Alf Milward
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alfred Milward[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 12 September 1870 | ||
| Place of birth | Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 1 June 1941 (aged 70) | ||
| Place of death | Winchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Old Borlasians | |||
| 1886–1888 | Marlow | ||
| 1888–1897 | Everton | 201 | (84) |
| 1897–1899 | New Brighton Tower | 32 | (19) |
| 1899–1901 | Southampton | 56 | (35) |
| 1901–1903 | New Brompton | ||
| 1903–1905 | Southampton Cambridge | ||
| International career | |||
| 1891–1897 | England | 4 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alfred Milward (12 September 1870 – 1 June 1941) was a professional
Early career
Born in
A well-built, hard-working, determined and technically clever winger, he contested every ball, played at full stretch for the duration of the game and had a knack of delivering a cross-field pass to perfection from up to 40 yards, combined with his shooting power from wide positions.[2]
Everton
League debut
Milward made his league debut as centre-forward at Leamington Road against Blackburn Rovers on 10 November 1888. Both teams had uniforms of similar colours: blue and white, but Rovers allowed Everton to wear their normal colours and came out in red and black jerseys. The match started at a frantic pace but neither side was particularly threatened. However, at one point Everton's right side struggled to cope with the Rovers' attack and Rovers exploited this to score. At half-time the score was 1–0 to Blackburn Rovers. In the second half, Everton had the sun behind them and started more aggressively. Everton's goalkeeper Robert Smalley had to make a good save to prevent Rovers scoring, but with the wind at their backs, Everton's play became flat and Rovers took full advantage scoring twice more, with the match finishing 3–0 to Blackburn Rovers.[3]
1888–89 season
After their defeat at Blackburn in Milward's debut game, he was left out from 17 November until 29 December 1888. The new year of 1889 saw Milward back in favour, and he was picked to play at outside-left in the home match against Stoke City Potters where he scored his first League goal in a 2–1 win. Robert Watson made the pass and Milward shot past the Potters' keeper. The following week Preston North End were the visitors and Milward made his second appearance at centre-forward. From 19 January to 9 February, he played three games in a row, all at centre-forward. He missed the visit to West Bromwich Albion but returned at centre-forward for the final game of the season, a 3–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers. He scored his second goal in that match.
Milward played six matches for Everton where he scored two of his team's six goals. The team's 35 total goals scored that season was the second lowest tally by any League club. Everton finished eighth.[4]
Later career
He quickly established himself and forced his way into the
In 1899 Milward was enticed south to join an impressive-looking
On the day of the match, in-fighting between the English and Scottish players over the selection of one of the forwards caused a rift in the team that was evident in their easy defeat.[5][6]
Milward died in Winchester on 1 June 1941.
Honours
Everton
- 1890–91
- 1897
Southampton
- 1900
- Southern League championship: 1900–01
References
- ISBN 1-905009-63-1.
- ISBN 1-84018-819-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4456-1881-4.
- ^ "English National Football Archive". Retrieved 11 February 2018. (registration & fee required)
- ^ "The Giant Killers: 1900". www.freewebs.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ISBN 0-9534474-1-3.
Sources
- Alf Milward at Englandstats.com
- Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley (1987). Saints - A complete record. Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
- Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
- Michael Joyce (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888-1939. SoccerData. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
