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1904–05 Small Heath F.C. season


FieldValue
clubSmall Heath F.C.
season1904–05
managerAlf Jones
mgrtitleSecretary-manager
chairmanWalter W. Hart
stdtitleGround
stadiumCoventry Road
leagueFootball League First Division
league result7th
cup1FA Cup
cup1 resultFirst round (eliminated by Portsmouth)
cup2Birmingham Senior Cup
cup2 resultWinner
league topscorerBilly Jones (16)
season topscorerBilly Jones (16)
highest attendance32,000 vs Aston Villa, 25 February 1905
lowest attendance8,000 vs Nottingham Forest, 11 March 1905
average attendance14,647
pattern_la1pattern_b1=_collar_buttons_2pattern_ra1=pattern_sh1=pattern_so1=pattern_name1=Team
leftarm1000099body1=000099rightarm1=000099shorts1=FFFFFFsocks1=000000
prevseason1903–04
nextseason1905–06

The 1904–05 Football League season was Small Heath Football Club's 13th in the Football League and their 5th in the First Division. In third position in the 18-team league, only one point behind the leaders, with eight matches remaining, they gained only four points from the sixteen available, and finished seventh. They also took part in the 1904–05 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper and losing to Portsmouth in that round. In locally organised competition, they won the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time, defeating West Bromwich Albion by seven goals to two. After this season, the club entered a primarily reserve team for this competition, which had previously not been permitted.

Nineteen players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were nine different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Nat Robinson, full-back Frank Stokes and forward Benny Green were all ever-present over the 35-match season. Billy Jones was leading scorer with 16 goals, all of which came in the league.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting held in March 1905, it was proposed that, Small Heath being the only major football club in the city since Birmingham St George's had folded in 1892, the club should be renamed Birmingham City F.C. The shareholders were not in favour, though they were prepared to go as far as plain Birmingham Football Club instead. Even this was a step too far for some; one reporter referred to "the Small Heath club now masquerading as Birmingham".

Events surrounding the February 1905 match with Aston Villa highlighted the Coventry Road ground's inadequacies. The official attendance was given as 28,000, though with the gates closed before kick-off, thousands scaled walls or forced entrances in order to gain admission, and the actual attendance was estimated at anything up to 35,000. The Birmingham Daily Mail reported "a constant stream of vehicles to the ground, while the trams were disgorging their freights at Muntz Street every two or three minutes." The club's landlords would neither sell the freehold of the ground nor allow its expansion, so the directors began planning to move to a new home.

Football League First Division

Main article: 1904–05 Football League

DateLeague
positionOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–AScorersAttendance3 September 190410 September 190417 September 190424 September 19041 October 19048 October 190415 October 190422 October 190429 October 19045 November 190412 November 190419 November 190426 November 19043 December 190410 December 190417 December 190426 December 190431 December 19042 January 19057 January 190514 January 190521 January 190528 January 190511 February 190525 February 19054 March 190511 March 190518 March 190525 March 19051 April 19058 April 190515 April 190522 April 190529 April 1905
12thManchester CityAL1–2Green pen24,000
17thNotts CountyHL1–2Beer pen15,000
17thSheffield UnitedAL1–2Beer pen14,000
16thNewcastle UnitedHW2–1W.H. Jones 213,000
17thPreston North EndAD2–2Wilcox, McRoberts10,000
14thMiddlesbroughHW2–1Field, Beer pen10,000
11thWolverhampton WanderersAW1–0Wilcox8,000
8thBuryHW5–0Wilcox, Field, Green 2, McRoberts15,000
11thAston VillaAL1–2Wilcox40,000
8thBlackburn RoversHW2–0Wigmore, Green15,000
8thNottingham ForestAW2–0McRoberts, W.H. Jones8,000
4thSheffield WednesdayHW2–1W.H. Jones, Green15,000
4thSunderlandAW4–1Wilcox, W.H. Jones 2, Green12,000
2ndWoolwich ArsenalHW2–1Dougherty, W.H. Jones12,000
5thDerby CountyAL0–36,000
7thEvertonHL1–2W.H. Jones18,000
5thMiddlesbroughAW1–0McRoberts10,000
5thManchester CityHW3–1W.H. Jones 2, Wilcox15,000
5thBuryAD1–1Green9,000
5thNotts CountyAD0–08,000
5thSheffield UnitedHW2–0W.H. Jones, Wilcox12,000
5thNewcastle UnitedAW1–0Tickle24,000
3rdPreston North EndHW2–0Wilcox 215,000
2ndWolverhampton WanderersHW4–1Wilcox 3, Green15,000
4thAston VillaHL0–332,000
3rdBlackburn RoversAW4–1W.H. Jones 2 (1 pen), Field, Beer5,000
4thNottingham ForestHL1–2Field8,000
5thSheffield WednesdayAL1–3Green12,000
5thSunderlandHD1–1W.H. Jones12,000
5thWoolwich ArsenalAD1–1W.H. Jones18,000
5thDerby CountyHW2–0Green, W.H. Jones12,000
5thEvertonAL1–2Hartwell20,000
5thStokeHL0–115,000
7thStokeAL0–12,000

League table (part)

PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts5th6th7th8th9thKeySource
Sunderland341681060441.3640
Sheffield United341921364561.1440
Small Heath341751259381.4239
Preston North End3413101152471.1436
Sheffield Wednesday341451561571.0733
Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

FA Cup

Main article: 1904–05 FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–AScorersAttendanceFirst round
4 February 1905PortsmouthHL0–225,000

Appearances and goals

: This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matchesthe Football League and FA Cuponly. : For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).

NamePositionLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Goalkeeper34010350
Full back24010250
Full back15100151
Full back34010350
Half back31400314
Half back001010
Half back25110261
Half back13000130
Half back100010
Half back28110291
Forward500000
Forward30400304
Forward3410103510
Forward100010
Forward3016103116
Forward201030
Forward14400144
Forward16110171
Forward2712102812
Forward10000100

References

General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). .
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). .
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1904–1905: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 254–55. Note that attendance figures are estimated.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

References

  1. [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Lib-Aston%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092571541&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FInlineWrapper "History Of Aston – early period"]. Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  2. Matthews (1995), ''Complete Record'', p. 12.
  3. This Day's Matches. ''Birmingham Daily Mail''. 25 February 1905. p. 4.
  4. Matthews (1995), ''Complete Record''. p. 57.
  5. Inglis, Simon (1996). ''Football Grounds of Britain'' (3rd ed.) London: CollinsWillow. p. 44. {{ISBN. 0-00-218426-5.
  6. Inside, "the swaying of the mass of spectators rendered the placing of additional supports against the barriers a necessary precaution", and children were passed overhead and placed on the pitch for their own safety. The following Monday the same newspaper commented that had space been available, another ten or fifteen thousand spectators might well have attended, as "hundreds of people found the doors closed against them, and probably there were thousands who would not go to the ground in view of the inevitable crush."'Linesman' (27 February 1905). Football Notes. ''Birmingham Daily Mail''. p. 4.
  7. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1904-1905/table "Birmingham City 1904–1905: English Division One (old) Table"] {{Webarchive. link. (4 March 2016 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 22 May 2012.)
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