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]
| 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
- 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
- "Arsenal First Team Line-ups". www.thearsenalhistory.com. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- Arsenal were disqualified, after failing to play extra time. Sources: http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/stat/aftlu.htm and Arsenal: The Complete Record [1].
- This was recorded as an Arsenal victory, though the result is not clear, see http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/stat/aftlu.htm