Liverpools First Manager

Originally posted by LKDave


March 22nd sees the 75th anniversary of the death of one John McKenna. It would be fair to say that the LFC we know and love today would not exist without the guidance and vision of this man from Monaghan. The following is a summary of an article that will be printed in the Northern Standard (Monaghan local paper) this week and hopefully the Liverpool Echo later in the week. LFC weekly, the clubs magazine, are also going to publish the story in next week’s edition. The attached pictures were taken at Smithdown Cemetery Liverpool and inside Anfield last Friday morning.

Hopefully when this article is printed it will create awareness in Monaghan and beyond of this man’s achievements. Ultimately, I hope it will also kick-start a campaign to erect a memorial in his honour in his home county of Monaghan. LFC Donegal members, Myself LKDAVE (David Moen), Nazzy (Clare Neely) Kevin Neely and Chris Dullaghan aka Kielty or since Prague, Daniel, are keen to make this happen. It is a tad long so apologies. Still, its a big part of our history.

John McKenna – Liverpool FC Legend – Monaghan Native

For Liverpool FC followers and football aficionados, the following names roll off the tongue, Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Dalglish, Houllier, Benetiz and now Dalglish again. All have one thing in common; each had the honour of managing Liverpool Football Club and each have played a massive part in the illustrious history of Liverpool FC and in turn made the club one of the most famous names in world football. Between them they have won League titles, European Cups, UEFA cups and FA Cups, and that’s not including other managers like Souness and Evans who came and went in the interim and who also won silverware for the club in the 90’s. Depending on your age, there’s no doubt that Liverpool FC supporters in County Monaghan can remember intimate details on some if not all of the above victories, with the unforgettable finals in Istanbul and Cardiff the most recent. Great memories for all reds in the county, but it would also be fair to say that none of these victories would have been possible without the intervention of a north Monaghan native.

March 22nd 2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of one of footballs great administrators and Liverpool FC’s first manager, John McKenna. McKenna was born on the 3rd January 1855, son of Patrick McKenna and Jane McCrudden from the parish of Donagh, North Monaghan. Like thousands of other Irishmen of his generation, McKenna had to emigrate in search of work in the 1870’s; his port of call was Liverpool. He first found employment as a grocer’s boy before taking the role as a vaccinations officer for the West Derby Union; the union was responsible for the upkeep of the Liverpool workhouses at the time. He also had a keen interest in sport, in particular rugby and shooting. McKenna was the leading figure in the formation of a regimental rugby club and also became involved with the West Lancashire Rugby Union. But it was through his politics and religious beliefs that he would first meet a certain John Houlding, and John McKenna’s love of Association Football would surface when Houlding invited him to Anfield to watch his Everton team in action.

John Houlding was the driving force behind Everton FC. A successful brewer and businessman; he became president of the club in 1881. It was he who oversaw the move which would see his club, Everton, play their home games at a ground called Anfield for the start of the 1884/85 season. The new ground had no dressing rooms but Houlding suggested that the teams could change at his public house nearby, The Sandon. The Sandon pub still stands today and thus holds a significant part in both Everton and Liverpool FC’s history. However, a serious disagreement arose between the members and Houlding over the payment of rent at Anfield and the fact that Houlding insisted that the only ale on sale on match days should be his own. This caused an acrimonious split which resulted in Houlding forming a new club. This new club was to be called The Liverpool Association Football Club and it’s from this moment that McKenna started on a path that would make him one of the games most highly influential figures.

Liverpool would be playing in the Lancashire League in their first season and McKenna was to be their first secretary-manager. He was ably assisted by W.E. Barclay who controlled administrative matters. Locating suitable players proved a problem for McKenna and he looked north of the border for suitable talent. He recruited 13 players that fitted his criteria. On September 1st 1892, Liverpool played their very first match versus Rotherham Town in a friendly at Anfield. The game resulted in a 7-1 victory for the locals; however not one of the starting 11 were from the locality, or even English. In fact, every single member of the Liverpool team that day was a Scotsman. This team became known as the “Team of Macs” due to the number of players with “Mc” in their surname. The club played their first match in the Lancashire league against Higher Walton before an attendance of just 200 spectators, playing in blue and white halves and white shorts, Liverpool stormed to victory by eight goals to nil. Word must have got around the city about this teams attacking flair, as for the next home game versus Bury, the crowd had grown to an incredible 4,000. The club won 17 of their 22 games and easily claimed the Lancashire League championship. But McKenna had his sights set much higher than the Lancashire League. He had spotted an advertisement inviting clubs to apply for membership for the second division of the Football League.

Not everyone at Liverpool shared McKenna’s ambition for league membership. His assistant, Barclay, was opposed to such a move. However McKenna was adamant that this was Liverpool’s big chance. Without consulting with anyone at the club, McKenna sent a telegram to the football league secretary, it simply read, “Liverpool make application to the Second Division of the League”, but he didn’t put his own name to the telegram, he put the name and address of William Barclay. A stunned Barclay received a swift reply from the Football League which read “Liverpool elected. Come to London, meeting at 3 o’ clock tomorrow to arrange fixtures”. McKenna was sent for to explain the current state of affairs. He had the rest of the day to persuade not only Barclay, but the rest of the directors that this was the way forward for the club. Not only did he manage this, but he also convinced them that he should travel to London the following day as the clubs representative. He returned with the season’s fixtures in his hand and thus another chapter in the remarkable journey of Liverpool Football Club had begun.

On September 2nd 1893 Liverpool made a winning league debut away to Middlesbrough Ironopolis on a score-line of 2-0. Malcolm McVean scoring the clubs first ever league goal. This win set the tone for the team as the club remained unbeaten for the whole season and claimed the Second Division Championship at the first attempt. However, this did not guarantee promotion as they had to defeat the bottom club in Division One in a play off to achieve this. This they did, when defeating Newton Heath (later to be renamed Manchester United) 2-0 at Ewood Park, Blackburn. McKenna’s decision to apply for league status was fully vindicated as the club now looked to establish themselves in Division One the following season.

Liverpool found life to be very difficult in the higher echelons of league football and were soon cut adrift at the bottom of the division. A 3-0 hammering at the expense of Everton was a low point for the club in a dire season. Undoubtedly McKenna’s and Liverpool’s pride were dented as they embarked on another campaign in Division Two. But it was a short-lived stay, and once more they gained promotion. During this promotion season the club beat Rotherham Town 10-1, this is a league record for the club to this day. It is to McKenna’s great credit and honesty that he felt that he was unable to take the club any further on the playing field and so he sought an appointment which he hoped would take Liverpool onwards to success. The most revered manager during this era was Tom Watson, who had guided Sunderland to three league championships. But McKenna managed to secure his services for Liverpool, and within five years, Liverpool FC had landed the First Division Championship, just nine years after their formation. The influence that Monaghan man John McKenna had in this rise to prominence cannot be understated. During his time as manager he was in charge for 88 league games and managed the club to two second division championships and yet he was to embark on another journey that he was to be even more successful in, the world of football administration.

It was McKenna who in 1906 oversaw the development of the Walton Breck Road End at Anfield, into what is now the legendary Kop. He also held various roles within the club such as, vice-chairman, chairman and director and seen his beloved Liverpool win the Football League Championship three times during his tenure. The work John McKenna was doing at Liverpool did not go unnoticed at national level. He was elected to the management committee of the Football League in 1902, became vice-president in 1908, and then president in 1910.

In 1922 he retired from his duties at Liverpool FC to concentrate fully on his role as President of the Football League. It was in this capacity that he officially opened the newly roofed and extended Kop in 1928 in what must have been a very proud moment for him.

Despite being a figure of immense importance, one of McKenna’s greatest traits was that he was always on hand to give advice to players whenever it was needed. He won the admiration from all quarters of the game for his integrity and honesty, so much so that he became known in football circles as “Honest John”. John McKenna held the post of Football League president for a total of 26 years until his death in 1936. He fell ill returning from an England V Scotland amateur international and died in Walton Hospital on 22 March 1936, aged 81.

The funeral of John McKenna demonstrated the high regard in which he was held within the football community. Every league club sent tributes and there were floral wreaths from the football associations of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Germany. The German wreath was accompanied by the following inscription: “With deepest memories of a man we have always loved and respected.” It wasn’t only Liverpool FC but also their city rivals Everton that were engulfed in grief and three Everton players helped carry the coffin into St Margaret’s church in Liverpool. McKenna had worked hard to heal the rift from the split all those years previously and he had done so with the help of lifelong friend and Everton chairman Will Cuff. Cuff spoke at McKenna’s funeral and said: “I think the greatest man in football has gone” and continued “He will live long in the memory of all who had anything to do with the governing of football. Fearless, outspoken, and absolutely honest, he was well named Honest John”.

The following year, Cuff unveiled a plaque in the foyer at Anfield in memory of his friend John McKenna where it is still displayed. In the years that followed the football legends of Liverpool FC and numerous other teams would have passed this memorial. One can only hope that they may have taken a moment to stop and acknowledge the fact that without John McKenna there would most certainly not be the Liverpool FC we know today. As for Monaghan or indeed Irish reds, surely the time is long overdue for recognition in his home county and country. It’s the least we can do for this football visionary, Liverpudlian and son of Monaghan.

The LFC Weekly magazine published 5 pages today on John McKenna, fair play to them as it came out very well. Here's the extra article they printed.

As a kid I remember coming across a piece in a magazine called Ireland’s Own about a man called John McKenna who was involved in the formation of Liverpool FC. Imagine my delight when I discovered that he was also born in my home county of Monaghan, and not only that, we shared the same birthday as well, the 3rd of January bit anyhow. To a ten year old this was major news. Like thousands of youngsters in Ireland I was drawn to the red half of Merseyside. My first game, a European Cup tie in Dundalk is still etched in my memory.

Fast forward about 30 years or so and I have moved to the North West of the country, Donegal to be exact, a county with a rich football heritage. My love for the reds never waned in the interim and whenever I could I’d remind people that I came from the same county as one John McKenna. But what I realised is that not many reds knew anything about the man at all. Were they aware of his involvement with one of the world’s greatest football clubs? I didn’t know much myself, the liverpoolfc.tv website has a useful profile of the man but I wanted to know a bit more.

Last August I noticed that the town of Enniscorthy in County Wexford unveiled a plaque in honour of Billy Lacey. Billy was the first player from the Republic of Ireland to wear the famous red shirt. He also wore the blue of Everton, but we’ll let him away with that mishap. What got my attention was that it was a redman from the area, Alan Breen, who alerted the local media of the connection. This got me thinking, if Alan can do it so can I. It’s up to the fans to make it happen.

An email was sent to the heritage section of Monaghan County Council informing them off the link between John McKenna and Liverpool FC. This was met with an enthusiastic response, things were moving or so I thought. They said they would get back to me; they never did. Anyway, I still had to find out more about the man. What else did he achieve? Is he buried in Liverpool? I was certain he had to be buried in Anfield Cemetery, it just seemed logical. Various Liverpool cemetery websites were trawled through but to no avail. Help was at hand however. A new book was released about Liverpool FC and its Irish connections; this was called Emerald Anfield and was written by Keith Falkener. I emailed Keith and he pointed me in the direction of Peter Lupsons book Across The Park, he said there was even a picture of John McKenna’s resting place in it. A quick online visit to Merseyshop later and the book was on its way.

What a great book Across The Park is, a must read for Reds and Blues alike. The picture was there alright, very clear, the gravestone was unusual AND it wasn’t located at Anfield at all. Smithdown Road Cemetery was the place to go to. I just had to find out where this Smithdown Road was located, after all I only knew one graveyard in Liverpool and that was Goodison. Just to confuse me further, Smithdown is also known as Toxteth Park Cemetery and although the excellent Toxteth Park Cemetery website had no results for my John McKenna search, I was confident I’d find the grave and cemetery location no problem. Now I had to get to a game where I could make time to begin my search.

It wasn’t hard to find where Smithdown Road was; much to my surprise it turns out I go past Smithdown Road cemetery every time I get the 86A into the city. So I was set, I had two hours to spare in Liverpool before the Stoke game on Feb 2nd. I’d have no problem finding it. It was a very distinctive headstone after all. How wrong I was. My first mistake was not taking the picture of the headstone with me. Disaster, there I was at 4’o clock on a cold February afternoon faced with 1’000’s of headstones that looked more or less the same. Almost all were of a similar height, and I thought this was going to be easy. Nothing for it only to start walking, I could visualise the picture in the book after all. Row upon row, lap after lap, I knew there was a hill behind the headstone, the thing is, there were hills everywhere. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail came into my head. In total I spent two hours walking around, at least it was a bit of exercise and I was now warm. Maybe there was a place for me on the Irish road walking team for London 2012 after all. Onwards to the game at least, and standing in 305 on the KOP was probably not what the doctor ordered but a 2-0 victory certainly was.

So back to the search and that eureka moment or maybe I was just naive, naive I think. From looking at the picture of the headstone, I shouldn’t have been searching for John McKenna’s name at all, his wife, Charlotte Maria, had died before him; she was the one to search for. A search for Charlotte Maria McKenna later, and there it was, not only that, but I also had a map of the graveyard and the exact location of the grave, how easy was this! At last, now to get back over to Liverpool and the perfect opportunity was just a few weeks away.

I had booked flights for the Man Ure game on March 6th last October, over at 10am Saturday and back at 8.30pm on Sunday would cover all options, even pesky SKY. Saturday afternoon would be dedicated to finding John McKenna’s grave, map in hand, myself and three other LFC Donegal committee members hopped on the 86A to Smithdown Cemetery. It took about 10 minutes to find my holy grail and of course I did recall walking very close to the spot only weeks earlier. My fellow travellers, Clare, Chris and Conor were probably as relieved as I was; they had to listen to me every weekend going on and on about John McKenna. One Dirk Kuyt hat-trick later and it was the perfect weekend.

I was aware that the 75th anniversary of his death was upon us, this was a good opportunity for me to publicise this man’s achievements in his homeland. The pictures would also help. I was missing one but. The plaque unveiled in McKenna’s honour at Anfield. I was travelling to the Braga home game so what was the harm in trying to see if I could get a picture. One call to customer services later and I was put in touch with Liverpool FC Curator Stephen Done and Steve Newton from the museum. Much to my delight there was no problem gaining access to Anfield. Friday morning it was, after we safely negotiated our way past Braga and the St Patricks Day festivities. Well, as you know, we were knocked out after failing to make the breakthrough at Anfield. It may well be the last European game for a year or so, still, I had the next morning to look forward too.

So early on Friday morning, my girlfriend Sarah, LFC Donegal member Richard, and yours truly made our way to the museum entrance. Here, we were met by Steve Brand who was to show us the way to the John McKenna plaque. Steve was great company and we even managed to get LFC legends Phil Neal and David Johnson to pose with us under the McKenna plaque. It was also great to meet Stephen Done and Steve Newton in person to thank them for their hospitality throughout the morning. We had a great time and I informed them that I planned to use the pictures for an article in the local Monaghan newspaper with a view to creating awareness of McKenna’s exploits in his native land.

So the wheels have been set in motion, I know there are plenty of like minded Reds in Monaghan and in my own branch in Donegal that are willing to make this happen. We owe John McKenna that much. It’s a case of watch this space for now. As for a fitting tribute, well what about a bench in the Glaslough village churchyard where his parents got married. Bob Paisley has one in St Peters Church in Woolton, and if it’s good enough for the Reds most successful manager Bob Paisley, I feel it would be good enough for “Honest” John McKenna, Liverpool FC’s first manager. I think he’d approve.

Saturday Aug 20th in Glaslough Village, Monaghan is the date and venue. Time to be decided when the TV fixtures come out, we are due to play Arsenal that day. It'll be LIVE but when.

Peter Lupspn the football historian will be giving a talk on McKenna and invites have been sent to LFC and the Football League.

The Times did a wee piece on it this morning as well which highlights the event also

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0701/1224299846619.html

quote="LKDAVE"]

bowe07 wrote:is there going to be an event? and if there is what will it be?

Yes indeed there is. Glaslough Village in Monaghan is the venue. Saturday Aug 20th is the date. Formal invites have been sent to LFC, The Football League, FAI and EFC.
Football historian Peter Lupson will be giving a talk on John McKenna. A heritage plaque will then be unveiled in the village centre. A few more meetings ahead and I'll give out more details when i get them. It should be a great day.[/quote]

On 20th August 2011 at 6pm in the community centre in Glaslough, Co. Monaghan, football historian Peter Lupson will deliver a talk on "Honest" John McKenna. Following this, a plaque will be unveiled commemorating this very special man 75 years following his death.

The details will be updated on:
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gi...51198298226772

You are welcome to 'like' this page and share it with any fellow Liverpool fans that may be interested.

Liverpool Football Club, Everton Football Club, the Football League, The FA and the FAI are all invited.

We have gained some publicity already through articles in the Irish Times, the LFC Weekly Magazine and the Red All Over The Land fanzine. The Irish Times article can be viewed here:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...299846619.html

The John McKenna Commemoration Committee Members:
David Moen (LFC Donegal)
Sean McEntee
Jim Brady
Kieran Duffy (Glaslough Development Association)
Shirley Clerkin (Heritage Officer Monaghan County Council)
Michelle Murphy (Sports Coordinator - Monaghan Sports Partnership)
Liam Bradley (Curator Monaghan County Museum)
Padraig Cassidy (Monaghan United)
Hugh Kierans (Monaghan Liverpool SC)

Echo highlighted it today, fair play to them, will reach the Liverpool audiance now as it was in the Blood Red section

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2011/08/06/blood-red-irish-liverpool-fans-to-honour-john-mckenna-100252-29187098/#sitelife-commentsWidget-bottom

All of the above was posted by LKDave.... just thought id transfer it over[u]

Nice one Red

Thanks a million folks
Good to see this site back

The idyllic village of Glaslough in County Monaghan, Ireland, was the perfect setting for the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in honour of Liverpool FC's first manager John McKenna on Saturday evening.

Like thousands of other Irishmen of his generation, McKenna had to emigrate to look for work and all Reds supporters should be thankful that he chose Liverpool as his port of call as the club we know and love today may not exist in its present form if it wasn't for the influence of one "Honest" John McKenna.

It was McKenna who sent the telegram to the Football League applying for membership of the Football League Second Division and it was from this moment on that the glorious future of Liverpool Football Club was written.



A crowd of over 200 Liverpool fans and interested observers attended an informative talk on McKenna by Keith Falkiner, author of the book Emerald Anfield, in the local community hall before the plaque was unveiled by the brainchild of the event, Kopite and LFC Donegal secretary David Moen.

At the conclusion of his talk, Falkiner summed up the achievements of McKenna perfectly when he said; "The course of history has proven John McKenna to be one of the most powerful and successful men at Liverpool Football Club - the third most important figure, in my opinion, after only Bill Shankly and the clubs founder John Houlding. The people of Monaghan should be proud of this history and proud of honest John McKenna - who is arguably the greatest Irishman who has ever been involved with the game of association football in Britain."



Earlier in the day ex-red and Republic of Ireland international Ray Houghton made a flying visit to the area to view the plaque.

Houghton said: "I'm embarrassed not to have known anything about this man during my time at Liverpool, but it's a great tribute to him and to the local area that this is now being rectified".



When unveiling the plaque Moen said: "It's a great honour for me personally to unveil this magnificent plaque.



"I have a lot of people to thank. The local community, the County Council, my family, friends and most of all, 'Honest' John McKenna. It gives me great pleasure to unveil this plaque in honour of Liverpool legend and Monaghan native "Honest" John McKenna."

Fair play Dave, Super stuff

Where ya get that from Barnes.

Well done to all involved

From the Offal

Good, delighted it got well recognised , wasn't their a piece in the echo a while back

Lovely stuff, well done Dave and all involved