Manchester United in Central Europe 1908

United and Ferencváros

Having won the League Championship for the first time in the 1907-08 season, Manchester United, under the leadership of Ernest Mangnall, embarked on their first overseas tour.

06.05.08	Zurich Select	2*	4	Manchester United	Zurich
11.05.08**	Slavia	0	2	Manchester United	Prague
12.05.08***	Slavia	0	2	Manchester United	Prague
13.05.08	WSC	0	4	Manchester United	Vienna
15.05.08	WAC	0	5	Manchester United	Vienna
17.05.08	Vienna Select	0	4	Manchester United	Vienna
22.05.08	Budapest Select ****	2	6	Manchester United	Budapest
24.05.08	Ferencváros	0	7	Manchester United	Budapest

* 1 in some sources

** In some sources 09.05.08

*** in some sources 10.05.08

**** teams represented were MTC, Ferencváros & BTC

I can only find a full team listing for the game with WAC-Moger, Stacey, Burgess, Duckworth , Thompson, Downie, Meredith, Bannister,Turnbull, Picken, Wall- a strong United XI.
As Mr Mangnall commented on his return to England that United would never play Slavia again I can only assume that there was some controversy attached to the games in Prague- the English press reports contain nothing that enlightens us on this matter. 
In Vienna, the press commented, the referee ran along the touchline 'in a tremendous state of excitement...some of the attitudes he struck were simply magnificent'. The United players in this match were also surprised by the presence of some Oldham Athletic supporters- expats living in Vienna who attended despite the 1s 8d admission price. 
The game that attracted the most attention was the clash with Ferencváros.  The game ended with United being escorted from the ground by armed mounted police having being pelted with stones by the spectators (there were 16,000 present). Thompson received a superficial injury. 

Refereeing was the issue, as was often the case with overseas games in this era. The rules on the continent tended to be interpreted differently- physical contact, a staple of the English game, was frowned upon. 
Firstly it would appear that there were 'goal judges' deployed at the posts who actually interfered with the play in some way. 
There was controversy over a penalty awarded to United-  a United forward 'cleverly rolled into the penalty area' after being fouled, According to Hungarian sources the referee was aware of the deceit but was placed under pressure by the Manchester United players. Goalkeeper Moger scored the penalty to complete the 7-0 scoreline.
There is also some suggestion that the referee wished to dismiss 3 United players for overly physical play. Ferencváros lost 2 players to injury. Communication broke down and when one of the United men (Thompson) placed a hand on the referees shoulder the crowd became incensed.
Some reports held that there were no hard feelings after the game and that the 2 sides dined together, a suggestion dismissed by Mr Mangnall.

Manchester Courier

Incidentally, in the Ferencváros game 2 of the great players of the era shared a pitch for the only time. Billy Meredith and Imre Schlosser made 116 international appearances between them in careers that totalled 48 years.

Footballs

A newspaper advertisment from pre- revolutionary Russia. I Glazynov of Moscow offers London made footballs. The  'American rubber ' balls come in 5 sizes. Almost twice as costly are the 'English leather' balls.

De Pijn trekt weg...

Kloosterbalsem (Cloister Balm) was an ointment for the treatment of bruises, sprains, scratches and blisters. Here it is endorsed by Kees van Dijke, the Feyenoord defender who played 3 times for The Netherlands in 1925.

Der Verband der Prager Deutschen Fußball-Vereine

The history of German domestic football is made very complex by the large number of regional competitions that fed into the National Championships. Another level of complexity emerges when we consider that there were actually clubs competing in the German National Championships that were from outside the borders of Germany itself. Prague was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy- being in Bohemia,a province of the Austrian Empire. There were a number of football clubs in Prague that were associated with the German speaking community (which was in fact diminishing rapidly during this era- at the turn of the century about 10% of the population of the city were Germans).
In 1900 Der Verband der Prager Deutschen Fußball-Vereine was founded- an association of German football clubs in Prague (which in German is Prag).
When the Deutscher Fußball Bund was established in 1900 there were 2 Prague based clubs among the founder members- the very similarly named Deutscher FC Prag and Deutscher FC Germania Prag.

The first championship was held in the 1901-02 season. The following teams took part:
Deutscher FC Germania Prag
FC Austria Prag
FC Favorit Prag
FC Hellas 1900 Prag
Fußball Sektion der Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten Prag
FuAC Sport Prag
FC Sturm Prag
Deutscher FC Prag

 Deutscher FC Germania Prag emerged as champions.

The club had been founded as Unitas Prag in 1898 by Heinrich Nonner, who had previously played for Regatta Prag and DFC Prag. For a short while the club was renamed Urania before becoming  Germania. It was  Nonner who represented the club at the first ever meeting of the Deutscher Fußball Bund.

1n 1902-03 only 3 clubs participated in the championship. It would appear that DFC Prag were selected to compete in the German national championships in rather a random manner as the Prague tournament was not conclusively decided.

In March 1903  DFC Germania Prag went out of existence.They faced financial problems and had lost their home ground, on which a church was to be built. The club relocated to Graslitz (which is now the Czech city of Kraslice).

This signalled the demise of  Der Verband der Prager Deutschen Fußball-Vereine , as only 2 active clubs remained. 

 Germany joined FIFA  in 1904, and consequently teams from outside the country were no longer allowed to play in the DFB competitions. 

Nonner

Lausanne v Streatham 1870

The history of Association Football is rendered all the more colourful by the controversies and disputes that crop up from time to time.
Here is a very early example, taken from an otherwise unremarkable club match played at Steatham, London on 12.03.70.
The match report in The Sportsman of 16.03.70  has matter of factly Peckham scoring after 15 minutes and Streatham winning 'a very pleasant game', 1-0.
In the pre FA Cup era the team captains would attempt to resolve any disputes, safe in the presumption that no English gemtleman would willfully cheat or seek to gain an unfair advantage, Many club matches (in which fielding a compliment of 11 per side  was something of an achievement) were played without referees or umpires.

Lausanne Version

The Lausanne version of events appeared in a letter published in The Sportsman on 17.03.90. The author , unnamed, was the Hon Sec. of the Lausanne club. The following points were made:

• The result was not confirmed and it had been agreed to refer the matter to Mr C.W Alcock
• The ball had gone into touch.
• It had hit a tree 12 or 14ft (3 m) outside the boundary.
• It had rolled back into play.
• Streatham played on.
• Lausanne were calling for the ball to be brought back for the throw in, and had lined up in preparation for this (in these days the ball had to be thrown in at right angles and the players awaited this in a manner resembling the line out in Rugby Union).

The editor of The Sportsman ( this was possibly C.W Alcock, as the paper stated that all matters relating to football were to be addressed to him at their offices)  appended this letter with the comment that the goal should not have stood.

The Streatham Version

 A letter from Charles Dunt, Hon Sec of Streatham, waspublished in The Sportsman 19.03.70. Mr Dunt made the following observations:

• The trees were about 6 feet (1.8 m) from the boundary flags.
• The branches of the trees overhung the field of play.
• The ball struck the overhanging branches.
• It bounded back into play.
• A Lausanne player played the ball.
• He was dispossessed by Kolle of Streatham.
• Kolle centred to Peckham and Peckham scored.
• Lausanne didn't complain about the goal until after the game.

The Sportsman reported on 19.03.70 that the match had ended in a draw, as the former had claimed a goal from a dead ball.

The line ups were:
Lausanne: Marsden, Rummell, Figg, Hammond, Dawson, Abraham, Cohen, Dummler, Foord, A.W Walker, J.S Walker.

Streatham: J Kolle, C Kolle, Galton, G Rouse, J Dawson, Peckham, J Terrell, Mills, Ralli, Pryce, Lynch-White.

The earliest reference I can find in the press to Lausanne FC is 11th December 1869, though a foundation date of 1867 is claimed.

Interestingly in the latter half of the 1860s Englishmen were playing football in Lausanne in Switzerland, though my research has revealed no links between these pioneers and the Lausanne of Dulwich. There is a Lausanne Road in Peckham, which may be a source of the club name.
The Merry Swiss Boys sported what must have been one of the most distinctive jerseys in the history of British football-violet with an amber stripe on the left arm. The club later  concentrated on Rugby, becoming founder members of the RFU in 1871.

Czechoslovakia 1920

Czech international football had endured a 12 year hiatus following Bohemia's loss of international status in 1908.

The new Czechoslovakian team made their international bow at the 1920 Olympics, although the core of the squad had competed in the 1919 Inter Allied Games.
On 28th August 1920 Czechoslovakia made their international debut- beating Yugoslavia 7-0 ( scorers: Vanik (3), Janda (3) , Sedláček).
The following day Janda scored another hattrick as Norway were beaten 4-0.
In the semi final (31.08.20) France were beaten 4-1. On this occasion Otakar Škvajn  was the hattrick scorer.

The stage was set then, for Czechoslovakia to be effectively crowned World Champions in their 4th competitive international match.

Famously, of course, this was not to be the case.

The line up for the final was:

GK	Rudolf Klapka	Viktoria Žižkov
FB	Antonin Hojer	Sparta
FB	Karel Steiner	Viktoria Žižkov
HB	František Kolenatý	Sparta
HB	Karel Pešek (C)	Sparta
HB	Emil Seifert	Viktoria Žižkov
F	Josef Sedláček	Sparta
F	Antonín Janda	Sparta
F	Václav Pilát	Sparta
F	Jan Vaník	Slavia
F	Otakar Škvajn	Sparta

The 3 players who featured in the tournament but not in the final itself were : Miroslav Pospíšil, Antonín Perner (v Yugoslavia) & Jan Plaček (v France). They were all Sparta Prague players.

Early Association Football in Wales

The Football Association of Wales was founded in March 1876. At this point there were already a number of well established clubs in the Principality- mostly in the north East. Let's take a closer look at the development of the game in Wales up to this point.

For many years it was held that the Wrexham club was founded in 1873. There is, however, compelling documentary evidence that the football branch of the Wrexham Cricket club was launched in 1864.  and accounts of early matches can be read on the Welsh Newspapers Online section of the National Library of Wales website.
Previously Druids FC of Ruabon claimed to be the oldest club in Wales, originating from the Plasmadoc club formed in 1869. The Shropshire team Oswestry (who feature large in the early history of Welsh Cup and international football) may have had its origins as early as 1860.

A report in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality (19.03.64) shows a misunderstanding of the game, each instance of a goal being scored (the original term was won) being seen as the conclusion of a 'game':

HOLYHEAD.A FOOTBALL MATCH between eleven of the Anglesey Collegiate School and eleven of Holyhead was played on Friday the 11th. Nine games were played, the Collegiate eleven winning five. The last game won by the Anglesey Collegiate School was objected to by the Holyhead side, though the ball was played fairly into their goal.

The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality (19.03.64) 

 Denbighshire County Cricket Club acquired a football in October 1864 and were playing scratch games soon after.

In the south west corner of Wales, at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, the local college was an early centre of the Association game. The College was the first football club in Wales to join the Football Association (1868). A report of a match played by Milford College appeared in The Pembrokeshire Herald and General Advertiser (29.11.67):
MILFORD FOOTBALL-A match was played at Milford, on Wednesday, the 27th inst., between the Milford College and Haverfordwest Grammar School, which ended in favour of the former, who obtained eight goals to none. The match was played with great spirit though unsuccessfully on the part of the Grammar School. For the College, Messrs Fincham, Mason, Harries, Child, Austin. Evans, Stokes, and Summers (captain) and for the Grammar School, Messrs Davies, E. Saunders, T. Baker, Reynish, and Wutbins, played well. The goals were kicked as follows: Fincham 3, Mason 3, Harries 1, Child 1

 The Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register (16.11.67) reported a match between Wrexham Provincial and a Ruabon Grammar school side that featured Llewellyn Kenrick, who went on to become first chairman and honorary secretary of the Football Association of Wales.

 Aberystwyth Times Cardiganshire Chronicle and Merionethshire News (31.12.68) reported: CORWEN FOOTBALL.-The Hon. C. H. Wynn has kindly encouraged manly sports and innocent recreation (which are so much needed in North Wales), by presenting the town players with a magnificent football of the very best London make, and its admirable qualities were fully shown in a friendly match played on Saturday week, in a field near the new footbridge, kindly lent by Mr Hugh Jones, postmaster.

 In the 1870s familiar names were beginning to emerge- Ruabon Druids, Plasmadoc, Wrexham  etc. The general rule seems to have been that in the south Rugby was the favoured code whereas the north and mid-Wales were Association  minded.
In the early 1870s new clubs were formed with regularity throughout north and mid Wales: Portmadoc (Porthmadog) Cricket Club formed a football section in October 1872. In the same month Cefn played their 1st match at Plasmadoc Park and Llangollen FC was formed.
 January 1873 saw Borth and Aberystwyth playing each other. The following month Carnarvon (Caernarfon) were in action at Portmadoc (Porthmadog).
Other clubs getting mentions in the press were: Whittington, Whitchurch, St Oswalds (Oswestry) and Wynnstay. Wrexham had a number of minor clubs such as Grove Park, whilst Ruabon was home to Rovers and Volunteers (later merging to form the Druids).

 In 1875 the County of Denbigh XI featured a number of future internationals : L. Kenrick, D. Thompson, Dr Grey (Wales); H. Wace (England), and J. Hawley-Edwards (Wales & England).

The Football Association of  Wales (initially known as The Cambrian Football Association) was formed for the express purpose of arranging the international fixture with Scotland. Early accounts show that the association was committed to representing both north and south wales, despite the virtual absence of clubs in the south.
Wales' first international XI was drawn from the following clubs:
Druids, Shropshire Wanderers, Oxford University, Wrexham, Oswestry, Shrewsbury.

Jimmy Brogan

                                                                      Lloyd's Weekly London  Newspaper  (15.11.91)

Jimmy Brogan scored 6 goals on his debut in senior football in 1883 (Hibernian beating Edina 10-1 in the Scottish Cup). Brogan joined Heart of Midlothian the following season and then moved to Bolton Wanderers in 1884.  He joined Bolton after appearing  for  Heart of Midlothian in a Boxing Day friendly against  Blackburn Rovers.
I don't have access to statistics from thre pre Football League years, but from 1888-92 Brogan made 82 first team appearances for Bolton , scoring 30 goals. 

The British League Cup 1902

To be the Champion of Britain was, as we have seen, the equivalent of being the Champion of the World. The domestic football of England and Scotland was without equal well into the 20th century.
From the 1870s onwards there were showdowns between English and Scottish clubs , both formal and informal, and then in 1902 a tournament called The British league Cup was played.
Unfortunately this was not the grand championship that it might have been. The tournament was set up by Glasgow Rangers as a fundraiser for victims of the Ibrox Disaster. The trophy Rangers donated was the £100 Exhibition Cup that they had won by beating Celtic at the Glasgow International Trade Fair the previous year. 

The four teams that took part in the British League Cup were the League Champions and runners up from the recently ended domestic season in England and Scotland, namely Sunderland, Everton, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic.

The Football League Div. 1 1901-02
		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Sunderland	34	19	6	9	50	35	44
2	Everton	34	17	7	10	53	35	41

The Scottish Football League Div. 1  1901-02
		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Glasgow Rangers	18	13	2	3	43	29	28
2	Celtic	18	11	4	3	38	28	26

30.04.02- Celtic 5 Sunderland 1
Played at Ibrox, attendance 4,000

Celtic	Sunderland
Edmond	E. Doig
Watson	Annan
Battles	Watson
Loney	Ferguson
Marshall	McAllister
Orr	Jackson
Livingston	W.Hogg
McDermott	R.Hogg
Campbell	Miller
McMahon	Gemmell
Quinn	McLatchie

Billy Hogg was the only Englishman in the Sunderland team. Both sides were considered to be below full strength and receipts of £100 were taken. 

01.05.02- Everton 1 Glasgow Rangers 1.
Played at Goodison*, attendance 8,000.

Everton	Glasgow Rangers
G Kitchen	M Dickie
G Eccles	N Smith
J Watson	J Drummond
S Wolstenholme	N Gibson
J Blythe	B Neil
W Abbott	J Stark
J Taylor	J Graham
J Brearley	J Robertson
A Young	R Hamilton
J Bell	J Miller
T Dilly	A Smith

20 minutes of extra time was played.

03.05.02-  Glasgow Rangers 3 Everton 2
The replay was held at Celtic Park. Four of the Rangers players from the first match were absent, as they were playing in the international at Villa park that day (this was the 'replay' of the Ibrox game at which the tragedy occurred) the players were Nicol Smith, Drummond, Robertson and Alex Smith. Everton's Jimmy Settle appeared for England.


17.06.02- Celtic 3 Glasgow Rangers 2
The final was played at Cathkin park on 17.06.02- This was the day of The Coronation of King Edward VII.  A crowd of 12,000 turned out. The takings were reported as being '£265 at the gate and £49 at the stands'- the total raised by the 4 matches was £900.

Celtic		Glasgow Rangers
McPherson	GK	Dickie
Watson	FB	N.Smith
Battles	FB	Crawford
Loney	HB	Gibson
Marshall	HB	Stark
Orr	HB	Robertson
Crawford	F	Lennie
Campbell	F	Walker
Quinn	F	Hamilton
McDermott	F	Speedie
Hamilton	F	A.Smith

Jimmy Quinn

Celtic's Jimmy Quinn scored 3 goals in the final. 

*Some sources state that this match was played at Celtic Park- a report in The Edinburgh Evening News (02.05.02) makes it clear that this was not the case.