Frank Brettell

Frank Brettell

Personal information
Full name	Frank E. Brettell
Date of birth	Unknown
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Date of death	Unknown
Playing position	Full back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
	St. Domingo's	?	(?)
	Everton	?	(?)
Teams managed
1896–1898	Bolton Wanderers
1898–1899	Tottenham Hotspur
1899–1901	Portsmouth
1903–1905	Plymouth Argyle
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Frank E. Brettell was an English-born Irish football player, manager and administrator.

He played as a full back for Everton, a club that was originally called St. Domingo's. He combined his role as player-secretary-manager with his full time job as a reporter for the Liverpool Mercury. He became secretary of Bolton Wanderers in 1896 and remained there for two years before moving to London to join Tottenham Hotspur as their first manager. He then accepted a more lucrative offer to join Portsmouth and guided them to a second place finish in their first season in the Southern League. He accepted an offer to join Plymouth Argyle in 1903 and helped establish the club in the professional game. The job was to be his last as a manager and he retired from football altogether a year later. Nothing else is known about him.

Football career

Brettell began his football career with local club St. Domingo. A full back, he combined his playing duties with a role as secretary-manager of the team in 1875. The club was reformed as Everton in 1879 with Brettell as a member of the committee during the clubs first year. He did this while being a full-time reporter for local newspaper the Liverpool Mercury.

He joined Bolton Wanderers in 1896, again as secretary-manager. Two years later he joined Tottenham Hotspur, soon after the club had been converted into a Public limited company. He brought a number of players with him from Bolton Wanderers, but his stay as the clubs manager was relatively brief; he resigned in February 1899 to join Portsmouth after they offered him substantially more money to take the job.

His first season in charge was also Portsmouth's first in the Southern League and adapted to their new surroundings well, finishing fourth in the league table. He left the club in June 1901 and it would be another two years before he took up his final managerial role. Brettell was invited to build a professional team for Plymouth Argyle in 1903, an offer which he accepted.

Having been able to call upon twenty-eight years of experience as a football administrator and manager, he succeeded in his task and lead the club into the Southern League for the 1903–04 season. He used his extensive network of contacts to bring a number of experienced professionals to Home Park, including; Andy Clark, Bob Jack, Billy Leech and Jack Peddie. He led the club to creditable ninth and fourth place finishes in the Southern League, as well as winning the Western League in 1905. Brettell left the club at the end of his second season in charge and wouldn't manage a professional team again, but his place in English football history was assured.

Later life

It is believed that he retired altogether the following year, but sadly nothing more is known about him.

Career statistics

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Bolton Wanderers		1 August 1896	14 March 1898	&1000000000000006800000068	&1000000000000002600000026	&1000000000000001300000013	&1000000000000002900000029	&1000000000000003824000038.24
Tottenham Hotspur		14 March 1898	17 February 1899	&1000000000000006300000063	&1000000000000003700000037	&1000000000000001200000012	&1000000000000001400000014	&1000000000000005872999958.73
Portsmouth		1 August 1899	31 May 1901	&1000000000000008800000088	&1000000000000005600000056	&100000000000000090000009	&1000000000000002300000023	&1000000000000006364000063.64
Plymouth Argyle		1 August 1903	31 May 1905	&10000000000000115000000115	&1000000000000005700000057	&1000000000000002700000027	&1000000000000003100000031	&1000000000000004957000049.57
Total				&10000000000000246000000246	&10000000000000120000000120	&1000000000000005200000052	&1000000000000007400000074	&1000000000000004878000048.78

Managerial honours

Plymouth Argyle

• Western Football League (1): 1904–05

References

General

• Danes, Ryan (2009). Plymouth Argyle: A Complete Record. Plymouth: Breedon Books. ISBN 1859837107. 
• Cowdery, Rick (2009). Plymouth Argyle: Miscellany. Plymouth: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 1905411405. 
• Knight, Brian (1989). Plymouth Argyle: A Complete Record 1903–1989. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 0907969402. 

Specific

External links

• Soccerbase Statistics
• Tottenham Hotspur Managers
• Plymouth Argyle Managers