William Rodney Coldwell (4 June 1932 – 8 December 1995) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, Coldwell played football for Weymouth and also played two first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

matches for the MCC against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in the mid-1950s. He was employed as a scout by

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

, but acted as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

on two occasions. The first time was for three games between the departure of

Dave Mackay David Craig Mackay (14 November 1934 – 2 March 2015) was a Scottish football player and manager. Mackay was best known for a highly successful playing career with Heart of Midlothian, the Double-winning Tottenham Hotspur side of 1961, an ...

and the arrival of

Lou Macari Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Kenny ...

in early 1991; Birmingham remained unbeaten under his management. After Macari walked out in June 1991 to join

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

, Coldwell again took over as caretaker, this time persuading a significant number of out-of-contract players to re-sign (and not leave the club with Macari), and supervising pre-season training until the appointment of Terry Cooper in August 1991. In April 1993 he replaced

Len Ashurst Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired a ...

as manager of Southern League Weymouth. Unable to prevent relegation to the Southern Division, he stabilised the club and achieved a mid-table finish with a young side in the 1992–93 season, but was sacked in September 1993. Coldwell died in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

at the age of 63.

References

External links

* 1932 births People from Petersfield 1995 deaths English men's footballers Weymouth F.C. players English football managers Birmingham City F.C. managers Weymouth F.C. managers Men's association football players not categorized by position English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers {{England-footy-manager-stub