Wilfred Wild (1893 – 12 December 1950) was a British football

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 ...

who served as manager of Manchester City from 1932 to 1946. Wild first joined Manchester City in 1920 as an assistant to

Ernest Mangnall James Ernest Mangnall (4 January 1866 – 13 January 1932) was an English football manager who started his career with Burnley and managed Manchester United between 1903–1912 and then went on to manage Manchester City from 1912–1924, and is ...

, primarily assisting in administrative matters. p241-3 Mangnall held the position of ''secretary-manager'', meaning he was responsible for both on-field and off-field matters. Mangnall left the club in 1924, and the role was separated into two areas.

David Ashworth David George Ashworth (2 June 1867 – 1947) was an English football referee and manager. He became the first manager of Oldham Athletic in 1906, spending eight successful years there before moving on to manage Stockport County in 1914 and ...

was appointed as manager, with the responsibility of selecting the team and coaching, and Wild was appointed as secretary, taking responsibility for administration. Wild remained in this position until 1932, when the manager's position became vacant due to

Peter Hodge Peter Hodge (18 June 1871 – 18 August 1934) was a Scottish football manager who managed Raith Rovers, Stoke City, Manchester City and spent most of his career with Leicester City (over two spells). He gained promotion while in charge of all f ...

leaving to become

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

manager. Wild took on the managerial role in addition to his existing secretarial duties. p212 In Wild's first season in charge Manchester City reached the

1933 FA Cup final The 1933 FA Cup Final was a football match between Everton and Manchester City on 29 April 1933 at Wembley Stadium in London. The deciding match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known ...

, but lost 3–0 to a Dixie Dean inspired Everton. The following season Wild again led City to the final, this time emerging as 2–1 winners against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. The 1933–34 season also saw Wild hand a debut to

Frank Swift Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with local clubs near his home town of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed b ...

, who became the club's first choice goalkeeper for the next 16 years. The FA Cup success was accompanied by a fifth place League finish, and the two subsequent seasons also resulted in top half finishes. The consistency of the preceding seasons was built upon in 1936–37, though the season had an indifferent start in which the team won two of their opening ten matches. By the Christmas results had improved, and in the second half of the season Wild's side embarked on a remarkable unbeaten run, going without defeat in the 22 matches between 26 December and the end of the season. On 10 April City faced Arsenal, the dominant team of the 1930s, and won 2–0 to confirm their position as contenders for the championship. A fortnight later City claimed a seventh consecutive win, beating

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 ...

4–1, and became champions of England for the first time. The 1937–38 season was a marked departure from Wild's previous success. Despite playing an attacking style of football which resulted in City scoring more goals than any other club in the division, the season ended in

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

, the only time the reigning English champions have been relegated. Despite this setback Wild remained as manager, and the following season the club finished fifth in 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 ...

. League football was then suspended following the outbreak of the Second World War. When competitive football resumed in 1946, Wild wished to step down as manager. On 2 December

Sam Cowan Samuel Cowan (10 May 1901 – 4 October 1964) was an English football player and manager. A relative latecomer to the sport, Cowan did not play football until he was 17 and was 22 by the time he turned professional. He made his league debut for ...

was appointed manager and Wild returned to his former position as secretary. His fourteen years in charge make him the longest serving manager in the club's history. He remained club secretary until his death in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild, Wilf 1893 births 1950 deaths English football managers Manchester City F.C. managers

See also

References