Maurice Setters

Maurice Edgar Setters[1] (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, Coventry City and Charlton Athletic,[2] and in the United Soccer Association with the Cleveland Stokers (Stoke City under another name).[3] Setters played in the left wing half position.[4] As manager, he took charge of Doncaster Rovers and (briefly) Sheffield Wednesday,[5] and spent several years as assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland.[6]

Maurice Setters

Personal information
Full name	Maurice Edgar Setters
Date of birth	16 December 1936
Place of birth	Honiton, Devon, England
Date of death	22 November 2020 (aged 83)
Place of death	Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
Position(s)	Wing half
Youth career
1952–1954	Exeter City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1954–1955	Exeter City	10	(0)
1955–1960	West Bromwich Albion	120	(10)
1960–1965	Manchester United	159	(12)
1965–1967	Stoke City	86	(5)
1967	→ Cleveland Stokers (guest)	9	(3)
1967–1970	Coventry City	51	(3)
1970	Charlton Athletic	8	(1)
Total		434	(31)
Teams managed
1971–1974	Doncaster Rovers
1983	Rotherham United (assistant)
1983	Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker)
1986–1995	Republic of Ireland (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Setters died on 22 November 2020 at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary, aged 83.[7][8]

Playing career

Setters started his career with Exeter City reserved, making his first team debut against Southend United in March 1954, his only appearance for the "Grecians" in the 1953–54 season. Setters played a further nine games for Exeter in the 1954–55 season. First Division team West Bromwich Albion showed interest in acquiring Setters. Exeter were reluctant to let him go but the £3,000 transfer fee was sufficient at a time of financial problems for the club. Setters went on to play 120 games for West Brom.[9]

In January 1960, he was transferred to Manchester United for a fee of £30,000. Matt Busby signed Setters as a replacement for the injured Wilf McGuinness who had suffered a career ending leg break. Setters developed his reputation for being one of footballs 'hard men' and his combative style made him a key part of the team.[7] A poor 1962–63 league campaign saw Manchester United nearly relegated in the Second Division but they did beat Leicester City 3–1 in the 1963 FA Cup Final. A much improved 1963–64 season brought a 2nd-place finish behind Liverpool. A 7–0 win over Aston Villa early in the 1964–65 season was Setters 159th and final game for Manchester United as he was sold to Stoke City for £30,000.[10][9]

He played 19 times for Stoke in 1964–65 as Stoke claimed a mid-table finish of 11th position.[10] At the end of the campaign, with the squad training for their pre-season in the United States Setters was involved in a 'bust-up' with teammate Calvin Palmer.[10] Setters apologised to manager Tony Waddington and was allowed to travel to the United States but Palmer did not apologise and was forced to stay in England.[10] Out in America, Setters played nine times for the Cleveland Stokers scoring three goals. He missed just three matches in 1965–66 playing in 45 fixtures.[10] His run in the first team continued in 1966–67 until he sustained injury against Liverpool on 4 March 1967 which allowed Alan Bloor to take his place.[10] After failing to dislodge Bloor, Setters joined Coventry City in November 1967 for a £25,000 fee.[10][9] During this time he played nine games as a guest player with the Cleveland Stokers in the North American United Soccer Association.[3] Setters made 59 appearances for Coventry in just under three years at Highfield Road and ended his career with a four-month spell with Second Division Charlton Athletic from January 1970, playing in eight games.[10][9]

International career

Setters played for England School Boys and the England Youth teams. He made 16 appearances for the under-23 team.[9]

Setters was included in the provisional England squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad but was not selected for the main team.[11]

Managerial career

Setters was appointed manager of Doncaster Rovers in May 1971 and remained until November 1974 when he was dismissed. Setters later won a case for unfair dismissal.[9] He had a short break from football before becoming Jack Charlton's assistant at Sheffield Wednesday in 1977. When Charlton resigned on 27 May 1983, Setters stayed on as caretaker manager for four weeks, although the club played no matches during this period.[12][13] Setters became assistant manager and coach at Rotherham United in 1983 and in 1984 was chief scout at Necastle United.[9]

Setters later linked up with Jack Charlton again from 1986 to 1995 as assistant manager with the Republic of Ireland senior squad.[12][13] He was also Sir Bobby Charlton's best man at his wedding in 1961.[14]

Later life

When Charlton resigned as Ireland manager in 1995 the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) assumed Setters would follow him. However he continued to turn up to work as assistant manager of the national team and manager of the under-21 team. Setters was sacked but initiated a claim for unfair dismissal. Charlton appeared at the tribunal to support Setters and the FAI eventually settled the claim.[11]

Setters suffered from Alzheimer's disease from around 2016 and from 2018 was in a residential care home. He became ill in mid-November 2020 and died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary on 22 November, aged 83.[15]

Career statistics

Playing career

Source:[2]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other^[A]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Exeter City	1953–54	Third Division South	1	0	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	1	0
	1954–55	Third Division South	9	0	1	0	–		0	0	0	0	10	0
	Total		10	0	1	0	–		0	0	0	0	10	0
West Bromwich Albion	1955–56	First Division	11	2	3	0	–		0	0	0	0	14	2
	1956–57	First Division	21	1	3	0	–		0	0	0	0	24	1
	1957–58	First Division	27	3	3	0	–		0	0	0	0	30	3
	1958–59	First Division	41	2	3	0	–		0	0	0	0	43	2
	1959–60	First Division	20	2	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	20	2
	Total		120	10	12	0	–		0	0	0	0	132	10
Manchester United	1959–60	First Division	17	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
	1960–61	First Division	40	4	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	45	4
	1961–62	First Division	38	3	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	45	4
	1962–63	First Division	27	1	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	1
	1963–64	First Division	32	4	7	0	0	0	4	1	1	0	44	5
	1964–65	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
	Total		159	12	25	1	2	0	5	1	1	0	192	14
Stoke City	1964–65	First Division	16	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	1
	1965–66	First Division	39	3	1	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	45	3
	1966–67	First Division	28	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	30	1
	1967–68	First Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		86	5	5	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	97	5
Cleveland Stokers (loan)	1967[16]	United Soccer Association	9	3	—		—		—		—		9	3
Coventry City	1967–68	First Division	25	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	1
	1968–69	First Division	17	2	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	21	2
	1969–70	First Division	9	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		51	3	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	59	3
Charlton Athletic	1969–70	Second Division	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	1
Career Total			443	34	47	1	12	0	5	1	1	0	508	36

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Charity Shield.

Managerial career

Source:[17]

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Doncaster Rovers	1 May 1971	15 November 1974	158	47	42	69	029.75

Honours

Manchester United

• FA Cup: 1962–63[6]

References

1. "Maurice Setters". MUFCInfo. Mark Graham. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
2. Maurice Setters at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
3. "North American Soccer League Rosters Cleveland Stokers". NASL Jerseys. Dave Morrison. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
4. Burke, Darren (23 November 2020). "Former Doncaster Rovers boss Maurice Setters who oversaw Liverpool cup classic dies". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
5. "Maurice Setters's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
6. "Maurice Setters, Republic of Ireland assistant to Jack Charlton, dies aged 83". The Guardian. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
7. "Club saddened by loss of Maurice Setters". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
8. Kelly, David (23 November 2020). "Jack Charlton's right-hand man Maurice Setter has died, aged 83". Sunday World. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 23 November 2020. Setters spent the last two years in a residential home but became ill a week ago and passed away at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary on Sunday.
9. "Setters, Maurice". Grecian Archive. Exeter University. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
10. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
11. Quinn, Philip (24 November 2020). "Big Jack's no 2 Maurice Setters married air of authority with fierce loyalty". Extra.ie. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
12. "Maurice Setters: Big Jack's right hand man". RTE Sport. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
13. "Former Republic of Ireland assistant boss Maurice Setters dies aged 83". RTE Sport. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
14. "Maurice Setters, Republic of Ireland assistant to Jack Charlton, dies aged 83". The Guardian. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
15. Kelly, David (23 November 2020). "Former Ireland assistant manager Maurice Setters dies, aged 83". Irish Independent. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
16. "NASL Soccer North American Soccer League Players, Photos, and Statistics". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
17. "Managers". Manager Stats. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

External links