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Len Ashurst

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Len Ashurst
Personal information
Date of birth (1939-03-10)10 March 1939
Place of birth Fazakerley, Liverpool, England
Date of death 25 September 2021(2021-09-25) (aged 82)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1954–1957 Liverpool
1957 Wolverhampton Wanderers
1957 Prescot Cables
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1970 Sunderland 409 (4)
1970–1973 Hartlepool United 46 (2)
Total 455 (6)
International career
1956–1957 England Youth 7 (0)
1961 England U23 1 (0)
Managerial career
1971–1974 Hartlepool United
1974–1975 Gillingham
1975–1977 Sheffield Wednesday
1978–1982 Newport County
1982–1984 Cardiff City
1984–1985 Sunderland
1988–1989 Al-Wakrah
1989–1991 Cardiff City
1991–1992 Pahang
1992–1993 Weymouth
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator.

He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired at Hartlepool United, where he began managing. Ashurst also managed Sunderland, won the Welsh Cup with Newport County in 1980, and had two spells at Cardiff City.

Ashurst was inducted into the League Managers Association Hall of Fame in 2014. After his managerial career, he was an administrator at The Football Association and a match delegate for the Premier League.

Playing career

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Early career

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Leonard was born on 10 March 1939 in Fazakerley, Liverpool, to Elsie and Joseph Ashurst.[1] Initially a centre-half, he was moved to left-back by Liverpool Schoolboys as the team were short on naturally left-footed players, and helped the side to win the English Schools Trophy with an 8–1 aggregate win over Southampton Schoolboys.[2] He was signed to the ground staff at Liverpool in 1954.[2] He also worked as an apprentice compositor in the printing trade.[3] He won seven caps for the England youth team in the 1956–57 season.[3] Despite this international recognition he was not offered a professional contract by Liverpool manager Phil Taylor, and instead joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on amateur terms.[4] Whilst playing third team football for Wolves, Ashurst was approached by Sunderland coach George Curtis, who promised him a professional contract at the club.[5] In order to gain release from Wolves, Ashurst told manager Stan Cullis he wanted to leave professional football to continue his printing apprenticeship and to play for local Lancashire Combination team Prescot Cables; Cullis agreed, and Ashurst subsequently moved from Prescot Cables to Sunderland.[6]

Sunderland

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Ashurst signed professional forms at Sunderland on 27 December 1957, and made his debut for the reserve team the following day.[7] Manager Alan Brown handed him his first team debut on 20 September 1958, in a 2–0 defeat to Ipswich Town at Roker Park; Jim McNab and Cecil Irwin also made their senior debuts in the match.[8] Brown was in the process of dismantling the team that had been relegated the previous season, and Ashurst went on to feature in a total of 33 Second Division matches across the 1958–59 campaign.[9] He was called up to the England under-23 team on 15 March 1961, in a 4–1 victory over Germany at White Hart Lane.[10]

Following the abolition of the maximum wage in January 1961, Ashurst signed a new contract at £40-per-week the following summer.[11] He went on to make 458 appearances for the club; putting him second in the all time appearances list in Sunderland's history, and one of only two outfield players to top 400 appearances.[12] He scored four Sunderland goals during his time at the club.[13] In the late sixties, alongside Jimmy Montgomery, Cecil Irwin, Martin Harvey, Charlie Hurley and Jim McNab, Ashurst formed one of the most notable and most settled back fives in Sunderland's history.[14]

Hartlepool United

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After receiving a testimonial match against Newcastle United, Ashurst was given a free-transfer to Hartlepool United where he became a player-manager.[15] He ended his playing career in the 1972–73 season while at Hartlepool, and subsequently remained manager until May 1974 when he was appointed manager of Gillingham.[16]

Managerial career

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Ashurst managed Gillingham, Sheffield Wednesday, Newport County and Cardiff City before returning to Sunderland as manager in March 1984.[17]

Ashurst was appointed manager of Newport County in 1978 following the departure of Colin Addison to West Bromwich Albion.[18] Ashurst was manager from 1978 to 1982, the most successful period in the club's history.[19] Newport were promoted to the Third Division in the 1979–80 season and won the Welsh Cup, entitling them to play in the 1980–81 season European Cup Winners' Cup, reaching the quarter-finals.[20] Ashurst was sacked by Newport County in February 1982 and Addison returned as team manager.[21] The team, largely assembled by Ashurst, attained Newport County's highest post-war finish in the 1982–83 season, 4th in the Third Division, narrowly missing out on promotion.[22]

His time as Sunderland manager was not successful, despite his taking them to their first ever League Cup final.[23] Performance in the league was poor and Sunderland were relegated from the first division. Ashurst was sacked in May 1985.[24]

After the Sunderland job, Ashurst went on to become a coach with Kuwait national football team and later the Qatar national football team.[25] He was manager of Qatari club Al-Wakrah and also coached in Malaysia.[26]

After returning to England, he was assistant manager of Blackpool, and then in September 1989 he returned for a second spell as manager of Cardiff City following the departure of Frank Burrows.[27] He spent two years in Ninian Park before resigning in 1991 as the team struggled both on and off the pitch.[28] His last managerial role was a one-year stay at Weymouth.[29]

Football administration career

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From the mid-1990s, Ashurst became heavily involved in an administrator's role at the Football Association specifically with regard to the Academy system.[30] In 2002, he became a Premier League match delegate, and was tasked with assessing match officials.[31] He was inducted into the League Managers' Association Hall of Fame in 2014.[32]

Personal life

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Ashurst married Valerie in her home village of East Rainton in May 1961.[10]

He died on 25 September 2021, at the age of 82.[33]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[34]
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sunderland 1958–59 Second Division 33 0 1 0 0 0 34 0
1959–60 Second Division 32 0 2 0 0 0 34 0
1960–61 Second Division 40 1 5 0 1 0 46 1
1961–62 Second Division 42 0 4 0 5 0 51 0
1962–63 Second Division 40 0 4 0 7 0 51 0
1963–64 Second Division 42 1 6 0 1 0 49 1
1964–65 First Division 39 2 2 0 3 0 44 2
1965–66 First Division 37 0 1 0 2 0 40 0
1966–67 First Division 28 0 0 0 2 0 30 0
1967–68 First Division 24 0 0 0 1 0 25 0
1968–69 First Division 20 0 0 0 0 0 20 0
1969–70 First Division 32 0 1 0 1 0 34 0
Total 409 4 26 0 23 0 458 4
Hartlepool 1970–71 Fourth Division 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
1971–72 Fourth Division 26 2 2 0 2 0 30 2
1972–73 Fourth Division 7 0 3 0 0 0 10 0
Total 46 2 5 0 2 0 53 2
Career total 455 6 31 0 25 0 511 6

Managerial statistics

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Managerial record by team and tenure[34]
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Hartlepool 1 March 1971 1 June 1974 164 50 41 73 030.5
Gillingham 1 June 1974 15 October 1975 60 21 20 19 035.0
Sheffield Wednesday 15 October 1975 5 October 1977 104 38 28 38 036.5
Newport County[35] 1 June 1978 8 February 1982 194 80 48 66 041.2
Cardiff City 3 March 1982 1 March 1984 102 46 19 37 045.1
Sunderland 4 March 1984 23 May 1985 66 21 16 29 031.8
Cardiff City 31 August 1989 1 May 1991 98 30 32 36 030.6
Total 788 286 204 298 036.3

Honours

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Sunderland[36]
Newport County[36]
Cardiff City[36]

References

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General

  • Ashurst, Len (2009), Left Back In Time, Know the Score, ISBN 978-1-84818-512-8

Specific

  1. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 38
  2. ^ a b Ashurst 2009, p. 47
  3. ^ a b Ashurst 2009, p. 51
  4. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 52
  5. ^ "Face to face: Len Ashurst". ChronicleLive. 31 May 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  6. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 55
  7. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 59
  8. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 60
  9. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 61
  10. ^ a b Ashurst 2009, p. 63
  11. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 67
  12. ^ "Len Ashurst". League Managers Association. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Watch the emotional tributes at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland fans pay respects to club legend Len Ashurst before Bolton Wanderers game". Sunderland Echo. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Len Ashurst: Former Cardiff City and Newport County manager dies, aged 82". BBC Sport. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Sunderland legend the late Len Ashurst was 'one of the few players to ever get the better of George Best'". The Shields Gazette. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Former Sheffield Wednesday manager dies just days after death of close friend and assistant". The Star. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Clubs pay tribute to Len Ashurst". Enfield Independent. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Former Cardiff City and Newport County boss dies". The National. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Former Cardiff City and Newport County manager Len Ashurst dies". WalesOnline. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Clubs pay tribute to Len Ashurst". Independent. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Former Newport County and Sunderland great Len Ashurst dies". South Wales Argus. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Obituary - Len Ashurst". Sheffield Wednesday. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Sunderland AFC pay tribute to club legend Len Ashurst after his death". ITV. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Len Ashurst". Where are they now?. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  25. ^ "'He was a winner' – Emotional tributes paid to club legend and former Sunderland player and manager Len Ashurst". Sunderland Echo. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Winning Airs from Ashurst". New Straits Times. 16 January 1992. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  27. ^ "Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger presents award to Sunderland legend Len Ashurst". ChronicleLive. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  28. ^ "The seventies to the noughties". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  29. ^ Metcalf, Rupert (18 December 1992). "Ashurst brings breath of life". The Independent. London. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  30. ^ "Just put your shirt on Ashurst". Western Mail. 17 May 2004. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  31. ^ Ashurst 2009, p. 18
  32. ^ "Sunderland legend Len Ashurst has died at the age of 82, the club has confirmed". ChronicleLive. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  33. ^ "1939–2021: Len Ashurst". Sunderland AFC. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  34. ^ a b Len Ashurst at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  35. ^ Len Ashurst management career statistics at Soccerbase
  36. ^ a b c Ashurst 2009, p. 252
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