved into a more executive position of General Manager. This was an unwanted and unhappy move for Potts, and he left Burnley just over two years later.
He became Division Two Blackpool's manager and faced Burnley (relegated in May 1971) in his first game. Blackpool lost, but ended up having the better season, finishing sixth in the Second Division, compared to Burnley's 7th. The following season (1972-73) Blackpool were 7th, but Burnley won the division. Blackpool remained in a similar position for the next three years, before Potts was re-hired by Burnley, becoming their chief scout in 1976. After a poor start to the season, the Burnley manager was sacked in February (1977) and Potts became Burnley manager for the second time.
1977 saw Burnley avoid relegation by five points. 1977-78 saw them finish mid-table and so did 1978-79, a season which saw them win the Anglo-Scottish Cup. The following season (1979-80) began badly, and Potts was sacked after 11 winless games. Burnley were relegated to Division Three at the end of the season.
[edit] After life
Potts died on 16 January 1996, after a long illness. He was 75 years old. Before his illness got too restrictive, he was often seen watching Burnley as a fan. Burnley F.C. remembered him on his funeral day, as the 1960-61 Championship-winning side, plus many of his former players and colleagues (not to mention Burnley supporters) gathered at the Turf Moor stadium to pay their respect as his cortège stopped outside the stadium. The streets had been blocked to traffic for this occasion.
His name is remembered daily in Burnley as the street on which the stadium is situated has been renamed, to "Harry Potts Way".
[edit] External links
- Tribute at claretsmad.co.uk
- Player stats and Managerial stats at soccerbase.com
