1920–21 Southampton F.C. season

April 2022 Southampton F.C. 1920–21 Tankerville Chamberlayne Jimmy McIntyre The Dell Third Division Runners-up FA Cup Third round Bill Rawlings (18) Bill Rawlings (22) League: 20,000 v Crystal Palace (28 March 1921) Overall: 21,363 v Cardiff City (19 February 1921) 7,000 (multiple games) 12,599 5–0 v Merthyr Town(19 March 1921) 0–3 v Grimsby Town(11 December 1920) _red_stripes _red_stripes _red_stripes _band_red FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 003366 003366 1919–20 1921–22 The 1920–21 season was the 26th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's first in the Football League. At the end of the previous season, Southampton were one of a host of Southern League clubs elected to make up the new Third Division, finishing second in the inaugural season behind champions Crystal Palace. The Saints began the season strongly, winning seven of their first ten games to begin a lengthy run at the top of the league table until the end of the year. The club began to lose against several teams lower in the table in December, dropping a position as Palace continued to win the majority of their games. Southampton finished the season in second place with 19 wins, 16 draws and seven losses, four points behind the champions and one point ahead of third-placed Queens Park Rangers. In the 1920–21 FA Cup, Southampton beat fellow Third Division sides Northampton Town (after a replay) and Grimsby Town to reach the third round, before being knocked out by eventual semi-finalists Cardiff City. The club ended the season at Fratton Park with the annual Hampshire Benevolent Cup charity match against local rivals Portsmouth, which the hosts won 1–0 through a goal from Harold Buddery. The game was notable for featuring right-back Tom Parker in goal, who was forced to fill in for the injured Tommy Allen. Southampton also played three friendly matches during the campaign, beating newly formed Welsh club Bridgend Town 3–1 in October, losing 1–0 to former Southern League rivals Aberdare Athletic in March, and drawing 1–1 with Third Division opponents Reading in the Berkshire Charity Cup in May. Southampton used 21 different players during the 1920–21 season and had ten different goalscorers. Their top scorer was centre-forward Bill Rawlings, who scored 18 goals in the Third Division and four in the FA Cup. Inside-forwards Arthur Dominy and James Moore each scored 12 goals in the league, with the former also netting three in the FA Cup. Seven new players were signed by the club during the campaign, with four released and sold to other clubs. The average attendance at The Dell during the 1920–21 season was 12,599. The highest attendance was 21,363 for the FA Cup third-round match against Cardiff City; the lowest was around 7,000 for matches against Reading on 1 January, Northampton Town on 9 March and Newport County on 2 May 1921 (the latter of which was the final home fixture of the season). Background and transfers At the end of the 1919–20 season, manager Jimmy McIntyre made several changes to the Southampton squad in preparation for their first season in the Football League. Scottish goalkeeper George Wilcock, who had joined the club just a year earlier, was sold to struggling First Division side Preston North End in May 1920, where he made seven appearances in the top flight before dropping out of league football at the end of the season.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 203 He was replaced by former Sunderland goalkeeper Tommy Allen, who was brought to The Dell for free after his former club "had forgotten to include [him] on their end-of-season retained list".Chalk Holley Bull 2013 3 Centre-forward George Jones, another recent signing who had scored five goals in seven appearances in the club's last Southern League campaign, joined Yorkshire non-league side Goole Town.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 105 Arthur Andrews, who had established his place at right-half the previous year, was forced to retire from professional football following a broken leg in January, with Southampton releasing him at the end of the season. Later in the summer, former Saints left-half Len Butt returned to the club from Thornycrofts,Chalk Holley Bull 2013 33 while Northern Irish centre-half George Moorhead joined from Sunnyside as cover for Alec Campbell.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 138 In September, centre-forward George Reader joined from Exeter City for a fee of £50.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 156 However, due to the form of Bill Rawlings, Reader's opportunities in the side were limited – after only three league appearances, he left at the end of the season to focus on a teaching career, playing part-time for Harland and Wolff. The following month, the club signed outside-right Frank Wright from Hamstead Colliery, who made just one appearance (described by club historians as "a poor showing") before being released at the end of the season.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 210 In November, forward-turned-half-back Percy Prince was also released by Southampton, returning to his former club Boscombe.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 154 Towards the end of the campaign, Southampton signed centre-forward John Cooper and inside-right Henry Johnson from Birmingham & District League side Darlaston.Chalk Holley Bull 2013 46Chalk Holley Bull 2013 104 Players transferred in NameNationalityPos. Playing positionClubDateFeeRef.Tommy AllenEnglandGK GoalkeeperENG SunderlandMay 1920FreeLen ButtEnglandHB Half-backENG ThornycroftsAugust 1920FreeGeorge MoorheadNorthern IrelandHB Half-backNIR SunnysideAugust 1920FreeGeorge ReaderEnglandFW ForwardENG Exeter CitySeptember 1920£50Frank WrightEnglandFW ForwardENG Hamstead CollieryOctober 1920FreeJohn CooperEnglandFW ForwardENG DarlastonApril 1921UnknownHenry JohnsonEnglandFW ForwardENG DarlastonApril 1921Unknown Players transferred out NameNationalityPos. Playing positionClubDateFeeRef.George JonesEnglandFW ForwardENG Goole TownMay 1920UnknownGeorge WilcockScotlandGK GoalkeeperENG Preston North EndMay 1920UnknownPercy PrinceEnglandHB Half-backENG BoscombeNovember 1920Unknown Players released NameNationalityPos. Playing positionDateSubsequent clubRef.Arthur AndrewsEnglandHB Half-backMay 1920ENG Harland and Wolff Third Division 1920–21 Football League Southampton's first Football League campaign began on 28 August 1920 with an away fixture against Gillingham, who had finished bottom of the Southern League Premier Division the previous year.Chalk Holley 1987 63 The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Arthur Dominy scoring the club's first goal of the season (and in the division) with a shot "from an oblique angle".Chalk Holley 1987 64 Dominy scored another two goals two days later in a 4–0 home win over Swindon Town, with the other two goals coming from Joe Barratt and Bill Rawlings.Chalk Holley 1987 65 In their first ten games of the campaign, Southampton dropped only three points from a possible 20 (one in the opening day draw, and two in a 3–2 return loss at Swindon Town), securing the top spot in the Third Division table in early October following consecutive pairs of victories over Portsmouth (last season's Southern League Premier Division champions) and Norwich City. Rawlings took over from Dominy as the season's top scorer on 18 September, when he scored the only goal in the away fixture against Portsmouth, his fourth of the season. The club continued their unbeaten run until their 17th game of the season on 4 December, when they were beaten at home for the first time in almost a year at the hands of Grimsby Town, who picked up an unlikely 1–0 win after the Saints saw Tom Parker miss a penalty and James Moore sent off. The Mariners also won the return fixture at Blundell Park a week later 3–0, as the only side to win both matches against Southampton during the season. Despite holding on to the top spot in the league into the new year, a winless run of four games saw the club drop below Crystal Palace, who had continued to pick up wins over the Christmas period.http://www.statto.com:80/football/teams/crystal-palace/1920-1921/results Crystal Palace results for the 1920-1921 season Statto https://web.archive.org/web/20160313040001/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/crystal-palace/1920-1921/results 2016-03-13 2 April 2018 live Losses at Northampton Town and Southend United helped Palace to extend their lead at the top of the table, with Southampton dropping down to third for a few weeks in February.http://www.statto.com:80/football/teams/southampton/1920-1921/results Southampton results for the 1920-1921 season Statto https://web.archive.org/web/20160313040001/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/southampton/1920-1921/results 2016-03-13 2 April 2018 live On 19 March 1921, Southampton picked up their biggest win of the season when they beat Merthyr Town 5–0 at home, with Bill Rawlings becoming only the club's third player to score four goals in a league match (after John Fraser and Fred Harrison, the latter of whom scored five in two games, both in the 1902–03 season).Chalk Holley 1987 33 Two 1–1 draws in two days against the league leaders at the end of the month left Southampton with too much ground to make up in the final period of the season. In the first game, at The Dell, the visitors equalised in "the very last seconds" which "caused such excitement that several barriers at the Milton Road end [of the ground] collapsed, injuring several spectators". In their last nine games of the season the Saints picked up just ten points, from two wins and six draws, which left them trailing five points behind Crystal Palace, who secured the only Second Division promotion place in the division. They finished just one point ahead of third-placed Queens Park Rangers and two ahead of Swindon Town in fourth place. List of match results 1 28 August 1920 Gillingham 1–1 Southampton Dominy Priestfield Stadium Gillingham 11,500 D 2 30 August 1920 Southampton 4–0 Swindon Town Dominy Barratt Rawlings The Dell Southampton 11,500 W 3 4 September 1920 Southampton 3–0 Gillingham Brown Rawlings Foxall The Dell Southampton 14,000 W 4 6 September 1920 Swindon Town 3–2 Southampton Williams Rawlings County Ground Swindon 9,000 L 5 11 September 1920 Southampton 2–0 Portsmouth Parker Moore The Dell Southampton 18,300 W 6 18 September 1920 Portsmouth 0–1 Southampton Rawlings Fratton Park Portsmouth 20,585 W 7 25 September 1920 Norwich City 0–1 Southampton Rawlings The Nest Norwich 9,000 W 8 2 October 1920 Southampton 1–0 Norwich City Dominy The Dell Southampton 15,000 W 9 9 October 1920 Southampton 3–0 Swansea Town Parker Shelley Moore The Dell Southampton 15,000 W 10 16 October 1920 Swansea Town 1–1 Southampton Barratt Vetch Field Swansea 12,000 D 11 23 October 1920 Southampton 3–0 Brentford Shelley Rawlings Foxall The Dell Southampton 13,000 W 12 30 October 1920 Brentford 1–1 Southampton Moore Griffin Park Brentford 12,000 D 13 6 November 1920 Southampton 2–2 Queens Park Rangers Campbell Moore The Dell Southampton 15,000 D 14 13 November 1920 Queens Park Rangers 0–0 Southampton Loftus Road London 15,000 D 15 20 November 1920 Southampton 4–0 Bristol Rovers Barratt Brown Rawlings Foxall The Dell Southampton 17,000 W 16 27 November 1920 Bristol Rovers 1–2 Southampton Rawlings Moore Eastville Stadium Bristol 17,000 W 17 4 December 1920 Southampton 0–1 Grimsby Town The Dell Southampton 11,000 L 18 11 December 1920 Grimsby Town 3–0 Southampton Blundell Park Cleethorpes 9,000 L 19 18 December 1920 Reading 0–4 Southampton Dominy Rawlings Moore Elm Park Reading 9,000 W 20 25 December 1920 Luton Town 1–1 Southampton Moore Kenilworth Road Luton 14,000 D 21 27 December 1920 Southampton 1–1 Luton Town Moore The Dell Southampton 19,793 D 22 1 January 1921 Southampton 1–2 Reading Moore The Dell Southampton 7,000 L 23 15 January 1921 Watford 0–0 Southampton Cassio Road Watford 9,000 D 24 22 January 1921 Southampton 4–1 Watford Dominy Rawlings The Dell Southampton 14,000 W 25 5 February 1921 Brighton and Hove Albion 1–1 Southampton Rawlings Goldstone Ground Hove 8,000 D 26 12 February 1921 Northampton Town 2–0 Southampton County Ground Northampton 6,000 L 27 23 February 1921 Southampton 1–0 Brighton and Hove Albion Rawlings The Dell Southampton 8,000 W 28 26 February 1921 Southend United 1–0 Southampton Kursaal Southend-on-Sea 7,000 L 29 5 March 1921 Southampton 3–0 Southend United Moore Rawlings The Dell Southampton 10,000 W 30 9 March 1921 Southampton 3–1 Northampton Town Foxall Campbell The Dell Southampton 7,000 W 31 12 March 1921 Merthyr Town 1–1 Southampton Dominy Penydarren Park Merthyr Tydfil 12,000 D 32 19 March 1921 Southampton 5–0 Merthyr Town Rawlings Brown The Dell Southampton 8,000 W 33 26 March 1921 Southampton 1–0 Plymouth Argyle Campbell The Dell Southampton 14,000 W 34 28 March 1921 Southampton 1–1 Crystal Palace Moore The Dell Southampton 20,000 D 35 29 March 1921 Crystal Palace 1–1 Southampton Own goal The Nest London 15,000 D 36 2 April 1921 Plymouth Argyle 0–0 Southampton Home Park Plymouth 10,000 D 37 9 April 1921 Southampton 3–0 Exeter City Shelley Dominy Rawlings The Dell Southampton 10,000 W 38 16 April 1921 Exeter City 1–0 Southampton St James Park Exeter 7,000 L 39 23 April 1921 Southampton 1–1 Millwall Brown The Dell Southampton 10,000 D 40 30 April 1921 Millwall 0–1 Southampton Dominy The Den London 18,000 W 41 2 May 1921 Southampton 0–0 Newport County The Dell Southampton 7,000 D 42 7 May 1921 Newport County 0–0 Southampton Somerton Park Newport 8,000 D Final league table Third Division y SOU Results by matchday table b Round Ground A /H /H /A /H /A /A /H /H /A /H /A /H /A /H /A /H /A /A /A /H /H /A /H /A /A /H /A /H /H /A /H /H /H /A /A /H /A /H /A /H /A Result D /W /W /L /W /W /W /W /W /D /W /D /D /D /W /W /L /L /W /D /D /L /D /W /D /L /W /L /W /W /D /W /W /D /D /D /W /L /D /W /D /D Position 10 /2 /1 /1 /2 /2 /2 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /1 /2 /2 /1 /3 /3 /3 /3 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 Statto FA Cup 1920–21 FA Cup Southampton entered the 1920–21 FA Cup in the first round against fellow Third Division side Northampton Town. The Cobblers held the Saints to a goalless draw in a "gruelling first-round match" at the County Ground on 7 January 1921, although by the end of the game Southampton were "well on top". This form carried over into the replay four days later at The Dell, which the hosts won comfortably 4–1 thanks to two goals each from on-form forwards Arthur Dominy and Bill Rawlings. Receipts for the fixtures were £1,017 and £1,118, respectively, which set a new record for each ground. Grimsby Town, another Third Division club, were Southampton's opponents in the second round on 28 January, having beaten Norwich City in the previous round. Despite losing both fixtures against the side the previous month, Jimmy McIntyre's side picked up a 3–1 away win over the Mariners thanks to two goals from Rawlings and another from Dominy, who described his team as "faster [and] more together as a side" following the result. In the third round of the tournament, Southampton faced their first higher-league opponents of the season in Cardiff City, who were then placed third in the Second Division.http://www.statto.com:80/football/teams/cardiff-city/1920-1921/results Cardiff City results for the 1920-1921 season Statto https://web.archive.org/web/20160308033439/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/cardiff-city/1920-1921/results 8 March 2016 live 2 April 2018 The fixture was described by club historians as "a game of missed chances", which the Welsh side won with the only goal of the game after approximately 20 minutes following a "rare defensive mistake" by the Saints. The match against Cardiff City marked the highest attendance at The Dell during the season, exceeding 21,000 for the only time that year, as well as the second time the ground's receipts record had been broken as the club brought in £1,708 from attendees. The club played the same lineup in all four matches in the tournament. Cardiff City ultimately made it to the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time in their history later that year, beating First Division side Chelsea 1–0 in the fourth round after eliminating Southampton, before being knocked out by fellow second-tier club Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 in a replay on 23 March.https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engcup1921.html England FA Challenge Cup 1920-1921 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2 April 2018 Round 1 7 January 1921 Northampton Town 0–0 Southampton County Ground Northampton 15,542 D Round 1 replay 11 January 1921 Southampton 4–1 Northampton Town Dominy Rawlings The Dell Southampton 16,000 W Round 2 28 January 1921 Grimsby Town 1–3 Southampton Dominy Rawlings Blundell Park Cleethorpes 14,000 W Round 3 19 February 1921 Southampton 0–1 Cardiff City The Dell Southampton 21,363 L Other matches Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played four additional first-team matches. The first was a friendly match against newly formed Welsh side Bridgend Town on 18 October 1920, which the Saints won 3–1 thanks to goals from Arthur Dominy, Fred Foxall and James Moore.Chalk Holley 1987 212 The next took place the following March and saw the club facing another Welsh side, Aberdare Athletic, which they lost by a single goal. On 11 May 1921, they travelled to face local rivals Portsmouth at Fratton Park for the annual Hampshire Benevolent Cup charity match.Chalk Holley 1987 206 The game – which drew a record crowd for the competition of 6,740 – saw the visitors forced to play right-back Tom Parker in goal in place of Tommy Allen, who had been injured, in the absence of a suitable replacement.Juson Aldworth Bendel Bull 2004 101 Portsmouth won the game 1–0 thanks to a headed goal from Harold Buddery around 15 minutes into the second half, marking their eighth win of the competition (to date, the Saints had only won three times, with one match ending in a draw). On 14 May, a week after the last game of the league campaign, Southampton ended their season at fellow Third Division side Reading in the Berkshire Charity Cup, drawing 1–1 with a goal from Dominy. Friendly 18 October 1920 Bridgend Town 1–3 Southampton Dominy Foxall Moore Bridgend W Friendly 14 March 1921 Aberdare Athletic 1–0 Southampton Athletic Ground Aberdare L Hampshire BC 11 May 1921 Portsmouth 1–0 Southampton Buddery 60 Fratton Park Portsmouth 6,740 E. A. Head L Berkshire CC 14 May 1921 Reading 1–1 Southampton Dominy Elm Park Reading D Player details Southampton manager Jimmy McIntyre used 21 different players during the 1920–21 season, ten of whom scored during the campaign. The team played in a 2–3–5 formation throughout the campaign, with two full-backs, three half-backs, two outside forwards, two inside forwards and a centre-forward. Three players appeared in all 46 league and FA Cup matches: outside-left Fred Foxall, inside-left James Moore and left-half Bill Turner. Left-back Fred Titmuss played all but one league match during the season, and goalkeeper Tommy Allen appeared in all except two. Bill Rawlings finished as the club's top scorer for the season, with 18 goals in the league and four in the cup. Arthur Dominy scored 15 times across both competitions, while James Moore matched his league tally of 12 goals. Centre-half Alec Campbell and right-half Bert Shelley were the club's highest-scoring half-backs of the season with three league goals a piece, and right-back Tom Parker was the highest-scoring defender with two goals. Squad statistics NamePos. Playing positionNat. NationalityLeagueFA CupHampshire BCTotalApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsApps. AppearancesGls. GoalsTommy AllenGK GoalkeeperENG4004000440Joe BarrattFW ForwardENG3034010353Ken BoyesFW ForwardENG00001010George BradburnHB Half-backENG50000050Charlie BrownFW ForwardENG1640000164Len ButtHB Half-backENG1300010140Alec CampbellHB Half-backENG3130010323Arthur DominyFW ForwardENG351243104015Fred FoxallFW ForwardENG4254000465Henry JohnsonFW ForwardENG00001010James MooreFW ForwardENG421240004612George MoorheadHB Half-backNIR904000130Tom ParkerFB Full-backENG3024010352Bill RawlingsFW ForwardENG391844104422George ReaderFW ForwardENG30000030Bert ShelleyHB Half-backENG3934010443Fred TitmussFB Full-backENG4104010460Bill TurnerHB Half-backENG4204010470George WilliamsFW ForwardENG21000021Arthur WoodGK GoalkeeperENG20000020Frank WrightFW ForwardENG10000010 Most appearances RankNamePos. Playing positionLeagueFA CupHampshire BCTotalApps. Appearances% Percentage of totalApps. Appearances% Percentage of totalApps. Appearances% Percentage of totalApps. Appearances% Percentage of total1Bill TurnerHB Half-back42100.004100.001100.0047100.002Fred FoxallFW Forward42100.004100.0000.004697.87James MooreFW Forward42100.004100.0000.004697.87Fred TitmussFB Full-back4197.624100.001100.004697.875Tommy AllenGK Goalkeeper4095.244100.0000.004493.62Bill RawlingsFW Forward3992.864100.001100.004493.62Bert ShelleyHB Half-back3992.864100.001100.004493.628Arthur DominyFW Forward3583.334100.001100.004085.119Joe BarrattFW Forward3071.434100.001100.003574.47Tom ParkerFB Full-back3071.434100.001100.003574.47 Top goalscorers RankNamePos. Playing positionLeagueFA CupHampshire BCTotalGls. GoalsGPG Goals per gameGls. GoalsGPG Goals per gameGls. GoalsGPG Goals per gameGls. GoalsGPG Goals per game1Bill RawlingsFW Forward180.4641.0000.00220.502Arthur DominyFW Forward120.3430.7500.00150.373James MooreFW Forward120.2800.0000.00120.264Fred FoxallFW Forward50.1100.0000.0050.105Charlie BrownFW Forward40.2500.0000.0040.256Alec CampbellHB Half-back30.0900.0000.0030.09Joe BarrattFW Forward30.1000.0000.0030.08Bert ShelleyHB Half-back30.0700.0000.0030.069Tom ParkerFB Full-back20.0600.0000.0020.0510George WilliamsFW Forward10.5000.0000.0010.50 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