Managers - Matt McQueen

Matt McQueen
Birthdate: 18 May 1863
Birthplace: Harthill, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Date of death: 28 September 1944
Other clubs as manager: None
Arrived from: Liverpool director
Signed for LFC: 13 February 1923
LFC league games as manager: 210
Total LFC games as manager: 229
Honours: First Division champions 1923
First game in charge: 17.02.1923
Contract Expiry: 15.02.1928

Manager Profile

When David Ashworth suddenly and surprisingly left Anfield for Oldham Athletic in December 1922, Liverpool turned to one of their Directors as a temporary answer. But not only did Matthew McQueen see the club safely through to a successful defence of their first division championship trophy, he stayed in the manager’s chair for five years even though he was nearly 60-years-old at the time he was asked to take over.

Matt and his brother Hugh had been two of the many Scotsmen recruited by John McKenna shortly after Liverpool were founded in 1892 following Everton’s decision to move from Anfield to Goodison Park. Both had played in Liverpool’s first-ever Football League match, against Middlesbrough Ironopolis in September, 1893. When his playing days were over, McQueen took the qualifications necessary to become a Football League referee and officiated as a linesman for a brief period in 1904. Towards the end of the First World War, he was appointed to become a Director on Liverpool’s Board.

After the successive championships of 1922 and 1923, the club’s fortunes declined somewhat with finishes of twelfth, fourth, seventh and ninth. But the team started the 1927/28 season in far from convincing form. There were just six victories from 17 matches before Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on Christmas Eve. Liverpool eventually finished in what appeared to be a comfortable sixteenth place out of 22 but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The fight to avoid relegation that year was extraordinary. Middlesbrough finished bottom with 37 points and Tottenham joined them in the Second Division with 38 points. But no fewer than SEVEN clubs with Liverpool among them escaped by finishing on 39 points. However, before that end-of-season drama took place, Matt McQueen had stood down as manager. He had tragically lost a leg in a road accident in the early 1920’s and his health had deteriorated further by the end of the decade. But before he stood down, McQueen had made one of Liverpool’s most significant signings ever, South African Gordon Hodgson, a wonderful striker of the ball who would go on score nearly 250 senior goals for the club in less than 400 appearances.

Matt became Liverpool through and through after his move from Scotland in the early 1890’s. He lived in Kemlyn Road just a stone’s throw from the stadium and was a frequent and popular visitor to the club for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 81 on 28 September, 1944.

Statistics
Competition Total Won Draw Lost Goals for Goals against
Grand totals 229 93 60 76 354 307
League 210 83 57 70 327 290
FA Cup 19 10 3 6 27 17
League Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0
Europe 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0
Matches that are won or lost in a penalty shoot-out are counted as a win/loss not as a draw.
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Players bought
Player Club Fee Date
William Chalmers Old Aberdeen Unknown 1923
Joe Keetley Accrington Stanley £1,200 7 November 1923
Hector Lawson Rangers Unknown 3 January 1924
Archie Rawlings Preston North End Unknown 21 March 1924
Bill Cockburn Stockport County £2,000 27 May 1924
John Jones Holyhead Free September 1924
Albert Shears Aberdare Athletic Unknown 17 September 1924
Fred Baron Mid-Rhondda United £600 February 1925
Tom Scott Darlington Unknown 6 February 1925
James Jackson Aberdeen £1,750 20 May 1925
Arthur Riley Boksburg Free August 1925
David McMullan Distillery Unknown 16 October 1925
Cyril Oxley Chesterfield £2,000 27 October 1925
Gordon Hodgson Transvaal Free 14 December 1925
Jimmy Gray Transvaal Unknown 1926
Dick Edmed Gillingham £1,800 20 January 1926
Tom Reid Clydebank £1,000 12 April 1926
George Pither Merthyr Town £500 24 November 1926
Willie Devlin Huddersfield Town £0 6 May 1927
Bill Murray Clydebank Unknown 28 November 1927
Bob Clark Newcastle United £3,000 26 January 1928
Tom Morrison St. Mirren £4,000 8 February 1928
Harry Race Raby United Unknown 10 February 1928
Neil McBain St. Johnstone £1,000 8 March 1928
Players sold
Player Club Fee Date
Jack Sambrook Stockport County Unknown 15 May 1923
Frank Mitchell Tranmere Rovers Unknown June 1923
Francis Checkland Tranmere Rovers Unknown October 1923
Harry Lewis Hull City £800 17 October 1923
John Bamber Leicester City Unknown 8 February 1924
Bill Lacey New Brighton Unknown June 1924
Harold Wadsworth Leicester City Unknown 21 June 1924
Harry Beadles Cardiff City Unknown 8 August 1924
Bill Cunningham Barrow Unknown 9 August 1924
John Jones Llandudno Unknown 1925
Dick Johnson Stoke City Unknown 19 February 1925
Cyril Gilhespy Bristol City Unknown May 1925
Billy McDevitt Exeter City Unknown 22 May 1925
Joe Keetley Wolves Free 26 May 1925
William Chalmers Tranmere Rovers Unknown 11 June 1925
Hector Lawson Airdrieonians Unknown 25 August 1925
Walter Wadsworth Bristol City Unknown 14 May 1926
James Garner Southport Unknown 4 June 1926
Archie Rawlings Walsall Free 22 June 1926
Ted Parry Walsall Unknown 25 June 1926
Dick Forshaw Everton £3,750 2 March 1927
Fred Baron Southend Unknown 9 March 1927
David Pratt Bury Unknown 30 November 1927
Willie Devlin Hearts Unknown 27 December 1927
Bill Cockburn QPR Unknown July 1928
Players used
Player Appearances Minutes Goals
Donald McKinlay 194 17460 13
Harry Chambers 193 17370 73
Elisha Scott 190 17100 0
Tommy Lucas 187 16830 1
Fred Hopkin 181 16290 7
Tom Bromilow 176 15840 2
Dick Forshaw 161 14490 75
Jock McNab 157 14040 3
Walter Wadsworth 85 7560 0
David Pratt 84 7560 1
Jimmy Walsh 73 6570 25
Ephraim Longworth 73 6570 0
Dick Edmed 72 6480 19
Gordon Hodgson 70 6300 37
Archie Rawlings 67 6030 10
Bill Cockburn 67 6030 0
Danny Shone 65 5850 20
James Jackson 63 5670 1
Tom Reid 39 3510 22
Arthur Riley 35 3150 0
Cyril Oxley 34 3060 6
David McMullan 34 3060 0
Dick Johnson 27 2430 2
Bill Lacey 24 2160 0
Fred Baron 20 1800 7
Willie Devlin 19 1710 15
Tom Scott 18 1620 4
Harold Wadsworth 17 1530 0
Hector Lawson 16 1440 0
Albert Shears 12 1080 0
George Pither 11 990 1
Joe Keetley 9 810 2
Cyril Gilhespy 7 630 0
John Bamber 7 630 0
James Garner 5 450 0
John Jones 4 360 0
Bob Done 4 360 0
Harry Beadles 4 360 0
Billy McDevitt 4 360 0
Ted Parry 4 360 0
Tom Morrison 2 180 0
William Chalmers 2 180 0
Bob Clark 2 180 0
Harry Race 1 90 1
Scrapbook
Matt McQueen'a leg amputated - 23 February 1924
Matt McQueen'a leg amputated - 23 February 1924
McQueen appointed as Liverpool manager
McQueen appointed as Liverpool manager
McQueen's death announced in the Echo - 29 September 1944
McQueen's death announced in the Echo - 29 September 1944