George Alan Ashman (30 May 1928 – 30 November 2002) was an English association footballer, best remembered for some notable managerial successes.

Playing career

Born in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, Ashman had an undistinguished amateur playing career with

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

during the ad hoc competitions of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1951, he signed for Carlisle United for whom he made 214 appearances, scoring 98 goals. In 1958, suffering from

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

damage, he retired from playing to manage the poultry farm of one of the club's directors. As a recreation, he managed amateur team Penrith and when Third Division Carlisle found themselves in need of a manager in February 1963, the club offered Ashman the job. During his playing career he played

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 ...

for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

in the 1956

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

. In 2009 Ashman was named at 18th in a list of Carlisle United's top 100 players, compiled by local newspaper the ''

News and Star The ''News and Star'' (formerly the ''Evening News and Star'' and ''Cumberland Evening News'') is a local tabloid newspaper in Cumbria. As of 18 October 2018, it belongs to Newsquest who produce several regional newspapers throughout the UK. ...

''.

Management career

Ashman was too late to prevent that season's relegation but the following season saw a bounce back, and the season after that, the Third Division championship. Leading Division Two for much of the 1965–66 season, the club was disappointed to miss out on promotion by finishing third. Ashman's exploits had not gone unnoticed and, in 1967, he joined

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, leading them in a series of exciting cup runs, crowned by victory in the 1968

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. His new club was, however, impatient for further trophies and he was dismissed in 1971, hearing of the news from a waiter while on holiday in Greece. Somewhat ironically, he went on to manage Olympiakos before returning to Carlisle in August 1972, leading the club to the First Division and a brief spell at the top of the entire English league. The heights were short-lived and Ashman left the club to manage

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

from 1975 to 1977 and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

before settling for junior coaching and scouting roles at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

and Swallows of Walsall. He died in 2002 in

. A minute's silence was held in his honour prior to West Bromwich Albion's home match against

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 ...

Honours

Managerial

; Carlisle United (1963–1967) & (1972–1975) * Football League 2nd Tier (Currently

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

): **2nd Runners-up: 1973–74 * Football League 3rd Tier (Currently

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

): **Winners: 1964–65 * Football League 4th Tier (Currently

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

): **Runners-up: 1963–64 ;

(1967–1971) *

: **Winners: 1968 ;

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

(1971–1972) * Greek League: **Runners-up:

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

* Greater Greece Cup: **Winners:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashman, Alan 1928 births English footballers Sheffield United F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Carlisle United F.C. managers Olympiacos F.C. managers West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Workington A.F.C. managers Walsall F.C. managers English Football League managers English cricketers Cumberland cricketers 2002 deaths Penrith F.C. managers Association football forwards