Pre-war

Everton were one of the last league teams to appoint a manager. Before this, the team selection was made by coaches and boardroom members. Theo Kelly had been club secretary before his appointment as manager in May 1939 and had been closely involved in team matters, so there is some dispute when he actually took over. Kelly was ambitious and a self-publicist, manoeuvring himself into the position after the untimely death of his successful predecessor, Thomas H. McIntosh

Thomas H. McIntosh

Thomas Herbert McIntosh more commonly known as Thomas H. McIntosh was secretary manager of Darlington, Middlesbrough and Everton- Biography :He played for Darlington before becoming secretary manager in 1902...

. While he was club secretary Theo Kelly devised the club badge and motto.

The Football League First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 of 1938-39 had already been won by Everton by the time that Kelly was appointed as full-time manager. The League was then suspended for seven seasons during the war though some matches were played with Kelly in charge.

Post-war

After the war Kelly disagreed with Joe Mercer

Joe Mercer

Joseph 'Joe' Mercer, OBE was an English football player and manager.-Playing career:Mercer was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, the son of a former Nottingham Forest and Tranmere Rovers footballer, also named Joe. Joe Mercer senior died, following health problems resulting from a gas attack...

. Kelly accused Mercer of not trying in an international against Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

, but in reality Mercer had sustained a severe cartilage injury. Even after consulting an orthopaedic specialist, Kelly refused to believe him and Mercer had to pay for the surgery himself (after 14 years with the club). Understandably upset, Mercer moved in 1946 for £9,000 to Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, although he commuted from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. Theo Kelly brought Mercer's boots to the transfer negotiations to prevent Mercer having a reason to go back to say goodbye to the other players at Everton.

Kelly was also unable to persuade Tommy Lawton

Tommy Lawton

Thomas "Tommy" Lawton was an English association footballer who rose to fame a short time before the outbreak of the Second World War and enjoyed a successful career which lasted until well into the 1950s....

 to stay and he attempted to sell T. G. Jones

T. G. Jones

Thomas George "T.G." Jones was a Welsh footballer most notable for his career with Everton and Wales.-Biography:Born in Connah's Quay, Jones started his professional career with Wrexham. He signed for for £3,000 in 1936...

 to A.S. Roma

A.S. Roma

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 to raise £15,000, but exchange control prevented the transfer. Many players saw Kelly as a remote, autocratic and petty figure. Dixie Dean

Dixie Dean

William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...

 said that the main reason for leaving 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...

 in 1937 was Theo Kelly. Kelly distrusted players bought on the transfer market and so the playing resources were quickly depleted.

After two poor seasons (finishing 10th and 14th) and a poor start to the 1948-49 season in which Everton finished 18th, Kelly resigned as manager in September 1948 and reverted to being club secretary. Cliff Britton

Cliff Britton

Clifford Samuel Britton was a footballer and football manager. He was born 29 August 1909 in Hanham in Bristol and died 1 December 1975.-Playing career:...

replaced him as manager, though relegation in 1950/51 can be partly traced back to Kelly's period as manager. Kelly was better known for his administrative skills and to his credit he left the club in a better financial state.