Tom Watson (April 1859 – 6 May 1915) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager who managed

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 ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

around the turn of the 20th century. In winning the league title with both clubs—the first title for both—he was the first manager to do so with two clubs. Watson remains Liverpool's longest-serving manager, spending a total of nineteen years at the Merseyside club.

Early career

In 1881, Watson formed

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

-based club Rosehill. Being involved in local football, Watson played for local clubs Woodbine, Rosewood and Heaton. Prior to joining

, Watson was involved in a secretarial capacity at hometown clubs Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End. Acting as a general manager for both clubs, Watson helped Newcastle West End secure a lease of

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...

, before resigning in December 1887 due to a crush at a game between

Shankhouse Shankhouse Football Club was a football club based in Cramlington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. They play at Action Park. The club was a FA Charter Standard Club affiliated to the Northumberland Football Association. The club's nickna ...

, who had been loaned St James' Park, and

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 ...

. Watson later joined Newcastle East End in time for the 1888–89 season, where he continued to recruit Scottish international players, a tactic he had employed at West End.

Sunderland

Watson was in charge at Sunderland for six seasons from 1889–96. During this time, he led the club into

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 ...

. Under his guidance, Sunderland won three league championships in 1891–92, 1892–93 and 1894–95, making him the most successful manager in their history. Watson's Sunderland were declared the "Team of All Talents" by William McGregor,Days, p 21. the founder of the league, after a 7–2 win against Aston Villa.

Liverpool

Watson moved to

in 1896, and enjoyed further success there until his death in 1915. Liverpool's longest-serving manager, during his nineteen years in charge he won the league on two occasions, in 1900–01 and 1905–06.Kelly, Stephen F. (1988). ''The Official Illustrated History of Liverpool FC: You'll Never Walk Alone''. p. 19. London: Queen Anne Press Those were the first league titles in Liverpool history. He therefore became the first manager to lead two different clubs to the League Championship. There have been only three others since;

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

and Sir Kenny Dalglish. Watson also took Liverpool to their first

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

in 1914, which they lost 1–0 to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

Honours

As manager

Sunderland (1889–96)

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

**Winner: 1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95 **Runner-up: 1893–94

Liverpool (1896–1915)

**Winner: 1900–01, 1905–06 **Runner-up: 1898–99, 1909–1910 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

**Winner: 1904–05 *

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 ...

**Runner-up: 1913–14 *

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queens Park also took part in 1899. The ...

**Winner: 1906–07

References

External links

Manager profile at LFChistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Tom 1859 births 1915 deaths Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne English footballers English football managers Liverpool F.C. managers Sunderland A.F.C. managers Association footballers not categorized by position