1897–98 Southampton F.C. season
1897–98 season | ||
---|---|---|
Chairman | Dr. Ernest Stancomb | |
Secretary | Ernest Arnfield | |
Stadium | The County Ground | |
Southern League | Champions | |
FA Cup | Semi-final | |
Top goalscorer | League: Robert Buchanan & Joe Turner (10) All: Robert Buchanan (16) | |
Highest home attendance | 15,000 vs Bolton Wanderers (2 March 1898) (FA Cup) | |
| ||
The 1897–98 season was the 13th since the foundation of Southampton F.C. and their fourth in league football, as members of the Southern League.
The club improved on their performance in the previous successful season, retaining the Southern League title and reaching the Semi-final of the FA Cup for the first time, where they went out in controversial circumstances. They started the season as tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club, but by the end of the season, the club had found a new permanent home, where they were to remain for over 100 years.
By the end of a "phenomenally successful", Southampton were lifted out of relative obscurity into national prominence.[1] In their report to the shareholders for the Annual General Meeting held on 30 June 1898, the directors commented: "The team's performance in the English Cup and their retention of the Southern League Championship entitled the club to rank among the best in the country".[1]
Pre-season
Following the incorporation of the limited company in July 1897, the club had dropped "St. Mary's" from their name and henceforth would be known simply as "Southampton Football Club". One local reporter lamented:
No longer will football enthusiasts be able to call out "Buck up Saints!" No longer will reporters with a flowery style be able to write of the "Saintly ones". For the Football Association has acceded to the request of the powers, and the club will in future be known as Southampton Football Club.
The Saints are dead. Long live Southampton![2]
Despite this, the press and club supporters continued to refer to the club as "the Saints", as they have done ever since.
Once again, the board recruited several players from
League season
The 1897–98 season was the Saints' fourth in the Southern League, having finished as champions in the previous season.
The season started badly, with a defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, but Southampton won the next three matches, all away from home. The first home match of the season came on 23 October, when Southampton gained their revenge against the Spurs, with a 4–1 victory. The next five matches were also victories before a poor defeat at Bristol City on 22 January. After a draw at Chatham, a run of eight victories gave the Saints the title, despite a home defeat to Chatham Town on the last day of the season; this was Southampton's first home league defeat for three years.[3]
In the draw at Chatham on 5 February, a small piece of history was made as the former
Despite the success on the pitch, there was considerable disharmony in the dressing room, especially regarding the behaviour of Jack Farrell; he had been ordered out of a board meeting and suspended for two matches early in the season having used "abusive language" during a discussion of his grievances. Other players in trouble included new signings Tom Nicol, who was obliged to apologise to the board for his behaviour, and Bob Petrie, who was reprimanded over his drinking. In November, Watty Keay asked to be relieved of the captaincy, which was being rotated among the players on a monthly basis; he advised the board that he "was not comfortable in that position, there being so much dissension amongst the players."[2]
League results
Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A |
Scorers |
---|---|---|---|---|
18 September 1897 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0 – 2 | |
2 October 1897 | Sheppey United | A | 1 – 0 | Keay |
9 October 1897 | Millwall Athletic
|
A | 3 – 2 | Buchanan (2), Yates |
16 October 1897 | Reading | A | 2 – 0 | Naughton, Turner |
23 October 1897 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4 – 1 | Yates (2), Farrell, Turner |
6 November 1897 | Swindon Town | H | 4 – 1 | Buchanan (3), Keay |
13 November 1897 | New Brompton | A | 1 – 0 | Farrell |
27 November 1897 | Wolverton L & NWR | A | 2 – 0 | Petrie, Yates |
1 January 1898 | Bristol City | H | 4 – 0 | Keay (2), Chadwick, Petrie |
8 January 1898 | Sheppey United | A | 4 – 0 | Buchanan (2), Farrell, Meston |
15 January 1898 | Bristol City | A | 2 – 5 | Farrell, Yates |
22 January 1898 | New Brompton
|
H | 4 – 1 | Turner (3), Buchanan |
5 February 1898 | Chatham Town | A | 1 – 1 | Buchanan |
19 February 1898 | Reading | H | 2 – 1 | Chadwick, Keay |
5 March 1898 | Swindon Town | A | 2 – 0 | Petrie, Yates |
12 March 1898 | Wolverton L & NWR | H | 3 – 0 | Turner (3), Farrell |
26 March 1898 | Gravesend United | A | 3 – 1 | Petrie, Steven, Turner |
4 April 1898 | Gravesend United | H | 5 – 1 | |
11 April 1898 | Northfleet
|
H | 3 – 1 | Brown
|
16 April 1898 | Northfleet
|
A | 2 – 0 | Meston, Steven |
20 April 1898 | Millwall Athletic | H | 1 – 0 | Turner |
1 May 1898 | Chatham Town | H | 0 – 1 |
Legend
Win | Draw | Loss |
Top of league table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southampton | 22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 53 | 18 | 2.944 | 37 |
2 | Bristol City | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 67 | 33 | 2.030 | 33 |
3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 52 | 31 | 1.677 | 28 |
4 | Chatham Town | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 34 | 1.471 | 28 |
5 | Reading | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 39 | 31 | 1.258 | 23 |
FA Cup
Southampton entered the
In the First Round proper, Southampton entertained
The reward was another home tie against another team from the Second Division, Newcastle United. As a result of a dispute with the landlady of the Shawford lodgings, the directors decided to take the players out each evening to sample the entertainments on offer in Southampton, which included an evening at the Philharmonic Hall and visits to the Empire Music Hall and the Prince of Wales theatre. These evenings helped maintain the team's morale resulting in a 1–0 victory over their league opponents.[6]
By this time, the local press were speculating that Southampton could reach at least the
At Burnden Park, they were greeted by at least 300 Southampton supporters who had arrived in a special train run by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway Company. The journey took eight hours each way, with the round trip lasting 28 hours, at a cost of 10s. The supporters were rewarded with a goalless draw, described by The Daily Telegraph as "the biggest surprise of the day".[6]
The replay took place at the County Ground on the following Wednesday afternoon in front of a crowd estimated at between 12,000 and 15,000, netting gate receipts of £532. To the surprise of the national press, Southampton put on "an outstanding display" to win 4–0. At one stage in the match, the hugely partisan crowd spilled onto the pitch, with the match having to be halted temporarily. The Daily Mail was duly impressed:
Southampton's success against Bolton Wanderers marks the dawning of a new era for professional football in the South, and it is now becoming more and more evident that absolutely first-class football is not to be for ever monopolised by the Northern organisations. While lamenting methods by which this condition of things has been brought about – that is to say, the hiring of aliens[7] – one cannot escape a feeling of gratification that the South is at last holding its own once more.[8]
This victory set up a semi-final tie with another First Division club, Nottingham Forest, which would turn out to be one of the most controversial in the history of the FA Cup to date.[9]
The semi-final
When the draw for the semi-finals was made, The Football Association decided that the Derby County vs. Everton tie should be at Wolverhampton while Southampton and Forest would go to Sheffield United's Bramall Lane. This prompted the Southampton board to formally request that the FA switch the venues, to reduce the travelling for supporters of all four clubs. The FA's response was minuted in the Southampton board meeting held on 11 March: "Letter from F.J. Wall (secretary of the FA) saying Association could not see their way to change the grounds in the English Cup semi-finals".[8]
Once again, the players were sent to Matlock Bath for a week of special training. In the match at Bramall Lane, Forest took the lead after only five minutes with a goal from
The replay on 23 March was played in a blizzard. After a scoreless first half (in which
The Southampton board immediately lodged a protest with the Football Association, and there were numerous letters of complaint to both the national and local press. Despite the protests, the F.A. decided that the result should stand – this was perhaps not surprising as Lewis was an eminent member of the F.A. board.[9] Some spectators objected to Southampton's protests, including one who wrote to the Morning Leader :
The demoralising effect of an imported team of mercenaries was evident in the behaviour of the southern partisans at the Crystal Place on Thursday. Anything more unsportsmanlike it would be difficult to conceive.[9]
FA Cup results
Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A |
Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 October 1897 | 3rd Qualifying Round | Bristol City | H | 2 – 0 | Buchanan, Yates | 11,000 |
20 November 1897 | 4th Qualifying Round | Swindon Town | A | 3 – 0 | Farrell (2), Buchanan | 5,000 |
11 December 1897 | 5th Qualifying Round | Eastville Rovers
|
H | 8 – 1 | Yates (2), Buchanan (2), Keay (2), Turner (2) | 8,000 |
29 January 1898 | Round 1 Proper | Leicester Fosse
|
H | 2 – 1 | Meston, Buchanan | 10,000 |
12 February 1898 | Round 2 Proper | Newcastle United | H | 1 – 0 | Buchanan | 12,000 |
26 February 1898 | Round 3 Proper | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0 – 0 | 15,000 | |
2 March 1898 | Round 3 Proper Replay | Bolton Wanderers | H | 4 – 0 | Turner (2), Yates, Farrell | 15,000 |
19 March 1898 | Semi-final | Nottingham Forest | Bramall Lane | 1 – 1 | Haynes | 20,000 |
23 March 1898 | Semi-final Replay | Nottingham Forest | Crystal Palace | 0 – 2 | 16,800 |
New stadium
Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896. The rent payable to the cricket club (£200 p.a.) was putting a strain on the football club's finances and, in an attempt to reduce this burden, the club had considered a merger with the Freemantle club and a move to their ground in Shirley. The merger proposals had fallen down, but at the Extraordinary general meeting in June 1897, the members were informed that "the committee had a ground in view".[11]
At a shareholders' meeting on 11 November 1897, the chairman stated:
. . . that all being well, by next season the company would be in possession of its own ground which was at the present time in the hands of George Thomas Esq. who was devoting his time to its early completion.[2]
Although the minutes do not record the location of the new ground, it was common knowledge within the town that the new ground was situated
. . . in the dell that is not far from the County Ground, and nearer West Station and the town, and at the present time it is a narrow valley with a stone culvert running along the bottom. It will not be a large ground, but the natural banks on all sides will be a great help in arranging for the convenience of the spectators.[6]
The site on which the ground was built was described in Philip Brannon's Picture of Southampton, published in 1850, as "a lovely dell with a gurgling stream and lofty aspens";
Construction
George Thomas, a fish merchant who had been appointed as a director of the limited company when it was formed in the summer of 1896, who lived in Shirley, saw the potential of the cleared site and purchased the land from the D.N.S.R. By the beginning of the 1898–99 season, Thomas had incurred expenditure of between £7,500 and £9,000 on acquiring and clearing the site, and erecting the new stands and had agreed an initial three-year lease to the football club at a rental of £250 p.a. The dell had been drained with 13,000 ft of pipe being laid, all draining into the central culvert formed from the Rollsbrook stream. The playing field had to be levelled and the ground made up and turfed ready for the opening of the new season. On completion, the stadium was described in the Southampton Observer:
. . . the rising staging on the north side of the ground will hold 5,500 spectators, who have of course to stand up; the covered east and west stands will seat 4,000 spectators comfortably, and the staging and sloping bank on the south side will hold 15,000 spectators. This totals up to 24,500.[13]
At this stage, the new ground did not have an official name, with various names suggested including "the Fitzhugh Dell", "The Archer's Ground" and "Milton Park" but gradually the ground became known by default as "The Dell".[13]
Player statistics
Position | Nationality | Name | League apps |
League goals |
FA Cup apps |
FA Cup goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FW | England | Bob Brown
|
12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
FW | Scotland | Robert Buchanan | 19 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 16 |
HB | England | Arthur Chadwick | 21 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
GK | England | George Clawley | 22 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
FW | England | Jack Farrell | 15 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 8 |
FB | England | Harry Haynes | 22 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 31 | 1 |
FW | Scotland | Watty Keay | 18 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 7 |
HB | England | Alf Littlehales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
HB | Scotland | William McMillan | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
HB | Scotland | Samuel Meston | 22 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 31 | 3 |
FW | Scotland | Willie Naughton | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
FB | Scotland | Tom Nicol | 17 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
HB | Scotland | Bob Petrie | 20 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 29 | 4 |
FW | England | Jack Reynolds
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
HB | England | Victor Smith
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FW | Scotland | David Steven | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
FW | England | Joe Turner | 20 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 29 | 14 |
FW | England | Jimmy Yates | 13 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 10 |
Key
- GK — Goalkeeper
- FB — Full back
- HB — Half back
- FW — Forward
Transfers
In
Date | Position | Name | From |
---|---|---|---|
May 1897 | FW | Bob Brown
|
Burton Wanderers |
May 1897 | HB | Arthur Chadwick | Burton Swifts |
Summer 1897 | FB | Tom Nicol | Blackburn Rovers |
May 1897 | HB | Bob Petrie | Sheffield Wednesday |
February 1898 | FW | Jack Reynolds
|
Celtic |
Summer 1897 | FW | David Steven | Dundee |
Summer 1897 | FW | Jimmy Yates | Sheffield United |
Departures
Date | Position | Name | To |
---|---|---|---|
Summer 1897 | GK | Walter Cox | Bristol St George
|
Summer 1897 | FB | David Hamer | Cowes
|
Summer 1897 | HB | John Hodgkinson | New Brompton
|
March 1898 | HB | Alf Littlehales | Retired |
Summer 1897 | FB | Donald McKay | Retired |
Summer 1897 | FB | James McKie
|
Chatham
|
Summer 1897 | HB | William Ponting | Andover |
Summer 1897 | FW | George Seeley | Bristol St George
|
References
- ^ a b Juson & Bull 2001, p. 54.
- ^ a b c d Juson & Bull 2001, p. 45.
- ^ a b c Chalk & Holley 1987, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 282.
- ISBN 0-600-58706-1.
- ^ a b c d Juson & Bull 2001, pp. 46–47.
- ^ An allusion to the number of Scots and Northern professionals in the Southampton team
- ^ a b c Juson & Bull 2001, pp. 47–48.
- ^ a b c d e Bull & Brunskell 2000, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Collett 2003, p. 453.
- ^ Juson & Bull 2001, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Brannon 1850, p. 72.
- ^ a b c Juson & Bull 2001, pp. 52–53.
Bibliography
- Brannon, Philip (1979) [First published 1850]. Picture of Southampton. Alresford: Lawrence Oxley. ISBN 0-9501347-3-2.
- Bull, David; Brunskell, Bob (2000). Match of the Millennium. Hagiology Publishing. ISBN 0-9534474-1-3.
- Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
- Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of the FA Cup. Sports Books. ISBN 1-899807-19-5.
- Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
- Juson, Dave; Bull, David (2001). Full-Time at The Dell. Hagiology Publishing. ISBN 0-9534474-2-1.