It was easy to see why the directors were impressed by Buckingham's application. From 1932 to 1949 he had been a classy wing half with Spurs and then won a reputation as a deep and original thinker on football as a coach with Oxford University and Pegasus (and an Amateur Cup win at Wembley) before cutting his managerial teeth at Bradford in 1951.
After two years he jumped to the First Division and, in his first full season with West Brom, the Baggies won the FA Cup and would have completed the Double but for an inexplicable loss of League form in the closing weeks. From the Hawthorns he moved to Amsterdam and Ajax in 1959, and steered his new club to the Dutch title in 1960. By 1961, he was back in Britain, with Sheffield Wednesday and the next stop, in January 1965 was a three-year contract at Fulham.
From the start, Buckingham seemed to assume that he had to change everything he inherited, and in his zeal for "reform", he made serious errors of judgement. Too many good players were let go too soon and replaced by newcomers that were not really up to the demands of Division One football. He changed the backroom staff, replacing loyal Fulham characters such as Joe Bacuzzi and Arthur Stevens with old friends from Spurs days like Ronnie Burgess.
There were other changes that created the illusion of change that were largely cosmetic (such as the 4-3-3 numbering system) all of which would have been forgiven had the team performed. His first full season, 1965-6, looked like ending in relegation but was retrieved only when new coach Dave Sexton replaced Burgess as coach.
Sexton did what Buckingham was not able to do, and inspire the players and a truly remarkable escape was achieved. The signing of a young Allan Clarke from Walsall was Buckingham's best piece of business and his goals helped keep the club clear of danger the next season but in 1968-9, the trapdoor opened and the club had a doomed look from the start.
When Buckingham left, unlamented, after three years, the situation as beyond saving. Not surprisingly, it was his last job in English football. He was briefly with Ethnikos in Greece and Spanish clubs Barcelona and Sevilla but by the early 1970s, his career was over. He died at Chichester in January 1995 in his 80th year.