Robert Firth (footballer)
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Edwin Firth[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 20 February 1887||
Place of birth | Sheldon, Birmingham, England[1] | ||
Date of death | 1966 (aged 78–79)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Outside right | ||
Youth career | |||
Birmingham Corporation Transport | |||
Golders Green | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1909–1911 | Birmingham | 25 | (2) |
1911 | Wellington Town | ||
1911–1921 | Nottingham Forest | 141 | (14) |
1921–1922 | Port Vale | 39 | (5) |
1922–1923 | Southend United | 37 | (1) |
Managerial career | |||
1930–1932 | Racing de Santander | ||
1932–1934 | Real Madrid | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Robert Edwin Firth (20 February 1887 – 1966) was an English footballer who played for Birmingham, Wellington Town, Nottingham Forest, Port Vale, and Southend United. He scored 22 goals from 242 appearances in the Football League.[2] He later coached Spanish La Liga teams Racing de Santander and Real Madrid, 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 Football League 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 Wellington Town and Nottingham Forest, before joining Port Vale in June 1921 after serving in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War.[1][3] He claimed his first goal for the club on 29 August, in a 3–0 win over Clapton Orient at The Old Recreation Ground.[1] 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.[1] However he was released at the end of the season and moved on to Southend United.[1]
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 on goal difference. They went on to finish the 1931–32 season in fourth place. Firth then swapped the Estadio El Sardinero for Real Madrid.[4] 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.[4] He also led the club to two successive Campeonato Regional Centro victories.[5]
Statistics
- Sourced from Robert Firth profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Birmingham | 1909–80 | Second Division | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
1910–11 | Second Division | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
Total | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
Nottingham Forest | 1911–12 | Second Division | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 4 |
1912–13 | Second Division | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
1913–14 | Second Division | 37 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 6 | |
1919–20 | Second Division | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
1920–21 | Second Division | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
Total | 141 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 146 | 14 | ||
Port Vale | 1921–22 | Second Division | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 5 |
Southend United | 1922–23 | Third Division South | 37 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 2 |
Career Total | 242 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 254 | 23 |
Honours
- with Port Vale
- North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup winner: 1922 (shared)
- with Racing de Santander
- with Real Madrid
- La Liga champion: 1932–33
- La Liga runner-up: 1933–34
- Campeonato Regional Centro winner: 1933, 1934
References
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- Pages with reference errors
- Use dmy dates from April 2016
- Use British English from April 2016
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Pages containing links to subscription-only content
- 1887 births
- Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands
- English footballers
- 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
- The Football League players
- English football managers
- Racing de Santander managers
- Real Madrid C.F. managers
- La Liga managers
- Expatriate football managers in Spain
- 1966 deaths
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Royal Field Artillery soldiers