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{{Short description|English footballer (1909–1975)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Cliff Britton
| image = 
| caption = 
| fullname = Clifford Samuel Britton
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=y|1909|8|29}}
| birth_place = [[Hanham]], England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=y|1975|12|1|1909|8|29}}
| death_place = [[Anlaby]], England
| height = 5 ft 10+1/2 in<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sunday-dispatch-football-preview-page-iv/134275291/ |title=Everton. Not stampeded |newspaper=Sunday Dispatch Football Guide |location=London |date=23 August 1936 |page=iv |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
| position = [[Wing half]]
| youthyears1= 
| youthclubs1= 
| years1 = | clubs1 = [[Hanham Athletic F.C.|Hanham Athletic]] | caps1 = | goals1 =
| years2 = | clubs2 = Hanham United Methodists | caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = | clubs3 = Jennings Ltd | caps3 = | goals3 =
| years4 = | clubs4 = [[Roman Glass St George F.C.|Bristol St. George]] | caps4 = | goals4 =
| years5 = 1928–1930 | clubs5 = [[Bristol Rovers F.C.|Bristol Rovers]] | caps5 = 50 | goals5 = 1
| years6 = 1930–1938 | clubs6 = [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] | caps6 = 221 | goals6 = 2
| nationalyears1 = 1934–1937 | nationalteam1 = [[England national football team|England]] | nationalcaps1 = 9 | nationalgoals1 = 1
| manageryears1 = 1945–1948 | managerclubs1 = [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]]
| manageryears2 = 1948–1956 | managerclubs2 = [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]
| manageryears3 = 1956–1961 | managerclubs3 = [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]]
| manageryears4 = 1961–1969 | managerclubs4 = [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]
}}
'''Clifford Samuel Britton''' (29 August 1909 – 1 December 1975) was an English [[Association football|football]] player and manager.

==Playing career==
After playing amateur [[association football|football]] for a number of teams in the [[Bristol]] area, his professional playing career began when he signed for [[Bristol Rovers F.C.|Bristol Rovers]] in 1928. He made over 50 appearances for Rovers, where he was a teammate of his brother [[Frank Britton]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jay |first1=Mike |last2=Byrne |first2=Stephen |title=Pirates in Profile: A Who's Who of Bristol Rovers Players |year=1994 |publisher=Potten, Baber & Murray |location=Bristol |isbn=0-9524835-0-5 |page=33}}</ref> Britton was signed by [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] in 1930.<ref name=Englandfootballonline>{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersB/BioBrittonCS.html|publisher=England Football Online|access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref> At first he was deemed too frail and so he was playing in the reserves in the 1931–32 Championship season, but he was one of the stars of Everton's 1933 [[FA Cup]] win.<ref>{{cite web|title=FA Cup Final 1933|url=http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/honours-and-records/fa-cup-final-wins/fa-cup-final-1933|publisher=Everton FC|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905173406/http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/honours-and-records/fa-cup-final-wins/fa-cup-final-1933|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was one of the classiest playmakers of his era, who could produce miracles with short or long passes. [[Dixie Dean]] said that he was the best crosser of the ball that he played with. Dean joked that Britton's precision ensured that the laces on the ball were turned away when Dean had to head it. Britton made 242 appearances for Everton though only scoring three goals. Between 1934 and 1937 Britton also played nine times for [[England national football team|England]].<ref name=Englandfootballonline/>

==Management career==

===Burnley & Everton===
After the war, Britton was made manager of [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] in October 1945.<ref name=Englandfootballonline/> He quickly steered Burnley to promotion from the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] in the [[1946–47 in English football|1946–47]] season and to the [[1947 FA Cup Final]]. He was appointed manager of Everton in 1948 and was regarded as a big improvement over the previous manager [[Theo Kelly]].

Unlike his predecessor Britton was an ex-player and was said to have easy-going approachability so confidence improved. Britton was also a disciplinarian and it was said that his ideal team would be eleven 'teetotallers'. However the Everton squad was of low quality and suffered eleven consecutive defeats in September to November of the [[1950–51 in English football|1950–51]] season. In a desperate foray into the transfer market, Britton spent £28,000 on an uninspiring inside forward, [[Harry Potts]] from Burnley when a new centre forward was desperately needed. (He could have brought [[Tommy Lawton]] back for less money). In 1950–51 Everton were two points clear of the relegation zone but contrived to suffer a 6–0 defeat to [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]], while [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] beat [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]] 4–0 and so Everton were relegated on goal average.

With remarkable patience the Everton board gave Britton a vote of confidence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton|url=http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/players-and-managers/managers/cliff-britton|publisher=Everton FC|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905190043/http://www.evertonfc.com/content/history/players-and-managers/managers/cliff-britton|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in the summer of 1951, the board refused any more money for transfer fees and so Britton had to rely heavily on a policy of youth rather than on big money buys. Consequently, Everton spent three seasons in the Second Division finishing 7th and a worrying 16th before being promoted as runners-up in [[1953–54 in English football|1953–54]].

The board continued to refuse transfer funds and Britton had disagreements with them. While Britton was abroad with the team the board wanted to appoint an acting manager. The board had also interfered with other decisions, but Britton had also made several mistakes such as dropping and then selling the talismanic [[Dave Hickson]]. Eventually Britton resigned from Everton in 1956 saying that "I want all managers to have the freedom to do the job for which they were appointed."<ref>{{cite web|title=Previous Everton Managers|url=http://www.nsno.co.uk/vintage/previous-everton-managers/|publisher=NSNO|access-date=29 October 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> A sub-committee of the board unsuccessfully ran the Everton team for the remainder of the season until [[Ian Buchan]] was appointed.

===Preston North End===
After a six-month gap Britton became manager of [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]].<ref name=Englandfootballonline/> In the next five years, Preston North End flirted with winning the League championship and Britton laid the foundations of a solid youth policy. Britton took the decision that would cause [[Tom Finney]] to play some of the best football of his life. At the age of 34, Finney was made centre-forward, where he was also to play three games for England. Finney was a revelation, scoring 23 goals the [[1956–57 in English football|1956–57]] season and Preston finished third in the [[Football League First Division|First Division]]. The next season they went one better – runners-up to Champions [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolves]]. However Preston North End were relegated after the [[1960–61 in English football|1960–61]] season and so Britton resigned.

===Hull City===
In 1961 he became manager of [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton - Manager (1961-70)|url=http://www.hullcity-mad.co.uk/feat/edy5/cliff_britton_28049/index.shtml|publisher=Hull City|access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref> Again he relied on youth rather than the transfer market until an injection of cash in 1964 allowed him to bring in new players such as [[Ken Wagstaff]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clayton|first1=David|title=The Hull City Miscellany|date=2012|publisher=The History Press|isbn=9780752490632|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vKM7AwAAQBAJ&q=Cliff+Britton+football+Everton+resignation&pg=PR22}}</ref> Consequently, Hull eventually won the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] championship in the [[1965–66 Hull City A.F.C. season|1965–66]] season. He continued to trust the same group of players instead of bringing in new talent and so Hull's challenge for promotion to the First Division faltered. He became general manager of Hull City in 1970 and was instrumental in the recruitment of [[Terry Neill]] as his successor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cliff Britton – A Life in Football Part II|url=http://toffeeweb.com/season/15-16/comment/history/30583.html|publisher=ToffeeWeb|access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref>

==Managerial statistics==

All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/managers/manager.sd?manager_id=291|title=Cliff Britton &#124; Latest Betting Odds &#124; Soccer Base}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! rowspan="2" |Team
! rowspan="2" |Year
! colspan="5" |Record
|-
!G!!W!!D!!L!!Win %
|-
| align="left" |[[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]]
|1945–1948
{{WDL|100|49|30|21|decimals=1}}
|-
| align="left" |[[Everton F.C.|Everton]]
|1948–1956
{{WDL|344|125|92|127|decimals=1}}
|-
| align="left" |[[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]]
|1956–1961
{{WDL|231|102|54|75|decimals=1}}
|-
| align="left" |[[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]
|1961–1969
{{WDL|419|172|105|142|decimals=1}}
|-
!colspan=2|Total
{{WDLtot|1094|448|281|365|decimals=1}}
|}

==Honours==
===Manager===
'''Hull City'''
*[[Football League Third Division|Third Division]]: [[1965–66 Football League#Third Division|1965–66]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071026150035/http://www.evertonfc.com/history/cliff-britton.html Official Everton history site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080312004839/http://www.hullcity-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=ED92 Biography at Hull City site]
*''Everton – School of Science'' by James Corbett Pan Books 2003 {{ISBN|0-330-42006-2}}
*{{cite book | first=Ray | last=Simpson | title=The Clarets Chronicles: The Definitive History of Burnley Football Club 1882–2007 | year=2007 | publisher=Burnley Football Club | isbn=978-0-9557468-0-2 }}

{{Everton F.C. managers}}
{{Burnley F.C. managers}}
{{Preston North End F.C. managers}}
{{Hull City A.F.C. managers}}
{{Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton Cliff}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's wartime international footballers]]
[[Category:Hanham Athletic F.C. players]]
[[Category:Roman Glass St George F.C. players]]
[[Category:Bristol Rovers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Everton F.C. players]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Aldershot F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Doncaster Rovers F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:Burnley F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Everton F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Preston North End F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Hull City A.F.C. managers]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:English Football League representative players]]
[[Category:English Football League managers]]
[[Category:Men's association football wing halves]]
[[Category:Footballers from Bristol]]