County in the press

Lincoln Hyde, on the other hand, definitely does merit more publicity! Here is a piece I wrote about him for the programme five years ago...

HATTERS’ GAFFERS: LINCOLN HYDE

Hatter in Macc kicks off a new series on County Managers with an unheralded ‘nearly man’.

Ask any Hatter which of our club’s 50-plus managerial hot-seat occupants has been the most successful, statistically speaking, and the chances are that many will plump for Danny Bergara, Dave Jones or current gaffer Jim Gannon - all of whom have guided County sides to promotion over the past three decades.

Older supporters could suggest Jimmy Meadows, who managed the Hatters to their last league title (in the then Fourth Division) during 1966/67. More ancient ones might even chime in with Bob Kelly or - if they are living centenarians - Albert Williams, under whose auspices County became Third Division North Champions in, respectively, 1937 and 1922.

As it happens, the first three, as well as Kelly, find themselves in the all-time Top 10 for their teams’ victory percentages. But none to date can hold a candle to the record of the bowler-hatted Lincoln Hyde, who served as club boss between 1926 and 1931 - before emerging with an overall win-record that approached 60%, and as one of only three managers whose County players have averaged more than two goals per game.

Yet, his five-year spell failed to yield any material success at Edgeley Park - and, for that reason, perhaps, remains largely unnoticed. Time, then, to find out more… but, first off, to wonder at the thoughts of his parents when they registered his birth in the late 19th Century!

1. Lincoln Hyde? That’s not a name, it’s two football clubs!

Whatever might have been in Mr and Mrs Hyde’s minds when their son was new to the world, by naming him Lincoln they unknowingly set him up with what would prove some quirky fate as a football player and manager.

He first arrived at EP as a centre-forward in 1913/14, and his debut, had this been a century later, would have sent social media crazy, given that it saw him score the first of County’s three goals without reply… against Lincoln City, and in Lincoln, at Sincil Bank, for good measure! The newspaper-headline-grabbing strike was Hyde’s only goal in 13 Second Division appearances as a Hatter, before The Great War interrupted, and in several subsequent wartime outings.

Later, for the fourth of his five managerial campaigns, Hyde struck gold after signing an inconspicuous inside-forward from Northampton Town who rewarded the gaffer and club by netting 28 times in 1929/30 - as well as setting an as-yet-unbroken County record with goals in nine consecutive games. His name? Andy Lincoln. Following a less prolific second season in front of goal - and with Hyde, by then, on his way to take over the reins at Preston North End - the player was released during the summer of 1931, to be snapped up, naturally enough, by Lincoln!

2. Hyde was one of several early County bosses to double up as ‘Secretary Managers’.

Back in the day, Football League clubs often had them. As well as coaching and picking the teams, they took control of the process for bringing in players and getting contracts signed.

For the most part, this arrangement worked well with Hyde in charge, as he set about assembling a squad that could challenge for honours. And his most major coup was the signing of former Bolton captain Joe Smith, who, having twice led the top-flight Wanderers to FA Cup glory (in 1923 and 1926), dropped two tiers to become a Hatter in Division Three North. By then in his late 30s, Smith was nevertheless to become a goalscoring legend at EP… although his debut did not quite go as planned, with County suffering a two-point deduction after he was found to be unregistered.

Whether Smith’s registration was not in order because Hyde had too much work on his plate in a dual role will probably never be known. But, with over 22,500 fans turning up in Edgeley to see Smith make his bow against Stoke City, Chairman Ernest Barlow reputedly kept quiet about a pre-match telegram from the League warning him of the irregularity. To make matters worse, Smith also missed a late penalty, as County had grudgingly to settle for a draw against the ‘Potters’.

3. And then there was the transfer involving three freezers of ice-cream…

Actually, this event tends to get quoted without a full explanation - which, in the case of Hugh McLenahan’s 1927 move from County to Manchester United, was that the player, as an amateur, could not attract a cash payment. But it did occur under Hyde’s watch - and the Club Bazaar that summer was all the better for it, as scoops of the tasty ‘transfer fee’ were sold to fête-goers!

4. Neither ‘Hyde’ nor hair of honours during Lincoln’s time at the helm, though!

It was not for the want of trying. In his five seasons, the Hatters twice went close as Division Three North runners-up - at a time when only the title-winners earned promotion - and finished third, sixth and seventh during the other three. But he should be remembered for producing high-scoring County sides that were both attractive and consistent to watch. And he hopefully retired to run a successful business in Belfast, knowing that his reward was in the stats…

5. Lincoln Hyde - County management record in the Football League, 1926-31:

  P    W   D  L     F    A
210 121 37 52 476 283

Win %: 57.62 (57.92 in all competitions). Goals per game ratio: 2.27.