William Cleland Sneddon (1 April 1914 – April 1995) was a Scottish 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

wing half 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 ...

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

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 ...

, Newport County and Swansea Town. He began his senior career in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

with

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Career

Early years

, Sneddon began his career in junior football with Wishaw Juniors and

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). G ...

. He began his senior career with

Scottish League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...

club

in December 1935 and made 44 appearances and scored eight goals before departing in June 1937.

Brentford

Sneddon moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to join First Division club

for a £4,000 fee in June 1937, as a replacement for

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

Dai Richards David Thomas Richards (31 October 1906 – 1 October 1969) was a Welsh professional footballer who made over 210 appearances as a left half in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also played league football for Birmingham and B ...

. He quickly established himself in the side and made 44 appearances during the 1937–38 season. Sneddon found game-time harder to come by during the 1938–39 season and made 27 appearances, scoring two goals. He left

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

at the end of the campaign, having made 70 appearances and scored two goals in his two seasons with the Bees.

Swansea Town

Sneddon and Brentford teammate

Sam Briddon Samuel Briddon (26 July 1915 – June 1975) was an English professional footballer who played as a right half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking ...

moved to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

to sign for

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club Swansea Town in July 1939 for a then-club record £2,000 fee. The outbreak 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 ...

two months later put Sneddon's professional career

on hold In telephony, a call may be placed on hold, in which case the connection is not terminated but no verbal communication is possible until the call is removed from hold by the same or another extension on the key telephone system. Music on hold or ...

, though he continued to represent the Swans during the war. After the cessation of hostilities in 1945, Sneddon made two competitive appearances before leaving in November 1946.

Wartime guest appearances

Sneddon played as a guest for Scottish clubs

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

and

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

as a guest during the Second World War. His most memorable spell came with a return to Brentford, who he helped to win the 1941–42 London War Cup. He returned again during the 1942–43 season.

Newport County

Sneddon joined Second Division club Newport County in November 1946 and he made 18 league appearances during the 1946–47 season before departing at the end of the campaign.

Milford United

Sneddon ended his career with a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

spell at

Welsh League The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournamen ...

club Milford United.

International career

Sneddon made an appearance for

in a trial game while a Falkirk player, but failed to be called up to a senior squad.

Managerial career

Milford United

While with Welsh League club Milford United, Sneddon combined his playing duties with that of the club's manager.

Burton Albion

Sneddon had a spell as manager of Birmingham and District League club

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

between 1952 and 1953.

Career statistics

Honours

Falkirk * Falkirk Infirmary Shield: 1935–36, 1936–37 Brentford * London War Cup: 1941–42

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneddon, Tally 1914 births 1995 deaths Sportspeople from Wishaw Scottish footballers English Football League players Association football wing halves Brentford F.C. players Wishaw Juniors F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. wartime guest players Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Ayr United F.C. wartime guest players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Newport County A.F.C. players Scottish football managers Scottish Football League players Burton Albion F.C. managers Milford United F.C. players Milford United F.C. managers