The 1929–30 season was the 35th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's eighth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing fourth in the Second Division the previous season – their highest position in the league to date – Southampton continued their efforts towards achieving promotion to the First Division, but finished three places lower in seventh. The club struggled at the beginning of the league campaign, remaining in the bottom half of the table due to a run of poor results. A period of form including six wins in eight games followed between September and November, enabling the Saints to move up as high as third place. The team remained in the top half of the Second Division table for most of the rest of the season, finishing in seventh place with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.

Quick Facts Chairman, Manager ...

Southampton F.C.

1929–30 season
Chairman	Sloane Stanley
Manager	Arthur Chadwick
Stadium	The Dell
Second Division	7th
FA Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Dick Rowley (25) All: Dick Rowley (26)
Highest home attendance	25,934 v Tottenham Hotspur (26 December 1929)
Lowest home attendance	4,881 v Millwall (3 March 1930)
Average home league attendance	12,786
Biggest win	5–0 v Nottingham Forest (28 September 1929)
Biggest defeat	0–4 v Stoke City (19 October 1929) 1–5 v Blackpool (4 January 1930) 1–5 v West Bromwich Albion (3 May 1930)
Home colours
← 1928–29 1930–31 →

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In the 1929–30 FA Cup, Southampton entered in the third round away to divisional rivals Bradford City, losing 4–1 to face elimination at the first hurdle for the third consecutive season (their worst run in the season since being knocked out of the first round in 1912, 1913 and 1914). The club ended their season as usual with two fixtures against local rivals Portsmouth, for the Hampshire Benevolent Cup and the Rowland Hospital Cup. The former (played at Fratton Park) ended in a goalless draw, while the latter (played at The Dell) ended in a 2–0 win for the travelling Pompey side. The Saints also played five friendly matches during the 1929–30 season, drawing with Aldershot Town in September, beating Corinthian in February, and drawing with a Salisbury District XI, beating Andover and losing to a Royal Air Force side in April.

Southampton used 28 different players during the 1929–30 season and had thirteen different goalscorers. Their top scorer was centre-forward Dick Rowley, who scored 25 goals in 25 appearances in the Second Division, and the club's only goal in the FA Cup. Willie Haines, the club's top scorer the previous season, ranked second with 15 goals in the league, followed by Johnny Arnold on seven league goals. Nine players were signed by the club during the campaign, with eight released and sold to other clubs. The average attendance at The Dell during the 1929–30 season was 12,786. The highest attendance was 25,934 against Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day 1929, which surpassed the last season's new league record of 24,247. The lowest attendance of the season was 4,881 against Millwall on 3 March 1930.

Several players left Southampton at the end of the 1928–29 season. In May, inside-forward Tommy Taylor joined Welsh side Rhyl Athletic,^[1] while centre-forward Douglas Vernon – signed as an emergency replacement for Willie Haines in February – was recalled by the Royal Air Force.^[2] In June, the club sold outside-left Billy Murphy to fellow Second Division club Oldham Athletic,^[3] with fellow winger Reg Watson moving the other way as part of the deal.^[4] Also in June, the Saints signed inside-forward Bill Fraser from Aldershot Town in an "unusually complicated deal" including an initial payment of £60, another £200 from a friendly match between the two sides, £50 if he made 20 appearances for the first team during the season (which he did not), and a 5% share of any future transfer fee.^[5] The following month, inside-left Charlie Petrie and Scottish centre-forward Archie Waterston both moved to the Third Division North – the former joined York City,^[6] while the latter joined Tranmere Rovers.^[4] In August, Southampton brought in two more players – inside-right Oswald Littler joined from Rochdale (after a Football Association suspension for the player was lifted upon appeal by the club),^[7] and full-back Arthur Roberts signed from Ardsley Athletic.^[8]

Transfer activity continued during the course of the season. In September 1929, the Saints Supporters Club raised £400 to sign Scottish inside-left Peter Dougall (as well as teammate William Hood) from Clyde, with an additional £50 to be paid should either player make six appearances for the club.^[9] In October, recent amateur signing Ernie Warren left the club to sign another amateur deal with Southwick, although by March 1930 he had returned to sign for the Saints as a professional.^[4] The most significant transfer of the season came in February, when the campaign's top scorer Dick Rowley was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £3,750,^[10] the club's second highest transfer fee to date after the £3,860 received for Bill Rawlings two years earlier.^[11] In March the club signed forward Thomas Groves from Blakenall and Scottish half-back Alex Sharp from Ayr United,^[12][13] with Warren also returning on professional terms.^[4] Just before the end of the season, Oswald Littler left Southampton to join Southern League side Guildford City.^[7]

Players transferred in

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Fee	Ref.
Bill Fraser	England	FW	Aldershot Town	June 1929	£260+	[5]
Reg Watson	England	FW	Oldham Athletic	June 1929	Exchange	[4]
Oswald Littler	England	FW	Rochdale	August 1929	Unknown	[7]
Arthur Roberts	England	FB	Ardsley Athletic	August 1929	Unknown	[8]
Peter Dougall	Scotland	FW	Clyde	September 1929	£450	[9]
William Hood	England	unknown				[9]
Thomas Groves	England	FW	Blakenall	March 1930	Free[lower-alpha 1]	[12]
Alex Sharp	Scotland	HB	Ayr United	March 1930	Free	[13]
Ernie Warren	England	FW	Southwick	March 1930	Unknown	[4]

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Players transferred out

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Fee	Ref.
Tommy Taylor	England	FW	Rhyl Athletic	May 1929	Unknown	[1]
Douglas Vernon	England	FW	Royal Air Force	May 1929	Unknown	[2]
Billy Murphy	England	FW	Oldham Athletic	June 1929	Exchange	[3]
Charlie Petrie	England	FW	York City	July 1929	Unknown	[6]
Archie Waterston	Scotland	FW	Tranmere Rovers	July 1929	Unknown	[4]
Ernie Warren	England	FW	Southwick	October 1929	Free	[4]
Dick Rowley	Ireland	FW	Tottenham Hotspur	February 1930	£3,750	[10]
Oswald Littler	England	FW	Guildford City	April 1930	Unknown	[7]

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Southampton began the 1929–30 Second Division campaign against Barnsley, who had finished the previous season just four points above relegation.^[14] During the game, Jerry Mackie became the first Southampton player to be sent off since James Moore in December 1920, as the Saints lost 3–1 and started off in the bottom half of the Second Division league table.^[15][16] A 2–2 draw with Hull City was followed by home wins over Blackpool and West Bromwich Albion,^[17] which helped the Saints move up to seventh in the league.^[18] Dick Rowley quickly established himself as the season's top scorer with consecutive hat-tricks against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest in late September, the latter of which was a 5–0 away win,^[17] and later became the first Southampton player to score four goals in an away match when they beat Bradford City 5–2 on 2 November.^[10] A week later the club reached third in the Second Division table, their highest position of the season, after having picked up six wins in eight fixtures.^[17][19]

The 5–2 win over Bradford City was Southampton's last away win of the season until April, with their poor form on the road holding back their hopes of promotion to the top flight.^[15] Three losses and two draws saw the club drop to tenth in the table by mid-December, although by the end of the year they had returned to the top four following three more wins.^[20] The home win over Tottenham Hotspur on 26 December was a new league record attendance at The Dell of 25,934.^[15] After Rowley was sold to Spurs in February, the club struggled to continue scoring and ultimately dropped too many points to remain in the fight for promotion.^[15] In March the club won just one game, a 2–1 home win over Bradford City, although managed to remain in the top seven of the league.^[17][21] Three wins out of six in April helped them move up to sixth, although a pair of thrashings at the hands of Charlton Athletic and West Bromwich Albion saw them drop back to seventh, where they finished with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.^[17]

List of match results

Barnsley v Southampton

31 August 1929 1	Barnsley	3–1	Southampton	Barnsley
			Haines	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 5,000

Southampton v Hull City

2 September 1929 2	Southampton	2–2	Hull City	Southampton
	Weale Haines			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,419

Southampton v Blackpool

7 September 1929 3	Southampton	4–2	Blackpool	Southampton
	Watson Coates Rowley			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,838

Southampton v West Bromwich Albion

9 September 1929 4	Southampton	3–2	West Bromwich Albion	Southampton
	Rowley Weale			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 20,035

Bury v Southampton

14 September 1929 5	Bury	4–2	Southampton	Bury
			Rowley Watson	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 14,000

Hull City v Southampton

16 September 1929 6	Hull City	2–0	Southampton	Kingston upon Hull
				Stadium: Anlaby Road Attendance: 7,115

Southampton v Chelsea

21 September 1929 7	Southampton	4–2	Chelsea	Southampton
	Rowley Cribb			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,569

Nottingham Forest v Southampton

28 September 1929 8	Nottingham Forest	0–5	Southampton	West Bridgford
			Rowley Littler	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 7,000

Southampton v Oldham Athletic

5 October 1929 9	Southampton	2–0	Oldham Athletic	Southampton
	Rowley Coates			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,600

Millwall v Southampton

12 October 1929 10	Millwall	1–1	Southampton	London
			Harkus	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 20,000

Stoke City v Southampton

19 October 1929 11	Stoke City	4–0	Southampton	Stoke-on-Trent
				Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers

26 October 1929 12	Southampton	3–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Southampton
	Rowley Arnold			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,308

Bradford City v Southampton

2 November 1929 13	Bradford City	2–5	Southampton	Bradford
			Rowley Coates	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 14,000

Southampton v Swansea Town

9 November 1929 14	Southampton	2–1	Swansea Town	Southampton
	Rowley Arnold			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,600

Cardiff City v Southampton

16 November 1929 15	Cardiff City	5–2	Southampton	Cardiff
			Rowley Littler	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Preston North End

23 November 1929 16	Southampton	1–2	Preston North End	Southampton
	Rowley			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,110

Bristol City v Southampton

30 November 1929 17	Bristol City	3–1	Southampton	Bristol
			Watson	Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance: 9,000

Southampton v Notts County

7 December 1929 18	Southampton	2–2	Notts County	Southampton
	Rowley Coates			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,235

Reading v Southampton

14 December 1929 19	Reading	1–1	Southampton	Reading
			Cribb	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Charlton Athletic

21 December 1929 20	Southampton	2–0	Charlton Athletic	Southampton
	Jepson Cribb			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,161

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

25 December 1929 21	Tottenham Hotspur	3–2	Southampton	London
			Cribb	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 26,564

Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

26 December 1929 22	Southampton	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
	Rowley			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 25,934

Southampton v Barnsley

28 December 1929 23	Southampton	4–0	Barnsley	Southampton
	Rowley Keeping Weale			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,168

Blackpool v Southampton

4 January 1930 24	Blackpool	5–1	Southampton	Blackpool
			Rowley	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Bury

18 January 1930 25	Southampton	0–0	Bury	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,293

Chelsea v Southampton

25 January 1930 26	Chelsea	2–0	Southampton	London
				Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 25,000

Southampton v Nottingham Forest

1 February 1930 27	Southampton	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	Weale Haines			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,921

Oldham Athletic v Southampton

8 February 1930 28	Oldham Athletic	3–2	Southampton	Oldham
			Haines	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 15,000

Southampton v Stoke City

22 February 1930 29	Southampton	2–1	Stoke City	Southampton
	Haines			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 10,924

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Southampton

1 March 1930 30	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2–0	Southampton	Wolverhampton
				Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 12,000

Southampton v Millwall

3 March 1930 31	Southampton	0–0	Millwall	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 4,881

Southampton v Bradford City

8 March 1930 32	Southampton	2–1	Bradford City	Southampton
	Mackie Arnold			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,091

Swansea Town v Southampton

15 March 1930 33	Swansea Town	2–2	Southampton	Swansea
			Mackie Arnold	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 7,000

Southampton v Cardiff City

22 March 1930 34	Southampton	1–1	Cardiff City	Southampton
	Haines			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,000

Preston North End v Southampton

29 March 1930 35	Preston North End	1–1	Southampton	Preston
			Haines	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 6,000

Southampton v Bristol City

5 April 1930 36	Southampton	3–0	Bristol City	Southampton
	Jepson Haines Dougall			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,788

Notts County v Southampton

12 April 1930 37	Notts County	1–2	Southampton	Nottingham
			Jepson Haines	Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 10,500

Southampton v Reading

19 April 1930 38	Southampton	4–2	Reading	Southampton
	Haines Jepson Arnold			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,346

Southampton v Bradford Park Avenue

21 April 1930 39	Southampton	2–2	Bradford Park Avenue	Southampton
	Mackie Arnold			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,302

Bradford Park Avenue v Southampton

22 April 1930 40	Bradford Park Avenue	1–1	Southampton	Bradford
			Haines	Stadium: Park Avenue Attendance: 10,038

Charlton Athletic v Southampton

26 April 1930 41	Charlton Athletic	4–1	Southampton	London
			Haines	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 8,000

West Bromwich Albion v Southampton

3 May 1930 42	West Bromwich Albion	5–1	Southampton	West Bromwich
			Arnold	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 10,000

Southampton entered the 1929–30 FA Cup in the third round against Second Division rivals Bradford City, who they had recently beaten 5–2 in the league. The Saints were described by club historians as being in poor form defensively, with "an awful defensive mix-up" leading to an opening goal for the hosts.^[15] Dick Rowley equalised later, but Bradford were able to score three more goals and advance.^[15] Southampton's elimination marked the third consecutive season in which they had failed to win a game in the FA Cup – their worst run since the three seasons between 1911–12 and 1913–14.^[23]

Bradford City v Southampton

11 January 1930 Round 3	Bradford City	4–1	Southampton	Bradford
			Rowley	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 25,000

Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played seven additional first-team matches during the 1929–30 season. The first was a friendly match against Southern League side Aldershot Town on 25 September, which ended in a 3–3 draw. Goals for the Saints were scored by Dick Rowley (two) and Johnny Arnold.^[24] The club hosted amateur side Corinthian in February, winning 2–0 thanks to a brace from Willie Haines.^[24] Three more friendlies followed in April. The first, against a Salisbury District XI, ended in a 2–2 draw with Bill Fraser and Jerry Mackie scoring for Southampton; the second was a 6–1 thrashing of Hampshire League side Andover, with goals scored by Haines (three), Fraser (two) and Arnold; and the third was a 1–0 loss at a Royal Air Force team.^[24]

The club ended the season with two games against local rivals Portsmouth, in the annual Hampshire Benevolent Cup and Rowland Hospital Cup fixtures. The former game took place at Fratton Park on 5 May and ended goalless, with both sides dominating a half each according to the Southern Daily Echo.^[25] Two days later, Southampton hosted Pompey in the Rowland Hospital Cup. The First Division visitors won the match 2–0 thanks to a pair of goals from centre-forward Methuen, although the Evening News admitted that Portsmouth were "somewhat lucky to win".^[25]

Aldershot Town v Southampton

25 September 1925 Friendly	Aldershot Town	3–3	Southampton	Aldershot
			Rowley Arnold	Stadium: Recreation Ground

Southampton v Corinthian

15 February 1930 Friendly	Southampton	2–0	Corinthian	Southampton
	Haines			Stadium: The Dell

Salisbury District XI v Southampton

9 April 1930 Friendly	Salisbury District XI	2–2	Southampton	Salisbury
			Fraser Mackie

Andover v Southampton

16 April 1930 Friendly	Andover	6–1	Southampton	Andover
			Haines Fraser Arnold	Stadium: Walled Meadow

Southampton v Portsmouth

7 May 1930 Rowland Hospital Cup	Southampton	0–2	Portsmouth	Southampton
			Methuen	Stadium: The Dell Referee: Gibbs

Southampton used 28 different players during the 1929–30 season, 13 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.^[17] Goalkeeper Willie White made the most appearances for the club during the campaign, missing only two league games and the FA Cup fixture. Left-back Michael Keeping played in all but three league games and both end-of-season games.^[17] Centre-forward Dick Rowley finished as the season's top scorer with 25 goals in the Second Division and one in the cup, despite leaving the club four three months before the end of the season. Willie Haines, who took Rowley's place in the side after his departure, scored 15 goals in the league, while Johnny Arnold scored seven.^[17]

Squad statistics

More information Name, Pos. ...

Name	Pos.	Nat.	League		FA Cup		Other[lower-alpha 2]		Total
			Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.
Bill Adams	HB		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Johnny Arnold	FW		18	7	0	0	1	0	19	7
Arthur Bradford	HB		33	0	1	0	2	0	36	0
Herbert Coates	FW		25	4	1	0	2	0	28	4
Stan Cribb	FW		11	5	1	0	0	0	12	5
Peter Dougall	FW		12	1	0	0	0	0	12	1
Bill Fraser	FW		10	0	0	0	2	0	12	0
Thomas Groves	FW		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Willie Haines	FW		19	15	0	0	0	0	19	15
George Harkus	HB		30	1	0	0	0	0	30	1
Ted Hough	FB		21	0	0	0	2	0	23	0
Bert Jepson	FW		14	4	0	0	0	0	14	4
Michael Keeping	FB		39	1	1	0	0	0	40	1
Bill Luckett	HB		12	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
Jerry Mackie	FW		20	3	1	0	1	0	22	3
A. Newman[lower-alpha 3]	FW		0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
Alex Sharp	HB		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Bert Shelley	HB		11	0	0	0	1	0	12	0
Bill Stoddart	HB		8	0	1	0	2	0	11	0
George Thompson	GK		2	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
Ernie Warren	FW		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Reg Watson	FW		14	4	0	0	1	0	15	4
Bobby Weale	FW		27	4	1	0	0	0	28	4
Willie White	GK		40	0	0	0	2	0	42	0
Arthur Wilson	HB		24	0	1	0	0	0	25	0
Stan Woodhouse	HB		33	0	0	0	2	0	35	0
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
Oswald Littler	FW		12	3	0	0	0	0	12	3
Dick Rowley	FW		25	25	1	1	0	0	26	26

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