1920–21 Southampton F.C. season

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.[1] 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".[2] 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.[3] 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.[2]

Later in the summer, former Saints left-half Len Butt returned to the club from Thornycrofts,[4] while Northern Irish centre-half George Moorhead joined from Sunnyside as cover for Alec Campbell.[5] In September, centre-forward George Reader joined from Exeter City for a fee of £50.[6] 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.[6] 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.[7] In November, forward-turned-half-back Percy Prince was also released by Southampton, returning to his former club Boscombe.[8] Towards the end of the campaign, Southampton signed centre-forward John Cooper and inside-right Henry Johnson from Birmingham & District League side Darlaston.[9][10]

Players transferred in

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Ref.
Tommy Allen	England	GK	Sunderland	May 1920	[2]
Len Butt	England	HB	Thornycrofts	August 1920	[4]
George Moorhead	Northern Ireland	HB	Sunnyside	August 1920	[5]
George Reader	England	FW	Exeter City	September 1920	[6]
Frank Wright	England	FW	Hamstead Colliery	October 1920	[7]
John Cooper	England	FW	Darlaston	April 1921	[9]
Henry Johnson	England	FW	Darlaston	April 1921	[10]

Players transferred out

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Ref.
Arthur Andrews	England	HB	Harland and Wolff	May 1920	[2]
George Jones	England	FW	Goole Town	May 1920	[3]
George Wilcock	Scotland	GK	Preston North End	May 1920	[1]
Percy Prince	England	HB	Boscombe	November 1920	[8]

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.[11] 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".[12] 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.[13] 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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

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).[16] 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.[12] 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".[12] 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.[12] They finished just one point ahead of third-placed Queens Park Rangers and two ahead of Swindon Town in fourth place.[13]

List of match results

Gillingham v Southampton

28 August 1920 1	Gillingham	1–1	Southampton	Gillingham
			Dominy	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 11,500

Southampton v Swindon Town

30 August 1920 2	Southampton	4–0	Swindon Town	Southampton
	Dominy Barratt Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,500

Southampton v Gillingham

4 September 1920 3	Southampton	3–0	Gillingham	Southampton
	Brown Rawlings Foxall			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,000

Swindon Town v Southampton

6 September 1920 4	Swindon Town	3–2	Southampton	Swindon
			Williams Rawlings	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,000

Southampton v Portsmouth

11 September 1920 5	Southampton	2–0	Portsmouth	Southampton
	Parker Moore			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,300

Portsmouth v Southampton

18 September 1920 6	Portsmouth	0–1	Southampton	Portsmouth
			Rawlings	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 20,585

Norwich City v Southampton

25 September 1920 7	Norwich City	0–1	Southampton	Norwich
			Rawlings	Stadium: The Nest Attendance: 9,000

Southampton v Norwich City

2 October 1920 8	Southampton	1–0	Norwich City	Southampton
	Dominy			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,000

Southampton v Swansea Town

9 October 1920 9	Southampton	3–0	Swansea Town	Southampton
	Parker Shelley Moore			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,000

Swansea Town v Southampton

16 October 1920 10	Swansea Town	1–1	Southampton	Swansea
			Barratt	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Brentford

23 October 1920 11	Southampton	3–0	Brentford	Southampton
	Shelley Rawlings Foxall			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,000

Brentford v Southampton

30 October 1920 12	Brentford	1–1	Southampton	Brentford
			Moore	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Queens Park Rangers

6 November 1920 13	Southampton	2–2	Queens Park Rangers	Southampton
	Campbell Moore			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,000

Queens Park Rangers v Southampton

13 November 1920 14	Queens Park Rangers	0–0	Southampton	London
				Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 15,000

Southampton v Bristol Rovers

20 November 1920 15	Southampton	4–0	Bristol Rovers	Southampton
	Barratt Brown Rawlings Foxall			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,000

Bristol Rovers v Southampton

27 November 1920 16	Bristol Rovers	1–2	Southampton	Bristol
			Rawlings Moore	Stadium: Eastville Stadium Attendance: 17,000

Southampton v Grimsby Town

4 December 1920 17	Southampton	0–1	Grimsby Town	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,000

Grimsby Town v Southampton

11 December 1920 18	Grimsby Town	3–0	Southampton	Cleethorpes
				Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 9,000

Reading v Southampton

18 December 1920 19	Reading	0–4	Southampton	Reading
			Dominy Rawlings Moore	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 9,000

Luton Town v Southampton

25 December 1920 20	Luton Town	1–1	Southampton	Luton
			Moore	Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 14,000

Southampton v Luton Town

27 December 1920 21	Southampton	1–1	Luton Town	Southampton
	Moore			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 19,793

Southampton v Reading

1 January 1921 22	Southampton	1–2	Reading	Southampton
	Moore			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 7,000

Watford v Southampton

15 January 1921 23	Watford	0–0	Southampton	Watford
				Stadium: Cassio Road Attendance: 9,000

Southampton v Watford

22 January 1921 24	Southampton	4–1	Watford	Southampton
	Dominy Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,000

Brighton and Hove Albion v Southampton

5 February 1921 25	Brighton and Hove Albion	1–1	Southampton	Hove
			Rawlings	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 8,000

Northampton Town v Southampton

12 February 1921 26	Northampton Town	2–0	Southampton	Northampton
				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,000

Southampton v Brighton and Hove Albion

23 February 1921 27	Southampton	1–0	Brighton and Hove Albion	Southampton
	Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Southend United v Southampton

26 February 1921 28	Southend United	1–0	Southampton	Southend-on-Sea
				Stadium: Kursaal Attendance: 7,000

Southampton v Southend United

5 March 1921 29	Southampton	3–0	Southend United	Southampton
	Moore Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Northampton Town

9 March 1921 30	Southampton	3–1	Northampton Town	Southampton
	Foxall Campbell			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 7,000

Merthyr Town v Southampton

12 March 1921 31	Merthyr Town	1–1	Southampton	Merthyr Tydfil
			Dominy	Stadium: Penydarren Park Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Merthyr Town

19 March 1921 32	Southampton	5–0	Merthyr Town	Southampton
	Rawlings Brown			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Southampton v Plymouth Argyle

26 March 1921 33	Southampton	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Southampton
	Campbell			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,000

Southampton v Crystal Palace

28 March 1921 34	Southampton	1–1	Crystal Palace	Southampton
	Moore			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 20,000

Crystal Palace v Southampton

29 March 1921 35	Crystal Palace	1–1	Southampton	London
			Own goal	Stadium: The Nest Attendance: 15,000

Plymouth Argyle v Southampton

2 April 1921 36	Plymouth Argyle	0–0	Southampton	Plymouth
				Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Exeter City

9 April 1921 37	Southampton	3–0	Exeter City	Southampton
	Shelley Dominy Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,000

Exeter City v Southampton

16 April 1921 38	Exeter City	1–0	Southampton	Exeter
				Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 7,000

Southampton v Millwall

23 April 1921 39	Southampton	1–1	Millwall	Southampton
	Brown			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,000

Millwall v Southampton

30 April 1921 40	Millwall	0–1	Southampton	London
			Dominy	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 18,000

Southampton v Newport County

2 May 1921 41	Southampton	0–0	Newport County	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 7,000

Newport County v Southampton

7 May 1921 42	Newport County	0–0	Southampton	Newport
				Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 8,000

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".[12] 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.[12] Receipts for the fixtures were £1,017 and £1,118, respectively, which set a new record for each ground.[12] 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.[12]

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.[17] 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.[12] 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.[12] The club played the same lineup in all four matches in the tournament.[12] 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.[18]

Southampton v Northampton Town

11 January 1921 Round 1 Replay	Southampton	4–1	Northampton Town	Southampton
	Dominy Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,000

Grimsby Town v Southampton

28 January 1921 Round 2	Grimsby Town	1–3	Southampton	Cleethorpes
			Dominy Rawlings	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 14,000

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.[19] The next took place the following March and saw the club facing another Welsh side, Aberdare Athletic, which they lost by a single goal.[19] On 11 May 1921, they travelled to face local rivals Portsmouth at Fratton Park for the annual Hampshire Benevolent Cup charity match.[20] 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.[21] 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).[20] 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.[19]

Bridgend Town v Southampton

18 October 1920 Friendly	Bridgend Town	1–3	Southampton	Bridgend
			Dominy Foxall Moore

Portsmouth v Southampton

11 May 1921 Hampshire BC	Portsmouth	1–0	Southampton	Portsmouth
	Buddery  60'			Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 6,740 Referee: E. A. Head

Reading v Southampton

14 May 1921 Berkshire CC	Reading	1–1	Southampton	Reading
			Dominy	Stadium: Elm Park

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.[13] 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.[13] 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.[13]

Squad statistics

Name	Pos.	Nat.	League		FA Cup		Hampshire BC		Total
			Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.
Tommy Allen	GK		40	0	4	0	0	0	44	0
Joe Barratt	FW		30	3	4	0	1	0	35	3
Ken Boyes	FW		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
George Bradburn	HB		5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Charlie Brown	FW		16	4	0	0	0	0	16	4
Len Butt	HB		13	0	0	0	1	0	14	0
Alec Campbell	HB		31	3	0	0	1	0	32	3
Arthur Dominy	FW		35	12	4	3	1	0	40	15
Fred Foxall	FW		42	5	4	0	0	0	46	5
Henry Johnson	FW		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
James Moore	FW		42	12	4	0	0	0	46	12
George Moorhead	HB		9	0	4	0	0	0	13	0
Tom Parker	FB		30	2	4	0	1	0	35	2
Bill Rawlings	FW		39	18	4	4	1	0	44	22
George Reader	FW		3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Bert Shelley	HB		39	3	4	0	1	0	44	3
Fred Titmuss	FB		41	0	4	0	1	0	46	0
Bill Turner	HB		42	0	4	0	1	0	47	0
George Williams	FW		2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
Arthur Wood	GK		2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Frank Wright	FW		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

• 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

• Southampton F.C. official website