George Ainsley Explained

George Ainsley
Fullname:George Edward Ainsley[1]
Birth Date:15 April 1915
Birth Place:South Shields, England
Death Date:April 1985
Death Place:Leeds, England
Height:[2]
Position:Forward
Years2:1932–1936
Years3:1936
Years4:1936–1947
Years5:1947–1949
Clubs1:South Shields St. Andrews
Clubs2:Sunderland
Clubs3:Bolton Wanderers
Clubs4:Leeds United
Clubs5:Bradford Park Avenue
Caps2:4
Caps3:7
Caps4:91
Caps5:44
Goals2:0
Goals3:0
Goals4:30
Goals5:29
Totalcaps:146
Totalgoals:59
Manageryears1:1950
Manageryears2:1950
Manageryears3:1955
Manageryears4:1958–1959
Manageryears5:1962
Manageryears6:1963–1964
Manageryears7:1965–1966
Manageryears8:1971
Managerclubs1:Bengal
Managerclubs2:Bombay
Managerclubs3:SK Brann
Managerclubs4:Ghana
Managerclubs5:Pakistan
Managerclubs6:Israel
Managerclubs7:Workington
Managerclubs8:USL Dunkerque

George Edward Ainsley (15 April 1915 – April 1985) was an English professional footballer and football manager.

Playing career

George Ainsley, a centre forward, played for his local side South Shields St. Andrews before joining Sunderland in April 1932. He made his league debut on 6 May 1933 in a 1–1 draw away to Chelsea.[3] He played three more times the following season, in games against Portsmouth, Stoke City and Manchester City, but failed to feature again for Sunderland.

He left to join Bolton Wanderers in August 1936. In December the same year, after just seven league games for Bolton, Ainsley moved to Leeds United. He scored on his league debut (On 19 December against Sunderland) and scored twice in his second appearance (as Leeds beat Middlesbrough).[4]

He was never a regular at Elland Road, despite scoring 30 times in 89 league games. He remained with Leeds until after the war, joining Bradford Park Avenue in November 1947. He retired from playing in 1949, having scored 29 goals in 44 games for Bradford Park Avenue.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Ainsley travelled the world as a coach. He began coaching in India in 1950, where he was the coach of Bengal and Bombay football teams for four months.[5] He returned to coach the football team at Cambridge University in the early 1950s. In Bergen,he trained the Norwegian team SK Brann half of 1955. He was head coach of Ghana between 1958 and 1959. He was later appointed coach of the Pakistan national team until November 1962. At the 1962 Merdeka Tournament, he led the side until finishing as runner-ups after falling against Singapore in the final.[6] He then moved to Highland Park, Johannesburg as coach. Late in 1963 he became the manager of the Israel national side, leaving that post in December 1964.

He was appointed manager of Workington in June 1965, guiding the side to their highest ever league position (5th in Division Three) the following season. However, Workington were relegated at the end of the 1966–67 season and Ainsley was sacked in November 1966. He then coached USL Dunkerque in France.[7]

Death

He died in Leeds in 1985.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Football League players' records 1888 to 1939. Michael Joyce. October 2004. SoccerData. 1-899468-67-6.
  2. Book: Football Managers. Dennis Turner & Alex White. 1993. Breedon. 1-873626-32-0.
  3. Web site: George Ainsley . 2008-12-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090617065035/http://www.thestatcat.co.uk/Mplayers/MPG136.asp . 17 June 2009 . dmy .
  4. Web site: The definitive history of Leeds United, 1935–36. 2008-12-07.
  5. Web site: INDIA'S PLANS FOR WORLD CUP SOCCER . Newspaper SG . Sunday Tribune (Singapore) . 14 May 1950 . 13 November 2022 .
  6. Web site: Ahsan . Ali . 2010-12-23 . A history of football in Pakistan — Part II . 2024-08-13 . DAWN.COM . en.
  7. Web site: France - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs . 17 June 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090618093752/http://www.rsssf.com/players/trainers-fran-clubs.html . 18 June 2009 . dmy .