1905–06 New Brompton F.C. season

English football club season New Brompton 1905–06 William Ironside Groombridge Secretary James BarnesBradley Triggs 1994 392 Southern League Division One 17th FA Cup Second round Bill Marriott (4) Bill Marriott (5) 5,500 vs Portsmouth (27 January 1906) 1,500 vs Millwall (10 February 1906) _black_stripes _blackstripes _black_stripes ffffff ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 1904–05 1906–07 During the 1905–06 English football season, New Brompton F.C. competed in the Southern League Division One. It was the 12th season in which the club competed in the Southern League and the 11th in Division One. The team began the season in poor form; they failed to score any goals in six of their first eight Southern League games. By the midpoint of the season, the team had won only three times and were close to the bottom of the league table. The team's form improved in the new year, with three wins in the first seven Southern League games of 1906, but they ended the season in similar fashion to how they had started it, failing to score in eight of the final nine league games. New Brompton finished the season in 17th place out of 18 teams in the division. New Brompton also competed in the FA Cup, reaching the second round. The team played a total of 37 league and cup matches, winning 8, drawing 9 and losing 20. Bill Marriott was the club's top goalscorer, with four goals in the Southern League and one in the FA Cup; this figure was the lowest to date with which a player had finished a season as New Brompton's top scorer. Joe Walton made the most appearances, playing in 36 of the team's 37 competitive games. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Road, was 5,500 for a game against Portsmouth on 27 January 1906. Background and pre-season New Brompton, founded in 1893,Mitchell Reeves Tyler 2013 140 had played in the Southern League since the competition's formation in 1894.Blakeman Robinson 2014 4 The 1905–06 season was the club's 11th season in Division One, the league's top division, following promotion from Division Two at the first attempt in 1895. In the 1904–05 season New Brompton had finished 9th out of 18 teams in the division, only the third time in 11 seasons that they had finished in the top half of the league table.Blakeman Robinson 2014 6 At the time, only a handful of teams from the south of England played in the ostensibly national Football League, with most of the south's leading teams playing in the Southern League.Soar Tyler 1983 177 The club did not employ a manager at the time and secretary William Ironside Groombridge had overall responsibility for the team. He was assisted by a trainer called F. Craddock.Triggs 1999 21 James Barnes was chairman of the club's board of directors.Bradley Triggs 1994 392 The team wore the club's usual black and white striped shirts.Triggs 1999 21 Several new players joined the club prior to the season, including Bill Floyd, a full-back from Gainsborough Trinity,Bradley Triggs 1994 40 and three forwards, Bill Marriott from Northampton Town,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110460216 6 Nottingham Evening Post 30 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Sporting Notes 13 May 1905 Jim Sheridan from Stoke,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110461211 17 Staffordshire Sentinel 30 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Filling the Gaps 19 August 1905 and Harry Phillips from Grimsby Town.Bradley Triggs 1994 40 Walter Leigh, the team's top goalscorer of the previous season, moved on, joining Clapton Orient,Brown 2003 22https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110627939 3 Nottingham Evening Post 3 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Sporting Notes 17 August 1905 newly elected to the Football League Second Division.Mitchell Reeves Tyler 2013 166 Southern League Division One September–December thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=Football match between Queens Park Rangers and New Brompton|New Brompton lost to Queens Park Rangers in the first game of the Southern League season. The club's first match of the season, on 2 September, was away to Queens Park Rangers; Floyd, Phillips, Sheridan and Marriott all made their Southern League debuts for New Brompton.Brown 2003 23 Queens Park Rangers scored two goals in each half to win 4–0; the correspondent for The Daily News stated that the home team were "the better side at every point" and well deserved their large victory.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/19050904/198/0011 The Daily News 28 September 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Rangers' Rousing Victory 11 4 September 1905 The first Southern League game of the season at New Brompton's ground, Priestfield Road, a week later against Bristol Rovers, resulted in a 3–0 win for the away team.Brown 2003 23https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110402729 3 Derby Daily Telegraph 29 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Southern League: New Brompton v Bristol Rovers 11 September 1905 Phillips scored New Brompton's first Southern League goal of the season on 16 September and the team achieved their first victory, beating Northampton Town 2–0,Brown 2003 23https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/19050918/190/0011 The Daily News 29 September 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Northampton Forwards Go to Pieces 11 18 September 1905 before losing again in their next game, a 4–0 defeat away to Portsmouth.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003216/19050924/623/0029 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper 30 September 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Portsmouth Score Four Times 29 24 September 1905 After a goalless draw with Swindon Town, New Brompton were 15th out of 18 teams in the Division One table at the end of September.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110451000 4 Daily Telegraph 30 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Southern League 2 October 1905 On 7 October, New Brompton lost 5–0 away to Millwall, the first time the team had conceded as many goals in a Southern League match since December 1903.Brown 2003 21–23 Two weeks later, they failed to score a goal for the sixth time in eight Southern League games and were defeated 6–0 by Tottenham Hotspur, the team's biggest defeat of the season. The correspondent for the Daily Telegraph said that New Brompton had been "completely outplay[ed]".https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110397501 10 Daily Telegraph 29 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Southern League 23 October 1905Elligate 2009 162 The team ended the month with their second Southern League victory of the season, a 2–1 win over Brentford. The first match of November, however, resulted in another defeat as New Brompton lost 4–1 to Norwich City;Brown 2003 23 the result left New Brompton 16th in the table. Their record of having conceded 28 goals in 10 games was by far the worst in the division; no other team had conceded more than 20 and only one other had conceded more than 16.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110636898 9 Western Daily Press 3 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Southern League 6 November 1905 The team's winless run continued for the rest of the month as they drew with Plymouth Argyle and Southampton and lost to Reading.Brown 2003 23 John Campbell, a former Scottish international forward newly signed from Hibernian,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110637530 3 East Kent Gazette 3 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Football Jottings 25 November 1905Joyce 2004 50 made his debut against Reading.Brown 2003 23 New Brompton began December with a game away to Watford; they twice took the lead only for Watford to equalise and the game ended in a draw.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/19051204/104/0006 Athletic News 4 October 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Watford and Brompton Score Twice 6 4 December 1905 The team lost their next two games, away to West Ham United and at home to Fulham.Brown 2003 23 On Christmas Day, New Brompton beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1–0; Campbell scored the winner from a penalty kick, his first goal for the club.Brown 2003 23 New Brompton ended 1905 with a 2–0 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers; John Martin, normally a full-back, played as goalkeeper in place of Fred Griffiths. The Athletic News referred to this as a trial arrangement, but Martin retained the position for most of the remainder of the season.Brown 2003 23https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/19060101/085/0006 6 Athletic News 3 October 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Rangers Rout New Brompton 1 January 1906 The reporter for the Athletic News wrote that on the whole New Brompton played as well as their opponents but that their forwards "proved quite incapable of turning to account the many openings which fell their way". January–April thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=Priestfield Road football stadium in 1906|New Brompton won two out of eight league games played at their home ground, Priestfield Road, in the second half of the season. New Brompton's first Southern League game of 1906 was away to Bristol Rovers, who were reduced to ten men before half-time when their goalkeeper went off injured. For the second time in three games, Campbell scored the winning goal with a penalty kick.Brown 2003 23https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/19060108/086/0006 Athletic News 4 October 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Bristol Rovers Disappoint 6 8 January 1906 The team next beat Northampton Town, the only time during the season that they won two consecutive Southern League games.Brown 2003 23 New Brompton's next game drew an attendance reported at 5,500, the largest of the season at Priestfield Road; the Athletic News attributed the large turnout to "the recent smart performances of the local eleven".https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/19060129/076/0006 Athletic News 4 October 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Portsmouth's Lucky Win 6 29 January 1906 The match, however, ended in the first of two consecutive 1–0 defeats for New Brompton.Brown 2003 23 The team's winless Southern League run extended to four games with defeats away to Luton Town on 17 February and Brentford on 3 March.Brown 2003 23 New Brompton then defeated Tottenham Hotspur, who were second in the league table ahead of the game,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110747132 4 Midland Daily Telegraph 5 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Football League Tables 5 March 1906 at Priestfield Road. Paddy Travers scored the only goal to give his team what the Daily Telegraphs reporter described as their best result of the season; the writer praised the New Brompton defence as "very sound".https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110747041 5 Daily Telegraph 5 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Southern League 6 March 1906 After this victory, the team played five more games in March and failed to score in any of them.Brown 2003 19 After a goalless draw at home to Norwich City, they lost 5–0 away to Plymouth Argyle. According to the Athletic News, New Brompton were "quite outclassed" by Plymouth and "had [Plymouth] doubled the number of their goals they would have occasioned little surprise".https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/19060319/122/0006 Athletic News 5 October 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription Argyle Win Readily at Home 6 19 March 1906 Three further defeats left New Brompton bottom of the table at the end of March.Brown 2003 19https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110768850 Daily Telegraph 5 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription League Championships 2 April 1906 Goalkeeper Harry Metherell, who had played one Southern League game two years earlier but not been included in the team since, was included in the line-up against Reading and retained his place for the rest of the season.Brown 2003 21–23 After five games without scoring, New Brompton defeated Watford 2–0 in the first match of April.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110769770 16 The People 5 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription New Brompton v Watford 8 April 1906 Their next two games resulted in goalless draws against Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United;Brown 2003 23 the Athletic News was again critical of New Brompton's forwards against West Ham, saying that the team's "lack of success was mainly due to the inability of their front line to accept the gifts which the fortune of the game offered".https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/19060423/126/0006 6 Athletic News 5 October 2022 British Newspaper Archive subscription No Goals at Gillingham 23 April 1906 New Brompton's final game of the season was away to Fulham, who had already clinched the championship of Division One,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110351650 3 Westminster and Pimlico News 28 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Fulham Champions of the Southern League 27 April 1906 and resulted in a 1–0 defeat.Brown 2003 23 New Brompton finished the season 17th out of 18 teams in the league table, above only Northampton Town.Blakeman Robinson 2014 7 The team had failed to score in eight of the last nine games of the Southern League season;Brown 2003 23 the final total of 20 league goals was half the figure recorded in the previous season and the lowest figure New Brompton had registered in 12 seasons of competitive football.Blakeman Robinson 2014 4–7 Match details Key In result column, New Brompton's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal +ResultsBrown 2003 23DateOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance2 September 1905Queens Park Rangers (A)0–410,0009 September 1905Bristol Rovers (H)0–34,00016 September 1905Northampton Town (H)2–0Phillips, Elliott4,00023 September 1905Portsmouth (A)0–48,00030 September 1905Swindon Town (H)0–04,0007 October 1905Millwall (A)0–58,00014 October 1905Luton Town (H)1–1Marriott5,00021 October 1905Tottenham Hotspur (A)0–614,00028 October 1905Brentford (H)2–1Burns, Marriott4,0004 November 1905Norwich City (A)1–4Burns6,00011 November 1905Plymouth Argyle (H)1–1Marriott3,00018 November 1905Southampton (A)1–1McKee4,00025 November 1905Reading (H)0–34,0002 December 1905Watford (A)2–2Marriott, Sheridan3,00016 December 1905West Ham United (A)0–16,00023 December 1905Fulham (H)0–34,00025 December 1905Brighton & Hove Albion (H)1–0Campbell (pen.)4,00030 December 1905Queens Park Rangers (H)0–23,0006 January 1906Bristol Rovers (A)2–1Beadsworth, Campbell (pen.)5,00020 January 1906Northampton Town (A)1–0Burns3,00027 January 1906Portsmouth (H)0–15,50010 February 1906Millwall (H)0–11,50017 February 1906Luton Town (A)1–2White (o.g.)0 not recorded3 March 1906Brentford (A)2–3Beadsworth, Riley (o.g.)4,0005 March 1906Tottenham Hotspur (H)1–0Travers2,50010 March 1906Norwich City (H)0–03,50017 March 1906Plymouth Argyle (A)0–56,00019 March 1906Swindon Town (A)0–20 not recorded24 March 1906Southampton (H)0–42,00031 March 1906Reading (A)0–10 not recorded7 April 1906Watford (H)2–0Campbell, Beadsworth3,00014 April 1906Brighton & Hove Albion (A)0–04,00021 April 1906West Ham United (H)0–03,00025 April 1906Fulham (A)0–13,000 Partial league table 1905–06 Southern Football League#Division One main WDL left auto Southern League Division One final table, bottom positions yes 2 15 EXE Swindon Town REA Brighton & Hove Albion BRE New Brompton GIL Northampton Town 8 9 17 31 52 9 7 18 30 55 7 8 19 20 62 8 5 21 32 79 complete Blakeman Robinson 2014 7 FA Cup New Brompton entered the 1905–06 FA Cup at the first-round stage, where they played at home to fellow Southern League Division One club Northampton Town. New Brompton took the lead in the first half and, although their opponents equalised after the interval, Marriott scored a winning goal for the home team.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110396549 15 Staffordshire Sentinel 29 September 2022 Newspapers.com subscription New Brompton v Northampton 13 January 1906 In the second round, New Brompton played at home to another Southern League Division One team, Southampton; the match finished 0–0, necessitating a replay at the Dell. Southampton scored the only goal of the second game in the final minute to eliminate New Brompton from the competition.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110630714 7 Birmingham Gazette and Express 3 October 2022 Newspapers.com subscription Bravo, Brighton! 8 February 1906 Match details Key In result column, New Brompton's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal ResultsBrown 2003 23 DateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance13 January 1906FirstNorthampton Town (H)2–1Beadsworth, Marriott5,0003 February 1906SecondSouthampton (H)0–04,2877 February 1906Second (replay)Southampton (A)0–17,500 Players thumb|right|upright|alt=Footballer Percy Barnfather|Percy Barnfather made 24 appearances during the season. thumb|right|upright|alt=Football Fred Griffiths|Goalkeeper Fred Griffiths played 18 times. At the time, goalkeepers wore the same colours as their teammates.Davies 2003 51 During the season, 23 players made at least one appearance for New Brompton. Joe Walton made the most; he played in 36 of the team's 37 competitive games, missing only one league game. Travers and Joe Elliott also made 30 or more appearances and four others played more than 25 times. Two players made only one appearance each: Albert Webb and a player recorded only as Page.Brown 2003 23 Marriott was the top goalscorer; he scored four times in the Southern League and once in the FA Cup.Brown 2003 23 His total of five goals was the lowest with which a player had finished a season as top scorer in the club's history.Brown 2003 12–23 Arthur Beadsworth scored four goals and two players scored three each; no other player scored more than once.Brown 2003 23 +Player statisticsBrown 2003 23PlayerPositionSouthern LeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPercy BarnfatherFW 22020240Arthur BeadsworthFW 21331244Albert Bull 1HB 23030260A. Burns 1FW 11300113John Campbell footballer, born 1877FW 15330183Joe Elliott footballerHB 32130351Charles Evans 1FW 200020Bill FloydFB 24030270Fred Griffiths footballerGK 18000180George Lloyd 1900s footballerHB 17000170Bill Marriott footballerFW 27411285John Martin 1FB/GK 18030210Fred MavenHB 24030270James McKee footballer FW19100191Harry Metherell 1GK 500050John Orr 1FB 800080PageFW 100010Harry Phillips footballer, born 1882FW 14130171James Sheridan footballerFW 810081George Snelgrove 1FW 400040Paddy Travers 1FW 27130301Joe Walton footballer, born 1882FB 33030360Albert Webb 1FB 100010 FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back Aftermath At the annual meeting of the Southern League, the member clubs voted unanimously to increase the number of teams in Division One and New Brompton were re-elected to the division for the subsequent season.Blakeman Robinson 2014 7https://www.newspapers.com/clip/134335896 6 Grimsby Evening Telegraph 30 October 2023 Newspapers.com subscription The Southern League 28 May 1906 The team's performance improved slightly in the following season, as New Brompton finished 16th in a 20-team division.Blakeman Robinson 2014 7 The club, which changed its name to Gillingham in 1912,Elligate 2009 102 remained in the Southern League Division One until 1920 when the entire division was absorbed into the Football League to form its new Third Division.Elligate 2009 97 References Works cited Blakeman Mick Michael Robinson Non-League Football Tables 1889–2014 Soccer Books Limited 2014 978-1-86223-299-0 Bradley Andy Roger Triggs Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893–1993 Gillingham F.C. 1994 0-95233-610-3 Brown Tony The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record Soccerdata 2003 978-1-8994-6820-1 Davies Hunter Boots, Balls and Haircuts: An Illustrated History of Football from Then to Now 978-1-84403-261-7 2003 Cassell Illustrated Elligate David Gillingham FC On This Day Pitch Publishing 2009 978-1-9054-1145-0 Michael Joyce Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939 Soccerdata 2004 1-899468-67-6 Mitchell Colin Reeves Jon Tyler Daniel The History of English Football Clubs New Holland Publishers 2013 978-1-78009-449-6 Soar Phil Martin Tyler Encyclopedia of British Football 1983 Collins Willow 978-0-0021-8049-8 Roger Triggs Images of England: Gillingham Football Club Tempus Publishing Ltd 1999 978-0-75241-567-3 Category:Gillingham F.C. seasons GNew Brompton Fc Season, 1905-06