Ivor Powell

Queens Park Rangers

Powell was a seventh son of a seventh son and started his working life down the mines, alongside his father and six brothers for a wage of two shillings a day. His playing career began with South Wales League side Bargoed Thursdays. To his delight, in August 1936 he was invited to London to have a trial with Queens Park Rangers, making him "so happy to leave that wretched [coal] pit". This was unsuccessful but Powell stayed in London and got a job. He started playing for the reserve team of Barnet and, in May 1937, played in a friendly game against QPR. Powell was the outstanding player in the game, and Barnet won 8–1. This time, the Rangers took real interest. Joining QPR on professional terms under Billy Birrell in September 1937, the club finished third in the Third Division South, missing out on promotion as they finished three points below champions Millwall. They finished sixth in 1938–39, the first full season before the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he guested for Bradford City and Blackpool whilst working as an RAF physical trainer. At Blackpool, he struck up a friendship with Stanley Matthews, who later became Powell's best man at his wedding to Joan Browell in 1943. He returned to Loftus Road after the war and helped QPR to finish as the Third Division South runners-up in 1946–47, though only the team that finished first were promoted into the Second Division. They managed to finish as champions in 1947–48 under Dave…

Powell made eight international caps for Wales and won four wartime caps. In one game he was replaced by Englishman Stan Mortensen in a game between England and Wales when his injury left the Welsh side without an available substitute.

Port Vale

At Port Vale, as player-manager, he played just six times, restricted on the field by a knee injury. As a manager, he tried to 'rule by fear' and was not well-liked by the players; with the club bottom of the Third Division South, his contract was terminated in November 1951. Roy Sproson later said that "everything seemed to go wrong for him at Vale" and that "he used to treat players like kids". Powell stated that all of the club's funds had been spent on completing Vale Park but that "I thought if I increased the fitness of the squad and worked on their diet I could knock them into shape". Injuries affected the squad and top-scorer Cliff Pinchbeck "disappeared for the first weeks of the season".

"He was a good, clean-living man who was always fair with me. He was a sergeant major-type as a manager. The first time he called me into his office, his first words were 'I'm the boss' and I thought 'Oh heck'. He had been a tremendous player, although I remember him coming unstuck in one training session on the pitch when he was trying to coach our winger, Mick Hulligan. Mick's free kicks hadn't been too clever that day, so Ivor said, 'Right, let me show you'. Ivor put the ball down just outside the penalty area, took a run-up and, as we all watched, he blasted the ball right out of the ground and off down Hamil Road. He did his best to recover the situation though. He turned around to Mick and said, 'Now, you see, that's what you were doing'. Football is a…

Playing statistics

International statistics

Managerial statistics