The Managers
Sam Hollis
1894 - 1897
Sam
Hollis was appointed ‘secretary-manager’ of Arsenal in 1894. He was the
first individual to be placed in charge of team affairs. Prior to his
appointment, the team had been managed by a committee of players and
club members. Hollis spent three years at the club during which time
the Club remained mid-table in the Second Division. He moved on to
Bristol City in the summer of 1897.
Thomas Brown Mitchell
1897 - 1898
Thomas
Brown Mitchell was Arsenal’s first professional manager, joining the
club in 1897. A Scotsman from the Dumfries area, Mitchell moved south
of the border around 1867 and held the title of secretary at Blackburn
Rovers for approximately 12 years. He spent less than a season at
Arsenal but in that time, managed to guide the club through three FA
Cup qualifying rounds before succumbing to Burnley in the first round
proper. He also took the club from tenth to fifth place in the League
before resigning in March 1898. Mitchell later rejoined Blackburn,
where he passed away in August 1921, aged 78.
George Elcoat
1898 - 1899
George
Elcoat, like his predecessor Thomas Brown Mitchell, only remained at
Arsenal for one season. Elcoat, who hailed from Stockton-on-Tees,
showed a strong preference for players north of the border as
illustrated by him having eight Scotsman in his first-team at one
stage. Arsenal finished seventh under his leadership but as the League
has been increased to 18 teams, it was on par with the previous season.
Arsenal were heavily beaten by Derby in the first round proper of the
FA Cup having been given a bye to that stage.
Harry Bradshaw
1899 - 1904
Harry
Bradshaw took over the reigns from George Elcoat and in the space of
five years, had transformed the fortunes of the club. Regarded as
Arsenal’s first successful manager, Bradshaw built his reputation at
Burnley from 1891 to 1899 and was a clever tactician, guiding Arsenal
to a top-three finish in the League in 1902/03. Bradshaw moved on to
Fulham and later became secretary of the Southern League before his
death in 1924.
Phil Kelso
1904 - 1908
Phil
Kelso was a hard, rugged Scot who was a coach at Hibernian, before
taking over as manager of newly-promoted Woolwich Arsenal from 1904
until 1908. Kelso guided the club to two consecutive last-four finishes
in the FA Cup but did not make much progress in the League. After
leaving Arsenal, he returned briefly to Scotland to run a hotel in
Largs, before becoming manager of Fulham in 1909. He stayed with the
West-London outfit for 15 years before his death in 1935, aged 64.
George Morrell
1908 - 1915
George
Morrell was manager of Woolwich Arsenal from 1908 to 1915, and oversaw
the club’s move from Plumstead in south east London, to it’s current
home at Highbury in North London. Morrell was forced to sell many of
his best players but still guided the team to sixth in the League in
his first season. Unfortunately, he holds the distinction of being the
only Arsenal manager to have experienced relegation; Woolwich Arsenal
dropped from the First Division to the Second after finishing bottom in
1913. But Morrell's Arsenal finished 5th in the Second Division in 1915
- high enough to get them elected back into the First Division.
Leslie Knighton
1919 - 1925
Leslie
Knighton was appointed manager of Arsenal in 1919, following stints as
an assistant manager at Leeds United and Manchester City. He was
manager for six years, but Arsenal never finished higher than 10th,
coming 20th in 1924-25. Knighton was sacked at the end of that season,
and was replaced by the now legendary, Herbert Chapman. After leaving
the Gunners, Knighton went on to manage Bournemouth, Birmingham City
and Chelsea.
Herbert Chapman
1925 - 1934
Sheffield-born
Herbert Chapman not only established Arsenal as English football’s
dominant force, but his football concepts and ideas served as a
template for teams and managers the globe over. He managed Leeds United
and Huddersfield Town before taking over at Highbury where he
introduced the 3-3-4 or ‘WM’ formation, winning the FA Cup in 1930 and
the First Division title, scoring a club record 127 goals, in 1930/31.
He won a second League title two years later before his tragic, sudden
death in 1934, aged 55. A bronze bust of Chapman stands inside Highbury
as a tribute to his achievements at the club.
George Allison
1934 - 1947
George
Allison was born in Darlington and was a journalist before moving to
London in 1905. He became Woolwich Arsenal’s programme editor, and
later commentated on the very first FA Cup final to be broadcast on the
radio, between Arsenal and Cardiff City in 1927. He later became the
club's secretary and then managing director, before taking over as
first-team manager in June 1934. Allison added to his predecessor,
Herbert Chapman’s two successive League titles, by winning a third in
1935. He also won the FA Cup in 1936 and the League again in 1938.
Allison decided to step down and retire from the game in 1946-47.
Tom Whittaker
1947 - 1956
Thomas
James Whittaker was born in Aldershot, Hampshire and joined Arsenal in
1919 before becoming the club’s first-team trainer under Herbert
Chapman in 1927. Whittaker had an important role under Chapman in
reforming the training and physiotherapy regimes at the club before
taking over the reigns from Chapman’s successor, George Allison, in
1947. He won the League in 1948 and 1953 and the FA Cup in 1950 before
his tragic death from a heart attack in 1956, aged 58.
Jack Crayston
1956 - 1958
Jack
Crayston was born in Lancashire in 1910 and was appointed manager of
Arsenal in November 1956. A former player with over 200 appearances for
the club, Crayston elevated Arsenal from eleventh to third place in the
Leauge, before eventually finishing fifth in his first season. He
resigned after 24 years’ service at the club in May 1958 and went on to
manage Doncaster Rovers. Crayston passed away in 1992.
George Swindin
1958 - 1962
George
Swindon, a former Arsenal goalkeeper with 272 first-team appearances to
his name, was invited to take over the manager’s reigns at Highbury in
1958, following a successful stint as manager at Peterborough United.
He oversaw a drastic overhaul in the playing staff at the club during
his first season in charge and guided the team to a third-placed
finish. After leaving the Gunners, Swindin went on to manage Norwich
City, Cardiff City, Kettering and Corby before retiring to Spain.
Sadly, Swindin paased away in October 2005, aged 90.
Billy Wright
1962 - 1966
Billy
Wright was born William Ambrose Wright in Shropshire in 1924 and was
the first player to win more than 100 caps for England, captaining the
national side no less than 90 times including their campaigns at the
1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cup finals. He became manager of Arsenal in
1962 but Arsenal never finished higher than seventh under Wright and he
left the club after the 1965-66 season, where Arsenal finished 14th and
were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers. Wright left
management and later became a television pundit for ATV. He was made an
Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in
recognition of influence on the English game.
Bertie Mee
1966 - 1976
Bertie
Mee was born in Bullwell Notinghamshire and managed Arsenal to their
first League and FA Cup 'Double' win in 1971. He became manager in
1966, and recruited Dave Sexton and Don Howe as his assistants. Under
his tutorship, Arsenal reached two successive League Cup finals in 1968
and 1969, but lost to Leeds United and Swindon Town respectively.
However, the following season, the club won it's first trophy of any
kind for 17 years, beating Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate, in the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Having lost the away leg 3-1, Arsenal beat the
Belgian side 3-0 at Highbury. The first part of the Double - The League
title - was won at White Hart Lane, home of local rivals Tottenham
Hotspur, on the last day of the season. Five days later, Charlie George
scored the winning goal as Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley after
extra-time to claim the FA Cup. Mee resigned as Arsenal manager in
1976, later joining Watford as assistant to Graham Taylor in 1978.
Sadly, he passed away in 2001, at the age of 82.
Terry Neill
1976 - 1983
William
John Terence "Terry" Neill was born in May 1942 in Belfast and moved to
Arsenal in 1959 as a player. He retired from playing in 1973, and
succeeded Bill Nicholson as manager of Arsenal's local rivals,
Tottenham Hotspur. He managed Spurs for two seasons, nearly getting the
club relegated in the process, before being recruited by the Arsenal
board as manager in 1976 - becoming the youngest manager in the club's
history. The club enjoyed a minor revival under his management,
reaching three FA Cup finals between 1978 and 1980, though only winning
in 1979. He also reached the final of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1980,
losing on penalties to Valencia. He was dismissed as manager in
December 1983 and retired from football.
Don Howe
1984 - 1986
Donald
'Don' Howe was born in October 12, 1935 and was a player with West
Bromwich Albion before Billy Wright signed him for Arsenal in 1964 and
made him club captain. Howe retired from playing and became Arsenal's
reserve team coach under Bertie Mee, before stepping up to the role of
first team coach after the departure of Dave Sexton in 1968. He later
returned to his old club, West Bromwich Albion, as manager before
stints as coach of Galatasaray, Turkey and Leeds United, before
rejoining Arsenal in 1977 as head coach. Howe succeeded Terry Neill as
Arsenal manager in 1983 and brought through the likes of Tony Adams,
David Rocastle and Niall Quinn before resigning in March 1986.Howe was
later assistant to Bobby Gould at Wimbledon and then had spells
managing Queen Park Rangers and Coventry City before moving into
journalism and broadcasting.
George Graham
1986 - 1995
A
former Arsenal player, George Graham rejoined the Club as manager in
1986 after three years in charge of Millwall. He won two League
Championships, two League Cups, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners
Cup in eight years, making Arsenal one of the dominant teams of the
late 1980s and early 1990s. He was renowned for building his team on
the meanest of rearguards, perfecting the offside trap along the way.
He also bought Ian Wright, until recently Arsenal's all-time leading
goalscorer, from Crystal Palace. After leaving the Club in 1995, Graham
went on to manage Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur. He is currently a
football pundit.
Stewart Houston
1995 and 1996
Stewart
Houston was a player for Chelsea, Brentford F.C., Manchester United,
Sheffield United, Colchester United and Scotland before joining Arsenal
as assistant manager to George Graham in 1986. He was twice the club's
caretaker-manager - first for three months after George Graham's
resignation in February 1995, taking the team to the final of the Cup
Winners' Cup. Houston remained on as assistant to Bruce Rioch, the
club's next manager, and was reappointed as caretaker following Rioch's
departure a year later. He resigned in mid-September to take over as
manager of Queens Park Rangers, with Rioch becoming his assistant.
Houston later had spells as coach with Graham at Tottenham Hotspur, and
then at Walsall.
Bruce Rioch
1995 - 1996
Bruce
Rioch left his post as manager of Bolton Wanderers to succeed George
Graham as Arsenal manager in 1995 and stayed for just a year. He guided
Arsenal to a UEFA Cup place in 1995-96, securing qualification on the
last day of the season at the expense of Everton, Blackburn Rovers and
Tottenham Hotspur. He also reached the League Cup semi-finals but lost
on away goals to Aston Villa. After leaving the Club he became
assistant to Stewart Houston at Queens Park Rangers. He later managed
Norwich City and Wigan Athletic and is currently in charge of Danish
club Odense.
Arsène Wenger
1996 - Present
Arsène
Wenger joined Arsenal in September 1996 following spells as manager
with Nancy and Monaco in his native France and Grampus Eight in Japan.
He guided the Club to their second League and FA Cup double, in his
first full season at Highbury in 1998 and won further League titles in
2002 and 2004. He has won four FA Cups to date, including last season’s
and his Arsenal team have never finished outside the top two in the
League under his tenure. He also guided Arsenal to the UEFA Cup final
in 2000, losing to Galatasaray on penalties and through an entire
unbeaten league campaign on the way to the title in 2004. In 2006 he
took Arsenal to the UEFA Champions League Final, where the team were
narrowly defeated by Barcelona. He is still in charge of the Gunners
and has overseen the move from Highbury to the new Emirates Stadium.