1907–08 New Brompton F.C. season
1907–08 season | ||
---|---|---|
Chairman | James Barnes | |
Manager | Steve Smith | |
Southern League Division One | 20th | |
FA Cup | Second round | |
Top goalscorer | League: Charlie McGibbon (14) All: Charlie McGibbon (22) | |
Highest home attendance | 12,000 vs Manchester City (5 February 1908) | |
Lowest home attendance | 2,000 vs Crystal Palace (15 February 1908) and vs Swindon Town (1 April 1908) | |
| ||
During the 1907–08 English football season, New Brompton F.C. (named Gillingham F.C. since 1912) competed in the Southern League Division One. It was the 14th season in which the club competed in the Southern League and the 13th in Division One. The team lost their first game of the season 9–1 to Bristol Rovers, the heaviest defeat in the club's history up to that point. Despite the poor start, the team climbed to 6th place out of 20 teams in the league table in mid-November after a run of three consecutive wins, but by the end of December they had slipped to 12th place, having achieved seven wins and five draws in twenty Southern League games. In the second half of the season, however, the team lost fourteen out of eighteen league games, and New Brompton finished the campaign in 20th place, the first time the team had finished bottom of the table.
New Brompton also competed in the
Background and pre-season
Southern League
September–December
The team's first game of the season was away to
Against
On 14 December, New Brompton played
January–April
New Brompton's three-game unbeaten run ended in the first game of 1908 at home to QPR, who won 4–0; all the goals were scored in the first half.[40] It was the first in a run of four consecutive league defeats. On 18 January, Smith gave New Brompton a first-half lead against Tottenham Hotspur but Tottenham scored twice to claim victory; due to an injury, Martin was absent from New Brompton's goal for only the second time during the season.[12][41] The run of league defeats continued a week later as New Brompton lost 1–0 away to Leyton,[12] who were in last place in the league table.[42] In the first league game of February, New Brompton lost 2–0 away to Reading, both goals being scored in the first half.[43] The result left New Brompton 18th in the table.[43] On 15 February, goals from Jimmy Hartley and Spriggs secured a 2–2 draw at home to Crystal Palace,[12][44] and a week later New Brompton drew 1–1 away to Watford, another team near the foot of the league table.[45] The results took New Brompton back up to 16th place,[45] but they ended February by once again losing to a team below them in the table as Luton Town secured a 1–0 victory at Priestfield Road.[46]
Following a 2–1 defeat to Norwich City on 7 March, New Brompton won their first league game of 1908 at the ninth attempt when they beat Brighton & Hove Albion; after Brighton had taken the lead in the first half, goals from McGibbon and Salter in the second half gave New Brompton a 2–1 victory.[12][47] After that win, however, the team lost their next five consecutive games.[12] The run began with a 2–0 defeat away to Northampton Town on 21 March. After the game, a spectator threw mud at New Brompton's Ernest Harvey, in response to a clash between him and a Northampton player during the match; Harvey retaliated and had to be removed from the scene by police officers.[48][49] Robert Walker and Jimmy Pass, two forwards signed from Tottenham, made their debuts in the final game of March but neither scored and New Brompton lost the game against Portsmouth 3–1, a result which left them 19th in the league table.[12][50] The team's first two games of April resulted in a 1–0 defeat away to Swindon Town and a 2–0 loss at home to Southampton.[12] Smith made what would prove to be his final appearance for New Brompton in the latter game.[51] Marriott scored New Brompton's first goal in three games against Bradford (Park Avenue) on 11 April, but the game ended in a fifth consecutive defeat for his team.[12][52]
On 17 April, New Brompton won for the first time in over a month, defeating West Ham United.[12] Pass scored his first goal for the team in the first half and Salter and McGibbon added further goals in the second half to secure a 3–0 win.[53] After the victory, the team ended the season with three consecutive defeats in which they scored no goals.[12] One day after beating West Ham, they lost 3–0 at home to Plymouth Argyle, a result which the Western Morning News called an "easy victory" for the visitors.[54] Two days later, they lost 1–0 away to Brentford.[12] The final game of the season took place on 25 April away to Millwall; Cunliffe, who had left New Brompton at the start of the season, scored both goals in a 2–0 victory for the home team.[55] A reporter for The Daily Telegraph praised New Brompton's goalkeeper Martin for keeping the margin of defeat down to two goals.[55] The result meant New Brompton had lost fourteen out of eighteen league games since the start of 1908.[12] They finished in 20th and last place in the league table, the worst finish the club had achieved in thirteen seasons in Division One of the Southern League.[4]
League match details
- Key
|
|
Date | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
4 September 1907 | Bristol Rovers (A) | 1–9 | McGibbon | 4,000 |
7 September 1907 | Queens Park Rangers (A) | 2–2 | Pickering (2) | 7,000 |
9 September 1907 | Southampton (H) | 2–1 | Pickering (2) | 4,000 |
14 September 1907 | Bristol Rovers (H) | 1–0 | McGibbon | 7,000 |
21 September 1907 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | 1–2 | Pickering | 16,000 |
28 September 1907 | Leyton (H) | 2–2 | Salter, Harvey (pen.) | 6,000 |
5 October 1907 | Swindon Town (A) | 0–1 | 5,000 | |
12 October 1907 | Reading (H) | 1–2 | Salter | 5,000 |
19 October 1907 | Crystal Palace (A) | 3–3 | Marriott (3) | 8,000 |
26 October 1907 | Watford (H) | 3–1 | McGibbon (3) | 5,000 |
2 November 1907 | Luton Town (A) | 2–1 | McGibbon, Pickering | 5,000 |
9 November 1907 | Norwich City (H) | 2–1 | Hartley, McGibbon | 7,000 |
16 November 1907 | Brighton & Hove Albion (A) | 0–3 | 5,500 | |
23 November 1907 | Northampton Town (H) | 0–1 | 6,000 | |
30 November 1907 | Portsmouth (A) | 2–5 | Hartley (2) | 9,000 |
14 December 1907 | Bradford (Park Avenue) (A)
|
5–5 | McGibbon (2), Hopkins, Pickering, Mavin | not recorded |
21 December 1907 | Plymouth Argyle (A) | 0–1 | 7,500 | |
25 December 1907 | West Ham United (A) | 2–1 | Spriggs, Salter | 10,000 |
26 December 1907 | Brentford (H) | 2–1 | Hopkins, McGibbon | 6,000 |
28 December 1907 | Millwall (H) | 0–0 | 4,000 | |
4 January 1908 | Queens Park Rangers (H) | 0–4 | 5,000 | |
18 January 1908 | Tottenham Hotspur (H) | 1–2 | Smith | 5,000 |
25 January 1908 | Leyton (A) | 0–1 | 2,500 | |
8 February 1908 | Reading (A) | 0–2 | not recorded | |
15 February 1908 | Crystal Palace (H) | 2–2 | Hartley, Spriggs | 2,000 |
22 February 1908 | Watford (A) | 1–1 | Salter | 3,000 |
29 February 1908 | Luton Town (H) | 0–1 | 3,000 | |
7 March 1908 | Norwich City (A) | 1–2 | McGibbon | 3,000 |
14 March 1908 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 2–1 | McGibbon (pen.), Salter | 2,500 |
21 March 1908 | Northampton Town (A) | 0–2 | 4,000 | |
28 March 1908 | Portsmouth (H) | 1–3 | McGibbon | 4,000 |
1 April 1908 | Swindon Town (H) | 0–1 | 2,000 | |
4 April 1908 | Southampton (A) | 0–2 | 3,000 | |
11 April 1908 | Bradford (Park Avenue) (H)
|
2–3 | Marriott, Salter | 3,000 |
17 April 1908 | West Ham United (H) | 3–0 | Pass, Salter, McGibbon | 5,000 |
18 April 1908 | Plymouth Argyle (H) | 0–3 | 5,000 | |
20 April 1908 | Brentford (A) | 0–1 | 5,000 | |
25 April 1908 | Millwall (A) | 0–2 | 5,000 |
Partial league table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | Norwich City | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 46 | 49 | 0.939 | 33 |
16 | Brentford | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 49 | 53 | 0.925 | 33 |
17 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 46 | 59 | 0.780 | 32 |
18 | Luton Town | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 33 | 56 | 0.589 | 30 |
19 | Leyton | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 52 | 74 | 0.703 | 27 |
20 | New Brompton | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 44 | 75 | 0.587 | 25 |
FA Cup
As a Southern League Division One team, New Brompton entered the
In the second round, New Brompton played another First Division team,[64] Manchester City, who had won the competition four years earlier.[65] The match took place at Manchester City's Hyde Road ground and drew a crowd of 16,000.[12][66] Manchester City's Bob Grieve was injured and forced to leave the game within the first ten minutes, reducing his team to ten men for more than 80 minutes.[67][68][a] McGibbon scored to give New Brompton the lead late in the first half. The team defended their lead for much of the second half but Lot Jones scored a late equaliser for Manchester City and the game ended 1–1.[68][69] The replay at Priestfield Road set another attendance record for the venue, with the crowd reported at 12,000 and the gate receipts at over £450 (equivalent to £50,000 in 2021).[70] New Brompton conceded a goal in the first half but McGibbon equalised shortly after the interval from a penalty kick. They repeatedly attacked the Manchester City goal in the second half but could not score. City scored a second goal late in the game and went on to win 2–1 and eliminate New Brompton from the competition.[71][72]
Cup match details
- Key
|
|
Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 December 1907 | Fifth qualifying | Shepherd's Bush (H) | 6–0 | McGibbon (3), Hopkins, Salter, Marriott | 5,000 |
11 January 1908 | First | Sunderland (H)
|
3–1 | McGibbon (3) | 10,620 |
1 February 1908 | Second | Manchester City (A) | 1–1 | McGibbon | 16,000 |
5 February 1908 | Second (replay) | Manchester City (H) | 1–2 | McGibbon (pen.) | 12,000 |
Players
During the season, 21 players appeared for New Brompton. Martin made the most appearances, playing in 40 of the team's 42 competitive games. Five other players made more than 35 appearances: Floyd, Fullarton, Smith,
Player | Position | Southern League | FA Cup | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Barker | FW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Bill Floyd | FB | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
David Fullarton | HB | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
Jimmy Hartley | FW | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
Ernest Harvey | FB | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
Jack Hopkins | FW | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 3 |
George Lloyd | HB | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
Bill Marriott | FW | 21 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 5 |
John Martin | GK | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
Fred Mavin | HB | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
Charlie McGibbon | FW | 32 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 36 | 22 |
McKinnell | FB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
McLachlan | HB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Harry Metherell | GK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Jimmy Pass | FW | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
Jack Pickering | FW | 22 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 7 |
Harry Robotham | HB | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
Harold Salter | FW | 30 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 8 |
Steve Smith | FW | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 1 |
Frank Spriggs | FW | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
Robert Walker | FW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back
Aftermath
Despite finishing 20th in the table, New Brompton were reprieved from relegation to Division Two, which was at the time not automatic. At the league's annual meeting, the chairman of Northampton Town proposed that the bottom two clubs in Division One, Leyton and New Brompton, should be summarily re-elected to the division, but this was rejected. Instead, the two clubs were told that they must "retire" from Division One but would be included on a ballot to fill the two vacant places and three further vacancies created by teams leaving the Southern League altogether. Also on the ballot were two teams from Division Two and two teams applying to join from other leagues. New Brompton gained the third-highest number of votes among the six clubs and thus remained in Division One.[75][76] At the club's own annual general meeting in June, the chairman reported a deficit on the balance sheet of £1,277 (equivalent to £140,000 in 2021), although this was a significant improvement on the position a year earlier.[77]
Smith left the club, choosing to retire from professional football,
Footnotes
a. ^ The concept of substitutes was not introduced to English football until the 1960s. Previously, if a player had to leave a game due to injury, the team had to continue with fewer players.[82]
References
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Works cited
- Arthur, Owen (2022). The World's First Football Superstar: The Life of Stephen Smith. ISBN 978-1-39908-348-5.
- Blakeman, Mick; Robinson, Michael (2014). Non-League Football Tables 1889–2014. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-86223-299-0.
- Bradley, Andy; Triggs, Roger (1994). Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893–1993. ISBN 0-95233-610-3.
- Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-8994-6820-1.
- ISBN 978-1-84403-261-7.
- Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
- Mitchell, Colin; Reeves, Jon; Tyler, Daniel (2013). The History of English Football Clubs. ISBN 978-1-78009-449-6.
- Scott, Les (2008). End to End Stuff: The Essential Football Book. ISBN 978-0-59306-068-1.
- Soar, Phil; ISBN 978-0-0021-8049-8.
- Triggs, Roger (1999). Images of England: Gillingham Football Club. ISBN 978-0-75241-567-3.