Robert Edwin Firth (20 February 1887 – 1966) was an English footballer who played for Birmingham,

Wellington Town Telford United Football Club was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire. The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (la ...

, Nottingham Forest, Port Vale, and Southend United. He scored 22 goals from 242 appearances in the

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 ...

. He later coached Spanish La Liga teams Racing de Santander and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, leading Santander to a second-place finish in 1930–31 and Madrid to two Campeonato Regional Centro titles and to a first-place finish in La Liga in 1932–33 and a second-place finish in 1933–34.

Playing career

Firth played for Birmingham Corporation Transport and Golders Green before joining Birmingham. He played nine Second Division and FA Cup games in the 1909–10 season. He scored his first goal in the

on 10 December 1910, in a 1–0 win over Lincoln City at Sincil Bank, and went on to score two goals in 18 appearances in the 1910–11 campaign. After leaving St Andrew's he played for

and Nottingham Forest, before joining Port Vale in June 1921 after serving in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

during the First World War. He claimed his first goal for the club on 29 August, in a 3–0 win over Clapton Orient at The Old Recreation Ground. He went on to score five goals in 39 Second Division games in the 1921–22 season, and was a member of the side which shared the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1922. However he was released at the end of the season and moved on to Southend United.

Coaching career

He coached Racing de Santander from 1930 to 1932. He led Santander to second in La Liga in 1930–31, behind champions

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

on goal difference. They went on to finish the 1931–32 season in fourth place. Firth then swapped the

Estadio El Sardinero Campos de Sport de El Sardinero ("El Sardinero Sport Fields"), or simply El Sardinero, is a multi-purpose stadium in Santander, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches, serving as the home ground of the former La Liga side Racing ...

for

. He spent two seasons in charge at Estadio Chamartín, leading Madrid to the league title in 1932–33, before leaving them after a second-place finish in 1933–34. He also led the club to two successive Campeonato Regional Centro victories. He also took Madrid to the 1933 final of the Copa del Presidente de la República, which ended in a 2–1 defeat to

at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

Career statistics

Honours

;Port Vale *North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1922 (shared) ;Real Madrid *La Liga: 1932–33 * Campeonato Regional Centro: 1933, 1934

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Robert 1887 births Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Association football midfielders Birmingham City F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Southend United F.C. players English Football League players English football managers English expatriate football managers Racing de Santander managers Real Madrid CF managers La Liga managers Expatriate football managers in Spain 1966 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery soldiers Date of death missing Place of death missing