1928–29 Southampton F.C. season

April 2022 Southampton F.C. 1928–29 Wyndham Portal Arthur Chadwick The Dell Second Division 4th FA Cup Third round Willie Haines (16) Willie Haines (16) 24,247 v Chelsea(9 March 1929) 6,510 v Swansea Town(4 May 1929) 15,164 8–2 v Blackpool(3 November 1928) 0–3 and 1–4 (multiple) _red_stripes _redstripes2 _red_stripes _band_red FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 003366 003366 1927–28 1929–30 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.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 82 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. Two months later, Scottish goalkeeper Willie White was signed from Heart of Midlothian as Allen's replacement, costing the Saints £800.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 202 In June, outside-right Cuthbert Coundon was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £150,Chalk Holley Bull 2013 47 and inside-left Sam Taylor joined Halifax Town in the Third Division North.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 184 Right-back James Ellison left the Saints for Rochdale in July.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 66 In August, the club signed outside-right Bert Jepson from Huddersfield Town,Chalk Holley Bull 2013 103 as well as trialist Tom Sloan from Craghead United (he left a month later).Chalk Holley Bull 2013 172 Transfers continued throughout the season for Southampton. In September the club signed outside-left Johnny Arnold from Oxford City,Chalk Holley Bull 2013 4–5 and in October they brought in inside-left Herbert Coates from the Royal Navy.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 45 Before the end of the year the club also signed Newport County centre-forward Archie Waterston,Chalk Holley Bull 2013 198 and broke their transfer record with the £1,000 signing of outside-right Bobby Weale from Swindon Town.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 199 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.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 194 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.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 166 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.Chalk Holley 1987 80 Players transferred in NameNationalityPos. Playing positionClubDateFeeRef.Willie HainesEnglandFW ForwardENG PortsmouthMay 1928UnknownBill StoddartEnglandHB Half-backENG Coventry CityJune 1928ExchangeWillie WhiteScotlandGK GoalkeeperSCO Heart of MidlothianJuly 1928£800Bert JepsonEnglandFW ForwardENG Huddersfield TownAugust 1928UnknownJohnny ArnoldEnglandFW ForwardENG Oxford CitySeptember 1928UnknownHerbert CoatesEnglandFW ForwardENG Royal NavyOctober 1928FreeHerbert Coates initially joined on amateur terms.Archie WaterstonScotlandFW ForwardWAL Newport CountyDecember 1928UnknownBobby WealeWalesFW ForwardENG Swindon TownDecember 1928£1,000Douglas VernonEnglandFW ForwardENG Royal Air ForceFebruary 1929UnknownBert ScrivenEnglandGK GoalkeeperENG TottonMarch 1929FreeBert Scriven initially joined on amateur terms in March 1929, before turning professional that December.Ernie WarrenEnglandFW ForwardENG Lincoln CityMarch 1929FreeErnie Warren initially joined on amateur terms in March 1929, before leaving that October. Players transferred out NameNationalityPos. Playing positionClubDateFeeRef.Tommy AllenEnglandGK GoalkeeperENG Coventry CityJune 1928ExchangeChalk Holley Bull 2013 3Cuthbert CoundonEnglandFW ForwardENG Wolverhampton WanderersJune 1928£150Bill HendersonEnglandFW ForwardENG Coventry CityJune 1928ExchangeChalk Holley Bull 2013 91Sam TaylorEnglandFW ForwardENG Halifax TownJune 1928£300James EllisonEnglandFB Full-backENG RochdaleJuly 1928Unknown Players released NameNationalityPos. Playing positionDateSubsequent clubRef.Jack MittonEnglandFW ForwardMay 1928Amateur clubsChalk Holley Bull 2013 134 Players given trials NameNationalityPos. Playing positionClubStart dateEnd dateRef.Tom SloanEnglandFW ForwardENG Craghead UnitedAugust 1928September 1928 Second Division 1928–29 Football League 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.Chalk Holley 1987 81https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-two/29-september-1928/ League Division Two table after close of play on 29 September 1928 11v11.com 22 April 2018 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.Chalk Holley 1987 79 A largely winless run followed starting on 6 October, during which time the Saints picked up ten draws in thirteen games. 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. 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. After two more wins, Southampton found themselves in fourth place at the end of the year.https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-two/29-december-1928/ League Division Two table after close of play on 29 December 1928 11v11.com 22 April 2018 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.https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-two/26-january-1929/ League Division Two table after close of play on 26 January 1929 11v11.com 22 April 2018 2–1 wins over struggling sides Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in February helped them to remain in the running, holding off fellow challengers Grimsby Town who were in the middle of a five-game winning run.https://www.11v11.com/teams/grimsby-town/tab/matches/season/1929/ Grimsby Town match record: 1929 11v11.com 22 April 2018 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. 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.https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-two/29-march-1929/ League Division Two table after close of play on 29 March 1929 11v11.com 22 April 2018 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. List of match results 1 25 August 1928 Hull City 2–2 Southampton Keeping Petrie Anlaby Road Kingston upon Hull 9,000 D 2 27 August 1928 Southampton 1–2 Port Vale Taylor The Dell Southampton 12,000 L 3 1 September 1928 Southampton 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur Taylor The Dell Southampton 22,961 D 4 8 September 1928 Reading 0–1 Southampton Cribb Elm Park Reading 19,000 W 5 15 September 1928 Southampton 4–0 Preston North End Shelley Haines Petrie The Dell Southampton 17,011 W 6 22 September 1928 Middlesbrough 1–2 Southampton Haines Cribb Ayresome Park Middlesbrough 12,000 W 7 24 September 1928 Port Vale 1–2 Southampton Mackie Old Recreation Ground Hanley 7,344 W 8 29 September 1928 Southampton 2–1 Oldham Athletic Cribb The Dell Southampton 16,945 W 9 6 October 1928 Bristol City 1–1 Southampton Haines Ashton Gate Stadium Bristol 15,000 D 10 13 October 1928 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 Southampton Haines Molineux Stadium Wolverhampton 15,000 D 11 20 October 1928 Southampton 1–2 Barnsley Haines The Dell Southampton 15,847 L 12 27 October 1928 Chelsea 1–1 Southampton Cribb Stamford Bridge London 35,000 D 13 3 November 1928 Southampton 8–2 Blackpool Haines Mackie Cribb The Dell Southampton 15,146 W 14 10 November 1928 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Southampton Rowley City Ground West Bridgford 5,000 D 15 17 November 1928 Southampton 2–2 Bradford Park Avenue Jepson Rowley The Dell Southampton 14,657 D 16 24 November 1928 Grimsby Town 2–1 Southampton Rowley Blundell Park Cleethorpes 7,000 L 17 1 December 1928 Southampton 0–0 Stoke City The Dell Southampton 14,218 D 18 8 December 1928 Clapton Orient 1–1 Southampton Murphy Clapton Stadium London 11,000 D 19 15 December 1928 Southampton 1–1 West Bromwich Albion Rowley The Dell Southampton 13,509 D 20 22 December 1928 Swansea Town 1–1 Southampton Mackie Vetch Field Swansea 5,000 D 21 25 December 1928 Notts County 1–1 Southampton Haines Meadow Lane Nottingham 21,865 D 22 26 December 1928 Southampton 4–0 Notts County Weale Rowley The Dell Southampton 20,441 W 23 29 December 1928 Southampton 3–2 Hull City Weale Waterston Rowley The Dell Southampton 18,765 W 24 5 January 1929 Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Southampton Weale Bradford White Hart Lane London 25,000 L 25 19 January 1929 Southampton 2–2 Reading Coates Cribb The Dell Southampton 15,775 D 26 26 January 1929 Preston North End 0–1 Southampton Cribb Deepdale Preston 11,000 W 27 2 February 1929 Southampton 1–1 Middlesbrough Cribb The Dell Southampton 13,608 D 28 9 February 1929 Oldham Athletic 3–1 Southampton Weale Boundary Park Oldham 14,000 L 29 16 February 1929 Southampton 2–1 Bristol City Mackie Cribb The Dell Southampton 10,095 W 30 23 February 1929 Southampton 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Mackie Coates The Dell Southampton 12,478 W 31 2 March 1929 Barnsley 4–1 Southampton Rowley Oakwell Barnsley 4,000 L 32 9 March 1929 Southampton 1–2 Chelsea Mackie The Dell Southampton 24,247 L 33 16 March 1929 Blackpool 3–0 Southampton Bloomfield Road Blackpool 10,000 L 34 23 March 1929 Southampton 2–1 Nottingham Forest Mackie Cribb The Dell Southampton 10,292 W 35 29 March 1929 Millwall 2–4 Southampton Rowley Jepson Mackie The Den London 21,817 W 36 30 March 1929 Bradford Park Avenue 4–1 Southampton Haines Park Avenue Bradford 11,000 L 37 1 April 1929 Southampton 3–0 Millwall Jepson Haines Coates The Dell Southampton 17,368 W 38 6 April 1929 Southampton 3–1 Grimsby Town Haines Coates Cribb The Dell Southampton 17,700 W 39 13 April 1929 Stoke City 3–0 Southampton Victoria Ground Stoke-on-Trent 11,000 L 40 20 April 1929 Southampton 2–0 Clapton Orient Haines Coates The Dell Southampton 8,890 W 41 27 April 1929 West Bromwich Albion 3–1 Southampton Coates The Hawthorns West Bromwich 10,024 L 42 4 May 1929 Southampton 3–0 Swansea Town Jepson Haines Coates The Dell Southampton 6,510 W Final league table Second Division y SOU Results by matchday table b Round Ground A /H /H /A /H /A /A /H /A /A /H /A /H /A /H /A /H /A /H /A /A /H /H /A /H /A /H /A /H /H /A /H /A /H /A /A /H /H /A /H /A /H Result D /L /D /W /W /W /W /W /D /D /L /D /W /D /D /L /D /D /D /D /D /W /W /L /D /W /D /L /W /W /L /L /L /W /W /L /W /W /L /W /L /W Position 10/15/14/10 /8 /7 /5 /5 /5 /4 /5 /5 /4 /4 /4 /4 /5 /5 /6 /7 /6 /5 /4 /4 /4 /3 /3 /5 /3 /3 /4 /5 /7 /6 /4 /5 /4 /4 /4 /4 /5 /4 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 11v11.comhttps://www.11v11.com/league-tables/ 11v11 league table generator 11v11.com 22 April 2018 FA Cup 1928–29 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". 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. Round 3 12 January 1929 Southampton 0–0 Clapton Orient The Dell Southampton 15,000 D Round 3 Replay 17 January 1929 Clapton Orient 2–1 Southampton Bradford Clapton Stadium London 10,000 L 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.Chalk Holley 1987 212 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. 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. 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.Juson Aldworth Bendel Bull 2004 124 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.Juson Aldworth Bendel Bull 2004 125 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). Friendly 17 April 1929 Guildford City 1–3 Southampton Haines Arnold Joseph's Road Guildford W Friendly 22 April 1929 Warminster Town 1–6 Southampton Haines BradfordCribbWoodhouse Weymouth Street Warminster W Friendly 29 April 1929 Wimborne Town 2–6 Southampton Haines Rowley Arnold Weale The Cuthbury Wimborne Minster W Rowland Hospital Cup 6 May 1929 Portsmouth 1–2 Southampton J. Smith Rowley Jepson Fratton Park Portsmouth W. B. Stone W Hampshire BC 8 May 1929 Southampton 3–2 Portsmouth Bradford pen.Rowley Coates Easson 5 90 The Dell Southampton 2,154 W. B. Stone W 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. 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. 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. Arthur Bradford was the season's highest-scoring half-back, with three goals in all competitions. Squad statistics NamePos. Playing positionNat. NationalityLeagueFA CupOther"Other" includes the Rowland Hospital Cup and Hampshire Benevolent Cup matches.TotalApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsBill AdamsHB Half-backENG00002020Johnny ArnoldFW ForwardENG50001060Arthur BradfordHB Half-backENG2911121323Herbert CoatesFW ForwardENG1470021168Stan CribbFW ForwardENG311320103413Willie HainesFW ForwardENG271610002816George HarkusHB Half-backENG2501020280Ted HoughFB Full-backENG3302020370Bert JepsonFW ForwardENG1840021205Michael KeepingFB Full-backENG3712000391Bill LuckettHB Half-backENG50000050Jerry MackieFW ForwardSCO401020004210Billy MurphyFW ForwardENG61000061Charlie PetrieFW ForwardENG92000092Dick RowleyFW ForwardIRL24920222811Bert ShelleyHB Half-backENG4112000431Bill StoddartHB Half-backENG40002060Tommy TaylorFW ForwardENG42000042George ThompsonGK GoalkeeperENG20100030Douglas VernonFW ForwardENG50000050Archie WaterstonFW ForwardSCO61100071Bobby WealeFW ForwardWAL1862000206Willie WhiteGK GoalkeeperSCO4001020430Stan WoodhouseHB Half-backENG3802020420Players with appearances who left before the end of the seasonTom SloanFW ForwardENG10000010 Most appearances RankNamePos. Playing positionLeagueFA CupOtherTotalApps. Appearances% Percentage of totalApps. Appearances% Percentage of totalApps. Appearances% Percentage of totalApps. Appearances% Percentage of total1Bert ShelleyHB Half-back4197.622100.0000.004393.48Willie WhiteGK Goalkeeper4095.24150.002100.004393.483Jerry MackieFW Forward4095.242100.0000.004291.30Stan WoodhouseHB Half-back3890.482100.002100.004291.305Michael KeepingFB Full-back3788.102100.0000.003984.786Ted HoughFB Full-back3378.572100.002100.003780.437Stan CribbFW Forward3173.812100.00150.003473.918Arthur BradfordHB Half-back2969.05150.002100.003269.579Willie HainesFW Forward2764.29150.0000.002860.87George HarkusHB Half-back2559.52150.002100.002860.87Dick RowleyFW Forward2457.142100.002100.002860.87 Top goalscorers RankNamePos. Playing positionLeagueFA CupOtherTotalGls. GoalsGPG Goals per gameGls. GoalsGPG Goals per gameGls. GoalsGPG Goals per gameGls. GoalsGPG Goals per game1Willie HainesFW Forward160.5900.0000.00160.572Stan CribbFW Forward130.4100.0000.00130.383Dick RowleyFW Forward90.3700.0021.00110.394Jerry MackieFW Forward100.2500.0000.00100.235Herbert CoatesFW Forward70.5000.0010.5080.506Bobby WealeFW Forward60.3300.0000.0060.307Bert JepsonFW Forward40.2200.0010.5050.258Arthur BradfordHB Half-back10.0311.0010.5030.099Tommy TaylorFW Forward20.5000.0000.00320.50Charlie PetrieFW Forward20.2200.0000.0020.22 Footnotes References Bibliography Chalk Gary Holley Duncan A Complete Record of Southampton Football Club: 1885–1987 Derby, England Breedon Books 10 August 1987 978-0907969228 Chalk Gary Holley Duncan Bull David All the Saints: A Complete Who's Who of Southampton FC Bristol, England Hagiology Publishing 28 November 2013 978-0992686406 Juson Dave Aldworth Clay Bendel Barry Bull David Chalk Gary Saints v Pompey: A History of Unrelenting Rivalry Bristol, England Hagiology Publishing 10 November 2004 978-0953447459 External links Southampton F.C. official website Category:Southampton F.C. seasons Southampton