Edward Lawson Birnie (25 August 1878 in

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 ...

– 21 December 1935) was a professional footballer and manager. He played for Sunderland Seaburn,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

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 * ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

In his managerial career, he took on the reins at

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, staying in charge of the seaside club until his retirement in 1934.Southend United managers
Retrieved 9 April 2009

Playing career

Birnie began his career at local club Sunderland Seaburn before joining Newcastle United. The commanding

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

played in 19 matches between 1898–1903. Birnie went on to play for Crystal Palace where he featured in 29 matches in all competitions (22

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

). In August 1906 he joined

, making his debut on 8 September 1906 in a 0–0 draw away at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. Birnie participated in 108 games in all competitions and scored on three occasions for the

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

club. After Chelsea decided against renewing his contract, Tottenham Hotspur signed him in 1910, playing in four matches and scoring a single goal at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

Coaching and management career

After his playing career had ended, Birnie joined German club FC Mülheim as a coach. He then had spells as a trainer at

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. In 1922 he became manager of Southend United and spent 12 seasons in charge of the club, becoming the only manager to preside over a Southend team for more than 500 matches (April 2009). Birnie retired in May 1934, but would be beset with ill-health and died in December 1935 aged 57.

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnie, Ted 1878 births 1935 deaths Footballers from Sunderland Sportspeople from Essex English footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Newcastle United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Southend United F.C. managers Association football central defenders English football managers