Son pays tribute to ex-Shrewsbury Town coach Arthur Mann who died aged 93
Tributes have been paid to a former Shrewsbury Town football coach who has died at the age of 93.
Arthur Mann, who served Arthur Rowley's 1958/59 Fourth Division promotion team, died peacefully in his sleep on July 5.
Mr Mann was born in 1919 in Newcastle upon Tyne, the youngest of 14 children.
He started his football career playing for Newcastle United. He worked in the shipyards on the Tyne throughout his teens and moved to Shrewsbury, aged 21, while serving in the Army during the war.
It was here he met his late wife, Marjorie. They had three children, Derek, Ray and Lyn.
At the end of his playing days he joined Shrewsbury Town and became coach to the 'Colts' team during the early 1960s.
He nurtured Town legends including Dave Pountney and Peter Dolby and was a regular drinking buddy of Arthur Rowley.
His eldest son, Derek, was also a product of the Colts team and he went on to serve the football club as coach and physio.
Mr Mann was one of the earliest holders of the Football Association's full coaching certificates. His son Ray today paid tribute to him saying: "Arthur was a real aficionado of the sport and many of his ideas were extremely advanced for the time."
Mr Mann also scouted for Stoke City and Liverpool Football Club, and he became a staff coach to the FA.
He was invited to be manager and coach of East London Celtic, in the South African League. While there, he won the league title and worked with professional players from the UK, Spanish and Italian football leagues.
His return from South Africa saw the end of his time in the professional game, so, whilst living in Astley, he formed the Dog in the Lane pub team to play in the Sunday league.
He gathered many now retired footballers from his early days and started in the lowest league. The following years saw the team advance through the leagues to eventually win the title and all cup competitions.
His son Ray added: "Over the years Arthur became very well known in the Shrewsbury area with many friends and always had a joke to tell or a funny anecdote."
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