William Henry Elliott (20 March 1925 – 21 January 2008), born in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, was an English professional
footballer and football manager. He played five times for the
England national side.
Sporting career
Playing career
Billy Elliott, a left winger, began his career with
Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...
, joining as an amateur in 1939 and turning professional in March 1942. He scored 21 times in 176 league games for Bradford before a £23,000 move to
Burnley in August 1951. He made his debut for England on 18 May 1952 in a 1–1 draw with
Italy in
Florence, also playing in the 3–2 win against
Austria in Vienna a week later. The following season, he played the games against
Northern Ireland,
Wales and
Belgium.
In June 1953, after fourteen goals in 74 league games for Burnley, Elliott moved to
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
in June 1953, costing £26,000. He played 212 games and scored 26 goals, in a six-year spell at the club, leaving in July 1959 to join
Wisbech Town
Wisbech Town Football Club is a football club based near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Fenland Stadium.
History
Although a Wisbech Town existed in the 1890s, the current club was estab ...
.
Coaching and managerial career
Elliott was manager of the
Libya national side between October 1961 and 1963 when he returned to the UK and scouted for
Sheffield Wednesday. In 1964 he moved to Germany to coach the US Forces teams, a post he held until July 1966 when he was appointed manager of Belgian side
Daring FC. On leaving Daring in January 1968 he returned to Sunderland, as coach. Elliott was
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 ...
of Sunderland for four games in 1972 after the sacking of
Alan Brown, remaining on the coaching staff under new manager
Bob Stokoe until June 1973, leaving after Sunderland had won the
FA Cup.
He coached Norwegian side
Brann between 1974 and 1978 and in December 1978 returned to Sunderland as manager. He remained in charge until the end of the season, almost guiding Sunderland to promotion. The board decided that they wanted a younger man in charge, however, and sacked Elliott in favour of coach
Ken Knighton
Kenneth Knighton (born 20 February 1944) is an English former footballer, coach and manager. He is most well known for his spell as manager at Sunderland during which time the club was promoted to the First Division, and he also managed Foot ...
.
In June 1979 he took over as manager of
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
, where he remained until June 1983.
He died on 21 January 2008, aged 82.
Honours
As a manager
Brann
*
Norwegian Premier League runner-up: 1974–75
*
Norwegian Football Cup winner: 1976
*
Norwegian Football Cup runner-up: 1978
Managerial statistics
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Billy
1925 births
2008 deaths
English men's footballers
England men's international footballers
Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. wartime guest players
English football managers
Sunderland A.F.C. managers
Darlington F.C. managers
SK Brann managers
Expatriate football managers in Belgium
English expatriate sportspeople in Norway
Expatriate football managers in Norway
Footballers from Bradford
English Football League players
English Football League representative players
Wisbech Town F.C. players
Libya national football team managers
Men's association football midfielders