Les McDowall
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 October 1912 | ||
| Place of birth |
Gunga Pur, British India | ||
| Date of death | 18 August 1991 (aged 78) | ||
| Position(s) |
Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Glentyan Thistle | |||
| 1934–1937 | Sunderland | 13 | (0) |
| 1937–1949 | Manchester City | 120 | (8) |
| 1949–1950 | Wrexham | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 136 | (8) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1949–1950 | Wrexham | ||
| 1950–1963 | Manchester City | ||
| 1963–1965 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Les McDowall (25 October 1912 – 18 August 1991) was a Scottish
Oldham Athletic
until 1965. McDowall was the longest serving manager in Manchester City's history, his tenure spanning 13 years.
Though born in
Sunderland mainly as a reserve to Alex Hastings. Manchester City paid £7,000 for his services in 1937 and between then and 1948 he played 129 times for the team scoring 8 goals. He was also captain of the time for a short while. He briefly moved to Wrexham's Racecourse Ground to take up the managerial post before being brought back to Maine Road in 1950 and installed as manager.[1]
The club was languishing in the second tier of English football, McDowall set to work building a solid team and soon saw the fruits of his labour, with the club returning to the first division the following season.
Solid if unspectacular progress was made in the early 1950s, with some notable results along the way; the most significant being a handful of
Manchester United. McDowall was an innovator, undoubtedly ahead of his time, inspired by the great Hungarian side of the era he pioneered the use of wing backs and the deployment of a forward playing between the strikers and midfield. These revolutionary tactical systems, more commonly associated with the game as we know it today, were not an instant success however and City leaked more than five goals in a game on three occasions in the 1955–56
season.
1956, winning the latter against Birmingham City
3–1.
The mid 1950s were the high points of McDowall's career as manager of
Oldham Athletic
from June 1963 to March 1965 before quitting management.
McDowall died 18 August 1991 at the age of 78.freemason.[3]
Honours
As a manager
- FA Cup winner 1956
References
- ^ "Les McDowall – MCFC Managers – Manchester City, Man City – Bluemoon-MCFC".
- ^ "Les McDowall – A Forgotten Manager, Remembered – Football Blogs, Have Your Own Football Blog – FootballFriendsonline.com". Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ "Anfield Lodge No. 2215". Woolton Group of Lodges and Chapters. 15 October 2017.
- Les McDowall at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database