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Opposition Player Profile: Billy Birrell

Summary | Matches

Full Name: William Birrell

Born: Saturday, 13th March 1897
Place of birth: Cellardyke, Fife, Scotland
Died: Friday, 29th November 1968 (aged )
Place of death: Brent, London, England

Billy Birrell became Chelsea Manager on 19th April 1939, a few weeks (and 4 games) before the end of 1938/9 season. He joined from Queens Park Rangers, where he had been manager since 1935. He cut his managerial teeth at Raith Rovers, where he had also previously been a player and then followed that with a period as manager of AFC Bournmouth, before moving to QPR. His playing career also included a 7 season spell at Middlesbrough as well as his time with Raith. During his time at Chelsea, the club consistently finished in mid-table, narrowly avoiding relegation in 1951 on goal average. Despite less than brilliant league performance, Birrell did guide Chelsea to two FA Cup semi-finals, in 1950 and 1952, on both occasions losing out to Arsenal in replays. He retired following the 1952 defeat to be replaced by Ted Drake. Billy Birrell also played a significant part in the development of Chelsea's youth system, which was to pay huge dividends over the next 20 or so years.

Competitive Goals & Cards Against Chelsea

CompDateHome  AwayAtt
League30th Apr 1921Chelsea11Middlesbrough30,000scored 1 goal
League18th Apr 1925Middlesbrough11Chelsea14,000scored 1 goal
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