George Morrell
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| George Morrell | ||
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| Personal information | ||
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| Full name | George Morrell | |
| Date of birth | Unknown | |
| Place of birth | Unknown, Scotland | |
| Date of death | Unknown | |
| Teams managed | ||
| 19??-1908 1908-1915 |
Morton (Woolwich) Arsenal |
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George Morrell (fl. early 20th C.) was a Scottish football manager.
He was manager of Woolwich Arsenal from 1908 to 1915, having joined the club from Morton. He was in charge of the team during their takeover by Sir Henry Norris and their subsequent move from the Manor Ground, Plumstead in south east London, to their longtime home at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, and its subsequent renaming to "Arsenal" in 1914.
Although in his first season he helped the team finish sixth in the League, with low attendances the club had fallen into debt and had to sell many of their best players, including Bert Freeman and Andy Ducat. He holds the dubious distinction of being the only Arsenal manager to have overseen a relegation; shorn of their star players, Woolwich Arsenal dropped from the First Division to the Second after finishing bottom in 1912-13.
Despite relegation, Arsenal retained Morrell and under him they came close to automatic promotion, finishing third in the Second Division in 1913-14 (missing out on second on goal average) and then fifth in 1914-15. This placing was high enough to get them eventually elected back into the expanded First Division in 1919, when competitive football resumed after the conclusion of World War I; however, Wolves and Barnsley had finished higher that season and were not granted promotion. Arsenal's return to the First Division appears to have been mainly thanks to political machinations by their chairman, Henry Norris, rather than their performance.
By then, Morrell was no longer Arsenal manager. He was sacked after the 1914-15 season ended, for reasons unconnected to the team's performance; burdened by the debt from building their new stadium and with first-class football suspended due to the War, Arsenal simply couldn't afford to keep him.
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