Uren Harold Image 1 Liverpool 1909

Description

Clifton, Bristol born outside left Harold Uren began his football career with New Brighton Juniors and played for New Brighton Wesleyans, West Kirby in 1902, and Harrowby as well as amateur club Northern Nomads before signing for First Division club Liverpool on amateur forms in April 1906, initially only playing for the reserves. He spent much of 1906 playing for Birmingham & District League club Wrexham and re-signed for Liverpool on amateur forms in October 1907, making his Football League debut at Manchester City the next month, the first of two appearances made that week.

The joint Everton & Liverpool programme expecterd greater things of him in the future. “Standing 5 ft. 10 in., and weighing 12 st., he is a promising specimen of a well built athlete, and in his recent trials he has shown that his football abilities are of no mean order. He can centre the ball splendidly, especially when playing on the left wing, and is in command of a few tricks that enable him to baffle the attentions of the opposing defence. To reach the highest flights, however, it will be necessary for him to increase his speed, and a study of the methods of such a graceful player as Goddard, whose course of actions is determined upon before the ball reaches him, would exercise a beneficial effect also.”

He played for Hoylake in 1908 and continued to play for Wrexham, and played in an England Amateurs trial in February 1908, where he was kept out of the team by Everton’s Harold Hardman. He next appeared for Liverpool, still an amateur, in the derby match at Goodison Park in April 1909, Everton winning 5-0, his only appearance of Liverpool’s 1908-09 campaign.

Uren signed professional forms with Liverpool in 1909 and made 3 appearances throughout the 1909-10 campaign as Liverpool finished runners up in the League Championship. He broke into the Liverpool first eleven in October 1910 and after 14 matches in the 1910-11 campaign, he featured in 26 matches during 1911-12. In February 1912, having scored twice in 46 appearances for Liverpool, Everton exchanged Billy Lacey and Tom Gracie for Harold Uren plus £300. The Liverpool Echo reckoned the lack of his success at Liverpool was due to his peculiar playing style and “that the other forwards could not make headway from his ideas.” He was also advised to “curb his excessive dribbling.” He played 8 matches in the title run in as Everton finished runners up in the League Championship However, his Blues career didn’t prove a success either, he made only 24 appearances in 15 months, scoring 3 goals for The Toffees. He returned to Wrexham in 1913 and won The Welsh Cup with The Dragons in 1914, but his career was effectively ended by the onset of the First World War which forced the suspension of peacetime football in 1915. He also later played in Scotland for Lochgelly United.

Two of Uren’s sons, Dick and Harold, were England rugby union internationals in the 1940’s and 1950’s.