Cliff Britton
{{Short description|English footballer (1909–1975)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Cliff Britton
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = Clifford Samuel Britton
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1909|8|29}}
| birth_place = Hanham, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1975|12|1|1909|8|29}}
| death_place = Anlaby, England
| position = Wing half
| youthyears1=
| youthclubs1=
| years1 = | clubs1 = Hanham Athletic | caps1 = | goals1 =
| years2 = | clubs2 = Hanham United Methodists | caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = | clubs3 = Jennings Ltd | caps3 = | goals3 =
| years4 = | clubs4 = Bristol St. George | caps4 = | goals4 =
| years5 = 1928–1930 | clubs5 = Bristol Rovers | caps5 = 50 | goals5 = 1
| years6 = 1930–1938 | clubs6 = Everton | caps6 = 221 | goals6 = 2
| nationalyears1 = 1934–1937 | nationalteam1 = England | nationalcaps1 = 9 | nationalgoals1 = 1
| manageryears1 = 1945–1948 | managerclubs1 = Burnley
| manageryears2 = 1948–1956 | managerclubs2 = Everton
| manageryears3 = 1956–1961 | managerclubs3 = Preston North End
| manageryears4 = 1961–1969 | managerclubs4 = Hull City
}}
Clifford Samuel Britton (29 August 1909 – 1 December 1975) was an English football player and manager.
Playing career
After playing amateur football for a number of teams in the Bristol area, his professional playing career began when he signed for Bristol Rovers in 1928. He made over 50 appearances for Rovers, where he was a teammate of his brother Frank Britton.{{cite book |last1=Jay |first1=Mike |last2=Byrne |first2=Stephen |title=Pirates in Profile: A Who's Who of Bristol Rovers Players |year=1994 |publisher=Potten, Baber & Murray |location=Bristol |isbn=0-9524835-0-5 |page=33}} Britton was signed by Everton in 1930.{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersB/BioBrittonCS.html|publisher=England Football Online|access-date=29 October 2015}} At first he was deemed too frail and so he was playing in the reserves in the 1931–32 Championship season, but he was one of the stars of Everton's 1933 FA Cup win.{{cite web|title=FA Cup Final 1933|url=http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/honours-and-records/fa-cup-final-wins/fa-cup-final-1933|publisher=Everton FC|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905173406/http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/honours-and-records/fa-cup-final-wins/fa-cup-final-1933|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=dead}} He was one of the classiest playmakers of his era, who could produce miracles with short or long passes. Dixie Dean said that he was the best crosser of the ball that he played with. Dean joked that Britton's precision ensured that the laces on the ball were turned away when Dean had to head it. Britton made 242 appearances for Everton though only scoring three goals. Between 1934 and 1937 Britton also played nine times for England.
Management career
=Burnley & Everton=
After the war, Britton was made manager of Burnley in October 1945. He quickly steered Burnley to promotion from the Second Division in the 1946–47 season and to the 1947 FA Cup Final. He was appointed manager of Everton in 1948 and was regarded as a big improvement over the previous manager Theo Kelly.
Unlike his predecessor Britton was an ex-player and was said to have easy-going approachability so confidence improved. Britton was also a disciplinarian and it was said that his ideal team would be eleven 'teetotallers'. However the Everton squad was of low quality and suffered eleven consecutive defeats in September to November of the 1950–51 season. In a desperate foray into the transfer market, Britton spent £28,000 on an uninspiring inside forward, Harry Potts from Burnley when a new centre forward was desperately needed. (He could have brought Tommy Lawton back for less money). In 1950–51 Everton were two points clear of the relegation zone but contrived to suffer a 6–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, while Chelsea beat Bolton Wanderers 4–0 and so Everton were relegated on goal average.
With remarkable patience the Everton board gave Britton a vote of confidence.{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton|url=http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/players-and-managers/managers/cliff-britton|publisher=Everton FC|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905190043/http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/players-and-managers/managers/cliff-britton|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=dead}} However, in the summer of 1951, the board refused any more money for transfer fees and so Britton had to rely heavily on a policy of youth rather than on big money buys. Consequently, Everton spent three seasons in the Second Division finishing 7th and a worrying 16th before being promoted as runners-up in 1953–54.
The board continued to refuse transfer funds and Britton had disagreements with them. While Britton was abroad with the team the board wanted to appoint an acting manager. The board had also interfered with other decisions, but Britton had also made several mistakes such as dropping and then selling the talismanic Dave Hickson. Eventually Britton resigned from Everton in 1956 saying that "I want all managers to have the freedom to do the job for which they were appointed."{{cite web|title=Previous Everton Managers|url=http://www.nsno.co.uk/vintage/previous-everton-managers/|publisher=NSNO|access-date=29 October 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} A sub-committee of the board unsuccessfully ran the Everton team for the remainder of the season until Ian Buchan was appointed.
=Preston North End=
After a six-month gap Britton became manager of Preston North End. In the next five years, Preston North End flirted with winning the League championship and Britton laid the foundations of a solid youth policy. Britton took the decision that would cause Tom Finney to play some of the best football of his life. At the age of 34, Finney was made centre-forward, where he was also to play three games for England. Finney was a revelation, scoring 23 goals the 1956–57 season and Preston finished third in the First Division. The next season they went one better – runners-up to Champions Wolves. However Preston North End were relegated after the 1960–61 season and so Britton resigned.
=Hull City=
In 1961 he became manager of Hull City.{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton - Manager (1961-70)|url=http://www.hullcity-mad.co.uk/feat/edy5/cliff_britton_28049/index.shtml|publisher=Hull City|access-date=29 October 2015}} Again he relied on youth rather than the transfer market until an injection of cash in 1964 allowed him to bring in new players such as Ken Wagstaff.{{cite book|last1=Clayton|first1=David|title=The Hull City Miscellany|date=2012|publisher=The History Press|isbn=9780752490632|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vKM7AwAAQBAJ&q=Cliff+Britton+football+Everton+resignation&pg=PR22}} Consequently, Hull eventually won the Third Division championship in the 1965–66 season. He continued to trust the same group of players instead of bringing in new talent and so Hull's challenge for promotion to the First Division faltered. He became general manager of Hull City in 1970 and was instrumental in the recruitment of Terry Neill as his successor.{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton – A Life in Football Part II|url=http://toffeeweb.com/season/15-16/comment/history/30583.html|publisher=ToffeeWeb|access-date=29 October 2015}}
Managerial statistics
All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.{{Cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/managers/manager.sd?manager_id=291|title=Cliff Britton | Latest Betting Odds | Soccer Base}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" | ||||
| rowspan="2" |Team
! rowspan="2" |Year ! colspan="5" |Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % |
| align="left" |Burnley
|1945–1948 {{WDL|100|49|30|21|decimals=1}} | ||||
| align="left" |Everton
|1948–1956 {{WDL|344|125|92|127|decimals=1}} | ||||
| align="left" |Preston North End
|1956–1961 {{WDL|231|102|54|75|decimals=1}} | ||||
| align="left" |Hull City
|1961–1969 {{WDL|419|172|105|142|decimals=1}} | ||||
| colspan=2|Total
{{WDLtot|1094|448|281|365|decimals=1}} |
Honours
=Manager=
Hull City
References
{{reflist}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071026150035/http://www.evertonfc.com/history/cliff-britton.html Official Everton history site]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080312004839/http://www.hullcity-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=ED92 Biography at Hull City site]
- Everton – School of Science by James Corbett Pan Books 2003 {{ISBN|0-330-42006-2}}
- {{cite book | first=Ray | last=Simpson | title=The Clarets Chronicles: The Definitive History of Burnley Football Club 1882–2007 | year=2007 | publisher=Burnley Football Club | isbn=978-0-9557468-0-2 }}
{{Everton F.C. managers}}
{{Burnley F.C. managers}}
{{Preston North End F.C. managers}}
{{Hull City A.F.C. managers}}
{{Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton Cliff}}
Category:English men's footballers
Category:England men's international footballers
Category:England men's wartime international footballers
Category:Hanham Athletic F.C. players
Category:Roman Glass St George F.C. players
Category:Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Category:Liverpool F.C. wartime guest players
Category:Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players
Category:Aldershot F.C. wartime guest players
Category:Doncaster Rovers F.C. wartime guest players
Category:English football managers
Category:Burnley F.C. managers
Category:Everton F.C. managers
Category:Preston North End F.C. managers
Category:Hull City A.F.C. managers
Category:English Football League players
Category:English Football League representative players
Category:English Football League managers