Richard Bonney was a former

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

soldier, who in the 1890s was based in Portsmouth and co-founded an amateur army football team named Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. in 1894. Bonney later became manager of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club Portsmouth F.C. from August 1904. Previously one of the club's directors, he succeeded former club captain Bob Blyth as manager. The highlight of Bonney's time at the helm came during the 1906/07 season, which saw the visit of

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

in the English Cup and a new record gate of 24,329 was set at Fratton Park. A 2–2 draw meant a replay at Old Trafford and a 2-1 giant killing by Portsmouth. The 1910/11 season brought relegation to the second division of the Southern League and the recruitment of Robert Brown from

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 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 of ...

as manager. Bonney's record as manager was 206 played, 99 won, 39 drawn, 68 lost (a win percentage of 48%).

References

Portsmouth F.C. managers Year of death missing Year of birth missing {{England-footy-manager-stub