'Meet the new boss; same as the old boss' : a social history of the football manager, 1880 - c.1966

• Main Author: Carter, Neil
• Published: University of Warwick 2002
• Subjects: 900; GV Recreation Leisure
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.504810

This is a history of the development of the manager in English football from 1880 until the mid-1960s. It is predicated on two main arguments. First, that football management in England has largely reflected the practical tradition of British management where managers are employed more for their experience than any qualifications that they might hold. Second, that the management of players during this period mirrored prevailing attitudes within society towards the handling of young, working-class men and because they lacked any management training, managers imposed their personality and authority on them. The thesis has a chronological structure. The first chapter provides a broad overview of British management up to 1970. Its aim is to provide an overall context for the rest of the thesis by analysing the history of British management, its culture, and also the role of education. Chapter 2 charts the early development of football management in the years up to 1914. The following chapter examines the emergence of early football managers during the same period. It examines, first, the relationship between a manager and his directors and how this has developed in light of football's commercialisation process; second, how the training and background of managers has reflected trends within British management; and third, the manager's relationship with his workers, the players. This framework will be used throughout the thesis. Chapter 4 is a case study of Herbert Chapman. Chapter 5 deals with the inter-War period and Chapter 6 looks at the emergence of modem football management from 1945 up to the Sixties. Chapter 7 assesses the socio-economic impact of a manager on a team's performance during this period. The conclusion will briefly draw together the main themes and arguments of the thesis.