1928–29 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton F.C.
1928–29 season
Chairman Wyndham Portal
Manager Arthur Chadwick
Stadium The Dell
Second Division 4th
FA Cup Third round
Top goalscorer League: Willie Haines (16)
All: Willie Haines (16)
Highest home attendance 24,247 v Chelsea
(9 March 1929)
Lowest home attendance 6,510 v Swansea Town
(4 May 1929)
Average home league attendance 15,164
Home colours

The 1928–29 season was the 34th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's seventh in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the bottom half of the Second Division league table the last three seasons, the club returned to challenging for promotion to the First Division when they finished fourth, their highest position in the league to date. The team were strong throughout the campaign, picking up key wins over teams around them in the table to secure a strong position. They stayed in the top six of the league for most of the campaign from September, reaching third place on two occasions and dropping to seventh just twice. Southampton finished the season in fourth place with 17 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses, five points behind Grimsby Town in the first promotion place.

In the 1928–29 FA Cup, Southampton entered in the third round at home to divisional rivals Clapton Orient. After a goalless draw at The Dell, the sides played a replay at Clapton Stadium which the hosts won 2–1, eliminating the Saints at the first hurdle for the third time in four seasons. The club ended the 1928–29 season with two games against local rivals Portsmouth, for the Rowland Hospital Cup and the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. The Saints won both games, the former 2–1 at Fratton Park and the latter 3–2 at The Dell, marking the first time they had won both tournaments in a season. Southampton also played three friendly matches during the season, all in April 1929, beating Southern League side Guildford City, Wiltshire County League side Warminster Town and Dorset League side Wimborne Town.

Southampton used 25 different players during the 1928–29 season and had 14 different goalscorers. Their top scorer was centre-forward Willie Haines, who scored 16 goals in the Second Division. Outside-left Stan Cribb scored 13 times in the league, followed by inside-right Jerry Mackie with ten goals. Twelve players were signed by the club during the campaign, with seven released and sold to other clubs. The average attendance at The Dell during the 1928–29 season was 15,164. The highest attendance was 24,247 against Chelsea on 9 March 1929, which set a new league record for the stadium. The lowest attendance of the season was 6,510 against Swansea Town on 4 May 1929, in the last league game of the season. After the last game, the East Stand of The Dell burned down and had to be rebuilt.

Background and transfers

Southampton conducted a large amount of transfer activity throughout the 1928–29 season. The club's first signing in the summer was Portsmouth centre-forward Willie Haines, who joined from the First Division side having scored 119 goals in 164 league appearances.[1] In June, Southampton manager Arthur Chadwick brought in centre-half Bill Stoddart from Third Division South side Coventry City, trading mainstay goalkeeper Tommy Allen and outside-right Bill Henderson for his services.[2] Two months later, Scottish goalkeeper Willie White was signed from Heart of Midlothian as Allen's replacement, costing the Saints £800.[3] In June, outside-right Cuthbert Coundon was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £150,[4] and inside-left Sam Taylor joined Halifax Town in the Third Division North.[5] Right-back James Ellison left the Saints for Rochdale in July.[6] In August, the club signed outside-right Bert Jepson from Huddersfield Town,[7] as well as trialist Tom Sloan from Craghead United (he left a month later).[8]

Transfers continued throughout the season for Southampton. In September the club signed outside-left Johnny Arnold from Oxford City,[9] and in October they brought in inside-left Herbert Coates from the Royal Navy.[10] Before the end of the year the club also signed Newport County centre-forward Archie Waterston,[11] and broke their transfer record with the £1,000 signing of outside-right Bobby Weale from Swindon Town.[12] Due to ongoing injury problems for his side's regular centre-forward Haines, in February 1929 Chadwick brought in former Royal Air Force aircraftsman Douglas Vernon to help with the end of season run-in.[13] The final signings of the season were goalkeeper Bert Scriven from Totton and inside-left Ernie Warren from Third Division North side Lincoln City in March 1929.[14][11] During the season, "big offers" had also been made by various clubs to sign players including Ted Hough, Arthur Bradford, Stan Cribb and Dick Rowley, although the club's directors had "wisely resisted" them.[15]

Players transferred in

Name Nationality Pos. Club Date Ref.
Willie Haines  England FW England Portsmouth May 1928 [1]
Bill Stoddart  England HB England Coventry City June 1928 [2]
Willie White  Scotland GK Scotland Heart of Midlothian July 1928 [3]
Bert Jepson  England FW England Huddersfield Town August 1928 [7]
Tom Sloan  England FW England Craghead United August 1928 (trial) [8]
Johnny Arnold  England FW England Oxford City September 1928 [9]
Herbert Coates  England FW England Royal Navy October 1928 [10]
Archie Waterston  Scotland FW Wales Newport County December 1928 [11]
Bobby Weale  Wales FW England Swindon Town December 1928 [12]
Douglas Vernon  England FW England Royal Air Force February 1929 [13]
Bert Scriven  England GK England Totton March 1929 [14]
Ernie Warren  England FW England Lincoln City March 1929 [11]

Players transferred out

Name Nationality Pos. Club Date Ref.
Jack Mitton  England FW none (later played amateur football) May 1928 [16]
Tommy Allen  England GK England Coventry City June 1928 [17]
Cuthbert Coundon  England FW England Wolverhampton Wanderers June 1928 [4]
Bill Henderson  England FW England Coventry City June 1928 [18]
Sam Taylor  England FW England Halifax Town June 1928 [5]
James Ellison  England FB England Rochdale July 1928 [6]
Tom Sloan  England FW England Walker Celtic September 1928 [8]

Second Division

After a slow start to the 1928–29 season in which they picked up just two points in their opening three fixtures, Southampton won five games in a row to secure a top five place in the table by the end of September.[19][20] The run included a 2–1 defeat of recently relegated side Middlesbrough, home and away wins over Port Vale, and a 4–0 besting of Preston North End, who had finished just four points shy of promotion to the First Division the previous season.[19][21] A largely winless run followed starting on 6 October, during which time the Saints picked up ten draws in thirteen games.[19] The club's only win during this period was an 8–2 thrashing of Blackpool at The Dell, who had avoided relegation by just one point the previous year.[21] Half of Southampton's goals against the Seasiders were scored by recent signing Willie Haines, who in doing so became the first player for the club to score more than three in a Second Division match.[15] After two more wins, Southampton found themselves in fourth place at the end of the year.[22]

Despite winning just one of their three matches during the month, in January the Saints moved up to third in the table, keeping up with leaders Chelsea and Middlesbrough.[23] 2–1 wins over struggling sides Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in February helped them to remain in the running,[19] holding off fellow challengers Grimsby Town who were in the middle of a five-game winning run.[24] However, the team began struggling for goals due to Haines being injured, with his replacement Douglas Vernon failing to score in his five league appearances.[13] A string of three consecutive losses in March saw the team as low as seventh in the table, although wins over Nottingham Forest and Millwall at the tail end of the month brought them back into the top four.[19][25] Southampton continued to pick up wins, but Grimsby's ongoing form saw them pull ahead of the Saints and third-placed Bradford Park Avenue; the club finished in fourth with 17 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses, five points behind the first promotion place.[19]

List of match results

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA Avg. Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
2 Grimsby Town (P) 422451382611.34453 Promotion to the First Division
3 Bradford Park Avenue 422241688701.25748  
4 Southampton 4217141174601.23348
5 Notts County 421991478651.20047
6 Stoke City 4217121374511.45146

Results by matchday

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundAHHAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAH
ResultDLDWWWWWDDLDWDDLDDDDDWWLDWDLWWLLLWWLWWLWLW
Position1015141087555455444455676544433533457645444454

Source: 11v11.com[26]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Cup

Southampton entered the 1928–29 FA Cup in the third round against fellow Second Division side Clapton Orient. Drawn at The Dell, the game ended goalless as Dick Rowley hit the post and top scorer Willie Haines had "a poor game at centre-forward".[15] The replay at Clapton Stadium started well for the Saints, who went ahead through Arthur Bradford and almost doubled their lead courtesy of Stan Cribb. However, the hosts equalised before the end of the first half and continued to pressurise the visitors throughout the second, eventually scoring a second past deputising goalkeeper George Thompson.[15]

Other matches

Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played five additional first-team matches during the 1928–29 season. The first was a friendly match against Southern League side Guildford City on 17 April, which ended in a 2–1 win to the visiting Saints thanks to goals from Willie Haines and Johnny Arnold.[27] Five days later the club played another away friendly, this time against Warminster Town of the Wiltshire County League. The Saints won comfortably 6–1, with Haines (three), Arthur Bradford, Stan Cribb and Stan Woodhouse all getting on the scoresheet.[27] A third friendly followed a week later against Dorset League club Wimborne Town. Southampton picked up another convincing win when they beat the Magpies 6–2, Haines and Dick Rowley scoring two each, and Arnold and Bobby Weale scoring the other two.[27]

As usual, the club ended the season with two matches against local rivals Portsmouth. The first, for the Rowland Hospital Cup, saw the Saints edge Pompey 2–1 at Fratton Park, with goals from Rowley and Bert Jepson enough to hold off the hosts despite a controversial headed goal from Jack Smith, which had reportedly failed to cross the line.[28] Southampton also won the Hampshire Benevolent Cup two days later, beating Pompey at The Dell 3–2. Jimmy Easson opened the scoring for the visitors within five minutes, before an Arthur Bradford penalty made it 1–1 going into half-time.[29] After the break, Rowley scored Southampton's second and set up the third for Herbert Coates, giving the hosts enough despite a second late goal from Easson (another controversial goal, as he was claimed to have been offside).[29]

Player details

Southampton used 25 different players during the 1928–29 season, 14 of whom scored during the campaign. The team played in a 2–3–5 formation throughout, using two full-backs, three half-backs, two outside forwards, two inside forwards and a centre-forward.[19] Right-half Bert Shelley and goalkeeper Willie White made the most appearances for the club during the campaign, the former appearing in all but one league game and the end-of-season cups, and the latter playing in all but two league games and the FA Cup third round replay. Jerry Mackie and Stan Woodhouse both made 40 appearances in total during the season.[19] Centre-forward Willie Haines finished as the season's top scorer with 16 goals, all in the Second Division. Outside-left Stan Cribb scored 13 league goals, followed by Dick Rowley who scored nine in the league and one each in the Rowland Hospital Cup and Hampshire Benevolent Cup.[19][28][29] Arthur Bradford was the season's highest-scoring half-back, with three goals in all competitions.[19][29]

Squad statistics

Name Pos. Nat. League FA Cup Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
Apps. Gls. Apps. Gls. Apps. Gls. Apps. Gls.
Bill Adams HB England 00 00 20 20
Johnny Arnold FW England 50 00 10 60
Arthur Bradford HB England 291 11 21 323
Herbert Coates FW England 147 00 21 168
Stan Cribb FW England 3113 20 10 3413
Willie Haines FW England 2716 10 00 2816
George Harkus HB England 250 10 20 280
Ted Hough FB England 330 20 20 370
Bert Jepson FW England 184 00 21 205
Michael Keeping FB England 371 20 00 391
Bill Luckett HB England 50 00 00 50
Jerry Mackie FW Scotland 4010 20 00 4210
Billy Murphy FW England 61 00 00 61
Charlie Petrie FW England 92 00 00 92
Dick Rowley FW Republic of Ireland 249 20 22 2811
Bert Shelley HB England 411 20 00 431
Bill Stoddart HB England 40 00 20 60
Tommy Taylor FW England 42 00 00 42
George Thompson GK England 20 10 00 30
Douglas Vernon FW England 50 00 00 50
Archie Waterston FW Scotland 61 10 00 71
Bobby Weale FW Wales 186 20 00 206
Willie White GK Scotland 400 10 20 430
Stan Woodhouse HB England 380 20 20 420
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
Tom Sloan FW England 10 00 00 10

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes the Rowland Hospital Cup and Hampshire Benevolent Cup matches.

Most appearances

Rank Name Pos. League FA Cup Other Total
Apps. % Apps. % Apps. % Apps. %
1 Bert Shelley HB 4197.62 2100.00 00.00 4393.48
Willie White GK 4095.24 150.00 2100.00 4393.48
3 Jerry Mackie FW 4095.24 2100.00 00.00 4291.30
Stan Woodhouse HB 3890.48 2100.00 2100.00 4291.30
5 Michael Keeping FB 3788.10 2100.00 00.00 3984.78
6 Ted Hough FB 3378.57 2100.00 2100.00 3780.43
7 Stan Cribb FW 3173.81 2100.00 150.00 3473.91
8 Arthur Bradford HB 2969.05 150.00 2100.00 3269.57
9 Willie Haines FW 2764.29 150.00 00.00 2860.87
George Harkus HB 2559.52 150.00 2100.00 2860.87
Dick Rowley FW 2457.14 2100.00 2100.00 2860.87

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Pos. League FA Cup Other Total
Gls. GPG Gls. GPG Gls. GPG Gls. GPG
1 Willie Haines FW 160.59 00.00 00.00 160.57
2 Stan Cribb FW 130.41 00.00 00.00 130.38
3 Dick Rowley FW 90.37 00.00 21.00 110.39
4 Jerry Mackie FW 100.25 00.00 00.00 100.23
5 Herbert Coates FW 70.50 00.00 10.50 80.50
6 Bobby Weale FW 60.33 00.00 00.00 60.30
7 Bert Jepson FW 40.22 00.00 10.50 50.25
8 Arthur Bradford HB 10.03 11.00 10.50 30.09
9 Tommy Taylor FW 20.50 00.00 00.00 20.50
Charlie Petrie FW 20.22 00.00 00.00 20.22

References

  • Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (10 August 1987), A Complete Record of Southampton Football Club: 1885–1987, Derby, England: Breedon Books, ISBN 978-0907969228
  • Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (28 November 2013), All the Saints: A Complete Who's Who of Southampton FC, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN 978-0992686406
  • Juson, Dave; Aldworth, Clay; Bendel, Barry; Bull, David; Chalk, Gary (10 November 2004), Saints v Pompey: A History of Unrelenting Rivalry, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN 978-0953447459

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 82
  2. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 82
  3. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 202
  4. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 47
  5. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 184
  6. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 66
  7. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 103
  8. 1 2 3 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 172
  9. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, pp. 4–5
  10. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 45
  11. 1 2 3 4 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 198
  12. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 199
  13. 1 2 3 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 194
  14. 1 2 Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 166
  15. 1 2 3 4 Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 80
  16. ↑ Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 134
  17. ↑ Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 3
  18. ↑ Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 91
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 81
  20. ↑ "League Division Two table after close of play on 29 September 1928". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  21. 1 2 Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 79
  22. ↑ "League Division Two table after close of play on 29 December 1928". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "League Division Two table after close of play on 26 January 1929". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Grimsby Town match record: 1929". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "League Division Two table after close of play on 29 March 1929". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "11v11 league table generator". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  27. 1 2 3 Chalk & Holley 1987, p. 212
  28. 1 2 Juson et al. 2004, p. 124
  29. 1 2 3 4 Juson et al. 2004, p. 125
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