1930–31 Southampton F.C. season

The 1930–31 season was the 36th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's ninth in the Second Division of the Football League. After securing their place as a top-half side in the Second Division over the past two seasons, the Saints began to lose their footing on the league and dropped to ninth in the division. The club failed to win any of their first four games of the campaign, briefly struggling to stay above the two relegation places, but had soon made their way to the top half of the division where they remained for the rest of the season. The Saints were unable to challenge for promotion to the First Division, however, briefly reaching the top five but remaining a long way off the top two sides. Southampton finished the season in ninth place in the table with 19 wins, six draws and 17 losses.

Southampton F.C.
1930–31 season
ChairmanSloane Stanley
ManagerArthur Chadwick
(until 16 April 1931)
StadiumThe Dell
Second Division9th
FA CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Willie Haines (15)
All: Willie Haines (15)
Highest home attendance23,156 v Tottenham Hotspur
(26 December 1930)
Lowest home attendance8,785 v Charlton Athletic
(28 March 1931)
Average home league attendance12,371

In the 1930–31 FA Cup, Southampton travelled to face First Division side Sunderland in the third round in January. The top-flight hosts beat the Saints convincingly 2–0, with the Second Division side dropping out of the tournament after just one game for the fourth season in a row (the second time in their history they had done so). Prior to the start of the campaign, Southampton completed a pre-season tour of Denmark from May to June which included games against Odense BK, AGF Aarhus, Aalborg BK (all of which they won) and Horsens fS (which they lost). They played just one more friendly match during the season, a 3–3 draw with Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in March 1931. The club ended the season with two games against Portsmouth, for the Rowland Hospital Cup and the Hampshire Benevolent Cup.

Southampton used 36 different players during the 1930–31 season and had fifteen different goalscorers. Their top-scorer was centre-forward Willie Haines, who scored 15 goals in 21 appearances in the Second Division, all in the second half of the season. Johnny Arnold scored eight goals in the league, followed by Herbert Coates, Bill Fraser, Bert Jepson and Johnny McIlwaine, all on seven goals. Ten players were signed by the club during the campaign, with six released and sold to other clubs. The average attendance at The Dell during the 1930–31 season was 12,371. The highest attendance was 23,156 against Tottenham Hotspur on 26 December 1930. The lowest was 8,785 against Charlton Athletic on 28 March 1931. The season was the club's last to feature manager Arthur Chadwick, who left in April.

Background and transfers

After the conclusion of the 1929–30 season, outside-left Stan Cribb joined First Division side West Ham United, having lost his place in the team to Johnny Arnold.[1] Recently signed Scottish centre-half Alex Sharp also left the club, returning to his native country with Tranent Juniors.[2] George Harkus left later in the summer, briefly joining French side Olympique Lyonnais.[3] Southampton manager Arthur Chadwick brought in several players during the pre-season period. Most significant of the additions was Portsmouth captain Johnny McIlwaine, who signed in June for a club record fee of £2,650.[4] Around the same time, the club also signed outside-forward Peter Cowper from Third Division North side New Brighton and inside-forward Laurie Cumming from divisional rivals Oldham Athletic.[5][6] Billy Stage joined from Burnley in July.[7] Just before the season started, goalkeeper George Thompson and forward Bobby Weale also left the club – the former joined Dinnington Miners' Welfare,[8] while the latter signed for Cardiff City.[9]

Transfer activity continued throughout the 1930–31 season. In September, the club signed full-back Reg Thomas on amateur terms from Western League side Weymouth (he turned professional in December).[8] Horden Colliery Welfare centre-forward Arthur Haddleton signed the following month,[10] when Thomas Groves left after his contract was cancelled.[11] In November, amateur forward Sid Grover was signed from local Hampshire League side Romsey Town.[11] In the new year, several more players were signed by Southampton. Romsey Town inside-forward Fred Allan and Cowes Sports winger Chris Crossley signed on amateur terms in March,[12][6] and the following month goalkeeper Bill Soffe was brought in from Totton, another Hampshire League club.[13] Grover, Allan, Crossley and Soffe were all rushed into the first-team for the penultimate game of the season against Portsmouth in May, having only made appearances for the reserves thus far, after 15 Southampton players refused to sign new contracts.[14]

Players transferred in

Name Nationality Pos. Club Date Ref.
Peter Cowper  England FW New Brighton June 1930 [5]
Laurie Cumming  Ireland FW Oldham Athletic June 1930 [6]
Johnny McIlwaine  Scotland HB Portsmouth June 1930 [4]
Billy Stage  England FW Burnley July 1930 [7]
Reg Thomas  England FB Weymouth September 1930 [8]
Arthur Haddleton  England FW Horden Colliery Welfare October 1930 [10]
Sid Grover  England FW Romsey Town November 1930 [11]
Fred Allan  England FW Romsey Town March 1931 [12]
Chris Crossley  England FW Cowes March 1931 [6]
Bill Soffe  England GK Totton April 1931 [13]

Players transferred out

Name Nationality Pos. Club Date Ref.
Stan Cribb  England FW West Ham United May 1930 [1]
Alex Sharp  Scotland HB Tranent Juniors May 1930 [2]
George Harkus  England HB Olympique Lyonnais June 1930 [3]
George Thompson  England GK Dinnington Miners' Welfare August 1930 [8]
Bobby Weale  Wales FW Cardiff City August 1930 [9]
Thomas Groves  England FW none (retired) October 1930 [11]

Second Division

Southampton began the 1930–31 Second Division season on 30 August 1930 with a 5–0 loss at Preston North End,[15] which sent the club straight to the bottom of the league table.[16] Draws at home to Nottingham Forest and Burnley were followed by another away defeat against Oldham Athletic, leaving the Saints firmly in the battle against relegation.[15] The club's fortunes quickly turned around, however, as they embarked on an eight-match unbeaten run which included five wins to help them move up to the top seven of the table.[15][17] Much of the rest of the calendar year was spent alternating between winning and losing, during which time the team remained in the middle of the table. In November and December the club picked up wins over promotion hopefuls such as Tottenham Hotspur and Preston North End, while dropping points to strugglers like Cardiff City and Bristol City.[15] They remained in the top eight of the Second Division table by the end of December, still in with a chance of reaching promotion.[18]

The pattern of Southampton's season continued throughout the early months of 1931, as the team won against a host of lower-placed sides and lost against those in the higher level of the table.[15] After drawing 3–3 with Plymouth Argyle on 17 January, the Saints did not draw again for the rest of the season, contributing to a club record 27 games without sharing points which extended into the early stages of the following season.[19] After returning to the side in late December, centre-forward Willie Haines took over from Herbert Coates as the season's top scorer when he scored 15 goals in the last 20 games of the league, including three consecutive matches in which he scored twice in January.[15] With Southampton safe in the top half of the table, manager Arthur Chadwick departed from the club on 16 April 1931 and retired from management, following a 23-year career.[20] The club finished in seventh place with 19 wins, six draws and 17 losses, ten points behind West Bromwich Albion in the first promotion place.[15]

List of match results

30 August 1930 1 Preston North End 5–0 Southampton Preston
Stadium: Deepdale
Attendance: 10,000
1 September 1930 2 Southampton 0–0 Nottingham Forest Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 12,000
6 September 1930 3 Southampton 1–1 Burnley Southampton
Jepson Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 13,485
8 September 1930 4 Oldham Athletic 2–1 Southampton Oldham
Cumming Stadium: Boundary Park
Attendance: 13,689
13 September 1930 5 Plymouth Argyle 2–3 Southampton Plymouth
Cumming
Wilson
Stadium: Home Park
Attendance: 25,000
15 September 1930 6 Southampton 1–0 Oldham Athletic Southampton
Wilson Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 9,858
20 September 1930 7 Reading 1–1 Southampton Reading
Jepson Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 8,000
27 September 1930 8 Southampton 2–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Southampton
Fraser Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 13,552
4 October 1930 9 Bradford Park Avenue 1–1 Southampton Bradford
Coates Stadium: Park Avenue
Attendance: 10,000
11 October 1930 10 Southampton 2–1 Stoke City Southampton
Cumming
Coates
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 14,772
18 October 1930 11 Southampton 1–1 West Bromwich Albion Southampton
Fraser Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 16,931
25 October 1930 12 Swansea Town 0–1 Southampton Swansea
Fraser Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 10,000
1 November 1930 13 Southampton 0–1 Cardiff City Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 12,202
8 November 1930 14 Bristol City 2–1 Southampton Bristol
Jepson Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium
Attendance: 15,000
15 November 1930 15 Southampton 4–1 Bradford City Southampton
Fraser
Arnold
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 10,356
22 November 1930 16 Charlton Athletic 3–1 Southampton London
Stage Stadium: The Valley
Attendance: 5,000
29 November 1930 17 Southampton 4–0 Barnsley Southampton
McIlwaine
Jepson
Coates
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 11,751
6 December 1930 18 Port Vale 1–0 Southampton Hanley
Stadium: Old Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000
13 December 1930 19 Southampton 5–0 Bury Southampton
Coates
Arnold
McIlwaine
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 12,889
20 December 1930 20 Everton 2–1 Southampton Liverpool
Wilson Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 20,000
25 December 1930 21 Tottenham Hotspur 1–3 Southampton London
McIlwaine
Coates
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 37,000
26 December 1930 22 Southampton 0–3 Tottenham Hotspur Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 23,156
27 December 1930 23 Southampton 2–1 Preston North End Southampton
McIlwaine
Haines
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 11,707
3 January 1931 24 Burnley 3–2 Southampton Burnley
Haines Stadium: Turf Moor
Attendance: 10,000
17 January 1931 25 Southampton 3–3 Plymouth Argyle Southampton
Haines
Coates
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 14,013
24 January 1931 26 Southampton 3–2 Reading Southampton
Haines
Arnold
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 10,446
31 January 1931 27 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 Southampton Wolverhampton
Mackie
Arnold
Stadium: Molineux Stadium
Attendance: 9,000
7 February 1931 28 Southampton 2–3 Bradford Park Avenue Southampton
Mackie
Haines
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 11,212
14 February 1931 29 Stoke City 1–3 Southampton Stoke-on-Trent
Haines
Mackie
Stadium: Victoria Ground
Attendance: 10,000
21 February 1931 30 West Bromwich Albion 1–2 Southampton West Bromwich
Dougall
Own goal
Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 18,000
28 February 1931 31 Southampton 1–2 Swansea Town Southampton
Arnold Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 11,041
7 March 1931 32 Cardiff City 0–1 Southampton Cardiff
Jepson Stadium: Ninian Park
Attendance: 5,000
14 March 1931 33 Southampton 5–1 Bristol City Southampton
Mackie
Haines
Jepson
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 10,473
21 March 1931 34 Bradford City 4–3 Southampton Bradford
Dougall
Arnold
Stadium: Valley Parade
Attendance: 12,000
28 March 1931 35 Southampton 3–0 Charlton Athletic Southampton
Haines
Jepson
Own goal
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 8,785
3 April 1931 36 Millwall 1–0 Southampton London
Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 18,000
4 April 1931 37 Barnsley 3–1 Southampton Barnsley
Jepson Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 7,000
6 April 1931 38 Southampton 3–1 Millwall Southampton
Keeping
McIlwaine
Fraser
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 12,137
11 April 1931 39 Southampton 2–0 Port Vale Southampton
Haines
Dougall
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 9,487
18 April 1931 40 Bury 1–0 Southampton Bury
Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 15,000
25 April 1931 41 Southampton 2–1 Everton Southampton
Wilson Dean Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 9,553
2 May 1931 42 Nottingham Forest 3–1 Southampton West Bridgford
Haines Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 6,000

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
7 Preston North End 42 17 11 14 83 64 1.297 45
8 Burnley 42 17 11 14 81 77 1.052 45
9 Southampton 42 19 6 17 74 62 1.194 44
10 Bradford City 42 17 10 15 61 63 0.968 44
11 Stoke City 42 17 10 15 64 71 0.901 44
Source:

Results by matchday

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHAHAAHAHAHAAHHAHA
ResultLDDLWWDWDWDWLLWLWLWLWLWLDWLLWWLWWLWLLWWLWL
Position22151618169121098878101010101110118108101091011989877579771079
Source: 11v11.com[21]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Cup

Southampton entered the 1930–31 FA Cup in the third round, travelling north to face First Division side Sunderland on 10 January 1931 in the first competitive meeting between the two clubs.[20] Club historians described the hosts as "by far the better side", with the Saints going a goal down within ten minutes of the start of the game before being eliminated with a second goal later on.[20] The team were weak in both defence and attack, with the performances of Bert Shelley and Johnny McIlwaine (playing at centre-forward in place of Willie Haines, who was absent due to illness) singled out by club historians as particularly poor.[20]

10 January 1931 Round 3 Sunderland 2–0 Southampton Sunderland
Stadium: Roker Park
Attendance: 28,931

Other matches

Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played seven additional first-team matches during the 1930–31 season. Shortly after the previous season's Hampshire Benevolent Cup and Rowland Hospital Cup games against Portsmouth, the club conducted a close season tour of Denmark in which they played four matches against local Danish league teams. The Saints won three of these games, beating Odense BK 3–0 on 25 May, AGF Aarhus 4–0 on 29 May and Aalborg BK 3–1 on 1 June, before losing 4–3 to Horsens fS on 5 June.[22] The only other friendly match the club played during the season was against local Third Division South side Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic on 25 March 1931 at Dean Court. The game ended in a 3–3 draw, with Willie Haines scoring a hat-trick for the visiting Saints.[22]

Prior to the club's penultimate game of the season, at home to Portsmouth in the Hampshire Benevolent Cup, 15 Southampton players had turned down new contracts from the club and refused to play again. As a result, the club had to field a team including a number of reserves and former players who had agreed to step in as guests, including wing-half Len Butt, centre-forward Bill Rawlings and inside-forward Arthur Dominy.[14] Organised by Hampshire FA secretary G. J. Eden, the makeshift side lost 4–0 to Portsmouth at The Dell, with goals scored by Jack Weddle, Jimmy Easson and Septimus Rutherford (two).[14] The Rowland Hospital Cup game two days later featured a team consisting mainly of reserve players, with Fred Allan and Arthur Haddleton scoring for the Saints in the 2–2 draw at Fratton Park.[23]

25 May 1930 Friendly Odense BK 0–3 Southampton Odense
29 May 1930 Friendly AGF Aarhus 0–4 Southampton Aarhus
Stadium: Aarhus Idrætspark
1 June 1930 Friendly Aalborg BK 1–3 Southampton Aalborg
Stadium: Aalborg Stadium
5 June 1930 Friendly Horsens fS 4–3 Southampton Horsens
Fraser
Dougall
Jepson
Stadium: Forum Horsens Arena
25 March 1931 Friendly Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 3–3 Southampton Bournemouth
Haines Stadium: Dean Court
4 May 1931 Hampshire BC Southampton 0–4 Portsmouth Southampton
Weddle
Easson
Rutherford
Stadium: The Dell
6 May 1931 Rowland Hospital Cup Portsmouth 2–2 Southampton Portsmouth
Easson
Weddle
Allan
Haddleton
Stadium: Fratton Park
Attendance: 2,098
Referee: Arthur Kingscott

Player details

Southampton used 36 different players during the 1930–31 season, 15 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.[15] Arthur Bradford, Bert Jepson and Bill Adams made the most appearances for the club during the campaign, all playing in 40 games across all competitions. Left-back Michael Keeping played in 39 games, missing four league matches and the two end-of-season cup games.[15] Centre-forward Willie Haines finished as the season's top scorer with 15 goals in the Second Division, followed by Johnny Arnold on eight goals. Four players – Herbert Coates, Bill Fraser, Bert Jepson and Johnny McIlwaine – scored seven goals in the league.[15]

At the end of the season, 15 players offered new contracts by the club refused to sign the terms or play in the final games of the season against Portsmouth. For the Hampshire Benevolent Cup match, Hampshire FA secretary G. J. Eden arranged a "Hampshire County Team" to play against Pompey at The Dell, which included just three players with first-team appearances during the season.[14] Alongside Bill Adams, Arthur Haddleton and Coates were reserve team players Bill Soffe, Reg Thomas and Ernie Warren, as well as returning former players Len Butt, George Harkus, Bill Rawlings and Arthur Dominy, plus Cardiff City striker Frank Matson.[14] Soffe, Thomas and Warren also played in the Rowland Hospital Cup, alongside fellow reserves Fred Allan, Chris Crossley and Sid Grover.[23]

Squad statistics

Name Pos. Nat. League FA Cup Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
Apps. Gls. Apps. Gls. Apps. Gls. Apps. Gls.
Bill Adams HB 370 10 20 400
Fred Allan FW 00 00 11 11
Johnny Arnold FW 308 10 00 318
Arthur Bradford HB 390 10 00 400
Herbert Coates FW 167 10 20 197
Peter Cowper FW 40 00 00 40
Chris Crossley FW 00 00 10 10
Laurie Cumming FW 204 10 00 214
Peter Dougall FW 144 00 00 144
Bill Fraser FW 227 00 00 227
Sid Grover FW 00 00 10 10
Arthur Haddleton FW 10 00 21 31
Willie Haines FW 2115 00 00 2115
Ted Hough FB 30 00 00 30
Bert Jepson FW 397 10 00 407
Michael Keeping FB 381 10 00 391
Bill Luckett HB 210 00 00 210
Jerry Mackie FW 145 00 00 145
Johnny McIlwaine HB 267 10 00 277
Arthur Roberts FB 40 00 00 40
Bert Scriven GK 290 00 00 290
Bert Shelley HB 230 10 10 250
Bill Soffe GK 00 00 20 20
Billy Stage FW 41 00 00 41
Bill Stoddart HB 00 00 10 10
Reg Thomas FB 00 00 20 20
Ernie Warren FW 00 00 20 20
Reg Watson FW 51 00 00 51
Willie White GK 130 10 00 140
Arthur Wilson HB 135 00 00 135
Stan Woodhouse HB 260 10 00 270
Players who appeared for the club as guests
Len Butt HB 00 00 10 10
Arthur Dominy FW 00 00 10 10
George Harkus HB 00 00 10 10
Frank Matson FW 00 00 10 10
Bill Rawlings FW 00 00 10 10

Notes

  1. Includes the Rowland Hospital Cup and Hampshire Benevolent Cup matches.

Most appearances

Rank Name Pos. League FA Cup Other Total
Apps. % Apps. % Apps. % Apps. %
1 Arthur Bradford HB 3992.86 1100.00 00.00 4088.89
Bert Jepson FW 3992.86 1100.00 00.00 4088.89
Bill Adams HB 3788.10 1100.00 2100.00 4088.89
4 Michael Keeping FB 3890.48 1100.00 00.00 3986.67
5 Johnny Arnold FW 3071.43 1100.00 00.00 3168.89
6 Bert Scriven GK 2969.05 00.00 00.00 2964.44
7 Johnny McIlwaine HB 2661.90 1100.00 00.00 2760.00
Stan Woodhouse HB 2661.90 1100.00 00.00 2760.00
9 Bert Shelley HB 2354.76 1100.00 150.00 2555.56
10 Bill Fraser FW 2252.38 00.00 00.00 2248.89

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Pos. League FA Cup Other Total
Gls. GPG Gls. GPG Gls. GPG Gls. GPG
1 Willie Haines FW 150.71 00.00 00.00 150.71
2 Johnny Arnold FW 80.26 00.00 00.00 80.25
3 Herbert Coates FW 70.43 00.00 00.00 70.36
Bill Fraser FW 70.31 00.00 00.00 70.31
Johnny McIlwaine HB 70.26 00.00 00.00 70.25
Bert Jepson FW 70.17 00.00 00.00 70.17
7 Arthur Wilson HB 50.38 00.00 00.00 50.38
Jerry Mackie FW 50.35 00.00 00.00 50.35
9 Peter Dougall FW 40.28 00.00 00.00 40.28
Laurie Cumming FW 40.20 00.00 00.00 40.19

References

  • 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

Footnotes

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