When the Arsenal team was selected by a committee!

By Tony Attwood
Woolwich Arsenal FC was created in 1893 and for the first four years of its existence (during which time it was in the Football League Division 2), it was managed by a Committee of the Directors – or indeed the whole board of directors (I’m not sure which).  The selection meetings must have been fun.
In our book “Woolwich Arsenal: the club that changed football” we examine the case that has been made for Sam Hollis to be considered the manager and we have rejected the idea.  On this site we not only examine the claim of Sam Hollis, but also Charlie Bates for the manager’s chair during part of this period.  It is an article written in the early days of this site, and my views have changed since then – but I’ve left the piece up, just for completeness.
The claims for there being a manager during the first f...