John Finch (3 February 1909 – 15 November 1993) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

who played as a winger in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, where he made over 280 appearances, and was the first manager of the

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

touring team. He also spent two years managing Icelandic side

Valur Valur may refer to: People * Birkir Valur Jónsson (born 1998), Icelandic football player * Björn Valur Gíslason (born 1959), Icelandic politician * Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson (born 1979), Icelandic handball player * Guðni Valur Guðnason (born ...

. Finch's entire professional playing career was spent with Fulham. He joined in 1930 and remained with the club for 16 years, throughout

World War II 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 ...

. He made 295 appearances for the club between 1930 and 1939, and made a further 72 appearances during the war years. He also guested for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Crystal Palace during this time. He had a brief stint with Colchester United following the hostilities. Finch was the first coach of the Nigeria national team, taking charge of the side in 1949 for their tour of England, in which they played a number of

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against varying opposition. He later managed Icelandic side

between 1950 and 1952.

Playing career

Born in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

, Finch began his career at Walthamstow Avenue. He was invited for a trial at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in 1929, but he eventually signed for

as an amateur in October 1930. Just one month later, Finch had signed a professional deal with the club. During Finch's second season with the club, he earned a medal when Fulham lifted the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

championship in the 1931–32 season. Finch played in 15

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 ...

ties for the Cottagers, which included the 1935–36 semi-final defeat to eventual runners-up Sheffield United. Finch would go on to make 280 league appearances and score 50 goals, and as such was the only player to feature in every season in the 1930s. With the outbreak of

, Finch continued to play for Fulham during the war years, racking up a further 72 wartime league appearances. He also made guest appearances for

and Crystal Palace. Finch signed for Southern League club Colchester United on 8 August 1946. He made just three appearances for Colchester in August and September 1946.

Managerial career

Finch was the first coach to the

touring team in 1949. Meeting his players at Liverpool docks, he took charge of the group for their first training session ahead of their first match against

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

. His side won 5–2, and won further games against

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

. They drew twice against a

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

XI and South Liverpool, but lost to

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, Leytonstone, an

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

XI and an Athenian League XI. His side played many of their games barefoot. Finch later coached Icelandic team

between 1950 and 1952. He later became a freelance reporter in the West Ham area, before taking up a driving job in the

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Jack 1909 births 1993 deaths Footballers from West Ham Men's association football wingers English men's footballers English football managers Walthamstow Avenue F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Crystal Palace F.C. wartime guest players Colchester United F.C. players Nigeria national football team managers Valur (men's football) managers Úrvalsdeild karla (football) managers Expatriate football managers in Iceland English Football League players Southern Football League players