1888–89 Royal Arsenal F.C. season

1888-1889 marked the third season of the club that was to become Arsenal F.C.. After the flooding of the Sportsman's Ground, they moved to the nearby Manor Field, using the Lord Derby Pub as a headquarters, and the Railway Tavern as a dressing room. The team competed in the Kent Senior Cup for the first time, as well as making their second appearance in the London Senior Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the latter competition. David Danskin continued as captain throughout the season.[1]

The 1888-1889 Royal Arsenal squad.

1888–89 Royal Arsenal F.C. season

1888-1889 season
Chairman	None
Manager	None
Stadium	Manor Field
London Senior Cup	Semi-Final
Kent Senior Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Connolly (13) All: Connolly (19)
Highest home attendance	2000 vs Clapton F.C. (19th January 1889)
Lowest home attendance	500

Players

Below is a list of all players who made a registered appearance in the 1888-89 season, along with their appearances, and goals scored. Out of 33 games played, 20 complete line-ups were recorded, with partial records for another 8.[2] Bold indicates that a player was making his debut for Royal Arsenal F.C. that season. Goalkeepers are marked in Italics.

[2]	Friendlies		LSC		KSC		Total
Player	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
E. Agnew	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
A. Bannister	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
H. Barbour	5	4	0	0	0	0	5	4
JM. Bates	16	1	4	0	3	1	23	2
FW. Beardsley	10	0	4	0	3	0	17	0
A. Brown	13	0	4	0	3	0	20	0
Carter	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
JM. Charteris	10	6	4	1	2	3	16	10
Peter Connolly	13	6	4	7	3	6	20	19
JB. Crichton	1	0	4	0	1	0	6	0
R. Crichton	1	0	2	1	1	1	4	2
Cross	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	2
D. Danskin (C)	8	0	4	0	2	0	14	0
E. Hartland	5	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
JG. Hill	3	0	2	0	1	0	6	0
RT. Horsington	9	0	0	0	1	0	10	0
D. Howat	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
JW. Humble	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
G. Kennedy	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
JD. McBean	11	0	1	0	1	0	13	0
JW. Meggs	3	2	0	0	0	0	3	2
JA. Morris	6	0	4	0	2	1	12	1
J. Rowland	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
W. Russell	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
J. Saul	1	1	0	0	1	0	2	1
WW. Scott	13	3	4	1	3	1	20	5
J. Tomes	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
A. Walton	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
HB. Weeks	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
T. Wells	5	0	3	0	2	1	10	1
J. Wilkinson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
J. Wilson	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0

Matches

A total of 34 games were played over the season, of which 7 were competitive cup fixtures, with the other 26 being friendlies. Over the course of the season, the Royal Arsenal recorded 17 Wins, 6 Draws and 10 losses, with 1 result unrecorded.[2]

Date	Opponents	Ground	Competition	Score	Attendance
15 Sept	London Caledonians F.C.	H		3-3
22 Sept	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.	H		0-1	500
29 Sept	Old St. Paul's	H		7-3	500
6 Oct	Grove House	H		2-0
13 Oct	London Caledonians	H		4-0	700
20 Oct	2nd Rifle Brigade	H		1-2
27 Oct	Brixton Rangers	A		1-3
3 Nov	Phoenix	H	LSC	3-0	500
10 Nov	Horton Kirby	A	KSC	6-2
17 Nov	St. Lukes	A		1-1
24 Nov	Dulwich	H	LSC	4-2	1000
1 Dec	Phoenix	A		0-0
8 Dec	Old St. Paul's	H	LSC	3-1	1200
29 Dec	Iona	A	KSC	5-1
5 Jan	Vulcan	A		1-1
12 Jan	Unity	H		0-0
19 Jan	Clapton F.C.	N	LSC	0-2	2000
26 Jan	St. Lukes	A
2 Feb	Ilford F.C.	H		1-2	500
9 Feb	Gravesend	A	KSC	3-3[3]	1000
16 Feb	Millwall Rovers	H		W[4]
23 Feb	Ilford F.C.	A		0-1
2 Mar	London Caledonians	H		1-2	1500
9 Mar	Tottenham Hotspur	A		1-0
16 Mar	South Eastern Rangers	H		1-2	500
23 Mar	2nd Rifle Brigade	H		2-0
30 Mar	Royal Artillery	H		9-0
1 Apr	2nd Rifle Brigade			6-1
6 Apr	Old St. Paul's	A		1-0
13 Apr	Millwall F.C.	H		3-0
19 Apr	Boston Town	A		1-4	1200
20 Apr	Spartan Rovers	H		6-0
22 Apr	Scots Guards	H		7-2
29 Apr	London Caledonians	H		0-1	1300

References

1. James, Josh; Andrews, Mark; Kelly, Andy (2018). Arsenal: The Complete Record 1886-2018 (First Edition ed.). Liverpool: deCourbertin Books. ISBN 978-1-909245-75-4
2. "Arsenal First Team Line-ups". www.thearsenalhistory.com. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
3. Arsenal were disqualified, after failing to play extra time. Sources: http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/stat/aftlu.htm and Arsenal: The Complete Record [1].
4. This was recorded as an Arsenal victory, though the result is not clear, see http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/stat/aftlu.htm