Welsh football player

William Henry Meredith ( 30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958 ) was a Welsh professional football player. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. [ 2 ] He won each domestic trophy in the English football league and gained 48 caps for Wales, for whom he scored 11 goals and won two british Home Championship titles. His privilege position was outside right, and his keystone skills were dribbling, passage, crossing and shooting. A give and highly match professional, his substance abuse of chewing on a toothpick during games made him immediately recognisable. In 27 seasons in the Football League from 1892 to 1924 ( not including the four seasons lost to the First World War and the 1905–06 season in which he was banned for bribing an opposition musician ), he scored 176 goals in 740 league and cup appearances. He played for Chirk, before joining Northwich Victoria in 1892. His career took off when he signed with Manchester City in 1894 and turned professional in January 1895. He captained the team to the club ‘s first major honor, a 1–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the 1904 FA Cup Final. He moved to Manchester United in May 1906 after being banned for bribing Aston Villa half-back Alex Leake £10 to lose a match. There he won the league title in 1907–08 and 1910–11, the FA Cup in 1909, american samoa well as two FA Charity Shields. He besides helped to set up the Players ‘ Union, which was a fore-runner of the Professional Footballers ‘ Association. He returned to Manchester City in 1921 at the age of 47 and played a promote 32 games before retiring in 1924, making him the oldest ever actor for City, United and Wales. He late ran the Stretford Road Hotel and helped to coach the ephemeral Manchester Central.

early life [edit ]

Meredith was born in 1874 in Chirk, a small mine town in Denbighshire, Wales, just south of Wrexham. He started shape at Black Park Colliery as a hell pony driver at the senesce of 12. His family were primitive Methodists, and Meredith himself remained a lifelong teetotaler. He spent eight years working in the mines, and worked during a bully clock for the diligence, enduring a 25 % yield cut which led to strike action in 1893 ; this experience helped to shape his political views, which would become significant later in his life. An interest in football was kindled by his elder brothers. Elias, the eldest, was a train driver for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. His work allowed him to take Meredith to watch professional teams such as Everton. Football was a bang-up pastime for the miners, and the standard of amateurish teams from towns and villages in north east Wales was high as a result ; Chirk won the Welsh Cup five times between 1887 and 1894, with miners making up a bombastic proportion of the team. All the Meredith brothers played football, but Sam, two years older than Billy, was the inaugural to make an impression. He left Chirk to attempt a professional career, and went on to play for Stoke City as a full-back. Meredith made his debut for the Chirk first team in September 1892. The club played in The Combination, a league which contained a concoction of town clubs and reserve teams of clubs from bad cities. At the end of his foremost temper Meredith played in the 1893 Welsh Cup concluding, which Chirk lost 2–1 to Wrexham. Meredith formed a solid understand with inside-right William Owen, a erstwhile Wales external. Chirk withdrew from The Combination and entered alone the Welsh league in 1893 due to low attendances caused by the coal miners ‘ strike. In an try to make ends meet, Meredith not only played for Chirk, but accepted an offer to play for Football League golf club Northwich Victoria equally well, who gave him a small fee on top of his expenses. Northwich were a struggling side, who withdrew from the Football League at the end of the 1893–94 season after finishing bottom of the Second Division. The club won fair three league matches ; Meredith featured in each winnings. Back at Chirk, Meredith gained his first honor as partially of the team that beat Westminster Rovers to win the 1894 Welsh Cup. Meredith besides played for Wrexham in 1894, sharing his talents between them, Chirk and Northwich Victoria that class. [ 11 ]

Club career [edit ]

first spell at Manchester City [edit ]

Meredith ‘s performances for Northwich gained the attention of several other clubs in the Football League. Bolton Wanderers full-back Di Jones, a erstwhile Chirk player, spoke with him about a possible move, but Bolton secretary J.J. Bentley felt Meredith was excessively inexperienced and his frame excessively little. Lawrence Furniss, an official at Ardwick, had beginning noticed him while refereeing a Northwich match. Meredith besides played in both meetings between the clubs that season. later in 1894, Ardwick, by then known as Manchester City, vigorously pursued Meredith ‘s touch. Two club officials travelled to Wales to meet the musician. One was secretary-manager Joshua Parlby, the other either Furniss or president John Chapman. The couple were met with misgiving. Anecdotes by contemporary figures suggest they were initially chased away by locals, and were entirely allowed to speak to Meredith after they bought drinks for his mine colleagues. Meredith did not wish to abandon life in Chirk. His mother was peculiarly against the idea : “ It is all very well for you gentlemen to leave your big cities and come to our villages to steal our boys away … Our boys are happy and healthy, satisfy with their work and barren amusements … if Billy takes my advice he will stick to his work and play football for his own entertainment when exercise is finished. ” Meredith did finally sign for Manchester City, but as an amateur. He continued to work at the orchestra pit for at least a year, commuting back and forth for matches. Meredith made his Manchester City introduction in November 1894 in a 5–4 personnel casualty to Newcastle United. The take after week he played his first base home match for the baseball club at Hyde Road, and scored two goals against Newton Heath – who later became Manchester United – in the first Manchester bowler hat to take position in the league. Newton Heath won the equal 5–2. He turned professional in January 1895, and ended the 1894–95 temper with 12 goals in 18 appearances, fair three strikes behind top-scorer Pat Finnerhan, who had played an extra 12 games. In his foremost wax season at Manchester City, Meredith finished as exceed scorer. He was appointed cabaret captain in his moment season at the club, aged just 21. The club finished as second Division runner-up in 1895–96, but were denied promotion after arduous defeats to West Bromwich Albion and Small Heath in the screen matches. After the deviation of strike collaborator Pat Finnerhan to Liverpool in March 1897, Meredith remained as City ‘s star player. His modern partner for the 1897–98 season was William Smith ( known as “ Stockport Smith ” to differentiate him from another William Smith in the team ), whilst Billie Gillespie was placed at centre-forward. Meredith provided Gillespie with many crosses into the box, picking up numerous assists as Gillespie outscored Meredith by 19 goals to 12. Meredith besides acted as a mentor for the slenderly younger Gillespie, steering him away from drinking sessions by taking him along on fishing trips. The final match of the season saw Meredith score his first hat-trick for the golf club in an emphatic 9–0 acquire against Burton Swifts .

“ Oh I wish I was you Billy Meredith
I wish I was you, I envy you, indeed I do !
It ai n’t that you ‘re catchy with your feet,
But it ‘s those centres that you send in
Which Turnbull then heads in,
Oh, I wish I was you,
indeed I do
indeed I do ”

— One of the democratic songs spill the beans on the terraces at Hyde Road .
City dominated the second base Division in the 1898–99 season, and won promotion as champions. Helping them to keep them in winning ways in the close temper was late sign Jimmy Ross, a seasoned forward who Meredith considered to be his “ favorite champion ”. Meredith claimed 30 goals in 35 games, including hat-tricks against Grimsby Town, Loughborough, Darwen and Barnsley. Meredith scored City ‘s first goal in the First Division on the opening day of the 1899–1900 season in a 4–3 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on 2 September. Seven days late he claimed two goals in a 4–0 home victory over Derby County, and “ led the field that day ” by dribbling the ball about the whole length of the pitch before launching a potent shot that settled into the corner of Jack Fryer ‘s internet. The Athletic News reported that “ for actual magnificence the rightist [ Meredith and Ross ] took the cookie ”. First Division defences managed to limit Meredith ‘s contribution in the 1900–01 political campaign by singling him out for pugnacious treatment, though Liverpool director Tom Watson felt compelled to write a letter to Manchester City deny that a Liverpool director had stated that “ all that the opposition had to do was watch Meredith – the rest are no good ”. He finished the temper with merely seven goals in 35 appearances. Meredith found the net eight times in 38 games in the 1901–02 crusade, as City were relegated back out of the First Division. The club ‘s secretary, Sam Ormerod, selected 29 different players as the clubhouse slumped to defeat in 13 of the open 20 games. Ormerod was forced to step down, as new business figures took restraint behind the scenes and began to sign promising young scots players. New coach Tom Maley was more will than his harbinger to confront Meredith over his tendency to stray out of military position and attack to dominate the City attack. City won immediate promotion as Second Division champions in 1902–03, with Meredith scoring 22 goals in 37 appearances and claiming a hat-trick against Chesterfield Town. Maley managed to find him a desirable inside-right spouse in Jimmy Bannister, who was unselfish in his play and will to feed the ball through to Meredith. He besides played Sammy Frost at half-back, who was able to win the ball and bring Meredith into the play, and signed outside-left Frank Booth to balance the attack. Maley encouraged teamwork, meaning there was less press on Meredith from resistance defenders. Meredith was partnered with George Livingstone for the 1903–04 political campaign, who was able to supply him and the rest of the team with quality passes. Drawn against a strong Sunderland outfit in the First Round of the FA Cup, Meredith was the “ raider-in-chief ” as City claimed a 3–2 victory at Hyde Road. City then defeated Woolwich Arsenal and Middlesbrough to reach the semi-finals. There they faced The Wednesday at Goodison Park, and Meredith scored one goal ( bundled in by Gillespie ) and claimed two assists as City won the game 3–1. Their opponents in the final at Crystal Palace were mid-table Second Division outfit Bolton Wanderers, and Meredith was conservatively optimistic before the catch, stating “ We ought to win … if we play anything like our normal game the cup is ours … but this is the cup final and, well, anything might happen. ” With just over 20 minutes played, Livingstone found Meredith with a long ball, who then beat goalkeeper Dai Davies to score the lone goal of the game ; Bolton supporters long maintained that Meredith had been offside. As captain, Meredith was handed the trophy by Prime Minister Arthur Balfour. He scored nine goals in 36 games in the 1904–05 season, as City came within two points and two places of champions Newcastle United. The season ended in controversial circumstances at Villa Park, and with a 3–2 frustration to Aston Villa ending any hopes of winning the league, Sandy Turnbull and Villa captain Alex Leake exchanged blows. The Football Association launched an investigation into the ferocity, and the findings shocked the sporting world as Meredith was suspended for the entirety of the 1905–06 season for ( unsuccessfully ) attempting to bribe Alex Leake. No attest was taken from Meredith, who denied the blame, and the tell was not made populace. The club, fearful of FA sanctions, refused to pay Meredith during the political campaign. He was transfer listed in May 1906 after he claimed that he had merely attempted to bribe Leake on the orders of coach Tom Maley and that illegal payments were common practice at Hyde Road. The FA acted on his information, and fined Manchester City £900 for illegal payments and suspended numerous players, boardroom members and staff members .

You approve of the severe punishment administered by the Commission AGAINST ME and state that the umbrage I committed at Aston Villa should have wiped me out of football constantly. Why ME ALONE ? when I was only the spokesman of others equally guilty. — Meredith wrote an candid letter to the Athletic News, justifying his decisiveness to reveal the illegal actions of the baseball club .

manchester United [edit ]

Meredith in Manchester United colors In May 1906, while calm serving his banish, Meredith moved to Manchester United. He joined on a complimentary transfer and received a £500 signing-on fee from United ; Manchester City reluctantly accepted the transfer as they had previously signed an undertake bright Meredith a benefit match, and he was uncoerced to forego on the agreement if the baseball club rather granted his transportation. He returned from suspension on 1 January 1907, and marked his debut at Bank Street with an help for Sandy Turnbull to score the only finish of the plot against Aston Villa. In addition to Turnbull, Meredith was joined at United by erstwhile City teammates Jimmy Bannister and Herbert Burgess. This new fore production line made the team into a potent force, as they already possessed a dominant half-back line in captain Charlie Roberts, Dick Duckworth and Alex Bell. They ended the 1906–07 season in eighth home in the First Division. Manager Ernest Mangnall signed Jimmy Turnbull, and the advancing line of Meredith, Bannister, Jimmy Turnbull and Sandy Turnbull were dominant in the 1907–08 crusade. United won the entitle with a nine-point margin over second-placed Aston Villa, and secured the 1908 FA Charity Shield ( the beginning ever Charity Shield ) with a 4–0 winnings over Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge. United slipped to a disappoint 13th-place coating in 1908–09. Meredith was suspended for the month of January in punishment for kicking a Brighton & Hove Albion player in an FA Cup match. The clubhouse reached the 1909 FA Cup Final, knocking out Brighton, Everton, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Newcastle United. Their cup final opponents at Crystal Palace were Bristol City, captained at centre-half by Billy Wedlock – England master and steadfast opponent of the Players ‘ Union. A Sandy Turnbull goal settled the tie, which was described as quite a bore game ; Meredith himself dismissed reports of the match, stating “ it was a good game for dashing, keen, thrilling football, bang-up goalkeeping and narrow escapes at either end ”. Meredith and his teammates celebrated the victory with music hall stars such as George Robey. United finished fifth in 1909–10 and exited the FA Cup at the First Round with a kill to Burnley at Turf Moor. however the baseball club continued to advance under the generous chairmanship of John Henry Davies, and Old Trafford was opened in February 1910. Harold Halse was to partner Meredith at inside-right for the 1910–11 season, but proved besides much of a “ free-spirit ” and was replaced by Jack Picken, a “ plodder [ who ] understands what Meredith requires ”. A defeat at Villa Park in the penultimate game of the season left United needing to beat third-place Sunderland and hope that Aston Villa failed to beat Liverpool. United were a finish down when Meredith provided Enoch West with a crisscross which West sent into the final for the equal goal. Four more goals came and they won the bet on 5–1 and left the field as champions of England for the moment time. Meredith played in the 1911 FA Charity Shield, as United beat Swindon Town 8–4 at Stamford Bridge. however the 1911–12 political campaign ended in a disappointing 13th-place finish and Mangnall left the club to manage rivals Manchester City. Meredith ‘s Benefit peer was played on 7 September 1912, between Manchester United and Manchester City, and the Welsh FA besides donated the proceeds of two trial matches to the investment company. There were 39,911 spectators and a sum of £1,400 was raised. New coach John Bentley led United to a fourth-place finish in 1912–13. He dropped Meredith to blood a young Jackie Sheldon. By this time, Meredith made headlines primarily due to his squabbling with the baseball club over them stalling requital of his benefit matches and his dissatisfaction at being dropped. The golf club dropped to 14th spot in 1913–14, and only avoided relegation on the last day of the 1914–15 season after bribing Liverpool to lose 2–0 at Old Trafford ; Meredith this fourth dimension played no part in the result bribery scandal. He rather claimed to be baffled as to why his teammates refused to pass to him during the game. During the First World War he actually played a match against United, making a guest appearance for Port Vale, with Vale recording a 5–2 victory at the Old Recreation Ground. Frustrated with the baseball club for delaying payments over his benefit match, he besides played as a guest for Manchester City. After the war ended he demanded a rid transportation, and was repulsed that the clubhouse demanded a transfer fee, stating that the transfer market was a “ degrade business ” for players. On 7 May 1921, at 46 years, 281 days, he became United ‘s oldest always actor when he took to the field in a league bet on against Derby County .

fall to Manchester City [edit ]

In 1921 he returned to Manchester City on a free transfer. He played 25 first team games in the 1921–22 season, helping City to record a bowler hat victory over rivals Manchester United. He featured once in the 1922–23 campaign, playing the club ‘s final game at Hyde Road. He played four FA Cup and two First Division games in the 1923–24 season. Mangnall, immediately his director at City, shocked manchester when he selected Meredith for the cup crippled with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Goldstone Ground, but was vindicated with a 5–1 victory ; Meredith besides scored a goal, though this was due to a inadequate mistake from the Brighton goalkeeper. He played both games against Cardiff City in the next cycle, a 0–0 withdraw at Maine Road and 1–0 win at Ninian Park, and claimed an assist in the goal that settled the tie. His last match was against Newcastle United in the semi-finals at the age of 49 years and 245 days, making him City ‘s oldest ever player ; the game ended in a 2–1 frustration .

International career [edit ]

Meredith won his beginning cap for Wales in a 2–2 reap with Ireland on 16 March 1895 in Belfast. [ 68 ] He won 12 caps in the 1890s, but was forced to miss six games as his golf club would not let him play in games that clashed with league fixtures. Wales could compete with Ireland, but were regularly beaten by Scotland and England. On 26 March 1900, Wales played for the first time in South Wales, at Cardiff Arms Park, and Meredith scored a goal to earn the Welsh a lionize 1–1 draw with England. After serving his suspension, he returned to Wales for the british Home Championship deed victory in 1907, the nation ‘s beginning success in the contest. In those three games, he scored against Ireland in a 3–2 victory, and captained Wales to a 1–0 acquire over Scotland and a 1–1 string with England. Wales were denied a deep penalty against the English, and Meredith was belated recorded to have said “ never mind, little Wales will win some day [ against England ]. May I be there at the death. ”

After draws with Ireland and Scotland, Meredith “ wept unashamedly ” as he helped Wales to beat England 2–1 at Highbury to claim the 1920 British Home Championship. It was only his second victory against the English in 20 attempts, and it marked the end of his 48 caps. Though his record number of caps was late surpassed, at 45 years and 229 days he remains the oldest musician to win a Wales cap. He was actually chosen by the selectors for 71 back-to-back matches, but only made 48 appearances as his clubs regularly refused to release him for international duty .

vogue of play [edit ]

Meredith was able to avoid injury throughout his career, despite the extremely forcible nature of the game during the period. This was due in depart to his extraordinary balance and agility, which allowed him to avoid bungling challenges, and the formidability he had built up from spending his adolescence working in the mines. A model professional, he spent his spare clock time improving his game with extra train sessions and maintained extremum forcible fitness by avoiding alcohol and tobacco. His “ catch ” was to chew on a toothpick during matches, and this unusual trait was picked up on by cartoonists of the time. Writing a 1947 review of Stanley Matthews, Meredith criticised the miss of direct looseness on show in the 1940s and stated that when he was playing that “ I knew what was expected of me – to beat the wing-half and the full-back, take the ball down to the corner flag and center ”. His ball control skills were alone, leaving confrontation players unable to tackle him. He besides was an highly accurate passer and cross of the testis. His dribble and crossing gave him a large advantage over equal wingers, who relied entirely on rush to beat opposition full-backs. In addition to wing-play, he was besides highly skilled at sending in long-range shots across the face of the finish, and could be relied upon to meet crosses from his collectivist with a brawny volley. Meredith had to deal with extremely physical defences, and was frequently boxed into the corner of the flip by angstrom many as four players. As his talents became widely regarded, more well mastermind defences would designate him with a man-marker, to try and isolate him from his teammates. This frequently left him reliant on an unselfish inside-right spouse uncoerced to fetch and carry the testis for him without expecting much in terms of goals or glory in rejoinder. A hard-working wing-half would besides improve Meredith ‘s effectiveness by winning the ball and sending him a pass down the flank. The best teams he played in besides had a centre-forward able to make the most of his accurate crosses .

Players ‘ Union [edit ]

“ I have devoted myself to football and I have become a better player than most men because I have denied myself much that men prize … They congratulate me and give me caps but they will not give me a penny more than men are earning in the military reserve team, some of them possibly do not trouble oneself themselves to improve themselves and do n’t worry about taking concern of condition. If football is a man ‘s support and he does more than others for his employer, why is he not entitled to better pay than others ? so far as I can make out, the lone reason why the best footballers in England are prevented from earning better than men of lesser ability and experience is strictly bathetic. ”

— Meredith made a passionate and eloquent case for abandoning the utmost engage .
Meredith organised the first meet of the Players ‘ Union ( PU ) in December 1907. Meredith had previously been involved with the Association Footballers ‘ Union ( the “ AFU ” ), the first undertake by football players in England to organise a trade union. The Players ‘ Union, like the AFU before it, sought the liberalization of restrictions on transfers and wages. [ 88 ] Others made the argument that a exempt market wage structure would ruin the amateur principles the sport was founded on, but Meredith felt that these words rang hollow considering that golf club directors and shareholders made huge profits. At the first annual meet in December 1908, the PU stated their aims as to allow outright wages, the right to transfer from club to club, and for players to take a share of any remove fee. With the union threatening strickle action, particularly at international matches, in April 1909 the Football Association insisted that all players agree to leave the union and pledge commitment to the FA. Manchester United refused to issue the revised contracts to its players, and the FA suspended the entire police squad. The cabaret then refused to pay the players in stead of their suspension, and therefore the players rather took away ornaments from the club ‘s position before Mangnall persuaded them to return the items. The players continued to train, and captain Charlie Roberts came up with the name of Outcasts F.C. The FA organised a meet of 200 players, excluding the Outcasts, but a rambling lecture from chair Charles Clegg failed to win them over, and an agreement was reached where the PU would be recognised by the FA. In October 1909, the Union balloted its members over the organization ‘s membership of the General Federation of Trade Unions ( GTFU ). The consequence of the vote, a decisive “ no ” to GFTU support, efficaciously supported the FA ‘s position that professional footballers were basically different from workmen in early industries. Meredith resumed league football in November 1909, bemoaning his view that “ many players refuse to take things seriously and continue to live a kind of schoolboy life ” .

personal life and bequest [edit ]

He married Ellen Negus in 1901, and the match had two daughters. He was a supporter of the Liberal Party. He ran businesses throughout his career, with fiddling success, and was declared bankrupt in July 1909 after his outfitting shop was damaged by fire. During the 1910s he ran a public theater ( despite being a teetotaler ) and subsequently pursued an pastime in the film industry by buying shares in numerous Stretford film in the 1930s. He besides starred in the 1926 word picture The Ball of Fortune, playing himself as a football flight simulator ; the film received generally positive reviews. In 1928, together with former colleague Charlie Roberts, he became a coach for the ambitious but ephemeral Manchester Central. Meredith ‘s son-in-law, former City captain Charlie Pringle, was a actor. He retained a passion for football, and spent much of his retirement discussing the game with former colleagues and regulars at his hotel, the Stretford Road Hotel, which he ran from 1930 to 1945. He rarely missed the prospect to attend a Wales game in the 1920s and 1930s .
A Wales national team football shirt which was worn by Billy Meredith in the early 1900s, with Welsh cap. On display at the National Football Museum in Manchester Meredith died in Withington, Manchester in April 1958 at the old age of 83, two months after the Munich air calamity, which claimed the lives of eight Manchester United players. [ 102 ] After he spent many years in an unmarked grave, the Professional Footballers ‘ Association, the Welsh FA, Manchester City and Manchester United all agreed to cover the price of care on a fresh keystone. [ 103 ] Meredith is honoured in the hall of fame at the City of Manchester Stadium. [ 104 ] It was announced in August 2007 that Meredith was one of the 10 new inductees for 2007 to the English Football Hall of Fame. [ 105 ]

career statistics [edit ]

Club statistics [edit ]

International statistics [edit ]

Wales national team[121]
Year Apps Goals
1895 2 0
1896 2 2
1897 3 2
1898 2 0
1899 1 0
1900 1 1
1901 2 0
1902 2 0
1903 3 0
1904 1 0
1905 2 1
1907 3 1
1908 2 0
1909 3 1
1910 0 0
1911 0 0
1912 0 0
1913 3 1
1914 3 0
1920 3 0
Total 39 10

Honours [edit ]

club [edit ]

Chirk

  • Welsh Cup (1): 1894

Manchester City
Manchester United

National team [edit ]

Wales

individual [edit ]

References [edit ]

Notes
Bibliography

  • Brandon, Derek (1978). A–Z of Manchester Football: 100 Years of Rivalry. Boondoggle.
  • Harding, John (1998). Football Wizard: The Billy Meredith Story. Robson Books. ISBN 1-86105-137-9.
  • James, Gary (2005). The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61282-1.
  • James, Gary (2006). Manchester City – The Complete Record. Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
  • James, Gary (2008). Manchester – A Football History. James Ward.
  • Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players’ Records 1888–1939. Tony Brown. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  • Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  • Penney, Ian (1995). The Maine Road Encyclopaedia. Mainstream. ISBN 1-85158-710-1.
  • Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Breedon. ISBN 0-907969-05-4.

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