Allen Batsford

Who was Allen Batsford?

Allen Batsford was a former football manager.

He was appointed manager of Walton & Hersham in 1967 and led them to the Athenian League title in 1969 and the Amateur Cup in 1973. Batsford first tasted glory in the FA Cup when Walton held Brian Clough's Brighton to a draw before beating them 4-0 in the replay. Before the game, Clough had described the pairing as "donkeys against thoroughbreds", but the result from Batsford's team spoke for itself.

In 1974 he left to join Wimbledon, then a semi-professional club in the Southern League. He led them to three consecutive league titles and ultimately election to the Football League in 1977.

Most famously, he steered Wimbledon to the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1975, having beaten Burnley in the third round, at that time one of the strongest clubs in Britain. It was the first victory by a non-League club at the ground of a First Division team for 54 years. In the fourth round, they travelled to Elland Road and held the mighty Leeds United, then League Champions, to a heroic goal-less draw before narrowly losing the replay 0-1 due to a deflected own goal from Dave Bassett.