Charlie Webb

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For other people with similar names, see Charles Webb (disambiguation).
Charlie Webb
Pictured in 1910
Personal information
Full name Charles Graham Webb
Date of birth (1886-09-04)4 September 1886
Place of birth Curragh Camp, Ireland
Date of death 13 June 1973(1973-06-13) (aged 86)
Place of death Hove, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1902–1908 Worthing
1906–1908 Essex Regiment
1908–1909 Bohemians
1909–1915
Brighton & Hove Albion
 248 (73)
International career
1909–1911 Ireland 3 (0)
Managerial career
1919–1947
Brighton & Hove Albion
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Charles Graham Webb (4 September 1886 – 13 June 1973) was an Irish association football player who represented his country once as an amateur and three times as a professional. He was employed by English club Brighton & Hove Albion for nearly forty years as player and manager.[1]

Early life and career

Webb was born into a Scottish military family at the

Sussex Senior Cup, the West Sussex Senior League, and a local charity cup.[4][5]

In 1904, Webb followed in the family tradition by enlisting in the 2nd Battalion of the

Irish Football League for Bohemians.[2] He scored freely for his regiment – in November 1907 he scored all seven in a 7–4 defeat of Dublin University[7] – and early the following year was the only player from outside the Irish League to be selected for the Leinster representative team to play Ulster.[8] He had a trial with Scottish club Rangers in 1908, and later that year was chosen to represent the Irish League in a match against the English League.[2] In November, he was capped by the Ireland amateur national team, in a match against the England amateurs in Dublin. Described by The Times' reporter as "distinctly the best of an indifferent forward line", he scored Ireland's late consolation goal in a 5–1 defeat.[9]

In January 1909, while on Christmas leave from his regiment, Webb played and scored for

Irish Times reported that Glentoran, the losing club, intended to protest his inclusion, on the grounds that playing in the Southern League made him ineligible to appear in the Irish Cup competition.[13] The result stood, though by the time the final was played, Webb had left the club.[14] Forced to choose between his military and his football career, he bought himself out of the Army and signed for Albion as an amateur.[2]

Brighton & Hove Albion

A few days later, Webb became the first Brighton player to be capped at full international level

Charlie O'Hagan withdrew from the party selected to play England in 1910, Webb was unable to accept the invitation.[16] His third and last cap came the following year, as replacement for James Macauley; given "one rare chance to open the scoring ... with no one to beat but the goalkeeper", he shot wide as Scotland went on to win 2–0.[3][17]

I have the feeling the majority of those non-partisan thousands who flocked in were secretly hoping it would be another David and Goliath story.

Charlie Webb, on the 1910 Charity Shield[18]

At the end of the 1909–10 season, the Times reported that "Brighton and Hove Albion have not had much difficulty in finishing at the head of the Southern League".

tie-pin instead.[22] He turned professional soon afterwards.[2]

He finished as the club's leading scorer in 1912–13, with 13 goals in all competitions,[23] and went on to set a club record for goals scored in the Southern League of 64.[2] Though his Ireland career was at an end, Webb continued to be selected in representative teams. In September 1912, he scored for the Southern League as the Football League XI beat them 2–1 at Old Trafford, Manchester,[24] and the following season, he was selected for a Southern Alliance eleven to play that league's champions, Croydon Common; among his teammates was Patsy Hendren, the England Test cricketer.[25] A serious leg injury sustained in a match against Millwall in November 1914 effectively put an end to his playing career.[2]

First World War

On the outbreak of war, Brighton & Hove Albion supported the war effort by having a rifle range built at the

captain (the rank was confirmed after the war), he was leading a patrol near Nesle in March 1918 when they were challenged in French. Unfortunately for Webb and his men, the French speakers were German troops. Preferring to avoid unnecessary injury or death, Webb surrendered. He saw out the duration as a prisoner of war in Mainz, Germany. While awaiting repatriation, he received a letter from the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion offering him the post of team manager, an appointment he took up on his demobilisation in 1919.[2][27]

Managerial career

The club had closed down during the war, so Webb's first task was not only rebuilding the team but also involving himself with rebuilding the ground.[27] Competition resumed in 1919–20, and the following season, Webb led the team into the Football League as a Third Division was formed largely comprising the Southern League First Division teams of the year before. Awarded a testimonial in recognition of his service to the club, Webb chose the League game against Watford in April 1921 as his benefit match; it attracted more than 10,000 spectators and raised nearly £500.[2][28] In the 1923–24 FA Cup, Webb led Albion to the fifth round (last 16), defeating First Division Everton on the way in what he later described as "the best Cup exhibition of any Albion team under my management".[29]

He earned a reputation as a sound judge of a player. Immediately after the war, the signing of former

West Ham United; with regular football at Albion, Brown produced 41 goals in his first two seasons.[32]

Between the wars, Webb's teams finished in the top five of the Third Division South on ten occasions, but challenged seriously for promotion only in the latter half of the 1930s. He led the team to third place in 1936–37,

Evening Argus, the pseudonymous "Crusader"'s "vitriolic attacks on the directors and management of Brighton and Hove Albion for their alleged lack of ambition and inept team selections ... generated a massive readership response" and led to "near physical confrontations with Charlie Webb, the beleaguered manager and former Albion player, despite the team usually finishing in a respectable position in the League table."[35] The club's relationship with the local newspaper worsened during the 1937–38 season, to the extent that "Crusader" was "either banned by the directors or was voluntarily taken off by [the editor]".[36] Webb himself told the Daily Express: "Here you have a town full of people with money, yet hardly one of them will give us a hand. Without attractive new players and a winning team you can't get gates and without gates you can't have money."[37]

Nevertheless, the national press recognised his achievements. A

Wolverhampton Wanderers,

but where some think and act in thousands of pounds, Charles is compelled to do the same in pence, and the consistently good football of Brighton is a tribute in itself ... His great knowledge of the game has saved his club money in the way of transfer fees, and the reserve team is composed entirely of players found by him, costing not a penny. Even the first team cost very little, the highest fee paid being £50, and yet Brighton have been keen fighters for promotion for the past three seasons.[38]

A Guardian retrospective on the club, written in 1973, described how "Brighton had a skilful team usually playing to the top six" under Webb, "whose transfer acquisitions were as often as not costed on the price of his train ticket and buffet sandwiches".[39]

Second World War and after

No longer of an age for active service, Webb joined the

Tommy Cook, remaining with the club on the administrative side, as secretary and general manager. A few days after a 4–0 home defeat to Walsall left Albion at the bottom of the table, provoking a demonstration after the match, the directors appointed Don Welsh as secretary-manager. Webb stayed on until the end of the 1947–48 season to assist his successor, then left the club and retired from football.[2][42]

Such was Webb's standing in the game that he was awarded a second testimonial. In September 1949, Portsmouth, reigning Football League title-holders, though unable to field a full first team because "[their] dressing-room [was] like a hospital",[43] beat Arsenal, their predecessors as champions, by two goals to one in "an exhibition of memorable football" at the Goldstone Ground.[2][44] After his retirement, he wrote a regular column in the Sussex Daily News.[2] Webb continued living in the Frith Road house until shortly before his death in a Hove nursing home in 1973, at the age of 86.[45]

Personal life, character and legacy

Webb was married to Minnie for more than 60 years.[27] Their son, Ken, was married with a child and employed by the local newspaper, the Evening Argus, when he was killed while training as a pilot in the Second World War.[46] Their daughter, Joyce – born on the same day as the 1910 Charity Shield[47] – survived her parents. She spoke on screen at the football club's centenary evening,[48] at which her father was one of 24 former players and managers nominated as "legends" and profiled in the commemorative volume,[1][49] and, in 2003, unveiled a memorial plaque on the former family home in Frith Road.[50]

According to Jess Willard, one of Webb's post-Second World War signings, "everybody called him Mr Webb because he was a perfect gentleman".[51] A 1929 feature on the club in the Sussex County Magazine spoke of him as "one of the most dominating personalities associated with the club", discharging his managerial duties "with such conspicuous success" while remaining "genial and popular with directors, players and public alike".[52]

Statistics

Brighton & Hove Albion playing statistics by season and competition[2]
Season Southern League FA Cup
Charity Shield
 Western League Western League Championship Game Southern Alliance Southern Professional Charity Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1908–09 15 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 20 5
1909–10 42 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 46 9
1910–11 33 14 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 42 16
1911–12 38 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 42 18
1912–13 37 10 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 2 0 0 53 13
1913–14 36 9 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 7 1 0 54 18
1914–15 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
Total 219 64 12 3 1 1 1 0 2 0 26 9 14 2 275 79
Managerial statistics by competition[53]
Competition P W D L GF GA Win %
Football League 840 361 191 288 1,329 1,128 042.98
Southern League 42 14 8 20 60 72 033.33
FA Cup 77 37 17 23 156 104 048.05
Third Division South Cup 13 4 3 6 21 23 030.77
Totals 972 416 219 337 1,566 1,337 042.80

References

  1. ^ a b "Albion Centenary Evening of Legends". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 21 May 2001. Archived from the original on 3 June 2001.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Carder & Harris, Albion A–Z, pp. 254–55.
  3. ^ a b c Dewart, Jonny, ed. (13 October 2007). "Charlie Webb". Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  4. ^ "History". Worthing F.C. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  5. ^ a b Vinicombe, p. 16.
  6. ^ "Association Football". Weekly Irish Times. 18 January 1908. p. 23.
  7. ^ "Association Football: Comment on Matches". Weekly Irish Times. 9 November 1907. p. 15.
  8. ^ "Association Football". Weekly Irish Times. 11 January 1908. p. 23.
  9. ^ "Association Rules. Amateur International Match. Ireland v. England". The Times. London. 23 November 1908. p. 14.
  10. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 50.
  11. ^ Minutes of the Football Association Emergency Committee, quoted in "The Disqualification of Corporal Webb". The Irish Times. 6 February 1909. p. 5.
  12. ^ "Association Football: Irish Cup Gossip". Weekly Irish Times. 30 January 1909. p. 23.
  13. ^ J. R. (13 February 1909). "Notes on Sport: Association Football: Amateurs for the Irish Final". Weekly Irish Times. p. 22.
  14. ^ "Association: Irish Cup Final Cliftonville v. Bohemians A Scoreless Draw". The Irish Times. 5 April 1909. p. 5.
  15. ^ "Association Rules. Ireland v. Wales". The Times. London. 22 March 1909. p. 20.
  16. ^ "Football. Ireland v. England". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 12 February 1910. p. 12.
  17. ^ "Scotland v. Ireland. A Scottish Victory". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 20 March 1911. p. 5.
  18. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 54.
  19. ^ "Association Football. The League Championship". The Times. London. 2 May 1910. p. 2.
  20. ^ a b "Charlie Webb". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 10 August 2002.
  21. ^ a b Sussex Daily News match report, 6 September 1910, cited in Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 55.
  22. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 55.
  23. ^ Carder & Harris, Albion A–Z, p. 338.
  24. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 322.
  25. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 63.
  26. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 66.
  27. ^ a b c "Time to honour one of Albion's all-time greats". The Argus. Brighton. 15 April 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  28. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  29. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 80.
  30. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, pp. 68–70.
  31. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 91.
  32. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 102.
  33. ^ "1930's". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 16 June 2001.
  34. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 110.
  35. ^ Hounsome, p. 58.
  36. ^ Hounsome, p. 65.
  37. ^ Macadam, John (16 December 1937). "Brighton should be higher class". Daily Express. London. p. 15.
  38. ^ Thompson, John (18 February 1939). "John Thompson's Sportfolios". Daily Mirror. London. p. 29.
  39. ^ Samuel, John (2 November 1973). "New twist to an old tale". The Guardian. London. p. 27.
  40. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, pp. 117–119.
  41. ^ Camillin & Weir, p. 39.
  42. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 134.
  43. ^ Thompson, John (28 September 1949). "Captain ill, they rush to buy a new star". Daily Mirror. London. p. 10.
  44. ^ Carder & Harris, Seagulls!, p. 139.
  45. ^ Vinicombe, p. 55.
  46. ^ Hounsome, p. 72.
  47. ^ Vinicombe, p. 20.
  48. ^ "Albion: Night of legends". The Argus. Brighton. 21 May 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  49. ISBN 978-1-84196-188-0
    .
  50. ^ "Plaque for Charlie Webb". The Argus. Brighton. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  51. ^ "Survivor Jess cherished sporting life with Albion". The Argus. Brighton. 31 March 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  52. ^ Shaw, Sidney Thornton (December 1929). "The Rise of Brighton & Hove Albion". Sussex County Magazine. III (12). Eastbourne: T.R. Beckett: 826.
  53. ^ Carder & Harris, A–Z, p. 309.

Bibliography

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