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1900–01 Southampton F.C. season

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Southampton F.C.
1900–01 season
ChairmanDr. Ernest Stancomb
SecretaryErnest Arnfield
StadiumThe Dell
Southern LeagueChampions
FA CupRound 1
Top goalscorerLeague: Edgar Chadwick (14)
All: Edgar Chadwick (15)
Highest home attendance12,000 vs Everton (9 February 1901) (FA Cup)

The 1900–01 season was the 16th since the foundation of Southampton F.C. and their seventh in league football, as members of the Southern League.

The club were unable to repeat their success in the FA Cup and were eliminated in the First Round, but compensated for this failure by claiming the Southern League title for the fourth time in five seasons.

Club finances

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The run to the FA Cup Final in 1900 had generated a surplus of £31 but the club were still £1,000 in debt.[1] In July 1900, the company made a call on its shares in an effort to raise cash. The response to the call was disappointing with many shareholders having their shares forfeited as a result of their failure to pay the balance due.[2]

The financial situation worsened in 1900–01, with the gates dwindling following the doubling of the entrance fees the previous year from sixpence to a shilling, and the club generated a loss of £740.[3]

Personnel

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After the disappointing end to the previous season and the embarrassing failure in the FA Cup Final, there was a "drastic" clear-out of players. Both the players at the centre of the dispute surrounding the team selection for the final, Roddy McLeod and Jack Farrell were released, as were defenders Meechan, Durber and Petrie.[4] Another significant departure was Alfred McMinn who resigned as a director;[2] McMinn had made a major contribution to the club's success, particularly with his ability to spot a good player, leading the "Stoke Invasion" in the summer of 1895.[5][6]

The new recruits included three players from Everton, full-backs George Molyneux and Bertram Sharp and centre-forward Wilf Toman[3] as well as former Everton and England forward Edgar Chadwick, who would renew his partnership with Alf Milward which had been described as "the best in the league" during their time together at Everton.[3] From local football, the club recruited two players who were to play a major role in the future of the club: Bert Lee would have two long periods with the club as a player before becoming a trainer from 1914 to 1935.[7] Fred Harrison would remain at The Dell for seven years and become the club's main goalscorer, with 88 goals from 166 appearances.[8]

In view of the club's financial difficulties, the board also decided to recruit top amateur players. The first to join the club was Leslie Gay, who had made three appearances as goalkeeper for England in 1893 and 1894, although Gay never played in a first-team match for Southampton.[2] Another amateur goalkeeper, the South African Wilf Waller also joined the club on a part-time basis and played in the opening match of the season when Jack Robinson was suspended.[9] In December, C. B. Fry (described as "arguably the greatest all-round sportsman of his generation") did play for the club, making his debut at right-back in the Boxing Day match against Tottenham Hotspur.[2] In January, the club made an offer to another Corinthian player, G. O. Smith, who had been the England captain and was widely considered as the world's best player of the 19th Century.[10] The approach was unsuccessful, with Smith responding that he "thought it impossible to assist our club in cup ties [but] wishing us every success."[2]

League season

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The Saints started their attempt to regain the Southern League trophy with a 4–3 win at Luton Town followed by a defeat at West Ham United and a goalless draw at Portsmouth.[11] Portsmouth were top of the table having won their opening three matches and the local newspaper claimed that, while Southampton were "under a cloud", "the Portsmouth star is shining conspicuously in the footballing firmament". A crowd of between 10,000 and 12,000 saw the clubs play a "clinking ding-dong, robust game" which Portsmouth looked most likely to win.[12]

After this stuttering start to the season, the Saints settled down with a run of 12 victories in the next 13 matches. The final three months of the season were more erratic with three defeats in the final two months of the season, but the Saints had done enough to hang on at the top of the table, to claim the Southern League title for the fourth time.[13]

The second meeting with local rivals, Portsmouth, came on Easter Saturday, 6 April. With three matches left to play, Southampton led the table but Portsmouth had a game in hand and could still overhaul the Saints, although their away form was poor. With Portsmouth having several players out injured, Saints took the lead after ten minutes when Milward was fouled; Lee's "beautifully placed" free kick was "piloted" into the goal by Milward. Milward scored again late in the second half from Edgar Chadwick's pass.[14]

There was a marked difference between the results at The Dell and away. Of the 14 home matches, all resulted in wins other than the final home match of the season, a goalless draw with Reading. Away from home, the Saints won only five matches, with four draws and five defeats.[11]

League results

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Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A 		Scorers
1 September 1900 Luton Town A 4–3 Turner (2), E. Chadwick, Yates
15 September 1900 West Ham United A 0–2
22 September 1900 Portsmouth A 0–0
29 September 1900 New Brompton A 1–0 E. Chadwick
6 October 1900 Bristol Rovers H 5–3 E. Chadwick (2), Milward, Toman, Wood
13 October 1900 Reading A 1–0 Toman
20 October 1900 Kettering Town H 4–3 Lee, Meston, Milward, E. Chadwick
27 October 1900 Gravesend United H 6–0 Turner (2), Wood (2), A. Chadwick, E. Chadwick
3 November 1900 Millwall Athletic H 2–1 E. Chadwick, Wood
10 November 1900 Queens Park Rangers A 1–0 Turner
24 November 1900 Bristol City H 2–1 E. Chadwick, Lee
1 December 1900 Swindon Town A 1–2 E. Chadwick
8 December 1900 Watford H 1–0 Wood
17 December 1900 Luton Town H 5–0 Milward (3), E. Chadwick, Turner
26 December 1900 Tottenham Hotspur H 3–1 E. Chadwick, Toman, Wood
30 December 1900 West Ham United H 3–2 Meston, Milward, Wood
12 January 1901 New Brompton H 5–0 Wood (2), E. Chadwick, Milward, Toman
19 January 1901 Bristol Rovers A 0–0
16 February 1901 Gravesend United A 4–0 Toman (2), E. Chadwick, Turner
23 February 1901 Millwall Athletic A 0–1
2 March 1901 Queens Park Rangers H 5–1 Milward (3), E. Chadwick, Toman
16 March 1901 Bristol City A 1–1 Sharp
23 March 1901 Swindon Town H 1–0 Yates
30 March 1901 Watford A 1–1 Wood
5 April 1901 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–1
6 April 1901 Portsmouth H 2–0 Milward (2)
8 April 1901 Reading H 0–0
10 April 1901 Kettering Town A 0–3

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Top of league table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Southampton 28 18 5 5 58 26 2.231 41
2 Bristol City 28 17 5 6 54 27 2.000 39 Elected to the Football League Second Division
3 Portsmouth 28 17 4 7 56 32 1.750 38
4 Millwall Athletic 28 17 2 9 55 32 1.719 36
5 Tottenham Hotspur 28 16 4 8 55 33 1.667 36
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

FA Cup

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The draw for the First Round of the FA Cup produced a repeat of the same stage from the previous season, a home match against Everton of the Football League First Division. The match was scheduled to be held on 26 January, but all football was postponed following the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January.[3] The match was played a fortnight later on 9 February, by which time Harry Wood and Arthur Chadwick were both injured and unable to play. Chadwick's place was taken by Ted Killean making his debut for Southampton.[15]

Saints struggled to reproduce their league form, although Edgar Chadwick gave them a half-time lead. Everton overran the Saints in the second half, with goals from Jimmy Settle, Jack Taylor and Joe Turner,[16] who had left Southampton in 1898 (but would return in 1901).[17]

Fellow Southern League side, Tottenham Hotspur reached the Cup Final thus becoming the second Southern League side to do so, after Southampton in the previous year. Spurs were also the first London-based club to reach the final since 1880.[18] Tottenham went one better than Southampton by defeating Sheffield United 3–1 in a replay at Bolton Wanderers Burnden Park ground; the attendance for the first match at Crystal Palace was officially 110,820, which was the largest FA Cup Final crowd to that date, and only exceeded by the 1913 and 1923 finals, whereas the attendance for the replay was only 20,470.[19]

FA Cup results

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A 		Scorers Attendance
9 February 1901 Round 1 Everton H 1–3 E. Chadwick 12,000

International football at The Dell

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On 9 March 1901, England played their Home Championship match against Ireland at The Dell. As Ireland had been beaten 11–0 by Scotland a fortnight earlier, the England selectors chose a mainly second-string team with five players making their full England debuts, including C. B. Fry (listed as a Corinthian player) and two other Southern League players, Millwall's Bert Banks and Billy Jones of Bristol City. The other debutantes were Liverpool's Jack Cox and George Hedley from Sheffield United – of the debutantes, only Cox would play another match for England. The other Southampton players selected were Archie Turner, making his second (and final) international appearance, and Jack Robinson, who was now the established England goalkeeper. The line-up was completed by Tip Foster and William Oakley (both Corinthians), earning their 2nd and 14th caps respectively, Tommy Crawshaw (Sheffield Wednesday), earning his 8th cap, and Ernest Needham (Sheffield United), earning his 13th cap.[20]

The match was played at The Dell in front of a modest crowd of 8,000[20] who had expected a "landslide" victory, especially as the Irish players had experienced bad weather on their ferry crossing.[21] Although England scored after only nine minutes through Crawshaw, the expected landslide did not materialise and it was not until the final ten minutes that Foster added two further goals.[20] Archie Turner left the pitch with an injury after 20 minutes and England played the remainder of the game with only ten men.[2] C. B. Fry later said of the match: "It was a very bad match. It was one of those games which, without any obvious reason, are aimless and vague and watery ... It was one of the least enjoyable games from a players' point of view that have ever fallen to my lot."[21]

This was the only full international played at The Dell.[22] None of the Southampton players played for England again after this match.[20]

Tour of Europe

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In April 1901, the Saints embarked on their first-ever tour of Europe visiting The Netherlands, Austria and Hungary.[3][23] All seven matches were won, with a total of 50 goals scored and 3 conceded; the largest score was in the final match, against a Hungarian Combined XI, which was won 13–0.[24]

In one of the matches in Vienna, goalkeeper Jack Robinson gave a goalkeeping exhibition in which he produced several diving saves. His saves from low shots, "by flying through the air with great ease", became known in Austria and Hungary as a "Robinsonade", a name which was used until the 1950s.[25][26][27]

Player statistics

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Position Nationality Name League
apps 		League
goals 		FA Cup
apps 		FA Cup
goals 		Total
apps 		Total
goals
FB  England Arthur Blackburn 9 0 0 0 9 0
FW  England Sid Cavendish 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB  England Arthur Chadwick 19 1 0 0 19 1
FW  England Edgar Chadwick 27 14 1 1 28 15
HB  England Joe French 3 0 0 0 3 0
FB  England C. B. Fry 5 0 1 0 6 0
GK  England Leslie Gay 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW  England Fred Harrison 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB  England Ted Killean 2 0 1 0 3 0
HB  England Bert Lee 21 2 1 0 22 2
HB  Scotland Samuel Meston 28 2 1 0 29 2
FW  England Alf Milward 28 12 1 0 29 12
GK  England Harry Moger 4 0 0 0 4 0
FB  England George Molyneux 28 0 1 0 29 0
HB  England Bert Paddington 3 0 0 0 3 0
GK  England Jack Robinson 22 0 1 0 23 0
FB  England Bertram Sharp 22 1 0 0 22 1
FW  England Henry Small 0 0 0 0 0 0
HB  England Victor Smith 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW  England Henry Smoker 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW  England Wilf Toman 19 7 1 0 20 7
FB  England Walter Triggs 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW  England Archie Turner 20 7 1 0 21 7
GK  South Africa Wilf Waller 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW  England Harry Wood 27 10 0 0 27 10
FW  England Jimmy Yates 17 2 1 0 18 2

Key

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Transfers

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In

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Date Position Name From
May 1900 FB Arthur Blackburn Blackburn Rovers[28]
August 1900 FW Edgar Chadwick Burnley[29]
December 1900 FB C. B. Fry Corinthiana[30]
Summer 1900 GK Leslie Gay Corinthiana[2]
September 1900 FW Fred Harrison Bitterne Guild[8]
Summer 1900 HB Ted Killean Glossop[15]
April 1900 HB Bert Lee Poole[7]
Summer 1900 GK Harry Moger Freemantle[31]
May 1900 FB George Molyneux Everton[32]
May 1900 FB Bertram Sharp Everton[33]
Summer 1900 FW Henry Small Freemantle[34]
Summer 1900 FW Henry Smoker Local football[35]
Summer 1900 FW Wilf Toman Everton[36]
Summer 1900 FB Walter Triggs Freemantle[37]
September 1900 GK Wilf Waller Bolton Wanderersb[9]

Departures

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Date Position Name To
Summer 1900 FB Peter Durber Stoke[38]
Summer 1900 HB Frank Englefield Freemantle[39]
June 1900 FW Jack Farrell New Brighton Tower[40]
Summer 1900 FB Ernest Gill Freemantle[41]
Summer 1900 HB Don Greenlees St Mirren[42]
Summer 1900 FB Harry Haynes Retired[43]
May 1900 GK John Joyce Millwall Athletic[44]
Summer 1900 FW Watty Keay Retired[45]
May 1900 FW Duncan McLean Derby County[46]
August 1900 FW Roddy McLeod Brentford[47]
September 1900 FB Peter Meechan Manchester City[48]
October 1900 HB Bob Petrie New Brighton Tower[49]

Notes

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  • ^a C. B. Fry and Leslie Gay were both amateurs and continued to play for Corinthian as well as for Southampton.
  • ^b Wilf Waller was an amateur and continued to play for Bolton Wanderers. He also played for the Scottish amateur side, Queens Park in 1900–01.

References

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  1. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Juson & Bull 2001, p. 64.
  3. ^ a b c d e Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 28.
  4. ^ Bull & Brunskell 2000, pp. 24–25.
  5. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 18.
  6. ^ Juson & Bull 2001, pp. 36–37.
  7. ^ a b Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 206.
  8. ^ a b Holley & Chalk 1992, pp. 158–160.
  9. ^ a b Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 349.
  10. ^ "Gilbert Oswald Smith". England player profiles. englandstats. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  11. ^ a b Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 29.
  12. ^ Juson 2004, p. 18.
  13. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, pp. 28–29.
  14. ^ Juson 2004, p. 20.
  15. ^ a b Holley & Chalk 1992, pp. 197–198.
  16. ^ Collett 2003, p. 285.
  17. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, pp. 341–342.
  18. ^ Lloyd & Holt 2005, p. 64.
  19. ^ Collett 2003, p. 780.
  20. ^ a b c d "England 3 – 0 Ireland". Home Championship. englandstats. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  21. ^ a b Wilton 2000, pp. 147–148.
  22. ^ "The Dell, Southampton". England venues. englandstats. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  23. ^ Holley 2012, p. 26.
  24. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 212.
  25. ^ Glanville, Brian. "Jimmy Hogan". Adapted from The Penguin Book of Football. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  26. ^ Seddon 2004, p. 7.
  27. ^ Hodgson 1998, pp. 155–157.
  28. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 34.
  29. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 67.
  30. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, pp. 131–133.
  31. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 243.
  32. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 244.
  33. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 300.
  34. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 312.
  35. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, pp. 316–317.
  36. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, pp. 334–335.
  37. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 337.
  38. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 112.
  39. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 118.
  40. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 120.
  41. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 141.
  42. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 148.
  43. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 161.
  44. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 189.
  45. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 191.
  46. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 227.
  47. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 228.
  48. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 236.
  49. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 271.

Bibliography

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