Billy Lambe

Billy Lambe

Personal information
Full name	William Charles Lambe
Date of birth	(1877-01-02)2 January 1877
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death	24 August 1951(1951-08-24) (aged 74)
Place of death	St. Leonards-on-Sea, England
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Swanscome Tigers
1906–1908	Hastings & St Leonards United
	Woolwich Arsenal
1910–1911	Brighton & Hove Albion
1911–1912	Tunbridge Wells Rangers
1912	Barcelona	4	(0)
Managerial career
1912	Barcelona (player-coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Charles Lambe (2 January 1877 – 24 August 1951) was an English footballer who played as a midfielder.

Before joining Barcelona in early 1912, Lambe had previously played for Swanscome Tigers, Hastings & St Leonards United,^[1] Woolwich Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Tunbridge Wells Rangers. At Barcelona, he became the first foreigner to be paid a wage at the club, due to his role as a player-coach.^[2] He made fourteen appearances for the club (with four of them in official matches), and also won the Copa del Rey and the Pyrenees Cup.^[3] However, his time as player-coach was short-lived, as club president Joan Gamper preferred to appoint a full-time manager and administrator to run the team's affairs off the pitch, rather than entrusting duties to a player. He was succeeded by Miles Barron, who is considered the club's first official manager.^[4] In August 1939, Lambe was appointed as the manager of Hastings & St Leonards, then of the Southern Amateur League, initially on a month's trial. His record with the club is not known due to the outbreak of World War II, which led to the league being suspended and allowing the club to rejoin the Sussex County League.^[5]

References

1. "Hastings & St Leonards United - 1906-1907 Season". hastingsfootballhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
   "Hastings & St Leonards United - 1907-1908 Season". hastingsfootballhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
2. Alemán, Pedro (November 9, 2021). "Conoce cómo les ha ido a ex jugadores blaugranas como entrenadores del FCB" [Find out how former Blaugrana players have fared as FCB coaches]. deportrece.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2023.
3. "William Charles 'Billy' Lambe stats | FC Barcelona Players". FCB Jugadors. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
4. West, Andy (2 February 2023). "Barcelona: Englishman Miles Barron revealed as club's first manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
5. "HASTINGS FOOTBALL HISTORY". hastingsfootballhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2023.