Lindley: William Maurice (Maurice)

WW2 Guest: 1943-1944 (Leeds United War-time Guest Player Details)

Centre Half

Born: Keighley: 05-12-1915

Debut: v Sheffield United (h): 11-03-1944

Height & Weight: Unknown

Lindley started his football career with Ingrow United in the Keighley League, before joining Barnoldswick Town in their one season in the Yorkshire League. His skills attracted Football League scouts and he had trials with Everton. The Ingrow footballer also played a couple of ‘A’ team games for Bradford City, before signing for the First Division Merseyside club in March 1936. He played most of his games for Everton as a centre-half but also was equally adept in the wing-half spots. He found it hard to break into the Everton side which were well stocked for half-backs at the time. In his first season of 1936-37, England Internationals Cliff Britton and Joe Mercer missed just five games between them as the wing-halves and Charlie Gee missed just two as the Centre-half and future Welsh International Tommy (T.G.) Jones played just once as his deputy. Consequently he had still not made one appearance for the Everton first team by the outbreak of World War Two and the temporary suspension of Football League fixtures. During the War Years he guested for Leeds United and played one game in the 1943-44 Football League Northern Section (Second Championship) in a 1-0 win over Sheffield United at Elland Road on 11th March 1944. But he was able to play his first games for Everton during the War period making fourteen appearances in 1939-40, one in 1940-41 and later, in 1944-45, he played twenty-two games. He also played once for Bournemouth in 1941-42 and then had five games for them in 1942-43. Bradford City were the club where he scored his only goals with three in 1943-44 in thirty-two games, having already played seventeen times in the previous season of 1942-43, a season in which he also played twice for Walsall. In 1944-45 he played twice for Leicester City on 6th January 1945 against Mansfield Town and on 20th January 1945 against Chesterfield. After the War he returned to Goodison Park and played fifty-one League and three F.A. Cup games in five seasons. He made his debut for Everton in a 0-1 defeat by Derby County at the Baseball Ground in a Division One game on 6th September 1947 and played his final game for them on 16th February 1952 at Ewood Park in a 0-1 defeat by Blackburn Rovers in a Division Two game, before retiring as a player in 1952 and joining Swindon Town as coach at Swindon Town, taking over as Manager two years later. He left the hard-up Wiltshire club in April 1955 before a short spell in charge at Barry Town, and became Manager at Crewe Alexandra in August 1955 and remained there until May 1958. He later joined Leeds United as chief scout, and then, during the 1965-66 season became assistant to Revie. It was at Elland Road as Revie’s right-hand man that Lindley became best known, bringing in talented youngsters such as Billy Bremner, Peter Lorimer, Terry Yorath and Eddie and Frank Gray. He stayed at the club for over twenty years and became Caretaker Manager on four separate occasions. A club rule stated that employees had to leave Leeds United at the age of 65, and so his highly-successful era at Elland Road came to a close in 1982. This wasn’t the end for Lindley though, as Roy McFarland, the manager at Bradford City took him on as chief scout. He was rewarded with a testimonial in 1991 when Bradford City and Leeds United met at Valley Parade on 31st July 1991 in a curtain raiser for the 1991-92 season. He died in 1994 aged seventy-eight.