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John Bentley (football manager)
Encyclopedia
John James Bentley was an English
football player and manager, captain, and variously secretary, treasurer and president of Turton F.C.
, secretary of Bolton Wanderers
, the fourth full-time secretary of Manchester United
, president of the Football League and vice-president of The Football Association
.
is one of the oldest Football Clubs in the world; records show that Christ Church F.C. (now Bolton Wanderers
) were "initiated by Turton into the technicalities of the London Association Game". Turton played many famous sides including Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers
, Everton
, Nottingham Forest
, Preston North End
and Sheffield Wednesday
, and many lesser known local teams such as Westhoughton, Astley Bridge and Darwen F.C.
. Records show that most of them "retired well beaten", until the introduction of professionals "put the boot on the other leg". Many of these teams came to Turton for guidance, learning the newly established rules of the game; as such Turton F.C. played a substantial role in the development of the game as we now know it. Records show Turton hosting matches as far back as 1830, though it was not until August 1874 that members voted "that the Rules of the London Football Association be adopted". It was in this year that Bentley made his debut, playing on a field that is now the oldest football pitch in the world still in continuous use.
From 1879 onwards he was sending in match reports to local newspapers. He wrote up the Turton matches under the pen name "Free Critic" and, freely critical of his own performances, contributed regular articles to the Bolton Weekly Journal "Cricket and Football Field".
Bentley was playing for Turton F.C. in September, 1880, when at the invitation of Darwen F.C. the two teams formed the Lancashire County Football Association
. Challenges were sent to the Manchester Association, Bolton Wanderers, Cob Wall (Blackburn), Blackburn Rovers, Birch Association, Astley Bridge and Christ Church (Blackburn) Clubs for matches.
A number of Turton players figured in County matches, including John James Bentley, his brother Tom Bentley, H. Brown, W. Forrest, J.J. Greenhalgh, J. Hamer, H. Howarth, James Howarth, W.Mather, T. Scowcroft, C. Tootill, P. Toothill, William Trainer, and J. Waddicor.
Bentley was first team captain in 1881 when Sheffield Wednesday came to Turton for an FA Cup
match, soon becoming first secretary and then treasurer of Turton F.C.
In 1882, aged twenty two, he set himself up as an accountant in Acresfield, Bolton
. His business thrived, and by 1885 he had given up playing, becoming a collector of income tax and the secretary of Bolton Wanderers. He was described at this time as "bold but extravagant, a genius who lived in the future, inspired by a vision of what football could become".
Between the years 1895 and 1900 John James Bentley was probably the most powerful man English football has ever known.
In 1886 he left his Bolton accountant's office to work in Manchester as Assistant Editor, and later Editor, of "The Athletic News". He became a regular columnist in the Daily Express
, Daily Mail
and "Football chat", a weekly magazine.
In 1887 William McGregor contacted was John Bentley about the formation of a Football League, because of his influence over Lancashire
football. He became a founder committee member of the football league, becoming president on McGregor's retirement in 1894, holding the position until 1910 when he became a life member of the Football League management committee.
After leaving Bolton Wanderers, he became the secretary of Manchester United in 1912. Bentley's guidance changed the club from a bankrupt outfit to the power we now know, relocating the team from Clayton to their now world famous base at Old Trafford
. However, he was rather less successful in this role than his predecessor, Ernest Mangnall; he took little interest in the running of the team and largely left the players to their own devices. As a result, the club slumped from being title challengers to barely avoiding relegation, and Bentley handed over to Jack Robson
in 1914. He remained involved with Manchester United until retiring from club administration, in 1916, due to ill health.
He also became vice-president of the FA.
Throughout he maintained contact with Turton FC, and was president of the club in the early years of the 20th Century.
, a small village to the south of Darwen
, between Bolton
and Blackburn. His father ran the grocers shop on Chapeltown highstreet, next door to the Chetham arms public house.
He was very keen on the new Harrow game when it was introduced to Chapeltown. His older brothers Thomas and William joined in with the first games played under the Harrow rules, but John was too young to play until the Association Rules had been introduced.
John married and had three children.
John James Bentley died aged fifty eight, and was buried in St Anne's Churchyard, Chapeltown, in September 1918.
"He could be an autocrat but was rarely unpopular because he drew men towards him like a magnet, once persuaded they were forever loyal".
In the words of William McGregor:
"In all the years I knew John we never exchanged a wrong word, I was always amazed at his unruffled calm, he made mistakes of course but often because he was too generous, money meant little to him he was a soft touch, especially when it came to former players whose requests he rarely refused, he was a man of real worth blind to the faults of his friends, I can honestly say I have never met a kinder or more easy-going man".
The Turton FC away kit is identical to the Physical Education Uniform (P.E. kit) of Turton High School (now also Media Arts College), Bolton, which is the nearest school to Turton and along with the whole of East Lancashire
the victim of the mid-1970s county relocation to Greater Manchester.
The Turton FC pitch played on by John Bentley is now owned by 'The Old Boltonians', the amateur football team associated with Bolton School. Turton FC now play in Edgworth, a mile or two down the road.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football player and manager, captain, and variously secretary, treasurer and president of Turton F.C.
Turton F.C.
Turton F.C. are an association football club based in Edgworth, in the North Turton district of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England.They are members of the Lancashire Football Association, and in the 2011–12 season their senior team is playing in the West Lancashire League Division One,...
, secretary of Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, the fourth full-time secretary of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, president of the Football League and vice-president of The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
.
Background
Turton F.C.Turton F.C.
Turton F.C. are an association football club based in Edgworth, in the North Turton district of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England.They are members of the Lancashire Football Association, and in the 2011–12 season their senior team is playing in the West Lancashire League Division One,...
is one of the oldest Football Clubs in the world; records show that Christ Church F.C. (now Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
) were "initiated by Turton into the technicalities of the London Association Game". Turton played many famous sides including Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
and Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, and many lesser known local teams such as Westhoughton, Astley Bridge and Darwen F.C.
Darwen F.C.
A.F.C. Darwen is a football club from Darwen in Lancashire, North West England. The team, formed in 1870 as Darwen F.C., currently play in the Division One of the North West Counties League. They play their home games at the Anchor Ground.-History:...
. Records show that most of them "retired well beaten", until the introduction of professionals "put the boot on the other leg". Many of these teams came to Turton for guidance, learning the newly established rules of the game; as such Turton F.C. played a substantial role in the development of the game as we now know it. Records show Turton hosting matches as far back as 1830, though it was not until August 1874 that members voted "that the Rules of the London Football Association be adopted". It was in this year that Bentley made his debut, playing on a field that is now the oldest football pitch in the world still in continuous use.
Professional life
Bentley's first match for Turton F.C. was against Westhoughton in November 1878, at the age of eighteen. Bentley stepped in when Turton were a man down. After "showing his paces" he became a regular in the team, proving himself to be an excellent half-back.From 1879 onwards he was sending in match reports to local newspapers. He wrote up the Turton matches under the pen name "Free Critic" and, freely critical of his own performances, contributed regular articles to the Bolton Weekly Journal "Cricket and Football Field".
Bentley was playing for Turton F.C. in September, 1880, when at the invitation of Darwen F.C. the two teams formed the Lancashire County Football Association
Lancashire County Football Association
The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England...
. Challenges were sent to the Manchester Association, Bolton Wanderers, Cob Wall (Blackburn), Blackburn Rovers, Birch Association, Astley Bridge and Christ Church (Blackburn) Clubs for matches.
A number of Turton players figured in County matches, including John James Bentley, his brother Tom Bentley, H. Brown, W. Forrest, J.J. Greenhalgh, J. Hamer, H. Howarth, James Howarth, W.Mather, T. Scowcroft, C. Tootill, P. Toothill, William Trainer, and J. Waddicor.
Bentley was first team captain in 1881 when Sheffield Wednesday came to Turton for an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
match, soon becoming first secretary and then treasurer of Turton F.C.
In 1882, aged twenty two, he set himself up as an accountant in Acresfield, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. His business thrived, and by 1885 he had given up playing, becoming a collector of income tax and the secretary of Bolton Wanderers. He was described at this time as "bold but extravagant, a genius who lived in the future, inspired by a vision of what football could become".
Between the years 1895 and 1900 John James Bentley was probably the most powerful man English football has ever known.
In 1886 he left his Bolton accountant's office to work in Manchester as Assistant Editor, and later Editor, of "The Athletic News". He became a regular columnist in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and "Football chat", a weekly magazine.
In 1887 William McGregor contacted was John Bentley about the formation of a Football League, because of his influence over Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
football. He became a founder committee member of the football league, becoming president on McGregor's retirement in 1894, holding the position until 1910 when he became a life member of the Football League management committee.
After leaving Bolton Wanderers, he became the secretary of Manchester United in 1912. Bentley's guidance changed the club from a bankrupt outfit to the power we now know, relocating the team from Clayton to their now world famous base at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
. However, he was rather less successful in this role than his predecessor, Ernest Mangnall; he took little interest in the running of the team and largely left the players to their own devices. As a result, the club slumped from being title challengers to barely avoiding relegation, and Bentley handed over to Jack Robson
Jack Robson
John "Jack" Robson was an Englishman who was the full-time secretary manager of Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as manager of Manchester United...
in 1914. He remained involved with Manchester United until retiring from club administration, in 1916, due to ill health.
He also became vice-president of the FA.
Throughout he maintained contact with Turton FC, and was president of the club in the early years of the 20th Century.
Personal life
John Bentley was born in June 1860 in ChapeltownChapeltown
Chapeltown or Chapletown may refer to:*Chapeltown, Lancashire, a village in the borough of Blackburn with Darwen*Chapeltown, South Yorkshire, a suburb of Sheffield**Chapeltown Central railway station**Chapeltown railway station...
, a small village to the south of Darwen
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...
, between Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and Blackburn. His father ran the grocers shop on Chapeltown highstreet, next door to the Chetham arms public house.
He was very keen on the new Harrow game when it was introduced to Chapeltown. His older brothers Thomas and William joined in with the first games played under the Harrow rules, but John was too young to play until the Association Rules had been introduced.
John married and had three children.
John James Bentley died aged fifty eight, and was buried in St Anne's Churchyard, Chapeltown, in September 1918.
Character
In the words of William Pickford, sports writer for the Manchester evening Chronicle:"He could be an autocrat but was rarely unpopular because he drew men towards him like a magnet, once persuaded they were forever loyal".
In the words of William McGregor:
"In all the years I knew John we never exchanged a wrong word, I was always amazed at his unruffled calm, he made mistakes of course but often because he was too generous, money meant little to him he was a soft touch, especially when it came to former players whose requests he rarely refused, he was a man of real worth blind to the faults of his friends, I can honestly say I have never met a kinder or more easy-going man".
Miscellany
The Turton FC home kit in John Bentley's time is identical to the Bolton Wanderers traditional kit and they share the same colours, perhaps as a consequence of Bentley's role within the two teams.The Turton FC away kit is identical to the Physical Education Uniform (P.E. kit) of Turton High School (now also Media Arts College), Bolton, which is the nearest school to Turton and along with the whole of East Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
the victim of the mid-1970s county relocation to Greater Manchester.
The Turton FC pitch played on by John Bentley is now owned by 'The Old Boltonians', the amateur football team associated with Bolton School. Turton FC now play in Edgworth, a mile or two down the road.