Warney Cresswell

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Warneford Cresswell (born November 5, 1897; died 1974), universally known as 'Warney', was a professional footballer, born in South Shields, Tyne and Wear (then in County Durham).

Contents 1 Career 2 Football Honours 3 Quotes 4 Trivia 5 References

[edit] Career

He started his football career in 1919, playing for South Shields, which was then a team playing in the Football League Second Division (now the Football League Championship).

He moved to Sunderland AFC in 1922 for a then-world record fee of £5,500.^[1] The record was not broken again for three years. He made 190 appearances for the club.

Cresswell played in the right back position. He was a renowned tackler and became hugely popular with fans wherever he played, establishing a reputation as a 'gentleman', both on and off the pitch. One player recounted how his leg was broken following a collision with Cresswell, who appeared later at the hospital with a pouch of smoking tobacco[1], which at the time was probably considered more manly than flowers or a bag of grapes.

He moved to Everton FC in 1927, at the age of 30, making 306 appearances.

He then went on to manage Port Vale FC (1936-37) and Northampton Town (1937-39).

Later, he returned to manage a pub in the Sunderland area.

Cresswell was capped for England seven times. His first match was against Wales on 19 October 1929 and his last was against Ireland on 14 March 1931

[edit] Football Honours

• League Championship Runner-up (Sunderland) - 1923
• League Championship (Everton) - 1928 and 1932
• FA Cup (Everton) - 1933

[edit] Quotes

• "Good goalkeepers never make great saves."^[2]

[edit] Trivia

• In 1947, Cresswell was on a short-list of 10 for the post of manager at Newcastle United.
• His son, Corbett Cresswell was in the Bishop Auckland F.C. team which won the FA Vase three years in succession in the 1950s.

[edit] References