William Henry Elliott (20 March 1925 – 21 January 2008), born in Bradford, was an English 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 ...

and football manager. He played five times for the

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 ...

national side.

Sporting career

Playing career

Billy Elliott, a left winger, began his career with Bradford Park Avenue, joining as an amateur in 1939 and turning professional in March 1942. He scored 21 times in 176 league games for Bradford before a £23,000 move 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, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

in August 1951. He made his debut for England on 18 May 1952 in a 1–1 draw with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, also playing in the 3–2 win against

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 ...

in Vienna a week later. The following season, he played the games against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In June 1953, after fourteen goals in 74 league games for Burnley, Elliott moved to Sunderland in June 1953, costing £26,000. He played 212 games and scored 26 goals, in a six-year spell at the club, leaving in July 1959 to join Wisbech Town.

Coaching and managerial career

Elliott was manager of the

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

national side between October 1961 and 1963 when he returned to the UK and scouted for

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 ...

. In 1964 he moved to Germany to coach the US Forces teams, a post he held until July 1966 when he was appointed manager of Belgian side Daring FC. On leaving Daring in January 1968 he returned to Sunderland, as coach. Elliott was caretaker manager of Sunderland for four games in 1972 after the sacking of Alan Brown, remaining on the coaching staff under new manager

Bob Stokoe Robert Stokoe (21 September 1930 – 1 February 2004) was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east animosity between the region's footballing rivals, Newcastle United and Sunderlan ...

until June 1973, leaving after Sunderland had won the

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 ...

. He coached Norwegian side Brann between 1974 and 1978 and in December 1978 returned to Sunderland as manager. He remained in charge until the end of the season, almost guiding Sunderland to promotion. The board decided that they wanted a younger man in charge, however, and sacked Elliott in favour of coach

Ken Knighton Kenneth Knighton (born 20 February 1944) is an English former footballer, coach and manager. He is most well known for his spell as manager at Sunderland during which time the club was promoted to the First Division, and he also managed Footb ...

. In June 1979 he took over as manager of Darlington, where he remained until June 1983. He died on 21 January 2008, aged 82.

Honours

As a manager

Brann *

Norwegian Premier League Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

runner-up: 1974–75 *

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest footba ...

winner: 1976 *

runner-up: 1978

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Billy 1925 births 2008 deaths English men's footballers England men's international footballers Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. wartime guest players English football managers Sunderland A.F.C. managers Darlington F.C. managers SK Brann managers Expatriate football managers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate football managers in Norway Footballers from Bradford English Football League players English Football League representative players Wisbech Town F.C. players Libya national football team managers Men's association football midfielders