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Bertie Mee
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'''Bertie Mee''' OBE (
25 December 1918 –
October 22,
2001) was an
England English football (soccer) football player and manager, most famous for managing
Arsenal F.C. Arsenal to their first
the Double Double win in
1971.
Born in
Bullwell,
Nottinghamshire, Mee played for
Derby County F.C. Derby County as a young man, but his playing career was cut short by injury. Mee joined the
Royal Army Medical Corps and trained as a
physiotherapist, and spent six years, rising to the rank of
sergeant. After leaving, he worked for various football clubs as a physiotherapist, before joining Arsenal in
1960, succeeding
Billy Milne.
After the sacking of
Billy Wright (footballer) Billy Wright in
1966, the club asked Mee to become manager, a highly surprising move, perhaps even to the man himself; Mee asked for a get-out clause for him to return to physiotherapist after twelve months if it didn't work out. Mee recruited
Dave Sexton and
Don Howe as his assistants, in order to make up for any tactical shortcomings of his own.
Arsenal hadn't won a trophy since
1953, but under Mee, with a crop of players from the
1966 FA Youth Cup-winning side, such as
Charlie George,
John Radford and
Ray Kennedy, began to show promise. Arsenal reached two successive
League Cup finals in
1968 and
1969, but lost them both to
Leeds United F.C. Leeds United and
Swindon Town F.C. Swindon Town respectively. However, the following season, the club won its first European trophy and its first trophy of any kind for 17 years, beating
R.S.C. Anderlecht Anderlecht to claim the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 4-3 on aggregate; after being 3-0 down in the away leg, Arsenal grabbed a late consolation and then beat the Belgian side 3-0 at
Arsenal Stadium Highbury.
The Fairs Cup was only the warmup for the main act, namely the
FA Cup and
Football League First Division League Double win in
1971. The League title was won at
White Hart Lane, home of their deadly rivals
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur, on the last day of the season; five days later Arsenal beat
Liverpool F.C. Liverpool 2-1 at
Wembley Stadium Wembley after extra-time, the winning goal scored by Charlie George.
Mee's Arsenal could not build on this success, however, they lost the
1972 Cup final to Leeds and gradually drifted into mid-table obscurity. Mee announced his resignation as Arsenal manager in
1976. He would later join
Watford F.C. Watford as assistant to
Graham Taylor (football manager) Graham Taylor in
1978 in charge of scouting (where he was credited with discovering
John Barnes (footballer) John Barnes), and later became a director of the Hornets before retiring in
1991.
Mee was made an
Order of the British Empire OBE in
1984 for services to football. He died at the age of 82, in
2001.
{{start box}}
{{succession box|
before=
Billy Wright (footballer) Billy Wright|
title=
Arsenal F.C. Arsenal manager|
years=1966–1976|
after=
Terry Neill
}}
{{end box}}
Category:English footballers Mee, Bertie
Category:Derby County F.C. players Mee, Bertie
Category:English football managers Mee, Bertie
Category:Arsenal F.C. managers Mee, Bertie
Category:1918 births Mee, Bertie
Category:2001 deaths Mee, Bertie
Category:Officers of the British Empire Mee, Bertie
fr:Bertie Mee
sv:Bertie Mee
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