LES SHANNONLes Shannon, who died on 2 December, 2007, was a footballer who played over 250 games for Burnley during the 1950s and went onto a coaching and managerial career.Although he enjoyed mixed fortunes as a manager, his knowledge of football was so highlyvalued that he worked with Pele in coordinating the football sequences of the classic 1981 war film Escape to Victory.Les Shannon was born on 12 March, 1926, in Liverpool. He joined his hometown club as a teenager in 1944 and was part of their wartime line-up. He broke into the first team proper four years later. However, he only managed a further ten league appearances and a single goal against Sheffield United.When his contract expired in 1949 he made the move north to Burnley who were on the verge of what would be the brightest period in the club’s history. With the likes of Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy in the team, Burnley were amongst the most competitive teams in the First Division for many years, although it would not be until 1960 that they would finally win the League title – two years after Mr Shannon had retired.He played a total of 281 games in all competitions for the Clarets and scored 44 goals, playing on both flanks. He also made appearances for the England ‘B’ team but never got a full cap. He retired from the Burnley first team in September 1958 but captained the reserves for a season before going into coaching.He worked with Harry Catterick at Everton and then Billy Wright at Arsenal. In 1966 he took over as manager of Bury. In an eventful three seasons the Greater Manchester club were relegated, promoted, and then relegated again.Mr Shannon moved to Blackpool where he continued this yo-yo trend, taking the Seasiders to the First Division and back down again the following year, although he left the club midway through the season.He moved to Greece to take over PAOK. During four successful years he led the team to the Greek Cup twice (1972 and 1974) and the quarter finals of the 1973 Cup Winners’ Cup.After several more years managing in Greece, with clubs including Iraklis, Crete and Olympiacos, he returned to England in the late 1980s to become a scout for Luton. He eventually retired and settled in Bedfordshire.As well as assisting on the set of Escape to Victory, he was football adviser to the 1989 TV series The Manageress. Mr Shannon returned to Burnley’s Turf Moor ground in 2006 shortly after turning 80.
Keep me informed of updates
