photo backgold.jpg  photo twitterloveevertonforum.png photo next button.png

Cliff Briton - Everton Manager : 1948 - 1956

Statistics


  • Managed: 344

  • Won: 125

  • Drawn: 92

  • Lost: 127

Cliff Briton - Everton Manager : 1948 - 1956

Cliff Briton - Everton Manager : 1948 - 1956


Cliff Britton signed for Everton in June 1930 from Bristol Rovers but the right-half was forced to wait until 1932/33 before establishing himself as a first-team regular.

Once given the chance, he became a regular fixture in the side and went on to make 242 appearances in a royal blue jersey, scoring three goals in the process.

He was known as a leader on the pitch who was always wanting the ball and always looking to drive the team forward with his exceptional passing ability.

Britton picked up an FA Cup winners medal in 1933 after being part of the side that beat Manchester City 3-0 in the final.

However, he only managed to make one appearance in 1938/39 when the Blues’ lifted the league title. The former Bristol Rovers player picked up nine England caps while with Everton, making his debut against Wales in September 1934.

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. 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."

A sub-committee of the board unsuccessfully ran the Everton team for the remainder of the season until Ian Buchan was appointed.

Source : Everton FC / Wikipedia


Everton FC captain Dixie Dean shows the FA Cup to fans in London

photo backgold.jpg  photo twitterloveevertonforum.png photo next button.png