1914–15 Watford F.C. season

Watford
1914–15 season
Stadium Cassio Road
Southern League First Division 1st
FA Cup Sixth qualifying round (eliminated by Rochdale)
Southern Charity Cup First round (eliminated by Luton Town)
Top goalscorer League: George Edmonds (17)
All: George Edmonds (17)
Highest home attendance 8,000 (vs Luton Town, 2 April 1915)
Lowest home attendance 1,000 (vs Southend United, 3 February 1915)
Home colours
← 1913–14

Watford Football Club are an association football team from the county of Hertfordshire, England. The 191415 season was their nineteenth season of league football, since joining the Southern League as West Hertfordshire for the 189697 season. Watford finished the season as champions of the Southern League First Division, winning 22 and drawing 8 of their 38 league matches.[1] In other competitions, Watford were eliminated from the FA Cup in the sixth qualifying round by Rochdale, and from the Southern Charity Cup by fellow Southern League team Luton Town. The club's manager was Harry Kent, and its top scorer George Edmonds, with 17 goals from 35 appearances.[2] Other notable players included Skilly Williams, who began what would be a 13-year period as the club's first choice goalkeeper,[3] and Fred Gregory, whose goal against Gillingham sealed the title for Watford.[4] Gregory and Williams were also the only two men to play in all 40 of Watford's games.[2]

As a result of the suspension of league football due to the First World War, Watford were the reigning champions for the next five years, until they were beaten to the 191920 title on goal average by Portsmouth.[5]

Background

Although he had managed Watford since the departure of John Goodall in 1910, Harry Kent made two final competitive appearances in December 1913, before retiring completely as a player.[6][7] Watford lost both matches, and off the pitch Kent had an equally difficult season. Watford finished in 18th position in the Southern League First Division, and only managed to avoid relegation on the final day of the season with a 20 win over QPR. Despite a 100 thrashing of Bournemouth in their opening FA Cup match, they were defeated by Gillingham in the following round.[7][8] Furthermore, financial difficulties forced Kent to offload several key players at the end of the season. Top scorer Thomas Ashbridge and full back Harry Pantling were sold to Sheffield United for £500 each,[9] while first choice goalkeeper Joe Webster transferred to West Ham United for £300.[10] Other former first team regulars to leave the club before the start of 191415 included David Donald, Billy Dryden and Tommy Mitchell.[6]

Southern League

Despite Britain's declaration of war in August 1914, the Southern League continued as normal for the 191415 season. Watford started their campaign on 2 September with a 21 win against Cardiff F.C. They continued their strong start to the season with a run of 6 wins and 3 defeats from the opening 9 fixtures, including a 30 home win against 191314 champions Swindon Town. However, the following two fixtures yielded consecutive league defeats to Reading and Southampton, and Watford's remaining 8 games of 1914 provided only two further wins.[11]

The new year brought a dramatic change in fortunes for Watford's season. Watford won 10 and drew 2 of their first 12 games of 1915, with George Edmonds, Peter Ronald and injured Charlie White's replacement Arthur Green all scoring freely.[2] A win and a defeat against Luton Town, a 20 defeat to West Ham United and a heavy 60 loss at Swindon enabled Reading and Cardiff to close in on Watford's points tally and goal average. But Watford secured the title in their penultimate match, with Fred Gregory scoring the decisive goal in a 32 win at Gillingham.[2]

Results

Legend

      Win       Draw       Loss

[11]

2 September 1914 Watford 21 Cardiff City Cassio Road  
Ronald
White
Attendance: 1,500
5 September 1914 Portsmouth 23 Watford Fratton Park  

Edmonds
Ronald
White
Attendance: 7,000
12 September 1914 Watford 30 Swindon Town Cassio Road  
Edmonds
White
own goal
Attendance: 3,000
16 September 1914 Watford 00 Brighton & Hove Albion Cassio Road  
Attendance: 1,500
19 September 1914 Southend United 00 Watford Kursaal  
Attendance: 4,000
26 September 1914 Watford 22 QPR Cassio Road  
Edmonds
Hastings

Attendance: 5,000
3 October 1914 Millwall 03 Watford The Den  
Tattersall Attendance: 15,000
10 October 1914 Watford 20 Bristol Rovers Cassio Road  
Val Gregory
Ronald
Attendance: 3,000
17 October 1914 Croydon Common 01 Watford Croydon Common Athletic Ground  
Edmonds Attendance: 6,000
24 October 1914 Watford 01 Reading Cassio Road  
Attendance: 5,000
31 October 1914 Southampton 31 Watford The Dell  


Hastings
First round 4 November 1914 Luton Town 20 Watford Kenilworth Road  

7 November 1914 Watford 00 Northampton Town Cassio Road  
Attendance: 6,000
14 November 1914 Watford 10 Crystal Palace Cassio Road  
Hastings
21 November 1914 Plymouth Argyle 11 Watford Home Park  
own goal
28 November 1914 Watford 01 West Ham United Cassio Road  
5 December 1914 Norwich City 20 Watford The Nest (football ground)  

Attendance: 3,000
12 December 1914 Watford 40 Gillingham Cassio Road  
McLauchlan
Waterall
Attendance: 2,500
Sixth qualifying round 19 December 1914 Rochdale 20 Watford Spotlands  

Attendance: 4,000
25 December 1914 Watford 11 Exeter City Cassio Road  
McLauchlan Attendance: 2,000
26 December 1914 Exeter City 41 Watford St James Park  



Hastings Attendance: 6,000
1 January 1915 Cardiff City 23 Watford Ninian Park  

Edmonds
Green
Tattersall
Attendance: 1,900
2 January 1915 Watford 21 Portsmouth Cassio Road  
Edmonds Attendance: 3,000
23 January 1915 Reading 11 Watford Elm Park  
White
3 February 1915 Watford 21 Southend United Cassio Road  
Ronald
own goal
Attendance: 1,000
13 February 1915 Bristol Rovers 23 Watford Eastville Stadium  

Edmonds
Green
Attendance: 1,000
20 February 1915 Watford 30 Croydon Common Cassio Road  
Hastings
Ronald
Attendance: 3,000
27 February 1915 Watford 40 Millwall Cassio Road  
Edmonds
Green
Hastings
Ronald
Attendance: 3,000
6 March 1915 Watford 52 Southampton Cassio Road  
Green
Hastings
Kennedy
Ronald
Tattersall

13 March 1915 Northampton Town 11 Watford Eastville Stadium  
Val Gregory Attendance: 10,000
18 March 1915 QPR 25 Watford Loftus Road  

Edmonds
Green
Val Gregory
Tattersall
Attendance: 5,000
20 March 1915 Crystal Palace 01 Watford The Crystal Palace  
Tattersall
27 March 1915 Watford 20 Plymouth Argyle Cassio Road  
Edmonds
Tattersall
Attendance: 3,000
2 April 1915 Watford 24 Luton Town Cassio Road  
Kennedy
Ronald



Attendance: 8,000
3 April 1915 West Ham United 20 Watford Boleyn Ground  

Attendance: 10,000
5 April 1915 Luton Town 02 Watford Kenilworth Road  
Edmonds
Fred Gregory
Attendance: 7,000
6 April 1915 Swindon Town 60 Watford County Ground  





Attendance: 1,000
10 April 1915 Watford 21 Norwich City Cassio Road  
Edmonds
Kennedy
17 April 1915 Gillingham 23 Watford Priestfield Stadium  

Edmonds
Green
Fred Gregory
24 April 1915 Brighton & Hove Albion 12 Watford Goldstone Ground  
Edmonds
Green
Attendance: 3,000

Final standings

Two points were awarded for a win, one point for draws, and none for defeats.[12] Due to the war, no clubs were relegated at the end of the season, although Croydon Common ceased trading before the start of the 191920 season.[11]

P: Games played

W: Games won

D: Games drawn

L: Games lost

F: Goals for

A: Goals against

GA: Goal average

Pts: Points

Goalkeeper Skilly Williams played in every competitive game.
Team P WDLFAGAPts
1Watford38228868461.47852
2Reading382171068431.58149
3Cardiff City382241272381.89548
4West Ham United381891158471.234 45
5Northampton Town3816111156511.098 43
6Southampton381951478741.054 43
7Portsmouth3816101254421.286 42
8Millwall London3816101250510.98 42
9Swindon Town3815111277591.305 41
10Brighton & Hove Albion381671546470.979 39
11Exeter City381581550411.22 38
12QPR3813121355560.982 38
13Norwich City3811141353560.946 36
14Luton Town381381761730.836 34
15Crystal Palace London381381747610.77 34
16Bristol Rovers381432153750.707 31
17Plymouth Argyle388141651610.83630
18Southend United381082044640.68828
19Croydon Common38992047630.74627
20Gillingham38682443830.51820

Players

Statistics

Key

P: Games played

G: Goals scored

A depiction of the 2–3–5 formation used by Watford for the majority of the season. Wingers were then more commonly referred to as outside forwards; the wide and central half backs were known as wing halves and centre halves respectively.
Name Position P G P G P G
League Cups Total
Barnshaw, BobBob Barnshaw Centre half 11000110
Bulling, HaroldHarold Bulling Full back 35020370
Edmonds, GeorgeGeorge Edmonds Centre forward 3517103617
Green, AlbertAlbert Green Inside forward 23800238
Gregory, FredFred Gregory Full back / Wing half 38220402
Gregory, ValVal Gregory Wing half 32310333
Grimsdell, ErnieErnie Grimsdell Full back 100010
Hastings, WilliamWilliam Hastings Outside forward 34620366
Hatton, SamSam Hatton Full back 001010
Kennedy, JimJim Kennedy Centre half 32320343
McGuire, JamesJames McGuire Outside forward 300030
McLauchlan, JoeJoe McLauchlan Centre forward 632083
McMorran, F.A.F.A. McMorran Wing half 601070
Ronald, PeterPeter Ronald Inside forward 35910369
Stewart, AlexAlex Stewart Full back 37010380
Waterall, TommyTommy Waterall Outside forward 3310203510
White, CharlieCharlie White Inside forward 19420214
Williams, SkillySkilly Williams Goalkeeper 38020400

References

General
Specific
  1. Richard Rundle. "Watford". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Watford Season by Season p. 61
  3. Illustrated Who's Who p. 243
  4. Illustrated Who's Who p. 101
  5. Watford Season by Season p. 62
  6. 6.0 6.1 Watford Season by Season p. 59
  7. 7.0 7.1 Illustrated Who's Who p. 267
  8. Watford Season by Season p. 58
  9. Illustrated Who's Who p. 26, 181
  10. Illustrated Who's Who p. 237
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Watford Season by Season p. 60
  12. Dinant Abbink; Richard Rundle (24 July 2005). "England: Southern League final tables". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 July 2010.

External links