- Harry McNally
Infobox Football biography
playername = Harry McNally
fullname = Harold McNally
nickname = Mad Harry; Harry Mac
dateofbirth =July 7 ,1936
cityofbirth =Doncaster
countryofbirth =England
dateofdeath = death date and age|2004|12|12|1936|7|7
cityofdeath =Chester
countryofdeath =England
manageryears = 1978-1980
1983-1985
1985-1992
managerclubs = Southport
Wigan Athletic
Chester CityHarry McNally (
7 July 1936 –12 December 2004 ) was afootball player, coach and manager, noted for his spells as manager of Wigan Athletic and Chester City.The Non-League Background
Unusually for a Football League manager, McNally's playing career was spent as an amateur at Skelmersdale United. Upon retirement as a player, he became coach at the club [cite web|url= http://www.chester-city.co.uk/harry_mcnally_obituary.asp |title= Harry McNally 1936-2004| publisher = chester-city.co.uk | accessdate=2008-05-26] and later served as manager at Altrincham and Southport as
Football League clubs began to take note of his achievements.McNally was a stonemason by trade, and the son of a miner. [cite web|url= http://www.chester-city.co.uk/harry_mcnally_funeral.asp |title= Harry McNally 1936-2004 (funeral report)| publisher = chester-city.co.uk | accessdate=2008-05-26]
Joining the Latics
He joined Wigan as a coach in 1981, becoming assistant manager the following year. The club's manager,
Larry Lloyd quit to become the manager of Notts County at the end of the 1982–83 season, and at about the same time, ownerKen Bates pulled his investment out of the club, forcing the sale of most of the first team. [cite web|url= http://www.yeoldetreeandcrown.34sp.com/bb131204.htm |title= Harry, it was a pleasure| publisher = Ye Olde Tree & Crown| accessdate=2008-05-26] McNally was appointed manager and rebuilt the squad with youth players and lower–league signings (one of them beingPaul Jewell , who would eventually steer the club into thePremier League as manager), leading the side to a creditable 13th place finish the following season. He ended up having to sell his new squad at the end of the season to alleviate the continuing financial problems, forcing another rebuild. This one was not as successful, and McNally was asked to resign by the Wigan board in February 1985, [cite web|url= http://www.yeoldetreeandcrown.34sp.com/bb131204.htm |title= Harry, it was a pleasure| publisher = Ye Olde Tree & Crown| accessdate=2008-05-26] with the side adrift at the bottom of the table. A few months after McNally's departure, Wigan won theFreight Rover Trophy at Wembley, thanks largely to the squad McNally had put together.The Early Chester Years
When he became Chester City manager in July 1985, McNally inherited a side that had finished bottom of the
Football League a year before and had needed an excellent run underMick Speight to avoid a similar fate in 1984–85. Despite's Speight's success, McNally was appointed in his place amid protests from supporters. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.100-101| publisher=Yore Publications| id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] He was to soon silence his doubters, as with the help of successful new signings ofDavid Glenn ,Milton Graham and John Kelly, [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.101| publisher=Yore Publications| id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] the Blues finished runners–up in Division Four for only their second promotion since joining the Football League in 1931. Although he had to contend with the loss of key playersAndy Holden and the prolificStuart Rimmer through injury, Chester sealed promotion with three games still to play. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.103| publisher=Yore Publications| id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6]After comfortably guiding Chester to safety in 1986–87 and 1987–88, McNally enjoyed his most successful season with the club in 1988–89. He led the Blues to 8th position in
Division Three (now League One), missing out on a play–off spot by just four points. The campaign included a 7–0 home win over Fulham, the club's biggest league win for more than 30 years. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.106| publisher=Yore Publications| id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] Unfortunately the following season saw Chester struggle home in 16th place, amid growing uncertainty over the club's future as it became clear they would be leaving their cherishedSealand Road home.During his early years at the club, McNally had given Football League debuts to several players who went on to have long professional careers. Graham Abel, Barry Butler,
Carl Dale and David Pugh were successfully captured from non-league football, whileBrian Croft , Chris Lightfoot,Aidan Newhouse ,Robbie Painter andColin Woodthorpe all progressed through the youth ranks.Harry Houdini
Chester spent the 1990–91 season exiled more than 40 miles away at
Moss Rose inMacclesfield , operating on the lowest average attendance in the whole Football League. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.111| publisher=Yore Publications| id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] McNally guided Chester to safety before the end of the season in 19th place, although he attracted publicity for the wrong reasons after being hospitalised along with new signingKeith Bertschin after events got out of hand at the club's Christmas party. ["FourFourTwo, March 2005, "A Minute's Silence", p.40] During the first 12 months in exile, McNally broke Chester's transfer record three times when signingNeil Morton ,Eddie Bishop andStuart Rimmer , who made a shock return to the club on the eve of the 1991–92 season and went on to become the club's record goalscorer. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| publisher=Yore Publications| pages= p.108-110|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6]The following season saw Chester struggling at the foot of the table and when they were thrashed 5–2 at home by fellow strugglers Darlington on
January 4 1992 , there appeared little hope for City to survive. But McNally helped oversee an unlikely great escape, with just four defeats in the final 18 matches of the season (including an outstanding 1–0 win at promotion chasing Stoke City onApril 25 1992 ) seeing Chester finish five points above the relegation zone. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| publisher=Yore Publications| pages= stats section|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] At the end of the season, The Sun named McNally as their manager of the year for his achievements on a shoe–string budget. [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| publisher = Yore Publications| pages= p.111|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6]McNally brought the club home to Chester in the newly renamed Division Two with optimism growing for what lay ahead, but unfortunately age was to catch up on many of his side. A 3–0 win over Burnley in the first
Football League match at theDeva Stadium was the only win in the opening 12 games of the 1992–93 season and McNally was sacked after a 2–2 home draw with Bolton Wanderers onOctober 17 1992 . [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| publisher=Yore Publications| pages= p.114|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] His final signing wasShaun Garnett , on loan from Tranmere Rovers.The Maverick Manager
Everyone who knew Harry McNally has a favourite story about him. Players who played under him often speak with affection about a number of the bizarre incidents he was involved in, such as jumping in a bath containing no cold water when raging at how Chester had thrown the points away in a 4–4 draw with Bury in 1987.
Earlier that year, McNally had astounded spectators during a Freight Rover Trophy tie away at Chester's arch-rivals Wrexham. Frustrated as Chester trailed 1–0 with time ticking away, he hauled an injured Chester player to his feet, saying they should be prepared to die for the cause. ["FourFourTwo, March 2005, "A Minute's Silence", p.40] The move did the trick as Chester equalised and went on to record a derby victory in extra–time.
His belief in players giving their all and being prepared to risk all was reflected when Chester embarked on a pre–season tour of
Scotland in 1992. McNally suffered a broken leg when playing in a friendly match, claiming he had to set the right example to his players and could not pull out of the challenge. ["FourFourTwo, March 2005, "A Minute's Silence", p.40]Chester City FC Managerial Record
Managed 334
Won 111
Drew 100
Lost 123
Life After Chester
Surprisingly, McNally didn't manage another club, but frequently offered his services as a scout to other clubs (including
Tranmere Rovers ,Preston North End and Blackpool, [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| publisher=Yore Publications| pages= p.114|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] ) and did some hospitality work at Chester after his sacking. McNally was one of the biggest critics of Terry Smith's ownership of the club, and resigned after only a few days as a consultant at the club in 2000. [Cite news
title= Harry resigns after disagreements | url= http://www.chester-city.co.uk/june00news.asp| publisher= chester-city.co.uk| date=2000-06-23 | accessdate= 2008-01-10]McNally died from a heart attack in
Chester onDecember 12 2004 , aged 68. While he had no surviving close relatives, several notable footballing figures attended his funeral. [cite web|url= http://www.chester-city.co.uk/harry_mcnally_funeral.asp |title= Harry McNally 1936-2004 (funeral report)| publisher = chester-city.co.uk | accessdate=2008-05-26]Chester City Football Club have now re-named a stand to honour their former manager, known as the Harry McNally Terrace. This was opened on
December 26 2006 by current chairman Stephen Vaughan, with a plaque also presented the same day on behalf of the fans by Chester City Supporters' Trust. [Cite news
title= Homage to City hero | url= http://www.chestercityfc.net/article/770194/Homage-to-City-Hero | publisher= Chester City official website| date=2006-12-27 | accessdate= 2008-01-10]External links
* [http://www.chester-city.co.uk/harry_mcnally_obituary.asp Chester City obituary]
* [http://www.yeoldetreeandcrown.34sp.com/bb131204.htm Wigan Athletic tribute]References
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