
Part 2 - Results
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By the summer of 1907, the appetite for success of Leeds City's
ambitious board of directors had been thoroughly whetted by two
years of hard competition in the Second Division of the Football
League. They had fully expected to taste
early success after admission to the League in 1905, less
than twelve months after the club was formed. Chelsea were elected
at the same time as City, and secured promotion at the second
attempt, prompting envious thoughts in the West Riding. If the
Southern upstarts merited top-flight football, then the Peacocks
deserved nothing less.
A sixth place finish was as promising as much of their football
in the club's debut season, but their second campaign was disappointing,
with some mediocre performances and a lowly conclusion. The board,
led by chairman Norris Hepworth,
expected better - promotion was the minimum target for 1907/08,
and many felt that even the championship should not be beyond
City.
The directors had poured money into the club from the start,
and demanded that secretary-manager
Gilbert Gillies deliver success this time around. The summer
of 1907saw no let up in the team building process as Elland Road
welcomed another couple of costly imports, Fred Croot and Tom
Hynds.
21-year-old Croot, a dashing left winger of some renown, joined
City from Sheffield United on 3 May and went on to become one
of the club's most outstanding servants, making 218 League appearances
over the twelve years that followed. He possessed a gifted left
foot and was noted for his dangerous crosses, making him an ideal
provider for centre-forward Billy McLeod. Croot was just as likely,
though, to cut in and shoot himself, being one of the country's
top scoring wide men.
Hynds was a mature and robust Scottish centre-half, cool, self-assured
and accurate with his passing. He began his top class career with
Celtic, but never became a first team regular, going out on loan
to a number of clubs before moving permanently to Manchester City
in 1902. He won a Second Division championship medal a year later
and added an FA Cup winners medal in 1904 when City beat Bolton
Wanderers at Crystal
Palace with a goal from the legendary Billy Meredith. Hynds was
good enough to be picked for an Anglo-Scots representative side
that played against the Home Scots in March 1905 but was suspended
from football between June and December 1906 for his part in an
illegal payments scandal before finishing the season at Woolwich
Arsenal. His experience at the highest level in both England and
Scotland made him an ideal choice as the new Leeds City captain.
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The club also signed a couple of right-backs from Bolton Wanderers,
Harry Kay and William
Bates, in an effort to find a regular partner for the reliable
Scot, David Murray. It
was Kay who got the first opportunity to stake his claim, partnering
Murray in front of Harry Bromage,
the omnipresent custodian.
City had closed their previous campaign
with a strong burst of form, losing just two of their last eleven
games, and the Selection Committee kept faith with most of the
men who had featured in that run when they determined their choice
to open the new season.
The half-back combination for the opening day saw Hynds partnered
by Tom Tompkins, a close
season signing from junior club Denaby United, and old hand James
Henderson. Croot was the only change up front, coming in to
partner Fred Parnell, Bob
Watson, Billy McLeod and Jack
Lavery.
As the City eleven took the field in their usual strip of dark
blue shirts with old-gold trimming, white shorts and blue socks
for the season's opener, hopes were exceptionally high. Their
first test came on 2 September at home to Glossop North End, who
had barely survived a year long battle to avoid re-election, securing
their position only in the final week of the season. The Peacocks
looked forward to a soft curtain raiser to bolster their confidence
for what they hoped would be a successful campaign.
Sure enough, they emerged with a win, the 2-1 scoreline meaning
that for the first time in their short history the team had earned
full points from their opening fixture. However, they struggled
against a Glossop team that battled manfully and took a totally
unexpected lead after half an hour when Mackenzie, their centre-forward,
gave them something to show for a decent period of play.
In the second half, the debutant Croot turned the game City's
way with some excellent football, laying on both goals. First,
he went on a sparkling run down the left flank and pushed the
ball inside for Lavery to beat goalkeeper Tustin; later, his canny
lob into the centre struck the bar, dropping down for Watson to
head the winning goal, though it was later recorded as an own
goal by the keeper.
The former Sheffield winger was the day's star turn, as noted
in the Leeds Mercury: "In Croot, the club have obtained a really
good man for the outside-left position. He pleased the crowd with
his splendid turn of speed and the accuracy of his centres. He
knows how to play to his inside man."
The paper was less impressed with Croot's team mates: "Parnell
and Watson have not yet got into their best form … the forward
line … playing somewhat raggedly … Tom Hynds … acted as captain
yesterday, and although he has a fairly good control of the ball
he struck one as being somewhat slow. No doubt, after a little
more training, he will improve in this respect.
"Henderson was as warlike as ever, and he covered a lot of ground,
doing a great deal of useful work. Tompkins, who played in the
right-half position, did not show as good form as in practice
games. He had some difficulty in keeping his feet on the slippery
turf, and occasionally might with advantage have gone for the
ball instead of waiting for it to come to him.
"With regard to the backs, Murray and Kay came out of trying
situations in clever fashion. Yet they were not steady enough
to inspire one with confidence. Murray was the better of the pair,
and kicked with strength and tackled with certainty. Bromage in
goal kept out some rasping shots, but he left his charge
two or three times riskily, and a little coolness on the part
of the attackers might have ended in disaster."
Nevertheless, a win was a win and Croot's sparkling display hinted
at some enjoyable moments to come in a season that brimmed over
with rich potential.
Tom Hynds gave a better performance in the match that followed
at Leicester Fosse, with the Mercury's Wanderer noting, "Hynds
was undoubtedly the pick. The manner in which he engineered the
ball and placed it was exceedingly clever, and it is no exaggeration
to say that he was the mainstay of the team. As a captain, too,
he was exceedingly useful, and kept his men together cleverly."
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City played well and should have won - there was no score at
the interval but the Peacocks fought back after falling behind
to take a 2-1 lead with goals from Watson and McLeod. It looked
like they would hold out to take both points, but Leicester luckily
equalised in the final minute when Harry Bromage allowed a soft
shot from Middleton to slip through his fingers.
The City players could have been excused for letting the disappointment
of the dropped point affect their play, but two days later they
bounced back in astonishing style with a breathtaking 5-2 victory
at Elland Road against Clapton Orient.
In March 1906, the Londoners had shipped six goals against City,
and while the winning margin this time was a mere three goals,
the play was every bit as one sided. Clapton keeper Whittaker
suffered a nightmare, surrendering goals to Watson and Croot in
the first ten minutes with some schoolboy errors. Further efforts
by Watson and Lavery built up a four goal lead by the interval
before inside-forward Oliver pulled a couple of goals back for
Orient in the second half. Stung by this, City rallied and Lavery
scored his second and the Peacocks' fifth in the last few minutes
to leave Leeds impressive winners. The victory saw the club sitting
for the first time atop the Division Two table.
It was early days as yet, but progress was heartening, as noted
in the Mercury by Flaneur: "Leeds City may not maintain their
present high position in the Second Division of the League; they
will, in the ordinary course, suffer their defeats and disappointments;
but they have, I think, a team capable of achieving a greater
measure of success than fell to the lot of the club last season.
Weak places have been strengthened by the acquisition of Tom Hynds
and Croot, and, though one must keep an open mind as to the possibilities
of Kay and Tompkins, the whole team seems better balanced than
was the case a year ago."
|
Top of Division Two - 14 September 1907 |
|
Pos
|
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
Pts
|
|
1st
|
Leeds
City |
4
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
12
|
7
|
7
|
|
2nd
|
Hull
City |
4
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
|
3rd
|
Gainsboro'
Trinity |
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
5
|
|
4th
|
Clapton
Orient |
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
8
|
12
|
5
|
|
5th
|
Fulham |
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
2
|
4
|
|
6th
|
West
Brom Albion |
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
3
|
4
|
|
7th
|
Derby
County |
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
3
|
4
|
|
8th
|
Oldham
Athletic |
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Their leadership of the table was reinforced by a hotly contested
3-2 victory at Blackpool on September 14. The Seasiders equalised
twice after first Bob Watson and then John Lavery gave City the
lead. Fred Croot produced another sparkling performance and laid
on a late winner for Fred Parnell with a dangerous cross into
the goal area.
City were rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with, carrying
all before them on the back of Croot's penetration. The winger
was inspiring the men around him.
The opening run of games was just what the doctor had ordered.
Many of the clubs below City had games in hand, but this did nothing
to quell the joy of everyone associated with Elland Road - the
Peacocks finally seemed to be living up to the expectations of
Gilbert Gillies and the club's directors.
They were given food for thought a week later, though, when City's
unbeaten run was rudely ended by a 2-1 defeat at Stoke on September
21.
The first four games had seen the same eleven on duty, but now
a change was forced by the absence of young Tom Tompkins, missing
through an injury sustained at Blackpool. 21-year-old Jimmy
Thorpe thus made his debut, and he did well enough, proving
himself, according to Wanderer in the Leeds Mercury, "a very capable
half-back. He is very cool, and uses good judgement when passing
the ball."
His colleagues, though, were not displaying the same confidence,
as Wanderer commented: "Leeds City were very disappointing. They
did not infuse into their play the dash which has characterised
their previous exhibitions. They were too slow on the ball, and
in this respect gave their opponents a great advantage. The most
disappointing feature of the game was the poor display on the
right wing by Parnell and Watson, who generally prove so effective.
True, Parnell scored the only goal - the result of a neat bit
of work; but with this exception, his play was far from brilliant.
Watson spoilt himself by sticking to the ball too much. Time after
time he would attempt to dribble past several of his opponents
when one of his colleagues was waiting for the ball. The back
division, too, was not as sound as one could have wished for."
back to top
The Potters opened the scoring after 15 minutes, but City missed
a number of chances before Parnell equalised just prior to the
interval. Stoke made their dominance pay when Williams fired home
from 25 yards, and they always looked the better side, benefiting
from the Peacocks' lacklustre football.

The Stoke reverse looked to be a mere blip, though, when Billy
McLeod opened the scoring a week later, after just three minutes
against a strong West Bromwich Albion side. An enthusiastic crowd
of 24,000 saw City retain that slim lead to the finish, making
the most of a man advantage after Albion full-back Williams was
taken off with concussion in the twentieth minute. Albion already
had Pheasant, their centre-half, playing in some pain after being
injured in an earlier clash with Tom Hynds. The Throstles, inspired
by the superb Jesse Pennington, more than held their own and had
the chances to equalise, but could not get back on terms, leaving
City to take the points.
Pennington was a classy full-back, playing 455 League games over
two decades for the Midlanders and winning 25 England caps. He
towered over everyone else at Elland Road that day with a magnificent
display, almost single handedly holding the City forward line
at bay.
If Leeds enjoyed all the fortune against Albion, they had none
whatsoever when they took the short trip across the West Riding
to face Bradford City on October 5. Like West Bromwich the week
before, the Peacocks conceded an early goal and were left in disarray
after injuries to key players. There the similarity ended, for
City exhibited a total lack of fighting spirit and were easily
put to the sword.

Valley Parade registered a new record attendance as 21,000 people
flocked through the turnstiles, and the fervent home fans saw
their favourites go two up within four minutes, opening their
account with a penalty.
Jack Lavery injured his ankle in the twentieth minute and was
rendered a limping passenger. Full-back David Murray had earlier
suffered a nasty gash after a clash of heads, but soldiered on
for a while. Eventually, he had to leave the field, with City
forced to play the second half with just nine fit men.
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Leeds managed to prevent any further score until shortly after
the hour mark, when the floodgates opened. The Peacocks conceded
a further three goals before the conclusion, finishing on the
wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline.
The team rallied the following week and won by the odd goal in
five against new League leaders Hull City. Leeds came back from
2-1 down to score twice in the second half and register a thrilling
victory. Stan Cubberley
made his first appearance of the season at inside-left, peppering
up the front line, but once more it was Fred Croot who took all
the honours
with a splendid performance. He laid on goals for Bob Watson and
Billy McLeod and forced a penalty, though McLeod's spot kick was
saved.
Croot was eminent in all that was good about City's play, and
he had sustained his form quite splendidly throughout this entire
opening run of games, while Tom Hynds continued to enhance his
reputation with some solid displays at centre-half.
Neither man was on form, though, on October 19 at Derby County
as City disintegrated in the face of some strong attacks, with
Rams inside-left Alf Bentley netting four times in a 6-1 debacle.
Goalkeeper Harry Bromage, an automatic choice since City were
first elected to the Second Division, was the scapegoat for two
heavy defeats and was summarily dropped to make way for Tom
Naisby, freshly signed from Sunderland.
The Leeds Mercury reported: "The Leeds City Selection Committee
have gradually been weeding out the players who were in at the
formation of the club. The latest to stand down is Bromage, whose
place in goal against Lincoln City at Elland Road is to be taken
by Naisby of Sunderland, who has just been secured for the club.
Bromage seems to have been very warmly peppered with shots in
recent matches, and he has been unable to stand the fire successfully.
Even the greatest goalkeepers will break down now and then. Perhaps
the defence generally is capable of improvement. Bromage, no doubt,
envies Muir of Bradford City, who is fortunate in having such
strong backs and clever half-backs to take a lot of work out of
his hands."
There was some controversy over the change, as Bromage was a
popular figure round Elland Road. The Mercury's Nimrod noted in
his report of Naisby's debut, a 2-1 win at home to Lincoln City,
"The critics certainly looked forward to the appearance of Naisby
in goal with some curiosity, and there were those who would have
quickly said bitter things at the expense of the management for
having the temerity to displace Bromage had Naisby failed to make
a satisfactory debut. Bromage's ability is well known; he still
has the skill, and one must sympathise with him on having so many
goals scored against him of late. But he is not primarily to blame,
for it must be borne in mind that the defence has not been above
reproach, particularly in the wing half-back positions, though
the backs have not been too steady. Naisby was fortunate in this
respect on Saturday; he was well supported by those in front of
him."
|
Top of Division Two - 26 October 1907 |
|
Pos
|
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
Pts
|
|
1st
|
Hull
City |
11
|
8
|
0
|
3
|
21
|
10
|
16
|
|
2nd
|
Leeds
City |
10
|
6
|
1
|
3
|
20
|
23
|
13
|
|
3rd
|
Bradford
City |
8
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
26
|
5
|
12
|
|
4th
|
Oldham
Athletic |
8
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
15
|
5
|
12
|
|
5th
|
West
Brom Albion |
9
|
6
|
0
|
3
|
17
|
7
|
12
|
|
6th
|
Leicester Fosse |
9
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
14
|
8
|
12
|
|
7th
|
Fulham |
10
|
6
|
0
|
4
|
19
|
13
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The win, with first half goals from Parnell and McLeod, lifted
City back up to second in the table behind Hull City, but the
team's form was definitely on the slide. On the positive side,
Naisby proved an outstanding replacement for Bromage, Hynds and
Croot continued their good work and Cubberley had brought a desperately
needed work ethic to the team, but all the hope engendered by
the first four games was fading rapidly.
The problem was that the rest of the side just could not maintain
the consistency that was needed to mount a serious challenge for
promotion - they could be brilliant one week and yet look like
no hopers
the next.
back to top
David Murray and Harry Kay were the regular partners at full-back
but left Naisby far too exposed far too many times, though Murray
was the sounder of the two men. A number of players had been tried
at right-half, but none had been entirely successful at the side
of Hynds and Cubberley.
The real deficit, though, lay among the forwards where there
were too many chances missed after decent lead up play: Parnell,
McLeod and Croot had played every game, with the other places
being filled by any two from Watson, Lavery and Thomas,
but none of the combinations had really set the world on fire.
Croot was a constant inspiration on the left flank, but he could
not do it all on his own, and there was just too much insipid
play.
"Leeds City were very disappointing. They did not infuse into
their play the dash which has characterised their previous exhibitions.
They were too slow on the ball, and in this respect gave their
opponents a great
advantage … The Leeds forwards were not great. One was always
wanting them to go ahead as if they had some powder behind them,
but instead they finessed and were robbed of the ball."
The team went five games after the Lincoln victory without a
win, and their dreary run was extended to just a single success
in nine by a drab goalless draw at home to Gainsborough Trinity
on December 28, City's final game of 1907 - the team had now sunk
to thirteenth spot and were left sneaking edgy glances over their
shoulders at the re-election zone.
It was an astonishing about turn in fortunes, which even the
arrival in November of Stoke inside-forward Jimmy
Gemmell (who had won a League championship medal with Sunderland
in 1902) did nothing to improve. The team had lost eight of their
games away from Elland Road, and were becoming an easy touch for
even the lowliest opponents.
The home form was strong enough, though, and Wanderer wrote in
frustration in the Leeds Mercury after a 2-0 defeat away to Wolves
on December 21: "Leeds City seem determined not to secure another
victory away from home. The only time they have notched two points
on 'foreign soil' this season was on September 14th at Blackpool,
and since then they have not brought a point back to Leeds. And
it is all the more aggravating when one takes into account the
form shown by the team on the Elland Road ground.
"One can call to mind many matches on that enclosure this season
in which the City team have been particularly brilliant. As recently
as last week, for instance, when Grimsby Town were so handsomely
beaten, there was an all round excellence in the home ranks, but
a very different tale has to be told of Saturday's match.
"The outstanding weakness of the team was the lack of combination.
At times the men seemed as if they could not put the ball in the
right place,
and consequently countless opportunities were put in the way of
their opponents."
A season that had opened positively and promised so much was
rapidly turning into a nightmarish campaign to forget for manager
Gilbert Gillies. Something drastic needed to be done and very
quickly.
Part 2 - Results
and table - printer
friendly version
Other Football Highlights from 1907/08
- Manchester United, in only their second season back in the
top flight, took Division One by storm. Their extraordinary
6-1 win over champions Newcastle was their seventh out of 13
wins from their first fourteen games as they built up a commanding
lead at the top. They faltered in the second half of the season,
but such was their lead that they won the title by nine points
- Newcastle appeared jinxed in the FA Cup with their 1908 final
defeat at the hands of Wolves at the Crystal Palace ground their
third runners up spot in four years
- Celtic repeated their Scottish League and Cup Double success
- England shared the Home International title with Scotland
and played their first full international on foreign soil on
June 6 1908, beating Austria 6-1 in Vienna. Within a week, they
repeated the dose - 11-1 this time - and then beat Hungary 7-0
and Bohemia 4-0
- Manchester United's Billy Meredith chaired the inaugural meeting
of the Players' Union on December 2 1907 at the Imperial Hotel
in Manchester
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