1925–26 Southampton F.C. season

At the end of the 1924–25 season, several players left Southampton. Amongst the departures were a number of players who had spent only a season with the club: outside-left Fred Price joined Wolverhampton Wanderers,[1] Scottish centre-half John Callagher signed for Third Division North side Wigan Borough,[2] right-half Dennis Jones left for Midland League champions Mansfield Town,[3] and outside-right Tommy Broad was sold to Weymouth in the Southern League.[4] Albert Barrett, a wing-half who had only joined from West Ham United in February, left in June to join Fulham.[5] Scottish forward Willie McCall joined Queen of the South on a permanent basis in September, having spent the previous season on loan at the club.[6] The club also added several players in the summer, signing outside-right Cuthbert Coundon from North Eastern League club Jarrow,[7] inside-left Frank Matthews from Second Division rivals Barnsley,[8] and Welsh forward Ernest Turner from Third Division South side Merthyr Town.[9]

One of the later signings of the summer was goalkeeper Len Hill, who joined from Queens Park Rangers in June 1925.[10] Regular keeper Tommy Allen had turned down a new contract at the club, leading to the signing of Hill as his replacement. Allen later agreed to new terms in October and returned to his place as first-choice Southampton goalkeeper, with Hill making sporadic appearances later in the season.[10] Transfer activity continued throughout the season. In December 1925 the club signed inside-forward Jim Swinden from Salisbury City, following a trial in which he scored two goals on his debut for the reserve side against Folkestone.[11] In March 1926, right-half Bill Adams joined from Southern League side Guildford United.[12] Needing money to purchase the freehold of The Dell, Southampton sold mainstay full-backs Fred Titmuss and Tom Parker in early 1926 – the former in February to Plymouth Argyle for £1,750; the latter in March to Arsenal for £3,250 – which "caused uproar amongst supporters".[13]

Players transferred in

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Ref.
Cuthbert Coundon	England	FW	Jarrow	April 1925	[7]
Frank Matthews	England	FW	Barnsley	May 1925	[8]
Ernest Turner	Wales	FW	Merthyr Town	May 1925	[9]
Len Hill	England	GK	Queens Park Rangers	June 1925	[10]
Jim Swinden	England	FW	Salisbury City	December 1925	[11]
Bill Adams	England	HB	Guildford United	March 1926	[12]

Players transferred out

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Ref.
Fred Price	England	FW	Wolverhampton Wanderers	May 1925	[1]
Albert Barrett	England	HB	Fulham	June 1925	[5]
John Callagher	Scotland	HB	Wigan Borough	June 1925	[2]
Dennis Jones	England	HB	Mansfield Town	June 1925	[3]
Tommy Broad	England	FW	Weymouth	September 1925	[4]
Willie McCall	Scotland	FW	Queen of the South	September 1925	[6]
Fred Titmuss	England	FB	Plymouth Argyle	February 1926	[14]
Tom Parker	England	FB	Arsenal	March 1926	[15]

The 1925–26 season started off poorly for Southampton, who lost their first four matches of the campaign and scored only two goals to find themselves at the bottom of the Second Division league table.[16] The run included a 3–1 home defeat to local rivals Portsmouth described by club historians as a "particularly bitter blow",[13] and a 4–0 loss at fellow mid-table side Hull City.[17] After picking up their first points with a win over Nottingham Forest and a draw at Derby County, Southampton appointed former half-back Arthur Chadwick as the club's new manager, after secretary George Goss and the board of directors had been temporarily managing the club following Jimmy McIntyre's departure the previous December.[13] The team's position in the league slowly began to improve as they picked up a few more points, including 4–1 wins over Darlington and Swansea Town, before another run of four losses leading up to Christmas left them 19th in the table, one point above the relegation zone with more games played than teams below.[17][18]

After being eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle, Southampton's fortunes in the league began to change. The club won four out of four games between 16 January and 10 February 1926, including a 2–1 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park and a 5–0 thrashing of fellow strugglers Bradford City at Valley Parade – their biggest win in the Second Division.[13][17] The Saints continued to pick up important wins throughout the final months of the season, allowing them to secure a mid-table finish with games remaining. Highlights included a 4–2 victory over promotion hopefuls Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 3–1 defeat of Oldham Athletic, who would finish seventh in the league.[17] The side remained in 14th place for the last five games of the season, where they finished with 15 wins, eight draws and 19 losses.[17] Club historians described Southampton's 1925–26 campaign as "a disappointing season", noting that it ended with "rumblings off the field" following the controversial transfers of Tom Parker and Fred Titmuss.[13]

List of match results

Blackpool v Southampton

29 August 1925 1	Blackpool	2–1	Southampton	Blackpool
			Dominy	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 18,000

Southampton v Hull City

31 August 1925 2	Southampton	0–2	Hull City	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,433

Southampton v Portsmouth

5 September 1925 3	Southampton	1–3	Portsmouth	Southampton
	Price		Parker  27' (o.g.) Beedie  30' Meerie	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,000 Referee: W. Musther

Hull City v Southampton

7 September 1925 4	Hull City	4–0	Southampton	Kingston upon Hull
				Stadium: Anlaby Road Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Nottingham Forest

12 September 1925 5	Southampton	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	Price			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,304

Derby County v Southampton

19 September 1925 6	Derby County	2–2	Southampton	Derby
			Rawlings	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 4,000

Southampton v Bradford City

26 September 1925 7	Southampton	1–2	Bradford City	Southampton
	Price			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,000

Darlington v Southampton

30 September 1925 8	Darlington	3–1	Southampton	Darlington
			Rawlings	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 4,838

Port Vale v Southampton

3 October 1925 9	Port Vale	1–1	Southampton	Hanley
			Rawlings	Stadium: Old Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Darlington

5 October 1925 10	Southampton	4–1	Darlington	Southampton
	Campbell Turner Rawlings Price			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,205

Southampton v Barnsley

10 October 1925 11	Southampton	0–0	Barnsley	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,000

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Southampton

17 October 1925 12	Wolverhampton Wanderers	4–1	Southampton	Wolverhampton
			Own goal	Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 20,000

Southampton v Swansea Town

24 October 1925 13	Southampton	4–1	Swansea Town	Southampton
	Rawlings Coundon Price			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,000

Preston North End v Southampton

31 October 1925 14	Preston North End	2–2	Southampton	Preston
			Turner Price	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Middlesbrough

7 November 1925 15	Southampton	3–1	Middlesbrough	Southampton
	Coundon Dominy Carr			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,000

Oldham Athletic v Southampton

14 November 1925 16	Oldham Athletic	1–0	Southampton	Oldham
				Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Stockport County

21 November 1925 17	Southampton	3–0	Stockport County	Southampton
	Coundon Dominy Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,000

Fulham v Southampton

28 November 1925 18	Fulham	1–1	Southampton	London
			Rawlings	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 25,000

Southampton v South Shields

5 December 1925 19	Southampton	0–1	South Shields	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,000

The Wednesday v Southampton

12 December 1925 20	The Wednesday	2–1	Southampton	Sheffield
			Rawlings	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 20,000

Southampton v Stoke City

19 December 1925 21	Southampton	1–2	Stoke City	Southampton
	Matthews			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Clapton Orient v Southampton

25 December 1925 22	Clapton Orient	2–1	Southampton	London
			Turner	Stadium: Clapton Stadium Attendance: 14,000

Southampton v Clapton Orient

26 December 1925 23	Southampton	2–0	Clapton Orient	Southampton
	Dominy Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,000

Southampton v Blackpool

2 January 1926 24	Southampton	2–2	Blackpool	Southampton
	Woodhouse Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 6,000

Portsmouth v Southampton

16 January 1926 25	Portsmouth	1–2	Southampton	Portsmouth
	Haines  20'		Matthews  5' Rawlings  60'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 12,000 Referee: W. Musther

Nottingham Forest v Southampton

23 January 1926 26	Nottingham Forest	1–2	Southampton	West Bridgford
			Dominy Matthews	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 8,000

Bradford City v Southampton

6 February 1926 27	Bradford City	0–5	Southampton	Bradford
			Rawlings Henderson Bullock Carr	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 14,000

Southampton v Derby County

10 February 1926 28	Southampton	2–1	Derby County	Southampton
	Bullock			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 6,000

Southampton v Port Vale

13 February 1926 29	Southampton	2–3	Port Vale	Southampton
	Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,000

Barnsley v Southampton

20 February 1926 30	Barnsley	2–0	Southampton	Barnsley
				Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 8,000

Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers

27 February 1926 31	Southampton	4–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Southampton
	Parker Henderson Rawlings Matthews			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

South Shields v Southampton

6 March 1926 32	South Shields	2–0	Southampton	South Shields
				Stadium: Horsley Hill Attendance: 4,000

Southampton v Preston North End

13 March 1926 33	Southampton	2–0	Preston North End	Southampton
	Rawlings Matthews			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 6,000

Middlesbrough v Southampton

20 March 1926 34	Middlesbrough	3–0	Southampton	Middlesbrough
				Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Oldham Athletic

27 March 1926 35	Southampton	3–1	Oldham Athletic	Southampton
	Keeping Dominy Carr			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 5,000

Swansea Town v Southampton

29 March 1926 36	Swansea Town	3–1	Southampton	Swansea
			Bullock	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 10,581

Chelsea v Southampton

2 April 1926 37	Chelsea	0–0	Southampton	London
				Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 40,000

Stockport County v Southampton

3 April 1926 38	Stockport County	1–2	Southampton	Stockport
			Woodhouse Henderson	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 7,000

Southampton v Chelsea

5 April 1926 39	Southampton	0–1	Chelsea	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,000

Southampton v Fulham

10 April 1926 40	Southampton	2–0	Fulham	Southampton
	Bradford Rawlings			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Southampton v The Wednesday

24 April 1926 41	Southampton	1–2	The Wednesday	Southampton
	Keeping			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Stoke City v Southampton

1 May 1926 42	Stoke City	1–1	Southampton	Stoke-on-Trent
			Carr	Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 8,000

The 1925–26 FA Cup was the first edition of the competition in which all First Division and Second Division clubs entered at the third round.[13] Southampton entered the tournament at home to Liverpool, who they were facing for the third consecutive year – they had lost in 1923–24,[20] and had won in 1924–25.[21] The hosts entered the game with regular starters Bert Shelley and Cliff Price unavailable due to injury, and during the match goalkeeper Tommy Allen suffered bruised ribs in a collision with defender Michael Keeping, forcing him to leave the field.[13] Half-back Arthur Bradford took over in goal, and the Saints held on for a goalless draw.[13] In the replay at Anfield four days later, Southampton succumbed to a 1–0 defeat by the top-flight side, with Dick Forshaw scoring the only goal of the game after 65 minutes.[13]

Liverpool v Southampton

13 January 1926 Round 3 Replay	Liverpool	1–0	Southampton	Liverpool
	Forshaw  65'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,902

Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played seven additional first-team matches during the 1925–26 season. The first was a friendly against local rivals Portsmouth at Fratton Park on 23 September 1925, a testimonial for former Pompey (and briefly Saints) full-back Jack Warner.[22] The visitors won the game 3–0, with Jimmy Bullock at centre-forward scoring all three goals – the first a "glorious shot" in the 36th minute, and the other two in the Southampton-dominated second half.[22] On 28 January 1926 the club faced amateur side Corinthian at The Dell,[23] drawing 3–3 with goals from Bill Rawlings (two) and Bill Henderson.[24] On 15 March they hosted Leicester City in a benefit match for Tommy Allen and Bert Shelley, beating the recently promoted First Division club 2–0 thanks to a brace from Frank Matthews.[24] In April the club played two more friendly matches, drawing 1–1 with Guildford United at Joseph's Road and losing 1–0 to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic at Dean Court.[24]

As in previous years, Southampton ended the 1925–26 season with two more matches against Portsmouth, competing for the Rowland Hospital Cup and the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. The first meeting, on 3 May 1926 for the former trophy, was a high-scoring affair ending in a 4–2 win for the visiting Pompey side. A George Harkus own goal opened the scoring, after he passed back to goalkeeper James Thitchener, who controlled the ball but was already over the goal line.[25] Michael Keeping equalised with a penalty after a handball by John McColgan, but by half-time it was 3–1 against the Saints following another own goal and a McColgan penalty.[25] In the second half, Jerry Mackie added a fourth for Pompey before Jimmy Bullock scored a second consolation goal for the hosts.[25] Two days later, the sides met again at Fratton Park for the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. The hosts were victorious again, in a similarly high-scoring game, as they thrashed Southampton 5–1.[26] The club were 3–0 up at half-time through goals from Goodwin and a Willie Haines brace, before Haines completed his hat-trick in the second half and Haywood scored a fifth.[26] Bill Rawlings scored the consolation goal for the travelling Southampton side.[26]

Portsmouth v Southampton

23 September 1925 Friendly	Portsmouth	0–3	Southampton	Portsmouth
			Bullock	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 6,000–7,000

Southampton v Corinthian

28 January 1926 Friendly	Southampton	3–3	Corinthian	Southampton
	Rawlings Henderson		Toppin Ashton Hartley	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 3,000

Southampton v Leicester City

15 March 1926 Friendly	Southampton	2–0	Leicester City	Southampton
	Frank Matthews			Stadium: The Dell

Guildford United v Southampton

14 April 1926 Friendly	Guildford United	1–1	Southampton	Guildford
			Dominy	Stadium: Joseph's Road

Southampton v Portsmouth

3 May 1926 Rowland Hospital Cup	Southampton	2–4	Portsmouth	Southampton
	Keeping  (pen.) Bullock		Harkus  (o.g.) Thitchener  (o.g.) McColgan  (pen.) Mackie	Stadium: The Dell

Portsmouth v Southampton

5 May 1926 Hampshire BC	Portsmouth	5–1	Southampton	Portsmouth
	Goodwin  5' Haines Haywood		Rawlings	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 3,000

Southampton used 29 different players during the 1925–26 season, 14 of whom scored during the campaign. The team played in a 2–3–5 formation throughout the campaign, using two full-backs, three half-backs, two outside forwards, two inside forwards and a centre-forward.[17] Left-half Stan Woodhouse made the most appearances during the season, playing in 37 of 42 league matches, both FA Cup matches and the Rowland Hospital Cup. Centre-forward Bill Rawlings missed seven league games, while outside-right Bill Henderson appeared in all but eight league games and the Rowland Hospital Cup.[17] Rawlings finished the season as the club's top scorer, with 20 goals in the league and one in the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. Inside-left Cliff Price scored seven goals in his 16 league appearances. Woodhouse was the top-scoring half-back of the season with two league goals, and Michael Keeping was the top-scoring full-back with two goals in the Second Division and one in the Rowland Hospital Cup.[17]

Squad statistics

Name	Pos.	Nat.	League		FA Cup		Other[lower-alpha 1]		Total
			Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.
Bill Adams	HB		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Tommy Allen	GK		24	0	1	0	1	0	26	0
Arthur Bradford	HB		22	1	2	0	0	0	24	1
Les Bruton	FW		2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Jimmy Bullock	FW		10	4	0	0	2	1	12	5
Alec Campbell	HB		19	1	2	0	0	0	21	1
Jimmy Carr	FW		34	4	2	0	0	0	36	4
Cuthbert Coundon	FW		8	3	0	0	0	0	8	3
Stan Cribb	FW		9	0	0	0	2	0	11	0
Arthur Dominy	FW		27	6	2	0	0	0	29	6
George Harkus	HB		28	0	2	0	2	0	32	0
Harris[lower-alpha 2]	FW		0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
Bill Henderson	FW		34	3	2	0	1	0	37	3
Len Hill	GK		10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
Ted Hough	FB		13	0	0	0	2	0	15	0
Michael Keeping	FB		31	2	2	0	2	1	35	3
Ernie King	HB		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Frank Matthews	FW		16	5	0	0	0	0	16	5
Sammy Meston	FW		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Cliff Price	FW		16	7	0	0	0	0	16	7
Bill Rawlings	FW		35	20	2	0	2	1	39	21
Bert Shelley	HB		21	0	0	0	2	0	23	0
Smith[lower-alpha 2]	FW		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
James Thitchener	GK		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Ernest Turner	FW		16	3	0	0	0	0	16	3
Stan Woodhouse	HB		37	2	2	0	1	0	40	2
Harry Yeomans	GK		8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
Tom Parker	FB		29	1	2	0	0	0	31	1
Fred Titmuss	FB		11	0	0	0	0	0	11	0

Notes

1. Includes the Rowland Hospital Cup and Hampshire Benevolent Cup matches.
2. Players named "Harris" and "Smith" are listed in the lineup for the Rowland Hospital Cup match, however no first names are given.[25]

• Cavallini, Rob (2007), Play Up Corinth: A History of the Corinthian Football Club, Stroud: Stadia, ISBN 978-0752444796
• 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