Frank O'Farrell

Francis "Frank" O'Farrell (born 9 October 1927) is an Irish former football player and manager. O'Farrell played as a wing half for Cork United, West Ham United, Preston North End and Weymouth. He moved into management with Weymouth before moving on to manage Torquay United, Leicester City, Manchester United, Cardiff City, Iran, Torquay United and Al-Shaab. He played international football for the Republic of Ireland making nine appearances.

Career

Early career

O'Farrell started his playing career with Cork United, but followed his former Cork teammate, Tommy Moroney to West Ham United in January 1948. A wing-half, O'Farrell took some time to establish himself at Upton Park, finally making his debut for West Ham on 28 September 1950 in a 2–0 defeat of Colchester United in the Essex Professional Cup. His Football League debut followed in November 1950 in a 4–1 defeat away to Notts County. He made 18 league appearances in his first season but became a regular in the 1951–52 and 1952–53 seasons. He played for West Ham in seven seasons and in November 1956, he left for Preston North End in a straight swap deal involving Eddie Lewis. He was still with the Lancashire club when they finished runners-up to Wolverhampton Wanderers in Division One at the end of the 1957–58 season. In the same season O'Farrell's former team-mates at West Ham finished as Second Division Champions, securing their promotion to First Division, which he had strived to help achieve.