New Brighton Tower (football club)

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New Brighton Tower
Template: Infobox Football Club / Maintenance / No picture
Basic data
Surname New Brighton Tower Football Club
Seat New Brighton
founding 1897
resolution 1901
First soccer team
Venue Tower Athletic Ground
Places 100,000
league Football League Second Division
1900/01 4th Place

New Brighton Tower (officially: New Brighton Tower Football Club ) - also known as Towerites - was an English football club from New Brighton . The football club, founded in 1897 to complement the recreational facilities around the New Brighton Tower , was elected to the Football League Second Division in 1898 . After missing the desired first division promotion several times, the team was disbanded in 1901. 1923 reached with the AFC New Brighton again a club from New Brighton the Football League.

history

Emergence

At the end of the 19th century , New Brighton , located on the northeastern tip of the Wirral Peninsula , developed into a popular seaside resort. In order to further increase the attractiveness, the New Brighton Tower and Recreation Co Ltd. In competition with the Blackpool Tower built in Blackpool, construction began in 1896 on the New Brighton Tower , a tourist attraction over 170 meters high and modeled on the Paris Eiffel Tower . The Tower Athletic Ground was built in the immediate vicinity of the tower , a modern sports facility which, in addition to a lawn play area, also had an athletics and cycling track. There were covered grandstands on both long sides, which offered space for a few thousand spectators. The capacity of the sports area is said to have been 100,000 seats and was reached during a cycling event in the 1920s, while the club's football matches never exceeded 10,000 spectators.

In April 1897, JC Bulmer, longtime Derby County official , was hired as secretary of the athletics division. In addition to organizing athletics and cycling events on the sports facility, he was also supposed to take care of the development of a football team, which should soon be accepted into the Second Division of the Football League . By creating a soccer team, those responsible wanted to counteract the fact that the facility attracted almost no visitors during the winter months.

The financially well-funded company took the project seriously from the start and signed a number of top-class players. The most headline-grabbing transfer was the commitment of the current England goalkeeper Jack Robinson , whose validity there was a legal tug-of-war because New Brighton Tower was not a member of the Football Association . The international Alf Milward (England) and Smart Arridge (Wales) were signed by Everton , as well as three Scottish players in Donald Gow , Andrew Hamilton (both AFC Sunderland ) and Geordie Dewar from Blackburn Rovers , the latter was an international. In addition, with Tommy Tierney , Geordie Anderson (both Blackburn Rovers), Harry Hammond , Charlie Henderson (both Sheffield United ) and Charlie McEleney ( Burnley FC ) other players with Football League experience were signed. The team was trained by the former England international Jack Hunter .

Lancashire League season, 1897–1898

New Brighton Tower became a member of the Cheshire FA and was accepted into the league operations of the Lancashire League , from which Liverpool FC (1893), Bury FC (1894) and Blackpool FC (1896) had made the leap into the Football League in the years before . Previously, however, the Lancashire FA New Brighton had refused membership and thus participation in the prestigious Lancashire Senior Cup .

The club played their first competitive game on September 1, 1897, against FC Halliwell , with 500 spectators in the pouring rain for a 2-1 home win. While there were often fewer than 1,000 spectators at home games, the club was a crowd puller at away games in the league and cup. In the FA Cup they had qualified for the first main round, but were defeated there by the first division West Bromwich Albion with 0-2. In the league, meanwhile, as expected, the championship title was won, championship trophies and medals for the players were presented on the occasion of a selection game between New Brighton and the "rest of the league", the game ended 1: 1. In addition to the success in the league, they also won the Cheshire Senior Cup with a 1-0 win over Nantwich , while in the Liverpool Senior Cup they lost 3-0 to Everton .

For Robinson, meanwhile, his move had no negative effects on his national team career, as a player at New Brighton Tower he played all three games in the spring of 1898 when he won the British Home Championship in 1897/98 , in the game against Wales in March 1898 with Robinson and Arridge facing two players from New Brighton. The two remained the only players to come to international appearances during their affiliation with New Brighton Tower.

Admission to the Football League, 1898

In the "test matches" called relegation games between the two last placed in the First Division and the two first placed in the Second Division, the situation arose at the end of April 1898 that in the last clash between Stoke FC and Burnley FC, both clubs were drawn for qualification First division was enough. The game turned into a farce and ended in a goalless draw. At the subsequent league meeting, the last three clubs in the Second Division had to stand for re-election, with New Brighton Tower applying for admission to the Second Division. In addition to Lincoln City (21 votes) and Loughborough FC (16), Burslem Port Vale (18) also managed to resume after a two-year absence. FC Darwen (15), however, missed re-election , New Brighton Tower received the five most votes with 13 votes and thus initially missed the desired admission.

In the further course of the league meeting it was decided, in particular as a consequence of the events between Stoke and Burnley, to introduce an automatic promotion and relegation regulation and to increase the two divisions from 16 to 18 teams, the two vacated places in the First Division were given to the Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United , who were left behind in the questionable test matches. Of the four vacancies in the Second Division, FC Darwen was awarded one - about half an hour after the lost election - and the other three were awarded at another meeting eight days later. Without opposing candidates, New Brighton Tower, Barnsley and Glossop were included in the league.

New Brighton Tower's transfer policy showed its negative consequences when it joined the Football League: the clubs that were selling had still registered their players with the Football League and New Brighton had to pay transfer fees if these players were to be used. The demands of the releasing clubs were sometimes exorbitant. The opening game between New Brighton and Darwen, scheduled for September 3, 1898, had to be postponed by the Football League because New Brighton only had eight properly registered players at that time. A hastily arranged meeting of the club provided the necessary funds to settle outstanding transfer payments, often sums set by a Football League committee.

First season in the Football League, 1898–1899

With Robinson, who moved on to Southampton FC , the team lost their star goalkeeper, but with the former Scottish international Davie Haddow from Burnley FC , an experienced replacement was signed. In addition, with John McCartney , Dan Cunliffe (both Liverpool FC ) and Tommy Becton ( Preston North End ) other players with first division experience were signed, the latter two were in addition to Hammond in the 3-2 win against Gainsborough Trinity , the debut game in the Football League, successful as a goal scorer. Meanwhile, with the issue of shares in September 1898, the ownership of the club shifted increasingly away from the operating company, which had viewer income of £ 884 in the first year with spending of £ 2,500, to local residents.

The team remained unbeaten for the first eight game days (three wins, five draws), at the end of November the club started a winning streak of seven games in a row and were therefore in second place behind Manchester City at the turn of the year . The meeting of the two teams in January 1899 at the Tower Athletic Ground was attended by 10,000 spectators, including many fans from Manchester, the game remained New Brighton's record number of spectators at a home game. With a 0-1 defeat, decided by a goal from center forward Billy Gillespie , New Brighton Tower initially lost the promotion rank and suffered one of only two home defeats during the season.

By early March 1899, the team had regained their second promotion position and held it in early April, four game days before the end of the season. With three defeats in the last four games, with the three away games against Woolwich Arsenal (0: 4), Leicester Fosse (1: 4) and FC Loughborough (0: 6) being clearly lost, the club slipped to fifth place in the table off and missed the climb by three points. It was also not very successful in the FA Cup, where they failed in the third qualifying round against league rivals Glossop. There was a consolation prize by winning the local Wirral Senior Cup through a 5-4 win against the Seacombe Swifts , from whose ranks three players were signed for the following season.

Two more seasons and dissolution, 1899–1901

At the beginning of the season, more shares were issued, and 2000 spectators appeared for a traditional public internal test match in the pre-season. The significantly younger team, which also had a new trainer in the form of Sam Dobson , could not build on the performance from the previous season and the number of spectators immediately declined. After the FA Cup early last year, you had to enter the pre-qualifying round. After two clear wins against local teams, they failed in the second qualifying round at South Liverpool . In the league they were in the middle of the table for the entire season, the commitment of the former England international John Goodall in October could not change that, and finally ended the season on 10th place in the table; far too little for the club's ambitious goals. And also in the Cheshire Senior Cup , the final of which was not held in the previous year, without notifying the host club Crewe Alexandra or the association and so several thousand spectators arrived in vain, the same opponent was defeated 0: 1 in the replay.

Even during the break of the season, rumors circulated in the press that the game could be stopped at the latest after the following season if the promotion was not made. The club officials meanwhile made another attempt to reach the First Division and signed numerous experienced players: the former Scottish goalkeeper Frank Barrett ( Newton Heath ), Archie Goldie ( Liverpool FC ), returnees Cunliffe, George Barnes and Harry Turner (all Portsmouth FC) ), Jack Farrell ( Southampton FC ), Ben Hulse ( Blackburn Rovers ) and Herbert Dainty ( Leicester Fosse ). In November, they also followed up in attack with the former Scottish international Jack Bell .

Despite these newcomers, the start of the season was again mixed, but by the end of December the team had played their way to fourth place and stayed there until the end of the season without really being able to intervene in the promotion process. The number of viewers had meanwhile reduced to an average of around 2700, which meant that they were among the bottom of the league, although not a single one of the 17 games was lost at home (twelve wins, five draws). In the FA Cup they reached the main round for the first time as a Football League club, but there the Wolverhampton Wanderers (final score 1: 5) proved too strong. The last game in the club's history was a 1-0 home win against Woolwich Arsenal in front of around 2000 spectators.

After the club had remained noticeably quiet during the summer break and only departures were reported, the club announced its dissolution at the end of August 1901 - a few days before the start of the season. The reason for the late announcement of the withdrawal was presumably an attempt to generate income with player sales. The concept of attracting additional visitors through the football team did not work and the financial losses no longer justified a continuation. The Doncaster Rovers , who took over the vacated league place at short notice, benefited from the club's withdrawal .

The Sheffield Daily Telegraph concluded: “There will be no great regrets about the club's disappearance. Too obviously it was primarily intended as a promotional tool, and then as a possible profitable business, to gain sympathy in its successes or defeats. "

In the following season, an amateur team called New Brighton Tower Amateurs had their game operations in the Tower Athletic Ground, the AFC New Brighton , founded in 1921 , which was also a member of the Football League from 1923 to 1951, also played on the site from 1946 to 1976.

Seasonal balance sheets

Used jerseys
1898/99
1899/1900
1900/01
season league FA Cup Cheshire Senior Cup Liverpool Senior Cup Wirral Senior Cup Top scorer
(league and FA Cup)
Average attendance
(league only)
Division Sp S. U N T GT Pt Item player Gates
1897/98 Lancashire League 26th 20th 2 4th 48 17th 42:10 1. 1st main round winner finalist about 1000
1898/99 FL Second Division 34 18th 7th 9 71 52 43:25 5. 3rd qualifying round finalist finalist winner Alf Milward 19th 3575
1899/1900 FL Second Division 34 13 9 12 66 58 35:33 10. 2nd qualifying round finalist Finalist reserve Winner reserve Harry Hammond 15th 3025
1900/01 FL Second Division 34 17th 8th 9 57 38 42:26 4th 1st main round 3rd round do not share. Ben Hulse 15th 2700

literature

  • Garth Dykes: New Brighton: A Complete Record of the Rakers in the Football League . Breedon Books, Derby 1990, ISBN 0-907969-65-8 .
  • Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 .
  • Dave Thompson: Those We Have Loved: Casualties and Catastrophes of the Football League, 1888–1988 . CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5428-6936-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 , pp. 99 .
  2. ^ Paul Smith, Shirley Smith: The Ultimate Directory of English and Scottish Football League Grounds 1888-2005 . Yore Publications, Harefield 2005, ISBN 978-0-9547830-4-4 , pp. 128 .
  3. ^ Garth Dykes: New Brighton: A Complete Record of the Rakers in the Football League . Breedon Books, Derby 1990, ISBN 0-907969-65-8 , pp. 86 .
  4. NOTES ON OUT-DOOR SPORT. . In: Derby Daily Telegraph , April 7, 1897, p. 2.  (paid link)
  5. ^ Dave Thompson, Those We Have Loved: Casualties and Catastrophes of the Football League, 1888-1988 . CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5428-6936-2 , pp. 112 f .
  6. Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 , pp. 103 .
  7. LANCASHIRE LEAGUE. NEW BRIGHTON TOWER v. REST OF THE LEAGUE. . In: Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser , May 2, 1898, p. 9.  (paid link)
  8. CHESHIRE CUP. FINAL. . In: Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser , April 18, 1898, p. 7.  (paid link)
  9. THE LIVERPOOL CUP. FINAL TIE. . In: The Referee , April 24, 1898, p. 8.  (link subject to charge)
  10. Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 , pp. 100 .
  11. Dave Twydell: Denied FC Yore Publications, Harefield 2001, ISBN 1-874427-98-4 , pp. 12 .
  12. ^ Simon Inglis: League Football and the Men Who Made it . Willow Books, London 1988, ISBN 0-00-218242-4 , pp. 43 f .
  13. Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 , pp. 107 .
  14. TABLE TALK. . In: Northern Daily Telegraph , September 2, 1898, p. 2.  (paid link)
  15. NEW BRIGHTON TOWER FOOTBALL CLUB . In: Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser , September 15, 1898, p. 3.  (paid link)
  16. ^ Garth Dykes: New Brighton: A Complete Record of the Rakers in the Football League . Breedon Books, Derby 1990, ISBN 0-907969-65-8 , pp. 92 .
  17. WIRRAL SENIOR CUP. REPLAYED FINAL. . In: Liverpool Mercury , April 26, 1899, p. 12.  (paid link)
  18. a b NEW BRIGHTON TOWER. . In: Athletic News , August 28, 1899, p. 6.  (link with costs)
  19. JOHN GOODALL AND NEW BRIGHTON. . In: Athletic News , October 23, 1899, p. 3.  (link with costs)
  20. ^ Dave Thompson, Those We Have Loved: Casualties and Catastrophes of the Football League, 1888-1988 . CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5428-6936-2 , pp. 155 ff .
  21. CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP. FINAL TIE. . In: Staffordshire Sentinel , April 14, 1900, p. 11.  (paid link)
  22. SPORTS AND SPORTING. FOOTBALL. . In: Staffordshire Sentinel , April 28, 1900, p. 2.  (paid link)
  23. a b c FOOTBALL. ASSOCIATION NOTES. . In: Liverpool Mercury , April 30, 1900, p. 9.  (link with costs)
  24. A FAMOUS SCOTSMAN. . In: Lancashire Evening Post , August 25, 1900, p. 4.  (paid link)
  25. FOOTBALL PROSPECTS. DIVISION II. NEW BRIGHTON. . In: South Wales Daily News , November 29, 1900, p. 7.  (paid link)
  26. ^ Dave Thompson, Those We Have Loved: Casualties and Catastrophes of the Football League, 1888-1988 . CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5428-6936-2 , pp. 163 .
  27. NEW BRIGHTON DISBANDED. . In: Lancashire Evening Post , August 31, 1901, p. 4.  (paid link)
  28. Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 , pp. 113 .
  29. ^ The Collapse of New Brighton. . In: Sheffield Daily Telegraph , September 2, 1901, p. 8.  (paid link)
  30. historicalkits.co.uk: New Brighton Tower , accessed January 25, 2019
  31. Brian Tabner: Through The turnstiles . Yore Publications, Harefield 1992, ISBN 1-874427-05-4 , pp. 66 f .
  32. Dave Twydell: Rejected FC Volume 3: Histories of the ex-Football League Clubs . Yore Publications, Harefield 1995, ISBN 1-874427-17-8 , pp. 106 .
  33. Yesterday's Matches. . In: Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette , April 28, 1899, p. 1.  (paid link)
  34. FOOTBALL JOTTINGS. ASSOCIATION. . In: Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser , February 16, 1901, p. 17.  (paid link)
  35. LIVERPOOL AND DISTRICT NOTES. . In: Athletic News , February 11, 1901, p. 8.  (link with costs)