Ron Suart

Football manager infobox
playername = Ron Suart


fullname = Ronald Suart
nickname =
dateofbirth = 1920
dateofdeath =
cityofbirth = Barrow-in-Furness
countryofbirth = England
height =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Defender (retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1946-1949
1949-1955
clubs = Blackpool
Blackburn Rovers
Career
caps(goals) = 103 (0)
176 (0)
279 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals)=
manageryears = 1955-1956
1956-1958
1958-1967
1974-1975
managerclubs = Wigan Athletic
Scunthorpe & Lindsey United
Blackpool
Chelsea
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Ronald Suart (born in Barrow-in-Furness in 1920) is a former English football player and manager.

Playing days

Suart was a full-back at Blackpool - playing alongside fellow defenders George Farrow and Harry Johnston in a team also including Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen - and later Blackburn Rovers (transferring in 1949) before retiring in 1955. Blackpool reached the 1948 FA Cup Final, but he missed it through injury.

Management career

He took over at Wigan Athletic as player-manager and then went to Scunthorpe & Lindsey United in 1956. After leading the club to promotion as Division Three North champions in 1957-58 he returned to Blackpool, the first ex-Seasider to go back to the club as manager, who were then in the First Division.

Suart managed to retain Blackpool's place in the top tier for the next eight seasons and reached the League Cup semi-finals in 1962, losing to eventual winners Norwich City. While at Blackpool, he also helped to unearth future England internationals Alan Ball, Ray Charnley, and Emlyn Hughes, though with the abolition of the maximum wage and the new freedom which players had, he was unable to prevent many of his star players moving on. He resigned in January 1967, four months before Blackpool were relegated to Division Two, and was succeeded by Stan Mortensen.

Suart became assistant manager to Tommy Docherty at Chelsea, where he spent seven years. Docherty left the club in October, and Suart briefly became caretaker manager. His services were retained by new manager Dave Sexton. He was with the club as they won the FA Cup in 1970 and the in Cup Winners' Cup in 1971, but declined thereafter. When Sexton was sacked in October 1974 after a poor start to the season, Suart took charge of the first team. However, he was unable to prevent the club's slide towards relegation and was replaced by Eddie McCreadie the following April. He later became a scout at Wimbledon but, with the club in heavy financial trouble, 82-year-old Suart was released in February 2002.

Honours

Scunthorpe & Lindsey United
*Division Three North championship: 1957/58

ee also

*Blackpool F.C. season 1958-59
*Blackpool F.C. season 1959-60
*Blackpool F.C. season 1960-61
*Blackpool F.C. season 1961-62
*Blackpool F.C. season 1962-63
*Blackpool F.C. season 1963-64
*Blackpool F.C. season 1964-65
*Blackpool F.C. season 1965-66
*Blackpool F.C. season 1966-67

References

*cite book | first=Roy | last=Calley| coauthors= | title=Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992 | publisher=Breedon Books Sport | location= | year=1992 | editor= | id=ISBN 1-873626-07-X

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1091 Managerial stats at Soccerbase]
* [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/blackpool/blackpool.htm Blackpool career profile]
* [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/blackburn/blackburn.htm Blackburn Rovers career profile]