1921–22 Nelson F.C. season

Nelson F.C.
1921–22 season
Manager	David Wilson (player-manager)
Football League Third Division North	16th (W:13 D:7 L:18 Pts:33)
FA Cup	Sixth Qualifying Round
Highest home attendance	9,000 (vs Wigan Borough, 27 August 1921)
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1920–21 1922–23 →

The 1921–22 season was the 41st season of football played by Nelson. It was their first season as a professional club, and their first in the Football League Third Division North, after the restructuring of the English league system. The side ended the season in 16th place in the division, finishing behind Barrow on goal average.^[1] The campaign started on 27 August 1921 with a 1–2 defeat by Wigan Borough, which was attended by a then record crowd of 9,000 at Seedhill.^[2] Nelson's first win in the Football League came on 3 September 1921, when they beat Wigan Borough 4–1 at Springfield Park. The season ended with a 0–0 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers on 6 May 1922. By the end of the campaign, the side had a league record of 13 wins, seven draws and 18 defeats, giving them a total of 33 points.^[1]

In the FA Cup, the side entered the competition in the Fourth Qualifying Round. They defeated Accrington Stanley and then won their Fifth Qualifying Round match 3–2 at home to Rochdale. However, they did not progress past the Sixth Qualifying Round, when they were knocked out by Worksop Town.^[3]

Season review

Events

27 August: Billy Halligan scores Nelson's first-ever goal in the Football League, two minutes into the first game of the season against Wigan Borough.
3 September: Nelson get their first win in the Football League, defeating Wigan Borough 4–1 at Springfield Park.
8 October: Nelson's six-match unbeaten run in the league comes to an end following a 1–4 defeat away at Accrington Stanley.
19 November: Nelson progress through to the Fifth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup with a 1–0 win over Accrington Stanley.
3 December: A 3–2 victory over Rochdale sees Nelson through to the Sixth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.
17 December: Nelson are knocked out of the FA Cup, losing 1–2 away at Worksop Town.
2 January: The side achieve their biggest win of the campaign, a 4–0 victory against Wrexham at Seedhill.
28 January: Hartlepools United inflict Nelson's heaviest defeat of the season, a 6–1 drubbing at Victoria Park.
6 May: Nelson draw their final league game of the season, a 0–0 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers.

League progress

The chart below shows Nelson's league positions throughout the course of the 1921–22 season. The green area (position 1) represents the automatic promotion place to the Football League Second Division, while the red area (positions 19 and 20) shows the teams who had to apply for re-election to the League at the end of the season. The highest position achieved by Nelson during the season was 1st place, after the fourth match. In the middle of the season Nelson slipped down the league table, eventually finishing in 16th position.

Statistics

League position

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
14	Lincoln City^[a]	38	14	6	18	48	59	0.814	34
15	Barrow^[b]	38	14	5	19	42	54	0.778	33
16	Nelson^[c]	38	13	7	18	48	66	0.727	33
17	Wigan Borough^[b]	38	11	9	18	46	72	0.639	31
18	Tranmere Rovers^[c]	38	9	11	18	51	61	0.836	29

Source: rsssf.com
Notes:

^ Returned after one season absence, spent in the Midland League
^ ^a ^b New club in the league; elected from Lancashire Combination
^ ^a ^b New club in the league; elected from Central League

Player details

During the 1921–22 season, 29 different players appeared in at least one competitive match for Nelson. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.

Nat.	Position	Player	Third Division (North)		FA Cup		Total
Nat.	Position	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	FW	Harold Andrews	8	1	0	0	8	1
	MF	Richard Baird	2	0	0	0	2	0
	FW	John Bennie	12	6	2	0	14	6
	GK	Robert Bruce	7	0	3	0	10	0
	GK	Harry Clegg	5	0	0	0	5	0
	DF	Eddie Eastwood	1	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	Joe Eddleston	37	16	3	1	40	17
	MF	Thomas Garnett	1	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	Billy Halligan	17	6	3	0	20	6
	FW	Harry Hargreaves	13	2	0	0	13	2
	DF	Ray Hartley	1	0	0	0	1	0
	GK	Harry Heyes	26	0	0	0	26	0
	MF	Sid Hoad	16	0	0	0	16	0
	DF	Thomas Jacques	17	1	3	0	20	1
	DF	Bob Lilley	34	0	3	1	37	1
	FW	William McGreevy	3	1	0	0	3	1
	FW	Cecil Marsh	17	2	2	0	19	2
	FW	Harry Mellor	1	0	0	0	1	0
	DF	James Price	20	0	0	0	20	0
	MF	Wilfred Proctor	14	1	2	0	16	1
	DF	Clement Rigg	29	0	3	0	32	0
	DF	John Steel	25	0	0	0	25	0
	DF	Albert Turner	1	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	William Waller	25	7	3	3	28	10
	DF	John Walmsley	1	0	0	0	1	0
	DF	Bob Wilde	36	0	3	0	39	0
	DF	David Wilson	34	3	3	0	37	3
	MF	William Wilson	1	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	James Wootton	14	1	0	0	14	1

FW = Forward, MF = Midfielder, GK = Goalkeeper, DF = Defender

Match results

Football League Third Division North

27 August 1921 1	Nelson	1–2	Wigan Borough	Nelson
	Halligan 2'	Report	Hodges Twiss	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 12,000 Referee: I. Baker

3 September 1921 2	Wigan Borough	1–4	Nelson	Wigan
	Hornby	Report	Jacques Hargreaves Halligan Marsh	Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 8,000 Referee: I. Baker

10 September 1921 3	Lincoln City	0–2	Nelson	Lincoln
		Report	Halligan 30' Hargreaves 39'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 6,000 Referee: A. Scholey

12 September 1921 4	Nelson	1–0	Stalybridge Celtic	Nelson
	Proctor 37'	Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 10,000 Referee: J.O. Forshaw

17 September 1921 5	Nelson	0–0	Lincoln City	Nelson
		Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 10,000 Referee: A. Scholey

24 September 1921 6	Darlington	0–1	Nelson	Darlington
		Report	Halligan 87'	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 10,000 Referee: A. Pellowe

1 October 1921 7	Nelson	1–1	Darlington	Nelson
	Eddleston	Report	Hooper	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 10,000

8 October 1921 8	Accrington Stanley	4–1	Nelson	Accrington
	Green Hosker Makin	Report	Halligan	Stadium: Peel Park Attendance: 14,000 Referee: G.N. Watson

15 October 1921 9	Nelson	0–1	Accrington Stanley	Nelson
		Report	Green (pen.)	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 12,000 Referee: G.N. Watson

22 October 1921 10	Chesterfield	1–2	Nelson	Chesterfield
	Clarke	Report	Eddleston	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 6,000 Referee: C.F. Porter

29 October 1921 11	Nelson	2–0	Chesterfield	Nelson
	Eddleston Marsh	Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 5,000 Referee: C.F. Porter

5 November 1921 12	Crewe Alexandra	2–1	Nelson	Crewe
	Caulfield (pen.) Winterburn	Report	Eddleston	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 5,000 Referee: H.V. Stott

12 November 1921 13	Nelson	1–2	Crewe Alexandra	Nelson
	Chorlton (o.g.)	Report	Winterburn Hassall	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 8,000 Referee: H.V. Stott

26 November 1921 14	Wrexham	4–2	Nelson	Wrexham
	Jones Goode Burton Cotton	Report	Bennie Waller	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 6,000 Referee: A. Scholey

24 December 1921 15	Barrow	0–2	Nelson	Barrow-in-Furness
		Report	Eddleston Bennie	Stadium: Holker Street Attendance: 5,000 Referee: S. Rothwell

26 December 1921 16	Nelson	3–5	Durham City	Nelson
	Bennie Andrews Waller	Report	Cousins Dobinson Young	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 8,000 Referee: E. Farrar

27 December 1921 17	Stalybridge Celtic	2–0	Nelson	Stalybridge
	Petrie Gee	Report		Stadium: Bower Fold Attendance: 6,000 Referee: J.O. Forshaw

31 December 1921 18	Ashington	4–0	Nelson	Ashington
	Robertson Galloway Dargue	Report		Stadium: Portland Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: F. Leigh

2 January 1922 19	Nelson	4–0	Wrexham	Nelson
	Bennie Waller Eddleston	Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 4,000 Referee: J. Rennie

14 January 1922 20	Nelson	0–2	Ashington	Nelson
		Report	Featherstone (pen.) Dargue	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 3,000 Referee: F. Leigh

21 January 1922 21	Nelson	0–4	Hartlepools United	Nelson
		Report	Parkinson Burn Crowther Yews	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 4,000 Referee: A. Ward

28 January 1922 22	Hartlepools United	6–1	Nelson	Hartlepool
	Parkinson Robertson Thomas Crowther	Report	Eddleston	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 7,000 Referee: A.Ward

4 February 1922 23	Nelson	3–2	Southport	Nelson
	Wilson (pen.) Bennie Eddleston	Report	Rawlins Little	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 4,000 Referee: W.F. Bunnell

11 February 1922 24	Southport	0–1	Nelson	Southport
		Report	Eddleston	Stadium: Haig Avenue Attendance: 4,000 Referee: W.F. Bunnell

18 February 1922 25	Nelson	2–2	Stockport County	Nelson
	Hallingan Waller	Report	Heath Gault	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 8,000 Referee: J.O. Forshaw

25 February 1922 26	Stockport County	3–0	Nelson	Stockport
	Gault Heath (pen.) Waterall	Report		Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 10,000 Referee: J.O. Forshaw

4 March 1922 27	Nelson	3–0	Grimsby Town	Nelson
	Eddleston Waller	Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 7,000 Referee: H. Cooper

11 March 1922 28	Grimsby Town	3–1	Nelson	Cleethorpes
	Carmichael (pen.) Casson	Report	Eddleston	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 9,000 Referee: H. Cooper

18 March 1922 29	Walsall	2–0	Nelson	Walsall
	Reid Bowyer	Report		Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 5,500 Referee: J. Holmes

1 April 1922 30	Nelson	0–0	Halifax Town	Nelson
		Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 7,000 Referee: G.N. Watson

8 April 1922 31	Halifax Town	3–1	Nelson	Halifax
	Jamieson Dent	Report	Wootton	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 2,000 Referee: G.N. Watson

14 April 1922 32	Durham City	2–0	Nelson	Durham
	Wensley Wilson	Report		Stadium: Kepier Haughs Attendance: 1,000 Referee: E. Farrar

15 April 1922 33	Rochdale	2–2	Nelson	Rochdale
	Dennison	Report	Eddleston Wilson	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 3,000 Referee: H.W. Andrews

17 April 1922 34	Nelson	1–1	Barrow	Nelson
	McGreevy	Report	Matthews	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 5,000 Referee: S. Rothwell

22 April 1922 35	Nelson	4–1	Rochdale	Nelson
	Eddleston Wilson	Report	Hill	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 4,000 Referee: H.W. Andrews

25 April 1922 36	Nelson	1–0	Walsall	Nelson
	Waller	Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 3,000 Referee: J. Holmes

29 April 1922 37	Tranmere Rovers	4–0	Nelson	Birkenhead
	Campbell Milnes Moreton Rainford	Report		Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 3,000 Referee: J.E. Telford

6 May 1922 38	Nelson	0–0	Tranmere Rovers	Nelson
		Report		Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 4,000 Referee: J.E. Telford

FA Cup

19 November 1921 Q4	Accrington Stanley	0–1	Nelson	Accrington
			Waller	Stadium: Peel Park Attendance: 10,106 Referee: J.V. Pennington

3 December 1921 Q5	Nelson	3–2	Rochdale	Nelson
	Eddleston Waller Lilley (pen.)		Bennett Dennison	Stadium: Seedhill Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Unknown

17 December 1921 Q6	Worksop Town	2–1	Nelson	Worksop
	Charlesworth Bretnall		Waller	Stadium: Central Avenue Attendance: 5,000 Referee: H. Kirk

References

General

"Nelson 1921/1922 results and fixtures". Soccerbase. Retrieved 16 December 2009.

Specific

^ ^a ^b Robinson, M, ed. (2006). Football League Tables 1888–2006. Soccer Books. p. 16. ISBN 1-86223-143-5.
^ "Nelson FC: 1921–1923". Nelson F.C. 8 April 2005. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
^ Broughton, Gary (29 October 2007). "Blues Complete F.A. Cup History". Nelson FC. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.

[table_note_LIN0.87825099047192-4] Returned after one season absence, spent in the Midland League

[table_note_ACC0.87825099047192-5] New club in the league; elected from Lancashire Combination

[table_note_CRE0.87825099047192-6] New club in the league; elected from Central League

[table-1] Robinson, M, ed. (2006). Football League Tables 1888–2006. Soccer Books. p. 16. ISBN 1-86223-143-5.

[history1921-2] "Nelson FC: 1921–1923". Nelson F.C. 8 April 2005. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 23 November 2009.

[FACup-3] Broughton, Gary (29 October 2007). "Blues Complete F.A. Cup History". Nelson FC. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.

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