1946–47 Southampton F.C. season

The 1946–47 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 18th season in the Football League Second Division and their 20th in the Football League.[1] Southampton finished the season in 14th place in the league table, having won 15, drawn 9 and lost 18 of their 42 matches.[2] The club also made it to the fourth round of the FA Cup.[3] Inside forward Jack Bradley finished the season as the club's top scorer in the league with 14 goals,[4] while centre forward George Lewis finished as joint top scorer in all competitions alongside Bradley, with 15 goals.

Southampton F.C.

1946–47 season
Chairman	A. E. Jakes
Manager	Bill Dodgin
Stadium	The Dell
Second Division	14th
FA Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Jack Bradley (14) All: Jack Bradley (15) George Lewis (15)
Highest home attendance	25,746 v Newcastle United (12 October 1946)
Lowest home attendance	4,289 v Coventry City (5 February 1947)
Average home league attendance	16,039
Home colours

League football in England resumed in 1946 following the Second World War.[5] The first post-war season was Southampton's first to feature Bill Dodgin as manager, who had previously played for the club during wartime and was appointed in March 1946.[6] In the summer the club signed a number of new players, including Bill Rochford and George Lewis, and due to the lack of official competition during wartime many first team players made their official debuts for the club during the campaign (including eight in the first game of the season).[5]

Pre-season

In preparation for the 1946–47 season, Southampton played two pre-season friendly matches.[5] On 14 August 1946 the Saints won 4–1 against Irish club Bohemians, with new signing George Lewis and Don Roper scoring two goals each.[7] They then beat French side Le Havre 7–0 at home thanks to a hat-trick from Don Roper, two goals from Doug McGibbon, and one each from Jack Bradley and Bobby Veck.[7]

Bohemians v Southampton

14 August 1946 Friendly	Bohemians	1–4	Southampton	Dublin, Ireland
			Lewis Roper	Stadium: Dalymount Park

Southampton v Le Havre

23 August 1946 Friendly	Southampton	7–0	Le Havre	Southampton
	Roper McGibbon Bradley Veck			Stadium: The Dell

Second Division

September–December 1946

Southampton began the 1946–47 season well with a 4–0 win over Swansea Town at home, with Doug McGibbon scoring a hat-trick.[5] The team dropped down to 10th in the table with a draw and a loss, before beating Nottingham Forest convincingly 5–2 thanks to goals from McGibbon (two), Alf Freeman (two) and Jack Bradley.[5] The Saints began to drop down the league table in October thanks to a winless run, but picked their form back up at the end of the month with wins over Newport County and Plymouth Argyle.[5][8] The club's fortunes continued to change week on week, although they finished the year off strongly with a 5–1 win over Newport County to remain in the top ten going into 1947.[8]

January–May 1947

The year began poorly for the Saints with three consecutive losses away from home in which the side conceded 11 goals,[8] prompting Dodgin to replace regular goalkeeper George Ephgrave with Len Stansbridge for much of the rest of the season.[4] Through February and March, the team won four out of seven matches to move away from the relegation zone and back up to the top ten, although four straight losses saw them drop back down to 15th in April.[9] Seven players were released by the club near the end of the month.[9] Three wins from their last six matches meant that Southampton finished 14th in the Second Division table, compared to 18th in the last pre-war season.[9]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
12	West Ham United	42	16	8	18	70	76	0.921	40
13	Luton Town	42	16	7	19	71	73	0.973	39
14	Southampton	42	15	9	18	69	76	0.908	39
15	Fulham	42	15	9	18	63	74	0.851	39
16	Bradford Park Avenue	42	14	11	17	65	77	0.844	39

Source:

Source: statto.com

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	H
Result	W	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	D	D	W	W	L	D	L	W	D	W	L	D	D	W	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	D	L	W	W	D
Position	7	8	10	8	13	10	10	14	14	13	11	10	12	13	14	12	12	9	11	11	11	9	10	15	16	13	13	11	11	10	12	10	10	10	11	15	11	13	14	12	12	12

Source: statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Match results

Southampton v Swansea Town

4 September 1946 1	Southampton	4–0	Swansea Town	Southampton
	McGibbon  10', 25', 53' Veck  41'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Southampton v Bury

7 September 1946 2	Southampton	1–1	Bury	Southampton
	Bradley  16'		Kilshaw  68'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 23,000

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

9 September 1946 3	Tottenham Hotspur	2–1	Southampton	London
	Rundle  4' Bennett  43'		McGibbon  65'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 22,153

Southampton v Nottingham Forest

14 September 1946 4	Southampton	5–2	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	McGibbon  1', 65' Freeman  8', 54' Bradley  37'		Edwards  32' Johnston	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,991

Coventry City v Southampton

21 September 1946 5	Coventry City	2–0	Southampton	Coventry
	Gardner  10' Lowrie  60'			Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 20,000

Southampton v Birmingham City

28 September 1946 6	Southampton	1–0	Birmingham City	Southampton
	Bradley  13'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 24,920

Swansea Town v Southampton

3 October 1946 7	Swansea Town	4–2	Southampton	Swansea
	Lockhart  31' Bradley  85'		Bates  44' Ford  75', 80' McCrory  89'	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 21,523

West Bromwich Albion v Southampton

5 October 1946 8	West Bromwich Albion	2–0	Southampton	West Bromwich
	Clarke  6' Duggan			Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 28,000

Southampton v Newcastle United

12 October 1946 9	Southampton	1–1	Newcastle United	Southampton
	Bates  61'		Shackleton  56'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 25,746

Luton Town v Southampton

19 October 1946 10	Luton Town	2–2	Southampton	Luton
	Connelly  58' Daniel  72'		Roper Bevis  62'	Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 20,000

Newport County v Southampton

24 October 1946 11	Newport County	1–2	Southampton	Newport
	Carr  36'		Lewis  51' Bevis  69'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 11,149

Southampton v Plymouth Argyle

26 October 1946 12	Southampton	5–1	Plymouth Argyle	Southampton
	Bradley  9', 85' Grant  35', 60' McGibbon  82'		Rawlings  52' (pen.)	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,252

Leicester City v Southampton

2 November 1946 13	Leicester City	2–0	Southampton	Leicester
	Dewis  3', 65'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,000

Southampton v Chesterfield

9 November 1946 14	Southampton	1–1	Chesterfield	Southampton
	McGibbon  26'		Ottewell  73'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,006

Milwall v Southampton

16 November 1946 15	Milwall	3–1	Southampton	London
	Hurrell  20', 75' Mansfield  48'		Smith  40'	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 24,413

Southampton v Bradford Park Avenue

23 November 1946 16	Southampton	3–2	Bradford Park Avenue	Southampton
	Roper  5' Bevis  47' Stroud  75'		Farrell  76' (pen.) Danskin  85'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 16,249

Manchester City v Southampton

30 November 1946 17	Manchester City	1–1	Southampton	Manchester
	Constantine  23'		Bates  43'	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 24,867

Southampton v West Ham United

7 December 1946 18	Southampton	4–2	West Ham United	Southampton
	Ellerington  19' (pen.) McGibbon  59' Bevis  61' Roper  77'		Bainbridge  53' Payne  53'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,305

Sheffield Wednesday v Southampton

14 December 1946 19	Sheffield Wednesday	3–0	Southampton	Sheffield
	Dailey  10', 80' Ward  86'			Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 10,000

Barnsley v Southampton

25 December 1946 20	Barnsley	4–4	Southampton	Barnsley
	Pallister  (pen.) Robledo Morris Bennett		Stroud  32' Bevis  67' Lewis  70', 78'	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 16,200

Southampton v Barnsley

26 December 1946 21	Southampton	1–1	Barnsley	Southampton
	Ramsey  88' (pen.)		Morris	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 21,556

Southampton v Newport County

28 December 1946 22	Southampton	5–1	Newport County	Southampton
	Lewis  6' Bradley  23', 59' Stroud  68' Bevis  70'		Rawcliffe  83'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 17,778

Bury v Southampton

4 January 1947 23	Bury	2–1	Southampton	Bury
	Carter  70', 85'		Lewis  37'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 16,000

Nottingham Forest v Southampton

18 January 1947 24	Nottingham Forest	6–0	Southampton	Nottingham
	Lyman  5', 62' Edwards  20' Brown  43' Barks  59' Brigham  77'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 20,000

Birmingham City v Southampton

1 February 1947 25	Birmingham City	3–1	Southampton	Birmingham
	Trigg  17', 83' Mulraney  41'		Bradley  50'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 32,878

Southampton v Coventry City

5 February 1947 26	Southampton	5–2	Coventry City	Southampton
	Lewis  18', 22' Roper  67' Bradley  69' Day  89'		Roberts  13', 17'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 4,289[lower-alpha 1]

Southampton v West Bromwich Albion

8 February 1947 27	Southampton	0–1	West Bromwich Albion	Southampton
			Elliott  34'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,000

Newcastle United v Southampton

15 February 1947 28	Newcastle United	1–3	Southampton	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Pearson  16'		Roper  3' Day  66' Stroud  82'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 35,000

Southampton v Luton Town

22 February 1947 29	Southampton	1–3	Luton Town	Southampton
	Roper  37'		Driver  30' Duggan  32', 50'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,700

Plymouth Argyle v Southampton

1 March 1947 30	Plymouth Argyle	2–3	Southampton	Plymouth
	Watkins  33' Thomas  70'		Mallett  36' Lewis  65', 84'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 24,071

Southampton v Millwall

22 March 1947 31	Southampton	1–2	Millwall	Southampton
	Lewis  15'		Woodward  34' Jinks  77'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,922

Bradford Park Avenue v Southampton

29 March 1947 32	Bradford Park Avenue	2–3	Southampton	Bradford
	Smith  46', 80'		Lewis  27', 31' Roper  53'	Stadium: Horsfall Stadium Attendance: 10,000

Burnley v Southampton

4 April 1947 33	Burnley	1–0	Southampton	Burnley
	Kippax  80'			Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 31,713

Southampton v Manchester City

5 April 1947 34	Southampton	0–1	Manchester City	Southampton
			Smith  27'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 24,197

Southampton v Burnley

7 April 1947 35	Southampton	0–1	Burnley	Southampton
			Knight  75'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 19,319

West Ham United v Southampton

12 April 1947 36	West Ham United	4–0	Southampton	London
	Neary  56' Wood  50' Parsons  71'			Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 21,000

Southampton v Sheffield Wednesday

19 April 1947 37	Southampton	3–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Southampton
	Bradley  2', 68' Roper  77'		Ward  10'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,514

Fulham v Southampton

26 April 1947 38	Fulham	0–0	Southampton	London
				Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 14,087

Chesterfield v Southampton

3 May 1947 39	Chesterfield	5–0	Southampton	Chesterfield
	Swinscoe  6', 89' G. Milburn  76' (pen.), 81' Oliver  88'			Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 10,000

Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

10 May 1947 40	Southampton	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
	Roper  12'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,436

Southampton v Fulham

24 May 1947 41	Southampton	2–0	Fulham	Southampton
	Bates  25' Bradley  70'			Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,738

Southampton v Leicester City

26 May 1947 42	Southampton	1–1	Leicester City	Southampton
	Bradley  39'		Smith  83'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 9,905

FA Cup

Bury (11 January 1947)

Southampton entered the 1946–47 FA Cup in the third round, facing Bury at home on 11 January 1947. The Saints controlled the game from the early exchanges, with Jack Bradley, George Lewis and Billy Bevis scoring within the first 16 minutes to put the hosts 3–0 up.[10] Bury pulled one back before the break through a penalty, which was awarded due to a handball in the area by George Smith.[10] In the second half, the Saints quickly reasserted their dominance and made it 4–1 through a second goal from Lewis in the 52nd minute.[10] After he was initially denied by the crossbar earlier on, Lewis did later complete his hat-trick (the club's first in the competition proper) when he converted following a run by Eric Webber.[10]

Newcastle United (25 January 1947)

In the fourth round Southampton travelled to face Newcastle United, who were then second in the Second Division league table.[11] The Saints took the lead in the 11th minute, as Don Roper shot from the outside of the box and scored due to a deflection off centre-half Frank Brennan.[12] The lead remained until the break, before Charlie Wayman equalised for the hosts shortly after half-time.[12] Nine minutes later he scored again, heading in a Doug Wright free-kick.[12] Wayman completed his hat-trick later in the game to put Newcastle through to the fifth round.[12] The Magpies went on to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament, before being knocked out by eventual champions Charlton Athletic.[3]

Southampton v Bury

11 January 1947 Round 3	Southampton	5–1	Bury	Southampton
	Bradley Lewis  10', 52' Bevis  16'		32' (pen.)	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 19,701

Newcastle United v Southampton

25 January 1947 Round 4	Newcastle United	3–1	Southampton	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Wayman  50', 59'		Roper  11'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 55,873

Squad statistics

Name	Pos.	Nat.	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.
Ted Bates	FW		22	4	0	0	22	4
Jack Bradley	FW		38	14	2	1	40	15
Stan Clements	HB		2	0	0	0	2	0
Eric Day	FW		19	2	2	0	21	2
Bill Ellerington	FB		19	1	1	0	20	1
George Ephgrave	GK		29	0	2	0	31	0
Wilf Grant	FW		21	3	0	0	21	3
Jack Gregory	FB		1	0	0	0	1	0
George Horsfall	HB		2	0	0	0	2	0
George Lewis	FW		28	12	2	3	30	15
Joe Mallett	HB		13	1	0	0	13	1
Alf Ramsey	FB		23	1	1	0	24	1
Bill Rochford	FB		41	0	2	0	43	0
Don Roper	FW		40	8	2	1	42	9
George Smith	HB		34	1	2	0	36	1
Len Stansbridge	GK		13	0	0	0	13	0
Bobby Veck	FW		12	1	0	0	12	1
Eric Webber	HB		40	0	2	0	42	0
Players with appearances who left the club before the end of the season
Billy Bevis	FW		14	5	2	1	16	6
Bill Bushby	HB		2	0	0	0	2	0
Harry Evans	FW		1	0	0	0	1	0
Alf Freeman	FW		7	2	0	0	7	2
Doug McGibbon	FW		12	9	0	0	12	9
Bill Stroud	HB		29	4	2	0	31	4

Most appearances

No.	Name	Pos.	Nat.	League	FA Cup	Total	Mins.
1	Bill Rochford	FB		41	2	43	3,870
2	Don Roper	FW		40	2	42	3,780
	Eric Webber	HB		40	2	42	3,780
4	Jack Bradley	FW		38	2	40	3,600
5	George Smith	HB		34	2	36	3,240
6	George Ephgrave	GK		29	2	31	2,790
	Bill Stroud	HB		29	2	31	2,790
8	George Lewis	FW		28	2	30	2,700
9	Alf Ramsey	FB		23	1	24	2,160
10	Ted Bates	FW		22	0	22	1,980

Top goalscorers

No.	Name	Pos.	Nat.	League		FA Cup		Total
				Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	GPG
1	George Lewis	FW		12	28	3	2	15	30	0.50
	Jack Bradley	FW		14	38	1	2	15	40	0.37
3	Doug McGibbon	FW		9	12	0	0	9	12	0.75
	Don Roper	FW		8	40	1	2	9	42	0.21
5	Billy Bevis	FW		5	14	1	2	6	16	0.37
6	Ted Bates	FW		4	22	0	0	4	22	0.18
	Bill Stroud	HB		4	29	0	2	4	31	0.12
8	Alf Freeman	FW		2	7	0	0	2	7	0.28
	Eric Day	FW		2	19	0	2	2	21	0.09

Transfers

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee	Ref.
April 1946	GK	George Ephgrave	Swindon Town	Free	[13]
July 1946	FB	Bill Rochford	Portsmouth	£550	[5]
July 1946	FW	George Lewis	Watford	£1,000+[lower-alpha 2]	[5]
September 1946	HB	Bill Bushby	Portsmouth	Free	[14]
October 1946	FW	Wilf Grant	Manchester City	Free	[15]
February 1947	HB	Joe Mallett	Queens Park Rangers	£5,000[lower-alpha 3]	[9]
Players transferred out
Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee	Ref.
September 1946	FB	Tom Emanuel	Llanelli	Free	[17]
January 1947	FW	Doug McGibbon	Fulham	£4,250	[18]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
April 1947	FW	Billy Bevis	Winchester City	September 1947	[9][19]
April 1947	HB	Bill Bushby	Cowes Sports	Late 1947	[9][14]
April 1947	FW	Harry Evans	Exeter City	June 1947	[9][20]
April 1947	HB	Ken Fisher	Watford	August 1947	[9][21]
April 1947	FW	Alf Freeman	Crystal Palace	August 1948	[9][22]
April 1947	HB	Bill Stroud	Leyton Orient	June 1947	[9][23]

Footnotes

1. 4,289 is Southampton's lowest post-war home league attendance.[8]
2. Lewis's transfer fee is generally reported as "a four-figure fee".[5]
3. Joe Mallett's £5,000 transfer fee was a club record at the time.[16]

References

1. "Southampton Complete History". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
2. "Season 1946-47". English League Tables, 1888-2008. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
3. "England FA Challenge Cup 1946-47". England FA Challenge Cup Finals. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
4. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 5
5. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 2
6. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 57
7. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 424
8. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 3
9. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 4
10. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 302
11. "Newcastle United results for the 1946-47 season". statto.com. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
12. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 303
13. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 310
14. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 266
15. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 333
16. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 544
17. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 66
18. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, pp. 121–122
19. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 14
20. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 311
21. Holley & Chalk 2003, p. 612
22. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 320
23. Chalk, Holley & Bull 2013, p. 474

Bibliography

• Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (November 2013), All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9926864-0-6
• Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003), Bull, David (ed.), In That Number: A Post-War Chronicle of Southampton FC, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing, ISBN 0-9534474-3-X