Alec Stock

Alec William Alfred Stock (30 March 1917 – 16 April 2001) was an English footballer and manager. He briefly managed AS Roma, between long spells at Leyton Orient and Queens Park Rangers. At QPR, he won successive promotions, leading the club to the First Division for the first time, and winning the League Cup. Among managers for whom accurate statistics exist, he is the fourth most experienced manager of all time.

Alec Stock

Personal information
Full name	Alec William Alfred Stock
Date of birth	(1917-03-30)30 March 1917
Place of birth	Peasedown St John, England
Date of death	16 April 2001(2001-04-16) (aged 84)
Place of death	Wimborne Minster, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1936–1938	Charlton Athletic	0	(0)
1938–1939	Queens Park Rangers	30	(0)
1945-1946	Queens Park Rangers (guest)	19	(6)
1946–1949	Yeovil Town
Managerial career
1946–1949	Yeovil Town
1949–1959	Leyton Orient
1957	AS Roma
1959–1968	Queens Park Rangers
1968–1972	Luton Town
1972–1976	Fulham
1978	Queens Park Rangers (caretaker)
1979–1980	AFC Bournemouth
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Alec Stock was born in Peasedown St John, Somerset, and played as an inside-forward for Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers before World War II and guested for several other clubs during the hostilities. He joined Yeovil Town in 1946.

He came to prominence as the player/manager of Yeovil Town during a historic FA Cup run in 1949. They had thrilling victories over Bury and Sunderland, before losing to Manchester United in the fifth round. He later managed Leyton Orient (1949–1959), AS Roma, Queens Park Rangers (1959–1965) (general manager 1965–1968), Luton Town (1968–1972), Fulham (1972–1976) and AFC Bournemouth (1979–1980). He was also the assistant manager of Arsenal for 53 days during the 1955–56 season and was a director of Queens Park Rangers (1977–1979). He was asked to manage the Third Division South team against the North in 1955–56.

It was perhaps Stock's time as manager of Queens Park Rangers where he is most fondly remembered. It was during his spell in the 1960s that coincided with the development of the club with chairman Jim Gregory. The team enjoyed unprecedented success in 1967 and 1968 winning consecutive promotions with the club reaching the First Division for the first time and becoming the first Third Division team to win the Football League Cup in 1967 beating then First Division West Bromwich Albion 3–2 in a come from behind win.^[1][2] Stock had a focus on youth bringing many of the team through the club's youth system (including Frank Sibley, Tony Hazell, Roger Morgan, Ian Morgan and Mick Leach) as well as blending characters such as Rodney Marsh and Mark Lazarus into the set up.

With internal pressures mounting in the club following the 1967–68 season however, Stock was absent for three months, suffering from asthma.^[3] In his book A Little Thing Called Pride, Stock tells how Jim Gregory sacked him in 1968 for being ill, just as he thought he was about to return to the helm and save Rangers from relegation.^[4] He later had success with Luton Town who he helped to promotion from the Third Division and also with Fulham when he led them to the 1975 FA Cup final. He briefly returned to be a Director at Queens Park Rangers in the 1977/8 season.

Ron Manager, a character in BBC comedy sketch show The Fast Show is based on Stock, told by George Best in his autobiography. This was also confirmed by comedy actor Paul Whitehouse, who played Ron Manager, in the documentary, Suits You Sir – The Inside Leg of the Fast Show.^[5][6]

Managerial statistics

Team	From	To	Record[7]
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Yeovil Town	February 1946	September 1949	153	80	32	41	052.29
Leyton Orient	September 1949	June 1959	464	181	95	188	039.01
Roma	August 1957	November 1957	11	4	6	1	036.36[8]
Queens Park Rangers	June 1959	August 1968	459	219	106	134	047.71
Luton Town	August 1968	June 1972	178	75	57	46	042.13
Fulham	July 1972	July 1976	220	75	73	72	034.09
Queens Park Rangers (caretaker)	July 1978	August 1978[9][10]	0	0	0	0	!—
AFC Bournemouth	January 1979	December 1980	99	30	31	38	030.30
Total			1,584	664	400	520	041.92

References

1. "History". QPR. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
2. Moore, Tom (28 February 2017). "QPR icon reflects on League Cup triumph and where they'd be today". MyLondon. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
3. Glanville, Brian (18 April 2001). "Alec Stock Obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
4. "Alec Stock R.I.P." Queens Park Rangers FC. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
5. "Call yourself a football fan? – Paul Whitehouse". wsc.co.uk. 14 December 1999. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
6. Simpson, Paul (1 March 2019). "Decline and Fall". The Blizzard. p. 39. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
7. "Managers – Alec Stock". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
8. "ALEC STOCK: THE LAST ENGLISH MANAGER OF THE GIALLOROSSI". AS Roma. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
9. "Manager Profiles – Queens Park Rangers". League Managers Association. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
10. "A POTTED HISTORY OF QPR (1882-2009)". QPR.co.uk. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2023.