1911–12 New Brompton F.C. season
| 1911–12 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Edward Crawley[1] | |
| Southern League Division One | 18th | |
| FA Cup | Fourth qualifying round | |
| Top goalscorer | League: Fred Corbett, Abel Lee, Jock Taylor (6 each) All: Fred Corbett, Abel Lee, Jock Taylor (6 each) | |
| Highest home attendance | 7,000 vs Norwich City (6 April 1912) | |
| Lowest home attendance | 1,500 vs Exeter City (6 January 1912) | |
|
| ||
During the 1911–12 English football season, New Brompton F.C. competed in the Southern League Division One. It was the 18th season in which the club competed in the Southern League and the 17th in Division One. The team lost their second game of the season 8–1 and their results continued to be poor in the first half of the season; from the start of October until the end of December they won only once in 14 matches and scored only four goals. At the end of 1911, New Brompton were in 19th place out of 20 teams in the league table.
At the end of the season, the club changed its name to Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham also competed in the FA Cup, losing in the fourth qualifying round. The team played 39 competitive matches, winning 11, drawing 9, and losing 19. Fred Corbett, Abel Lee, and Jock Taylor were the joint highest goalscorers, with six goals each. Jack Mahon made the most appearances, playing in every game.
Background and pre-season
[edit]New Brompton, founded in 1893,[2] had played in the Southern League since the competition's formation in 1894.[3] At the time, only a small number of teams from the south of England had been elected into the ostensibly national Football League, with many of the south's leading teams playing in the Southern League.[4] The 1911–12 season was the club's 17th season in Division One, the league's top division, following promotion from Division Two at the first attempt in 1895. As was often the case in the early 20th century, the club did not employ a full-time team manager; most tasks associated with a modern manager, such as the signing of new players, were among the responsibilities of the club's secretary, William Ironside Groombridge.[5] J. Craddock was newly appointed to the position of team trainer.[1]
A number of players who had been regulars during the previous season left the club, and constraints caused by a significant financial loss over the course of the previous twelve months made it hard to recruit good-quality replacements.[1] New Brompton signed two new half-backs, Abel Lee and Tom Kelly, both of whom had previously played for Grimsby Town.[1] Forwards joining the club included Dick Goffin from Clapton Orient and Edward Whiteside, formerly of Norwich City.[1] No new goalkeepers were signed, but it was anticipated that Albert Bailey, the goalkeeper for the club's reserve team during the previous season, would step up to the first team in place of Thomas Holmes, one of the departing players.[1] The team wore New Brompton's usual black and white kit.[6]
Southern League Division One
[edit]September–December
[edit]
The club's first match of the season was on 2 September at their own ground, Priestfield Road, against Luton Town;[7] Kelly, Goffin, and Whiteside all made their debuts.[8] Whiteside had several shots on goal for New Brompton but the match finished 0–0.[7] New Brompton's first away game of the season came a week later against Exeter City.[8] Exeter scored five goals in the first half and, although Whiteside scored New Brompton's first goal of the season after the interval, the final result was an 8–1 victory for Exeter. It was New Brompton's heaviest defeat since the opening day of the 1907–08 season.[9] The Athletic News reported that New Brompton "were a very plucky side and never gave up trying", although the writer was critical of the performance of almost all their players.
On 11 November, the former Bristol Rovers forward Fred Corbett made his debut for New Brompton against Stoke. Although the Athletic News reported that he "did nothing out of the ordinary",[10] he was a regular in the team for the rest of the season.[8] After Stoke had taken the lead, Albert Court scored for New Brompton, only the third goal they had scored in the last eight games, to secure a draw.[10] Stoke thought they had scored a winning goal late on but it was disallowed because a player had handled the ball.[10] New Brompton's final match of November was a 2–0 defeat at home to Leyton.
On Christmas Day, a goal from Lee gave New Brompton a 1–0 win over Reading, their first victory for more than three months.
At the end of 1911, New Brompton were in 19th place in the Division One league table, above only Leyton.
January–April
[edit]
New Brompton's first game of 1912 was at home to Exeter City.[8]
Beginning on 30 March, New Brompton won four consecutive games; having scored only once in 14 previous games since joining the club, Corbett scored five goals in the four matches.[8]
New Brompton's final game of the season was away to Plymouth Argyle.[8]
League match details
[edit]- Key
|
|
- Results[8]
| Date | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 1911 | Luton Town (H) | 0–0 | 5,000 | |
| 9 September 1911 | Exeter City (A) | 1–8 | Whiteside | 7,000 |
| 16 September 1911 | Brentford (H) | 2–1 | Lee (pen.), Goffin | 5,000 |
| 23 September 1911 | Queens Park Rangers (A) | 0–3 | 12,000 | |
| 30 September 1911 | Millwall (H) | 1–3 | Whiteside | 4,000 |
| 7 October 1911 | West Ham United (A) | 0–0 | 6,000 | |
| 14 October 1911 | Bristol Rovers (H) | 0–0 | 4,000 | |
| 21 October 1911 | Swindon Town (A) | 0–5 | not recorded | |
| 28 October 1911 | Northampton Town (H) | 1–3 | Taylor | 5,000 |
| 4 November 1911 | Brighton & Hove Albion (A) | 0–7 | 6,000 | |
| 11 November 1911 | Stoke (H) | 1–1 | Court | 5,000 |
| 25 November 1911 | Leyton (H) | 0–2 | 3,000 | |
| 2 December 1911 | Norwich City (A) | 0–1 | 5,000 | |
| 9 December 1911 | Crystal Palace (H) | 1–1 | Corbett | 5,000 |
| 16 December 1911 | Southampton (A) | 0–3 | not recorded | |
| 23 December 1911 | Plymouth Argyle (H) | 0–1 | 4,000 | |
| 25 December 1911 | Reading (H) | 1–0 | Lee | 5,000 |
| 26 December 1911 | Reading (A) | 0–2 | 3,000 | |
| 30 December 1911 | Luton Town (A) | 0–3 | 6,000 | |
| 6 January 1912 | Exeter City (H) | 4–1 | Court (2), John, Taylor | 1,500 |
| 20 January 1912 | Brentford (A) | 1–7 | Goffin | 3,000 |
| 27 January 1912 | Queens Park Rangers (H) | 1–2 | Lee (pen.) | 4,000 |
| 3 February 1912 | Millwall (A) | 1–1 | Taylor | 10,000 |
| 10 February 1912 | West Ham United (H) | 0–3 | 5,000 | |
| 17 February 1912 | Bristol Rovers (A) | 1–0 | Lee | 3,000 |
| 24 February 1912 | Coventry City (A) | 2–3 | Goffin, John | 5,000 |
| 2 March 1912 | Northampton Town (A) | 2–1 | Taylor, John | 4,000 |
| 9 March 1912 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 0–0 | 5,000 | |
| 16 March 1912 | Stoke (A) | 0–2 | 5,000 | |
| 23 March 1912 | Coventry City (H) | 3–3 | Goffin, Lee, Mahon | 2,000 |
| 30 March 1912 | Leyton (A) | 2–0 | Johnson, Corbett | 3,000 |
| 5 April 1912 | Watford (H) | 1–0 | Corbett | 5,000 |
| 6 April 1912 | Norwich City (H) | 3–1 | Corbett (2), Taylor | 7,000 |
| 8 April 1912 | Watford (A) | 1–0 | Corbett | 7,000 |
| 13 April 1912 | Crystal Palace (A) | 1–1 | Whiteside | 7,000 |
| 17 April 1912 | Swindon Town (H) | 3–1 | Whiteside, Taylor, Goffin | 5,000 |
| 20 April 1912 | Southampton (H) | 1–0 | Lee | 6,000 |
| 27 April 1912 | Plymouth Argyle (A) | 0–2 | 9,000 |
Partial league table
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 41 | 62 | 0.661 | 31 | |
| 18 | New Brompton | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 35 | 72 | 0.486 | 31 | |
| 19 | Luton Town | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 49 | 61 | 0.803 | 28 | Relegated |
| 20 | Leyton | 38 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 27 | 62 | 0.435 | 25 | Resigned from the league |
FA Cup
[edit]As a Southern League Division One team, Gillingham entered the 1911–12 FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage; their opponents were Croydon Common of the Southern League Division Two. New Brompton took a 2–0 lead but the referee abandoned the game due to heavy rainfall.[11] The game was replayed four days later.
Cup match details
[edit]
|
|
- Results[8]
| Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 November 1911 | Fourth qualifying | Croydon Common (H) | 2–0 (abandoned) | not recorded | not recorded |
| 22 November 1911 | Fourth qualifying | Croydon Common (H) | 1–2 | Church | not recorded |
Players
[edit]
During the season, 23 players made at least one appearance for New Brompton. Jack Mahon made the most, playing in every game. Andrew Mosley was absent for only one game, and Bailey, Lee, and Taylor missed only two matches. At the other end of the scale, Charlie Frost and C. Gudgeon played only once; in Gudgeon's case it was the only appearance he made for New Brompton. Lee, Taylor, and Fred Corbett were joint top goalscorer with six goals each.[8] This was the lowest figure with which a player had ended the season as New Brompton's top scorer since the 1905–06 season.[12]
| Player | Position | Southern League Division One |
FA Cup[a] | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Albert Bailey | GK | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| A. Bell | GK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| A. Church | FW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Fred Corbett | FW | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 6 |
| Albert Court | FW | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 3 |
| E. Diddams | HB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Charlie Frost | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dick Goffin | FW | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 |
| C. Gudgeon | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| John Hawkes | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Cornelius John | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | |
| Arthur Johnson | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| Tom Kelly | HB | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Abel Lee | HB | 36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 6 |
| Jack Mahon | HB | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| George Massey | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Andrew Mosley | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| Alfred Nobbs | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Tom Strang | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Jock Taylor | 36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 6 | |
| Sidney Weavers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Enoch Westwood | FW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Edward Whiteside | FW | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back
a. ^ The abandoned first match against Croydon Common is not included.
Aftermath
[edit]On 6 June, New Brompton's board of directors took the decision to change the club's name to Gillingham Football Club to reflect the fact that in the decades since the club's formation the previously small settlement of Gillingham had outgrown and absorbed New Brompton. The name change would not be formally approved by the shareholders until the following summer; nonetheless the team played under the new name in the 1912–13 season.[13] Along with the new name, the club adopted a new kit featuring red shirts with blue sleeves, replacing the previous black and white stripes, and for the first time added the coat of arms of the borough to the shirts.[6] Although the team's performance in the first season under the new name improved, they still finished in the bottom half of the league table and would continue to do so each season until competitive football was abandoned in 1915 due to the First World War.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "New Brompton". Athletic News. 21 August 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Mitchell, Reeves & Tyler 2013, p. 140.
- ^ Blakeman & Robinson 2014, p. 4.
- ^ Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 177.
- ^ Elligate 2009, p. 117.
- ^ a b Triggs 1999, p. 24.
- ^ a b "New Brompton 0, Luton 0". The People. 3 September 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Brown 2003, p. 29.
- ^ Brown 2003, pp. 25–29.
- ^ a b c "Nearing victory at New Brompton". Athletic News. 13 November 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 25 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Other matches in brief". The Guardian Journal. 20 November 1911. p. 11. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Brown 2003, pp. 23–29.
- ^ Elligate 2009, p. 102.
Works cited
[edit]- Blakeman, Mick; Robinson, Michael (2014). Non-League Football Tables 1889–2014. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-86223-299-0.
- Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-8994-6820-1.
- Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
- Mitchell, Colin; Reeves, Jon; Tyler, Daniel (2013). The History of English Football Clubs. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78009-449-6.
- Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. CollinsWillow. ISBN 978-0-0021-8049-8.
- Triggs, Roger (1999). Images of England: Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-75241-567-3.