Alan Hardaker

Alan Hardaker OBE (29 July 1912 − 4 March 1980) was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire and was the second son to John and Emma Hardaker. He was younger brother of Ernest Hardaker.

Education and early career Hardaker's education began at Constable Street Elementary School in Hull, and from there he was awarded a scholarship to Riley High School,

He was offered professional terms in 1936 by manager Jack Hill, which he turned down, based at Scapa Flow and saw service on the "Northern Patrol", which protected convoys of Allied ships from German vessels sent to attack.

In 1942, after subsequently serving on , he became a lieutenant commander, and transferred, this time to the decommissioned torpedo training ship secured at Eastbourne. He then received a posting to Australia as supply officer to HMS Alert, a shore-based camp in Sydney, and in December 1944 moved on to HMS Golden Hind, a Royal Navy manning depot, also in Sydney. and this the League won, meaning that a source of income would be secured for the clubs, as the Pools companies now needed to pay for the privilege of printing the fixtures on their coupons.

Hardaker was also required to attend the House of Commons in London to address members of Parliament regarding the abolition of the maximum wage for football players, which Jimmy Hill, the ex-Fulham player and then chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, had led a campaign for. The PFA won their members' pay freedom in 1961. However, this did not affect the transfer system, which still allowed clubs to retain players' registrations even after their contracts had expired.

When an application to the High Court was made in June 1963, submitted by the out-of-contract Newcastle United player George Eastham, Hardaker was called to give evidence. Despite him arguing in favour of the contract structure as it then was (the League Management Committee had instructed him in how he should proceed), Eastham won his case and thereafter the players could move more easily from club to club.

Although it is widely reported that the League Cup was Hardaker's idea, in his autobiography he credits Stanley Rous, who was at that time secretary of the Football Association. He relates the tale of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, which was a joint exercise by the FA and League to help regenerate football in England at the end of the Second World War. Rous apparently designed a separate knockout competition, to be entered by those clubs beaten in the early rounds of the FA Cup proper, but the plan was never approved. It was this idea, in tandem with the blueprint of the already implemented Scottish League Cup north of the border, which prompted Hardaker to formulate the English League Cup.

The League Cup was poorly received when it was first announced. Hardaker said that the proposed competition received criticism not only from Fleet Street, but from the League clubs themselves - entry into the competition was not compulsory, and Arsenal, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur all refused to participate during the inaugural season.

However, the signing of television contracts for the 1961–62 competition, and the money this would generate, helped persuade many of the boycotters to take part the following year, although various clubs still declined to enter each year. The award by UEFA of a European cup competition place for the winner of the League Cup each year, plus the attraction of Wembley as a final venue, were also strong incentives for all the clubs to join, and this was achieved by 1967.

Hardaker was asked to give advice to the League clubs when they were ordered by the FA in 1965 to sign statutory declarations regarding payments to amateur players and guarantee that no illegal dealings were being entered into, and thus leaving themselves legally vulnerable. His advice consisted of a recommendation that they (the League clubs) resign from the Football Association "as a matter of extreme urgency", in order to force the FA to back down on the issue. Having held a meeting in Manchester, they duly handed in their resignations, all except for a few unnamed clubs.

After a meeting between the Football League Management Committee and the FA in London, the demand for professional clubs to sign the declarations was withdrawn, and it was decided that only amateur clubs would be required to do so. The resignations were ignored.

In 1970, when a group of Midlands club chairmen proposed that the Football League handle its own disciplinary affairs, Hardaker was asked by them if this would be possible under FA regulations. He pointed out Association Rule 1(b), which gave provision for the game to be administered for amateur and professional clubs separately. This meant that the League could have full control of its own administration but would stop short of a breakaway from the FA. Although the rule was never implemented, when the League Management Committee raised the matter with the FA, they were able to negotiate many concessions, both financial and in terms of the disciplinary system, which changed as a result.

Many other incidents of note came under his influence during his time as Football League secretary. In 1969, he was asked to comment on the planned introduction of pensions for those professional players over 35 years of age; he claimed that the reported comment "I wouldn't hang a dog on the evidence of people like that" was actually in answer to the proposal that former professional footballers should sit on disciplinary committees and not about pensions.

At the start of the 1971–72 season, the League Management Committee issued a directive reminding referees of their obligations regarding maintaining discipline on the field of play. However, the Committee neglected to circulate the information to the press or the League clubs and there was widespread confusion when referees vastly increased the number of cautions and dismissals during matches.

The threat of withdrawal of League clubs from the FA Cup in 1973, following an argument over the fee for televising the 1972 European Championship (qualifying) quarter-final first leg between England and West Germany, was eventually averted.

Television companies made several attempts to secure contracts with the Football League to show football matches live, in 1955, 1956 and 1967, but this would never happen in Hardaker's lifetime, and he explained that in his opinion, "regular live football would undermine the game's health". Before the start of the 1974–75 season, there was even the possibility that no League football highlights would appear on television, due to the League chairmen initially rejecting a three-year deal in 1973, worth £750,000. After protracted negotiation, they finally accepted the offer.

In 1976, there was friction over the handling of the playing registration of ex-Manchester United and Northern Ireland international George Best, following his transfer from Los Angeles Aztecs of the United States to Fulham. It was discovered that, due to the terms of the contract and the method of registration, Aztecs might retain first call on Best. Hardaker acted to counter this situation "to protect the interests of all the Football League clubs".

Honours On 12 June 1971 he was made a civil Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of his services to the League.

In February 1958, Hardaker ordered Manchester United to return from Belgrade after their European Cup match on 5 February to fulfil their First Division match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 8 February, threatening to deduct points from the club if they failed to do so. On 6 February, 23 people, including eight of the team's players, were killed in what became known as the Munich air disaster.

During the 1960s and 1970s Hardaker had a bitter relationship with Leeds United manager Don Revie, during the club's ten-year pursuit of domestic and European honours. Revie and his team frequently ran afoul of Hardaker's demanding fixture schedules and autocratic rule as secretary of the Football League. The acrimony between Revie and Hardaker continued when Revie took up the post as England national manager; Hardaker's great-grandson, Tom Coyle, presented the trophy at the 2004 final between Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough.

In 2011, Hardaker was portrayed by actor Neil Dudgeon in United, a BBC TV drama centred on the 1958 Munich air disaster involving Manchester United.