Maurice Edgar Setters[1] (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, Coventry City and Charlton Athletic,[2] and in the United Soccer Association with the Cleveland Stokers (Stoke City under another name).[3] Setters played in the left wing half position.[4] As manager, he took charge of Doncaster Rovers and (briefly) Sheffield Wednesday,[5] and spent several years as assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland.[6]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maurice Edgar Setters | ||
| Date of birth | 16 December 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Honiton, Devon, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 November 2020 (aged 83) | ||
| Place of death | Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1952–1954 | Exeter City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1954–1955 | Exeter City | 10 | (0) |
| 1955–1960 | West Bromwich Albion | 120 | (10) |
| 1960–1965 | Manchester United | 159 | (12) |
| 1965–1967 | Stoke City | 86 | (5) |
| 1967 | → Cleveland Stokers (guest) | 9 | (3) |
| 1967–1970 | Coventry City | 51 | (3) |
| 1970 | Charlton Athletic | 8 | (1) |
| Total | 434 | (31) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1971–1974 | Doncaster Rovers | ||
| 1983 | Rotherham United (assistant) | ||
| 1983 | Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker) | ||
| 1986–1995 | Republic of Ireland (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Setters died on 22 November 2020 at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary, aged 83.[7][8]
Playing career
editSetters started his career with Exeter City reserves, making his first-team debut against Southend United in March 1954, his only appearance for the "Grecians" in the 1953–54 season. He played a further nine games for Exeter in the 1954–55 season. First Division team West Bromwich Albion showed interest in acquiring Setters. Exeter were reluctant to let him go but the £3,000 transfer fee was sufficient at a time of financial problems for the club. Setters went on to play 120 games for West Brom.[9]
In January 1960, he was transferred to Manchester United for a fee of £30,000. Matt Busby signed Setters as a replacement for the injured Wilf McGuinness who had suffered a career ending leg break. Setters developed his reputation for being one of footballs 'hard men' and his combative style made him a key part of the team.[7] A poor 1962–63 league campaign saw Manchester United nearly relegated in the Second Division but they did beat Leicester City 3–1 in the 1963 FA Cup Final. A much improved 1963–64 season brought a 2nd-place finish behind Liverpool. A 7–0 win over Aston Villa early in the 1964–65 season was Setters 159th and final game for Manchester United as he was sold to Stoke City for £30,000.[10][9]
He played 19 times for Stoke in 1964–65 as Stoke claimed a mid-table finish of 11th position.[10] At the end of the campaign, with the squad training for their pre-season in the United States, Setters was involved in a 'bust-up' with teammate Calvin Palmer.[10] Setters apologised to manager Tony Waddington and was allowed to travel to the United States but Palmer did not apologise and was forced to stay in England.[10] Out in America, Setters played nine times for the Cleveland Stokers scoring three goals. He missed just three matches in 1965–66 playing in 45 fixtures.[10] His run in the first team continued in 1966–67 until he sustained injury against Liverpool on 4 March 1967 which allowed Alan Bloor to take his place.[10] After failing to dislodge Bloor, Setters joined Coventry City in November 1967 for a £25,000 fee.[10][9] During this time he played nine games as a guest player with the Cleveland Stokers in the North American United Soccer Association.[3] Setters made 59 appearances for Coventry in just under three years at Highfield Road and ended his career with a four-month spell with Second Division Charlton Athletic from January 1970, playing in eight games.[10][9]
International career
editSetters played for England School Boys and the England Youth teams. He made 16 appearances for the under-23 team.[9]
Setters was included in the provisional England squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad but was not selected for the main team.[11]
Managerial career
editSetters was appointed manager of Doncaster Rovers in May 1971 and remained until November 1974 when he was dismissed. Setters later won a case for unfair dismissal.[9] He had a short break from football before becoming Jack Charlton's assistant at Sheffield Wednesday in 1977. When Charlton resigned on 27 May 1983, Setters stayed on as caretaker manager for four weeks, although the club played no matches during this period.[12][13] Setters became assistant manager and coach at Rotherham United in 1983 and in 1984 was chief scout at Newcastle United.[9]
Setters later linked up with Jack Charlton again from 1986 to 1995 as assistant manager with the Republic of Ireland senior squad.[12][13] He was also Sir Bobby Charlton's best man at his wedding in 1961.[14]
Later life
editWhen Charlton resigned as Ireland manager in 1995 the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) assumed Setters would follow him. However he continued to turn up to work as assistant manager of the national team and manager of the under-21 team. Setters was sacked but initiated a claim for unfair dismissal. Charlton appeared at the tribunal to support Setters and the FAI eventually settled the claim.[11]
Setters had Alzheimer's disease from around 2016 and from 2018 was in a residential care home. He became ill in mid-November 2020 and died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary on 22 November, aged 83.[15]
Career statistics
editPlaying career
editSource:[2]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[A] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Exeter City | 1953–54 | Third Division South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1954–55 | Third Division South | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | 1955–56 | First Division | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 1956–57 | First Division | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| 1958–59 | First Division | 41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||
| 1959–60 | First Division | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Total | 120 | 10 | 12 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 132 | 10 | |||
| Manchester United | 1959–60 | First Division | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 1960–61 | First Division | 40 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| 1961–62 | First Division | 38 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| 1962–63 | First Division | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 1963–64 | First Division | 32 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 5 | |
| 1964–65 | First Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 159 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 192 | 14 | ||
| Stoke City | 1964–65 | First Division | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 3 | |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| 1967–68 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 86 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 5 | ||
| Cleveland Stokers (loan) | 1967[16] | United Soccer Association | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Coventry City | 1967–68 | First Division | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 1968–69 | First Division | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
| 1969–70 | First Division | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 3 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 1969–70 | Second Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Career Total | 443 | 34 | 47 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 508 | 36 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Charity Shield.
Managerial career
editSource:[17]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Doncaster Rovers | 1 May 1971 | 15 November 1974 | 158 | 47 | 42 | 69 | 29.75 |
Honours
editManchester United
References
edit- ^ "Maurice Setters". MUFCInfo. Mark Graham. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ a b Maurice Setters at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ a b "North American Soccer League Rosters Cleveland Stokers". NASL Jerseys. Dave Morrison. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ Burke, Darren (23 November 2020). "Former Doncaster Rovers boss Maurice Setters who oversaw Liverpool cup classic dies". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Maurice Setters's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Maurice Setters, Republic of Ireland assistant to Jack Charlton, dies aged 83". The Guardian. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Club saddened by loss of Maurice Setters". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ Kelly, David (23 November 2020). "Jack Charlton's right-hand man Maurice Setter has died, aged 83". Sunday World. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
Setters spent the last two years in a residential home but became ill a week ago and passed away at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary on Sunday.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Setters, Maurice". Grecian Archive. Exeter University. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- ^ a b Quinn, Philip (24 November 2020). "Big Jack's no 2 Maurice Setters married air of authority with fierce loyalty". Extra.ie. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Maurice Setters: Big Jack's right hand man". RTE Sport. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Former Republic of Ireland assistant boss Maurice Setters dies aged 83". RTE Sport. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Maurice Setters, Republic of Ireland assistant to Jack Charlton, dies aged 83". The Guardian. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Kelly, David (23 November 2020). "Former Ireland assistant manager Maurice Setters dies, aged 83". Irish Independent. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "NASL Soccer North American Soccer League Players, Photos, and Statistics". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ "Managers". Manager Stats. Retrieved 24 November 2020.