William Aitken

William John Aitken (2 February 1894 – 9 August 1973) was a Scottish football player and manager.

A forward, he was known for his trait of bouncing the ball on his head whilst running along the touchline, and was normally known as Willie or Billy. He began his career at Kirkintilloch before joining Rangers via Queen's Park in 1918. He signed with Port Vale in 1919 before he was sold to Newcastle United for £2,500 in May 1920. He spent four seasons at Tyneside before joining Preston North End in 1924. He spent two years with the "Lambs", and had spells at Chorley, Norwich City and Bideford Town.

He was appointed as head coach at Italian club Juventus in 1928. He moved on to France the following year to play for Cannes. He played in the 1932 Coupe de France final victory and was later appointed as club manager. He then spent 1934 to 1936 as player-manager at Reims and then took charge at Antibes between 1936 and 1938. During World War II, he worked as a defence contractor at Vickers-Armstrongs, and he coached across Europe, in addition to working for a wine and spirits distributor.

Career Career in Scotland Aitken played for amateur sides Kirkintilloch and Queen's Park, before joining Rangers for the 1918–19 season. He scored two goals in 21 league games as they finished second to Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Scottish League Division One. Aitken then left Ibrox for England to play for Port Vale in the summer of 1919.

Career in England He scored on his Port Vale debut at inside-right in a 2–0 win at Aston Villa Reserves in a Central League match on 20 August 1919. He began playing as an inside-forward at St James' Park, and although he only scored ten goals in 110 league games in four seasons at the club, his unselfishness in attack and overall contribution to the team was greatly appreciated. Newcastle finished fifth in the First Division in 1920–21, with Aitken claiming three goals in 38 appearances. However, not everyone was convinced by his new methods, and some "Juve" players were unwilling to put in the extra work required to make the system work.

Later life He returned to Britain during World War II and worked as a defence contractor at Vickers-Armstrongs. He later coached in Belgium (Union SG) and Norway (Brann) and became a representative of a wine and spirits distributor in Tyne and Wear.

Career statistics

Honours Cannes Coupe de France: 1932

Reims Championnat de France amateur: 1935