32 Major William Sudell

Sudell is the man in formal attire to the right of the photograph as one views it. Sudell was a hugely passionate football player and later manager and an advocate of professionalism. Sudell was one of the key figures behind the creation of the first professional English league. He was a major in the local volunteer force rifal unit and the owner of a local cotton mill. He made his debut as a player for Preston aged just 16 and became the chairman of the club in his 20s. He managed Preston for the first two years of the English league and guided them to the league championship in the first season with defeat in the FA cup final. In his second season, Preston achieved the feat of going through the entire season unbeaten, winning both the league and the FA cup and earning them the title "the invincibles." It would be over a century before Arsene Wenger would repeat the feat of going a full top flight season unbeaten in the league. The keys to Sudell's success were his organisation at an early stage before the league had been formed, giving Preston a running start and to some extent, his corrupt business practises. It transpired in 1895 that he had embezzled thousands of pounds from his Mill business in order to pay players' wages and expenses. Although he did not benefit personally, the club undoubtedly did by attracting some of the better talent, funded by the embezzlement. As a result, Sudell, a colourful character, spent three years in prison and - on his release - emigrated to South Africa. Two stories persist about what became of him: one claims he committed suicide whereas the other story maintains he rebuilt his life before dying of pneumonia. Either way, he remains to this day Preston's most successful manager and was clearly a great football advocate as well as a double-winning and twice title-winning manager. Although he had some unfair advantages and won in a less sophisticated era, he certainly merits inclusion in this list.

British champions: 2
Foreign champions: 0
European cup: 0