The appointment of James McIntyre over Easter 1931 was not a surprise. He did much to restore Fulham's pride and self-respect and also brought a trophy to SW6.
Arriving at the Cottage at the age of 50, McIntyre had a long and varied career behind him. As a player, he was, at best, a journeyman, and had spells with Witton, Darlaston Town, Wednesbury Old Athletic, Walsall, Notts County, Reading and Bournbrook.
He joined the training staff at Coventry City in 1907 and, from 1912 until the First World War, he was employed at Southampton in a similar capacity.
His first job as manager was at The Dell straight after the War, and he guided the Saints to promotion from Division Three South in 1922, but then retired in 1924 to run a hotel in Scotland. Coventry enticed him back to football, as manager, in 1928, and it was from Highfield Road that he was recruited by Fulham in 1931.
From the start of his stay at the Cottage, McIntyre made no secret of his ambitions for Fulham. He modelled himself on Arsenal's Herbert Chapman, and held similarly forthright views.
From the outset, the Whites led the Third Division table and by April were worthy champions. It was a record-breaking season for Fulham and McIntyre became the first manager to win promotion from Division Three with two different clubs. The revival continued in 1932/33 when another spirited promotion attempt only failed in the closing weeks. For McIntyre, however, this marked the beginning of the end.
The high hopes for the 1933/4 season were never fulfilled, and supporters blamed this on the shock transfer of top scorer Frank 'Bonzo' Newton to Reading in September for, according to the board minutes, ‘the impossible price of £650’. Newton was replaced with the £2,500 signing of Arsenal's veteran striker Jack Lambert, who failed to make any impact.
A run of bad results over the New Year led to the Manager's dismissal in February 1934. Despite his impressive track record, McIntyre did not get another job in football. He went back to Southampton and worked for a company called Follands, and died, aged 72, in Surrey in 1954.
