Fred Kirkham (football manager)

Fred Kirkham (died 1949) was an English domestic and international football referee and
football manager for Tottenham Hotspur between 1903 and 1908.

Career as referee

Fred Kirkham was a well-known domestic referee who also had a job as a commercial traveller. He took charge of both the 1902 and 1906 FA Cup Final ties. [cite news|url=http://www.topspurs.com/fkirkham.htm|title=Fred Kirkham manager on Topspurs|] He had also taken charge of 11 “A” International matches between 1903 and 1907 and was considered in the top three of world referees. [cite news|url=http://www.iffhs.de/?388f07788c02fc0d85a9d815685fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeeda08707|title=Fred Kirkham as Referee|]

Career as football manager

Just one week after refereeing a Southern League match between Spurs and Watford he was a surprise appointment as Manager of Tottenham Hotspur on April 22 1907. The club’s history records that “He was not a success as a manager, unpopular with players and fans alike and it was no surprise when, after the settlement of his contract, he resigned in 1908.” (July 27). [cite news|url=http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/history/managers/fred_kirkham.html|title=Fred Kirkham appointment THFC website|] His record as a manager is recorded as: played 52, won 25, drew 8 and lost 19. [cite news|url=http://www.topspurs.com/fkirkham.htm|title=Fred Kirkham statistics on Topspurs site|]

References