Thomas Eggleston (21 February 1920 – 14 January 2004) was an English

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 ...

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 ...

Career

Eggleston became a coach and manager after a playing career interrupted by the Second World War and then ended prematurely by injury. He was also a qualified chiropodist. His first club was Derby County, whom he joined in 1936 and 10 years later he played a part in helping the Rams to their first, and so far only, FA Cup success. Although wing-half Eggleston was involved in the earlier rounds, he did not play in the final itself, a 4–1 extra-time victory over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. That same year he moved on to Leicester and in February 1948 was transferred to Watford, for whom he went on to make 186 appearances and score six goals. After leaving the club, he became a trainer at Brentford. When his playing career ended Eggleston turned to coaching and was with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

before joining ex-Hillsborough boss

Harry Catterick Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...

at Everton, as well as a brief spell under the management of

Neil McBain Neil McBain (15 November 1895 – 13 May 1974) was a Scottish professional footballer and football manager. He remains the oldest player to appear in an English Football League match aged 51 years. Playing career Club McBain, a wing half ...

at Watford. He formed a close working relationship with Catterick and the pair's combined efforts helped Everton to the League Championship in 1963 and the FA Cup three years later. Catterick collapsed and died after the FA Cup quarter-final at between Everton and Ipswich at Goodison Park in March 1985, when Eggleston was present. Eggleston was appointed manager of

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

in July 1967 After three years with the Stags he was tempted by a £10,000-a-week offer to take charge of Greek club

Ethnikos Asteras Ethnikos Asteras F.C. ( el, Γ.Α.Ο. Εθνικός Aστέρας, the ''National Star'') is a professional football club based in Kaisariani, Athens, Greece. History The club, originally named ''Ethnikos Astir,'' was founded in 1927 from the ...

. Upon his return to England he rejoined Everton. In December 1973 he was appointed manager of Home Farm. This was a sort of homecoming for the Eggleston as his wife Frances was from

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

. However, after only three months he left the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

and then turned to physiotherapy. He was with Plymouth Argyle for two and a half years before replacing Brian Simpson at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. In his first season, he was back at Wembley as Town triumphed in the FA Cup final, Eggleston tending to goalkeeper Roger Osborne as he was overcome with emotion and exhaustion.

Managerial statistics

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eggleston, Tommy 1920 births 2004 deaths Footballers from Consett English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Derby County F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Watford F.C. players English football managers Mansfield Town F.C. managers Everton F.C. managers Home Farm F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Watford F.C. non-playing staff Panachaiki F.C. managers English Football League players Coventry City F.C. wartime guest players Lincoln City F.C. wartime guest players Southampton F.C. wartime guest players Brentford F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield Wednesday F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football wing halves Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Ipswich Town F.C. non-playing staff