Stanley Hillier

Stanley Hillier (born January 15, 1900 in Swindon , † August 24, 1972 ) was an English football player who spent the last part of his career in France, where he also worked as a coach .

Career

Beginnings in England (1924–1928)

Hillier preferred to play in the half- forward position, which represented the link between the winger and the center forward in the then five-man attack structure. In 1924 he moved from Erith & Belvedere FC , which played under-class, to the second division club Bradford City . At Bradford he initially came to occasional assignments, whereas he was hardly of any importance in the 1925/26 season. Because of this, he went in 1926 to Gillingham FC, which was a league lower . Although things went better there than before in Bradford, even at Gillingham it was only enough for a role as a supplementary player. Since English footballers were in great demand abroad, he was signed by the French club AS Cannes in 1928 despite his unspectacular career to date . He turned his back on England after eleven second division matches with two goals and 26 third division matches with four goals.

Continuation in France (1928–1939)

In Cannes he had found an employer who competed in the regionally limited top amateur league. The club were among the best in France and Hillier was part of a team that played a good role in the national cup. The year 1932 was particularly successful, as the now 32-year-old and his teammates not only qualified for the newly created national premier league, but also made it to the national cup final in 1932 . The Englishman was on the field when a 1-0 win over Racing Roubaix won the title.

When the French professional league was held for the first time in 1932/33, Hillier took over the role of player- coach at Cannes together with the Scot William Aitken . However, he was largely limited to the office of coach and was only five times on the pitch during the first season of the first division. After he had already experienced a major highlight in the club's history with winning the cup, he experienced qualification for the championship final, which was only planned for the year the league was founded, in 1933. In this he belonged to the team that had to admit defeat with 3: 4 Olympique Lille . In 1934 he gave up his active career at the age of 34, but remained with the club as a coach until 1938 and usually achieved placements in the middle of the table. Immediately afterwards he took over the second division club FC Nancy , with whom he narrowly missed promotion in 1939. The Second World War , which began in the same year, interrupted regular gaming operations, which for Hillier also meant the end of his activities.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stanley Hillier complete profile ( memento from September 26, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ), soccerdatabase.eu
2. ^ France - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs , rsssf.com