Leslie Knighton
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Albert Leslie Knighton | ||
| Date of birth | 15 March 1887 | ||
| Place of birth | Church Gresley, Derbyshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 10 May 1959 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Bournemouth, England | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1912 | Huddersfield Town (caretaker) | ||
| 1919–1925 | Arsenal | ||
| 1925–1928 | Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic | ||
| 1928–1933 | Birmingham | ||
| 1933–1939 | Chelsea | ||
| 1945–1948 | Shrewsbury Town | ||
Albert Leslie Knighton (15 March 1887 – 10 May 1959) was an English football manager. He managed Arsenal, Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic, BirminghamChelsea and Shrewsbury Town.
Knighton was born in Church Gresley, Swadlincote, Derbyshire. His own playing career was cut short by injury, after which he moved into coaching and management. He first had spells as an assistant manager at Manchester City (1909–12) and Huddersfield Town (1912–19) – and was briefly caretaker manager of the latter in 1912. In 1919 Knighton was appointed secretary-manager of Arsenal, shortly after the club had been promoted to the First Division.
He oversaw the club for six years, but Arsenal never finished higher than mid-table, their best finish during his tenure being ninth in 1920-21. Neither did Arsenal do well in the FA Cup under Knighton - in only one season, 1921-22, did Arsenal get beyond the second round of the competition, eventually losing to Preston North End in a quarter-final replay.
During his time at Arsenal, Knighton had numerous fallings-out with Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris; Norris put a strict cap of £1,000 on transfer fees and refused to sign any player under 5'8" tall or eleven stone. When Knighton signed the 5' tall Hugh "Midget" Moffatt from Workington in 1923, Norris was furious when he found out; he overruled his manager and promptly sold the player to Luton Town before he'd played a League game. To get round Norris's rules, Knighton used his guile to sign some unusual transfers, such as the amateurs Reg Boreham and Jimmy Paterson - the latter was the Arsenal club doctor's brother-in-law, and went on to play nearly 80 games for Arsenal.
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