Bertie Mee

Bertie Mee
Bertie Mee, 1972
Personnel
Surname	Bertram Mee
birthday	December 25, 1918
place of birth	Bulwell ,  England
date of death	October 22, 2001
Place of death	London ,  England
position	Winger (left)
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
	Bulwell
1936-1939	Derby County	0 (0)
1939	Mansfield Town	13 (1)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1966-1976	Arsenal FC
1 Only league games are given.

Bertram "Bertie" Mee (born December 25, 1918 in Bulwell , Nottinghamshire , † October 22, 2001 in London ) was a football player and coach . His greatest success in 1971 was when he won the first double in the history of Arsenal FC .

Career

Mee played for Derby County and Mansfield Town in his youth until an injury forced him to end his playing career early. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in the British Army , where he worked as a physiotherapist and rose to sergeant within six years . After he left the army, he worked in the medical department of various clubs until he was hired in the same position at Arsenal FC in 1960, replacing Billy Milne .

After the dismissal of head coach Billy Wright in 1966, the club offered him - to the great surprise of the public and also for Mee himself - the successor. Mee accepted the offer, insisting on a clause which, in the event of failure, would allow him to return to his previous position as a physiotherapist after twelve months. He called Dave Sexton and Don Howe as his assistants and wanted to fill his own suspected skills gaps in tactical matters.

Arsenal had not won a title since 1953, but under Mee, with the help of a few young players who had won the FA Youth Cup in 1966 , including Charlie George , John Radford and Ray Kennedy , immediately improved significantly. Arsenal could move into two consecutive League Cup finals in 1968 and 1969 , but lost both to Leeds United and Swindon Town . However, in 1970, when Arsenal won the trade fair cup, they won the first trophy for 17 years after they beat RSC Anderlecht 3-0 in the final - after a 3-0 deficit in the first leg and a later 3-1 goal -Beat the second leg win at Highbury .

The victory in this European club competition should only be the harbinger of the greatest success of Arsenal under Mees' direction, when the team won the double just a year later. Ironically, the English championship was made perfect in the away game against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the match. Five days later, Arsenal defeated Liverpool 2-1 with a decisive goal from Charlie George in extra time .

From then on, Arsenal could no longer confirm this success under Mee. After the team was once again in an FA Cup final in 1972 - and there was defeated by Leeds United - Arsenal FC disappeared in mid-table. Mee finally resigned from his coaching position in 1976. He then joined Watford FC in 1978 , where he assisted Graham Taylor and was responsible for scouting . He discovered, among other things, the future national player John Barnes . In the further course he held a position in the club management of Watford before he finally retired from the football business in 1991.

Mee was awarded the Order of the British Empire as "OBE" in 1994 because of his sporting merits . He died in 2001 in London at the age of 82 .

Sporting successes

• Fair cup winner : 1970
• English champion: 1971
• FA Cup winner: 1971