Walter Rayner (born 1882) was a British football manager and player. [1] He was Charlton Athletic's first full-time manager as a professional football team from June 1920, when the club played in the Southern League, to May 1925, when the club played in the Football League. [2] [3] He became manager of Wigan Borough F.C. in October 1925. [2] [1]
Rayner had been recruited by Charlton from Tottenham Hotspur F.C., where he was a player-coach. [2] [4] He had also been a player-coach at Arsenal F.C. [4] During his career as a player, he played for Norwich City F.C. [1] In 1909, he was the reserve team captain at Luton Town F.C. [4]
In February 1926, Rayner was suspended from Wigan after a dispute with a referee and opposing players, and was banned from football management following an enquiry into financial irregularities at Charlton. [4] [2] After his career in football, he ran a hardware store in Croydon. [4]