Gabriel Sibley "Sid" Kimpton, also known as George Kimpton, (12 August 1887 – 15 February 1968) was an English football player, who spent his entire playing career with

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and subsequently became a manager in Europe.

Playing career

Kimpton was born in Leavesden, near

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

and, after playing for his local village team, had an unsuccessful trial with

in 1909. He joined Southern League

in September 1910; after one match for the reserves, he made his first-team debut on 22 October, taking over the

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

's role from

Percy Prince Percy Prince (15 August 1887 – December 1973) was an English amateur footballer who played as a centre-forward for Southampton and Boscombe in the early 20th century. Football career Prince was born in Liverpool but was raised in Southampton ...

, in a 3–0 defeat by

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. Kimpton scored in his next match a week later, in a 3–2 defeat at Brentford. By the end of the season, Kimpton had made 29 appearances, scoring seven goals, as the "Saints" finished one point above the relegation places. According to Holley & Chalk, Kimpton's "''main value was his reliability and versatility''"; he was "''never thought of as a great player (but) had plenty of pluck and bustle which made him hugely popular''." For the 1911–12 season, Southampton's new manager George Swift recruited eleven new players, including centre-forward Henry Hamilton from

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. Kimpton retained his place in the side, but moved back to

right-half A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

where he played for the first half of the season, before being replaced by John Denby in December. Kimpton returned to the side in March, when he took over the

outside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

berth from

Jack Wilcox Joseph Wilcox (23 March 1887 – 29 May 1964) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside right for various clubs in the years preceding the First World War. Football career Wilcox was born in Walsall, Worcestershire and jo ...

for the rest of the season, at the end of which Southampton were once again just above the relegation zone. George Swift resigned in the summer of 1912 and

Jimmy McIntyre James Alfred McIntyre (31 October 1881 – 1954) was an English footballer who became manager at Southampton, Coventry City and Fulham. Playing career McIntyre was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. He was a journeyman player of some repute ...

was recruited as "trainer" with

Ernest Arnfield Ernest Arnfield (25 December 1853 – 8 August 1945) was an English football manager who was secretary/manager of Southampton F.C. from 1897 to 1911, and again from 1912 to 1919. Arnfield was born in Mellor, Derbyshire. He died in Southampton, a ...

returning as "secretary" (manager). The Saints started the 1912–13 season badly, only winning one match by the end of October. As the managerial team tried to improve performances by recruiting new players, Kimpton managed to retain his place in the side, either at centre-forward or on the right-wing, until February when he was dropped. He returned to the side the following November and continued at outside-right for the rest of the 1913–14 season. He started the 1914–15 season on the wing, before reverting to centre-forward at the end of October, where he remained for the rest of the season, scoring ten goals as the Saints finished in sixth place, their best Southern League finish for five years. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Kimpton worked for

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...

but continued to turn out for Southampton in wartime leagues and friendlies. On the resumption of football in 1919, Kimpton was one of only three pre-war players who were re-signed by Southampton, but he was now in his thirties and only made two appearances in Southampton's final Southern League season. Before he left the Saints, he was rewarded with a benefit match. In his Southampton career, he made 149 appearances in peace-time matches, scoring 30 goals.

Coaching career

He coached

DFC Prague The Deutscher Fußball-Club Prag, commonly known as DFC Prag, was a football club based in Prague. The club was founded on 25 May 1896 by a group of German Jews in Prague, which at the time of its founding was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohem ...

Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw ( pl, Polonia Warszawa, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing Varsovian sports club, best known for its football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, swimming, chess, mountain biking, and contract ...

Cracovia Cracovia is the Latin name for the Polish city of Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh cen ...

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, France national team,

RC Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spor ...

, Rouen and Cherbourg. Kimpton led the first coaching lessons of the FFFA in 1934.Gilles Gauthey, ''Le football professionnel français'', Paris, 1961, p.95 He was then called up to help the

France national football team The France national football team (french: Équipe de France de football) represents France in men's international football matches. It is governed by the French Football Federation (FFF; ), the governing body for football in France. It is ...

for the

1934 World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...

, played in Italy. He had only an advisory role, as the triumvirate Gaston Barreau, Jean Rigal and Maurice Delanghe still led the team.JM Cazal, P Cazal et M Oreggia, ''L'intégrale de l'équipe de France de football'', Paris, First Edition, 1998, p. 89 He brought the

WM formation In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

in France.French Football Federation
Interviewed by '' L'Auto'' magazine about the level of French football players: "The French team could do better. (...) The French players must follow the discipline of football."Coll., ''La Coupe du Monde'', Paris, L'Équipe, p.38 Before the World Cup match

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

played on 27 May 1934 in

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, George Kimpton asked French

Midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Georges Verriest Georges Verriest (15 July 1909 – 11 July 1985) was a French footballer. He played for RC Roubaix, and earned 14 caps for the France national football team, and scored a goal in the 1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second ...

to do a very tight individual marking on Austrian striker

Matthias Sindelar Matthias Sindelar (, cz, Matěj Šindelář; 10 February 1903 – 23 January 1939) was an Austrian professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest Austrian players of all time, Sindelar played for Austria Wien and the Austria national ...

. He said: "You can follow Sindelar everywhere... even to the toilet! ". France lost 3–2 "doubtful goal" against the ''

Wunderteam ''Wunderteam'' (; ''Wonder Team'') was the name given to the Austria national football team of the 1930s. Led by manager Hugo Meisl, the team had an unbeaten streak of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. The style of the team focused on q ...

'' and more than 4000 people welcomed players and staff at the

Gare de Lyon The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...

. Kimpton was even acclaimed. Kimpton left the coaching staff of the

just after the World Cup. Gaston Barreau expressed relief, because he did not appreciate Kimpton's tactical options. He returned to his coaching lessons held on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays in several stadia of Paris. Alongside his lessons, he became the manager of

and again brought the

with sport director of ''les Pingouins'', Victor Mestre. After the defeat of the French football team 3–1 versus

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 17 March 1935, the FFFA called up Kimpton to an assistant position to teach WM to French international footballers. Kimpton was still the

manager at that time and only attended the meetings before the matches in

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

and then in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, because Gaston Barreau did not want to lost his prerogatives during the matches. The first results of

were good enough, but at the beginning of 1936, France lost 1–6 at home against

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and 0–3 versus

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

) Kimpton was fired as an assistant but remained physio.JM Cazal, P Cazal et M Oreggia, ''L'intégrale de l'équipe de France de football'', p. 96 Manager Gaston Barreau could now decide the tactics of the French football team. At RC Paris, Kimpton was also criticised by the Parisian supporters for his "economic football". But he led the team to the

French championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and to two

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

and 1939. In 1936, Kimpton cried when Racing won the

. In 1939, Kimpton decided with a toss in the locker-room who would play as left-midfielder between André Raux and Louis Wojtkowiak. The five

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

coin selected Wojtkowiak. Kimpton signed for

FC Rouen Football Club de Rouen 1899 (; commonly referred to as simply FC Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen, Normandy. The club was formed in 1899 and currently plays in Championnat National 2, the fourth level of French foot ...

during summer, but

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 opposing ...

temporarily ended football. However, ''les Diables rouges'' played well. During the war, Kimpton was interned by the Germans at the ''

Ilag Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word ''Internierungslager''. They were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United Stat ...

'' in Saint-Denis, near Paris. He came back to

after the war. Under his management, Rouen won the last war championship. Kimpton then managed

Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The club was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making Le Havre AC the oldest professional French fo ...

for one season, and he was fired for poor results. He ended his career with

AS Cherbourg AS Cherbourg or the Association Sportive de Cherbourg Football is a French football team currently playing in the Championnat National 3, the fifth tier of French football. They are based in the city of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Manche in Normandy ...

Honours

As a manager

RC Paris * Division 1: 1935–36 *

, 1939French football federation

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimpton, Sid 1887 births 1968 deaths People from Three Rivers District Sportspeople from Hertfordshire English footballers Association football forwards Southern Football League players Southampton F.C. players English football managers MKS Cracovia managers Le Havre AC managers France national football team managers FC Rouen managers AS Cherbourg Football managers Polonia Warsaw managers 1934 FIFA World Cup managers Expatriate football managers in Poland English expatriate sportspeople in Poland English expatriate football managers Racing Club de France Football managers English expatriate sportspeople in France English expatriate sportspeople in Czechoslovakia Association football coaches