Don Welsh : Manager (1951-56)Ill health had forced George Kay to retire as Liverpool's manager early on in the year and so pave the way for Don Welsh to replace him.
This was not the first time the former Charlton and England inside left had served the club. He guested for the Reds during the war in the 1939/40 season. Although a brief spell, he had been accepted as a Liverpool player just the same.
When Welsh joined from Charlton, he had a big problem. The defence was solid but the attack was ageing. He splashed out - spending more than 50,000 pounds on the likes of Bimpson and A'Court - but could not stop the inevitable slide towards Division Two.
PROFILE
In 1954 Don Welsh became the first manager to put Liverpool through relegation for over 50 years. Unfortunately, that day also saw Everton promoted back to Div 1. He had almost accomplished that feat the season before finishing 17th, and only a scrappy win over Chelsea on the last day of the season kept Liverpool up. Liverpool would stay in Div 2 for eight more seasons.
On Christmas Day 1955, Welsh signed Charlton pair Frank Lock and Jonny Evans. As there were no newspapers over the Christmas period, the first the fans knew anything was when the team list was announced over the tannoy on match day.
Liverpool came near to going back up again in 1955-56, but Welsh was dismissed before he could have another go at getting promotion. It was becoming obvious that Liverpool were going nowhere. The following year, after accepting his part of the blame, Welsh was sacked as Liverpool manager. The only Liverpool manager to ever be sacked, he died in 1990, aged 78.
Welsh's Record:
Div 1 1951-52 43 points 11th place 1952-53 36 points 17th place 1953-54 28 points 22nd place
Div 2 1954-55 42 points 11th place 1955-56 48 points 3rd place
Thanks to Iain Hamilton for his contribution to this profile.
This was not the first time the former Charlton and England inside left had served the club. He guested for the Reds during the war in the 1939/40 season. Although a brief spell, he had been accepted as a Liverpool player just the same.
When Welsh joined from Charlton, he had a big problem. The defence was solid but the attack was ageing. He splashed out - spending more than 50,000 pounds on the likes of Bimpson and A'Court - but could not stop the inevitable slide towards Division Two.
PROFILE
In 1954 Don Welsh became the first manager to put Liverpool through relegation for over 50 years. Unfortunately, that day also saw Everton promoted back to Div 1. He had almost accomplished that feat the season before finishing 17th, and only a scrappy win over Chelsea on the last day of the season kept Liverpool up. Liverpool would stay in Div 2 for eight more seasons.
On Christmas Day 1955, Welsh signed Charlton pair Frank Lock and Jonny Evans. As there were no newspapers over the Christmas period, the first the fans knew anything was when the team list was announced over the tannoy on match day.
Liverpool came near to going back up again in 1955-56, but Welsh was dismissed before he could have another go at getting promotion. It was becoming obvious that Liverpool were going nowhere. The following year, after accepting his part of the blame, Welsh was sacked as Liverpool manager. The only Liverpool manager to ever be sacked, he died in 1990, aged 78.
Welsh's Record:
Div 1 1951-52 43 points 11th place 1952-53 36 points 17th place 1953-54 28 points 22nd place
Div 2 1954-55 42 points 11th place 1955-56 48 points 3rd place
Thanks to Iain Hamilton for his contribution to this profile.
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