 George Kay
Job Title: Manager with 06.08.1936-January 1951
Date of Birth: 21/09/1891
With the Reds: 1936-1951
Arrived from: Southampton
Signed for LFC: 06.08.1936
First game in charge: 29.08.1936
LFC league games as manager: 324
Total LFC games as manager: 357
Contract expiry: January 1951
Former Clubs as Player: Bolton Wanderers, Belfast Celtic, West Ham United
Former Clubs as Staff: Luton Town, Southampton
Birthplace: Manchester, England
Characteristics:
Honours as Staff: 1 Division One Championship 46/47, 1 Lancashire Senior Cup
46/47, Lancashire County Combination Champioonship 46/47
Runners up: 1 FA Cups 49/50
Personal Honours:
The Managerial Record
| Competition |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
% |
| League |
324 |
123 |
88 |
113 |
495 |
472 |
37.96% |
| FA Cup |
33 |
19 |
5 |
9 |
56 |
39 |
57.58% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
357 |
142 |
93 |
122 |
551 |
511 |
39.78% |
Matches that are won or lost in a penalty shoot-out are counted as a draw in
those numbers. |
PROFILE
As a player George Kay began his career with three appearances for Bolton in
1910/11 before becoming the first Englishman to captain an Irish League club when he
skippered Belfast Celtic. He then returned to England in 1919 to become a key part of West
Ham United's defence and skippered 'The Hammers' in the famous 'White Horse' FA Cup Final
of 1923.
Kay, a deep - even introspective - thinker, joined Liverpool after five years in
charge of Southampton and as manager signed the player widely regarded as Liverpool's
greatest ever, Billy Liddell. Furthermore he signed a very young Bob Paisley from Bishop
Aukland, for which supporters of the club should be eternally grateful. He also stole the
legendary Albert Stubbins from Everton who were about to sign the gifted forward.
Kay guided 'The Reds' to a championship in 1946-47, with a unique 'quadruple'
achieved with the Liverpool Senior Cup taken in a final against Everton, and two other
local cups. Much of his managerial career at Anfield was interrupted by the war and he may
have achieved even more if it were not for this debilitating intrusion.
He has been unfairly overlooked by the awesome achievements of Shankly and his
protege Paisley, but in fact he was remarkable and able manager and nearly achieved the
prize most desired by the Club, the FA Cup, in 1950 in a close game won ultimately by
Arsenal.
He brilliantly planned his assault on the first post-war championship by taking the
team on a trip to the USA and Canada, where against mediocre opposition, but with
tremendous support, he gave his team time to gel and, very significantly feast on
unrationed food in copious quantities. His team, fit, healthy and buoyed by ten wins in
ten games managed to stand the strain of a season that only ended in July after a harsh
winter delayed fixtures for weeks on end.
Another far from healthy man, Kay died a premature death in 1965. His death
prompted Billy Liddell to say: "If ever a man gave his life for a club, George Kay
did so for Liverpool.
Players bought
& sold by George Kay
|
