William Johnston McGowan McEwan (20 June 1951 – 17 February 2022) was a Scottish professional

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 ...

player 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 ...

. He had a 14-year playing career in the Scottish and English professional leagues, playing for seven different clubs. McEwan then undertook a coaching career; he managed six different English league clubs, plus one club on a caretaker basis twice. McEwan was most recently the manager of

Antigua Barracuda Antigua Barracuda were an Antiguan professional football team based in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda. Founded in 2010, the team played in USL Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league system from 2011 to 2013. The team played its ...

but left the post in 2011.

Early life

William Johnston McGowan McEwan was born on 20 June 1951 in

Cleland Cleland may refer to: Places * Cleland, South Australia, a suburb ** Cleland National Park, a protected area in South Australia ***Cleland Wildlife Park, a zoo within the area of Cleland National Park * Cleland, North Lanarkshire, a small village ...

, Lanarkshire.

Playing career

McEwan started his playing career as a

midfielder 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 ...

with Scottish non-League side Pumpherston Juniors before joining Hibernian in 1969, making 60 appearances and scoring two goals for the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

club. McEwan left Hibernian in May 1973 to join

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 ...

, and went on to play for

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, 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 ...

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

and

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

whom he left in the 1982–83 season.

Managerial career

McEwan's first coaching appointment was at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

after he replaced

Ian Porterfield John Ian Porterfield (11 February 1946 – 11 September 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer, and an experienced football coach who worked at both club and international level for almost 30 years. At the time of his death, he was the coa ...

as manager on 27 March 1986. The following season Sheffield United finished ninth in

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 ...

after an unspectacular season. More disappointing performances in the 1987–88 season followed, and McEwan was forced to resign before taking over as manager of

and guided them to the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

championship in the 1988–89 season. McEwan later had a spell as manager at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, but he was replaced by Alan Murray midway through his second season. Mac Awa

McEwan then spent nine years on the coaching team at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. He was caretaker manager there twice in April to June 1995 and in January 2002, after the sackings of

Roy McFarland Roy Leslie McFarland (born 5 April 1948) is an English former football manager and former player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England. Playing career Born in Liverpool, McFarland was a player f ...

and

Colin Todd Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...

respectively. In 2003, he was sacked by the then manager John Gregory, but was restored into the post when he was found to have been unfairly dismissed. Altogether he was on the coaching staff under five managers at Derby. He left Derby on 19 October 2004, saying "I am looking for a new challenge. The time was right for me to move on". McEwan was appointed manager of

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

on 10 February 2005, where in his first full season he achieved a position of eighth in the

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

. McEwan said that he rejected an offer from an unnamed

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 ...

club to take over as their manager in October 2005. During October 2006, he threatened to walk out on the club if the fans were not satisfied with his efforts. McEwan issued a public apology to York's supporters and on loan

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

striker Rob Elvins after the team's home defeat to Conference bottom club Tamworth on 3 February 2007. McEwan was named Conference National Manager of the Month for April 2007, but was then sacked by York on 19 November 2007. McEwan was linked with the managerial vacancy at

in March 2008, and he was appointed as manager on a three-year contract on 4 July 2008. He was sacked by the club on 10 December 2008. McEwan was appointed technical director of the

Antigua and Barbuda Football Association The Antigua and Barbuda Football Association is the governing body of football in Antigua and Barbuda. They control the Antigua and Barbuda national football team. Association staff Competitions The ABFA oversees the administration of Antigu ...

in March 2010, and in April was made manager of

. He left this position in March 2011.

Personal life and death

McEwan was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in 2014. He died on 17 February 2022, at the age of 70.

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Hibernian *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 1972–73 *

Drybrough Cup The Drybrough Cup was a Scottish annual football tournament. It was held from 1971 until 1974, and was revived from 1979 to 1980. It was open to the four highest-scoring teams from Division 1, and the four highest-scoring teams from Division 2. Th ...

: 1971–72, 1972–73 Mansfield Town *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

: 1976–77

As a manager

Rotherham United *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

: 1988–89

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McEwan, Billy 1951 births 2022 deaths People from Cleland, North Lanarkshire Footballers from North Lanarkshire Scottish footballers Association football midfielders Hibernian F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Scottish football managers Sheffield United F.C. managers Rotherham United F.C. managers Darlington F.C. managers Derby County F.C. managers York City F.C. managers Mansfield Town F.C. managers English Football League managers Premier League managers National League (English football) managers Scottish expatriate football managers Derby County F.C. non-playing staff People with Parkinson's disease Pumpherston Juniors F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players