Leslie Shannon (12 March 1926 – 2 December 2007) was an English football player and manager. As a forward, he scored 40 goals in 274 league games in the Football League, playing for

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 populat ...

between November 1944 and November 1949 and then for

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 ...

from November 1949 to August 1958 following a £6,000 transfer. He also won three caps for the England B team. He coached at Everton and Arsenal, before he embarked on an 18-year career in management in England,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, and Norway. He is considered by Greek fans and media to have been one of the most successful foreign managers to ever work in Greek football. His first management role was at Bury from 1966 to 1969; he took ''the Shakers'' to promotion out of the Third Division in 1967–68, though they were twice relegated. He took charge at Blackpool, leading ''the Tangerines'' to promotion out of the

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 ...

in 1969–70. He spent the 1970s in Greece, and found most of his success with PAOK, taking the club to two

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

titles. He also won the Greek Cup with Iraklis Thessaloniki. He also took charge at

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

Panachaiki Panachaiki G.E. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση, ''Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi'', "Pan- Achaean Gymnastic Union") is a Greek multi-sport club based in the city of Patras, Greece. The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, ...

, and

OFI Crete OFI may refer to: * Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses * OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the islan ...

. He also led Norwegian side Brann to promotion into the top-flight in 1980. He returned to England 1984, and scouted for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

for 25 years.

Playing career

Shannon was born in

, he was rejected by Everton for his short stature (). A

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, he instead started his playing career with his hometown club of

in November 1944. The next year he scored against Merseyside rivals Everton in the

Liverpool Senior Cup The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a Football (soccer), football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas. It is the County ...

. He made his debut for

George Kay George Kay (21 September 1891 – 18 April 1954) was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool. The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be play ...

's "Reds" in the Football League four years later, against Manchester City at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

on 17 April 1948. His only goal for the

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

club came the following season, in a 2–1 win 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 ...

on 30 August 1948. This was his only goal in a sequence of ten appearances, and he was dropped from the first team. He was sold to First Division rivals

for £6,000 November 1949. He dropped back to the inside-forward position, and was described as "a feistily competitive, yet subtly creative, inside-forward cum wing-half". However, he disappointed in the 1949–50 (one goal in eight games) and 1950–51 seasons, before he showed his potential in the 1951–52 (11 goals in 34 games) season. He replaced Billy Morris as

Jimmy McIlroy James McIlroy (25 October 1931 – 20 August 2018) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, who played for Glentoran, Burnley, Stoke City and Oldham Athletic. He was regarded as one of Burnley's greatest players, having played 497 matc ...

's midfield partner in the 1952–53 campaign, and scored 16 goals in 46 appearances as the "Clarets" posted a sixth-place finish under the stewardship of Frank Hill. Shannon claimed nine goals in 33 matches in the 1953–54 campaign, but after Alan Brown was installed as manager he only found the net just once in 43 appearances in 1954–55. He scored twice in 44 games in 1955–56, claimed two goals in 27 matches in the 1956–57 season, and then scored two goals in 38 games in 1957–58 under Billy Dougall's stewardship. He fell out of the first team picture under new boss

Harry Potts Harold Potts (22 October 1920 – 16 January 1996) was an English football player and manager. As a player he won promotion with both Burnley and Everton, and both from Second Division. As Burnley manager, he guided them to the First Division ...

in 1958–59, playing just eight games. Shannon retired from playing first-team football in August 1959, and captained Burnley's reserve team for a year. In total, he scored 44 goals in 281 appearances at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...

Coaching and management

In 1959, Shannon moved into youth team coaching with Everton, and remained at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

for three years. In 1962, he joined Billy Wright's backroom staff at Arsenal, rising to the rank of assistant manager. After four years at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

, Shannon took over as manager of

Bury. Bury finished bottom in his first season in charge, and Shannon was sacked, only to be re-instated two months later following boardroom changes at

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, G ...

. He guided the "Shakers" out of the Third Division the following season as runners-up to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

, only to see them make the drop again in 1968–69. After Bury's relegation, Shannon replaced

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a ha ...

as manager of Blackpool, with whom he had instant success, finishing as runners-up to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

and winning promotion back to the First Division. This was achieved without the services of the club's star player,

Tony Green Anthony John "Tony" Green (born 29 January 1939) is an English sports commentator and television presenter. Darts career A former amateur player, who played county darts for Lancashire, he was the BBC's lead commentator when they showed t ...

, who sat out the entire 1969–70 season due to injury. In 1970–71, however, Blackpool finished bottom and were relegated to the league's second tier once again. Shannon had left his position only two months into the season and after only seventeen months in charge. He was replaced, in a

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

role, by Jimmy Meadows; his permanent successor at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

was

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 ...

. Shannon accepted an offer to work in

in 1971, where he coached PAOK to fifth in

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

in 1971–72. He also led the club to victory in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

with a 2–1 win over Panathinaikos at the

Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Καραϊσκάκη, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the ...

;

Giorgos Koudas Giorgos Koudas ( el, Γιώργος Κούδας; born 23 November 1946) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent his entire career in PAOK. Due to his fierce competitiveness and his Macedonian h ...

scored both goals. He then took the club to second place in 1972–73, just two points behind

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

. They also had to settle for second place in the Greek Cup, as they lost 1–0 to Olympiacos in the final. In the European Cup-Winners' Cup they reached the quarter-finals, bowing out to Italian giants

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

. He departed the

Toumba Stadium Toumba Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Τούμπας) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium ( el, Στάδιο ΠΑΟΚ), but through the years it has become ...

following a fourth-place finish in 1973–74. Before leaving he guided the club to another Greek Cup title, as they beat Olympiacos on penalties. He moved on to another

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

club, Iraklis Thessaloniki, with whom he won their first and only major trophy to date, the Greek Cup, in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, as they beat Olympiacos on penalties at the

Nikos Goumas Stadium Nikos Goumas Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Νίκος Γκούμας) was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of AEK Athens F.C. It i ...

. They posted an eighth-place finish in the league in 1975–76, before he departed the

Kaftanzoglio Stadium Kaftanzoglio Stadium ( el, Καυτανζόγλειο στάδιο) is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, in honour of Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, hence its name. At th ...

. Shannon moved on to

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

club Olympiacos, taking them to a second-place finish in 1976–77. He then spent six months at the Kostas Davourlis Stadium coaching

in Patras, who finished 15th in 1978–79. He then led

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

club

to 11th place in 1979–80. He then had an interlude back in England as an adviser with Port Vale. He had a two-year stay with Brann in Norway, leading Brann to promotion out of 2. divisjon in 1980, and then to tenth place in the 1. divisjon in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He then departed

Brann Stadion Brann Stadion is a football stadium in Bergen, Norway. It was constructed in 1919, and has been the home of the football club Brann ever since. The stadium lies south of the city centre, at the foot of Mount Ulriken. The record attendance date ...

. He returned to the

Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium ( el, Γήπεδο Θεόδωρος Βαρδινογιάννης) is a stadium in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. It was built in 1951 (not at its present state) as the home stadium of OFI Crete. The stadium is commonly ...

, leading OFI to seventh and eighth-place finishes in 1982–83 and 1983–84. After this he returned permanently to Britain, where he settled in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

. He became a scout for

in 1986, and remained at

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...

until 2001.

Later life

Shannon's knowledge of football led to his working alongside Pelé in co-ordinating the football sequences of the 1981 war movie ''

Escape to Victory ''Escape to Victory'' (stylized as ''Victory'') is a 1981 American-British-Italian sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of wa ...

''."Tribute to Les Shannon" – LastingTribute.com
/ref> He was also enlisted as an advisor on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

series ''The Manageress'' in 1989. Shannon died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. At his memorial service at the Square Methodist Church,

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

, former Manchester United manager Wilf McGuinness gave a speech, whilst one of the songs chosen was "

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...

", sung by two of his great nephews Tom Wing and James Wing, a homage to his beginnings in football.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Source:

Managerial statistics

Honours

Bury *

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 th ...

second-place promotion: 1967–68 Blackpool *

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 t ...

second-place promotion: 1969–70 PAOK *

, 1974; runner-up: 1971,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

runner-up: 1972–73 Iraklis Thessaloniki *

: 1976 Olympiacos *

runner-up: 1976–77 Brann * 2. divisjon: 1980