Southampton F.C.

1929–30 season
Chairman	Sloane Stanley
Manager	Arthur Chadwick
Stadium	The Dell
Second Division	7th
FA Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League:Dick Rowley (25) All: Dick Rowley (26)
Highest home attendance	25,934 vTottenham Hotspur (26 December 1929)
Lowest home attendance	4,881 vMillwall (3 March 1930)
Average home league attendance	12,786
Biggest win	5–0 vNottingham Forest (28 September 1929)
Biggest defeat	0–4 vStoke City (19 October 1929) 1–5 vBlackpool (4 January 1930) 1–5 vWest Bromwich Albion(3 May 1930)
Home colours
← 1928–29 1930–31 →

The1929–30 season was the 35th season of competitive football bySouthampton, and the club's eighth in theSecond Division of theFootball League. After finishing fourth in the Second Division theprevious season – their highest position in the league to date – Southampton continued their efforts towards achieving promotion to theFirst Division, but finished three places lower in seventh. The club struggled at the beginning of the league campaign, remaining in the bottom half of the table due to a run of poor results. A period of form including six wins in eight games followed between September and November, enabling the Saints to move up as high as third place. The team remained in the top half of the Second Division table for most of the rest of the season, finishing in seventh place with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.

In the1929–30 FA Cup, Southampton entered in the third round away to divisional rivalsBradford City, losing 4–1 to face elimination at the first hurdle for the third consecutive season (their worst run in the season since being knocked out of the first round in 1912, 1913 and 1914). The club ended their season as usual with two fixtures against local rivalsPortsmouth, for the Hampshire Benevolent Cup and the Rowland Hospital Cup. The former (played atFratton Park) ended in a goalless draw, while the latter (played atThe Dell) ended in a 2–0 win for the travelling Pompey side. The Saints also played fivefriendly matches during the 1929–30 season, drawing withAldershot Town in September, beatingCorinthian in February, and drawing with a Salisbury District XI, beatingAndover and losing to aRoyal Air Force side in April.

Southampton used 28 different players during the 1929–30 season and had thirteen different goalscorers. Their top scorer was centre-forwardDick Rowley, who scored 25 goals in 25 appearances in the Second Division, and the club's only goal in the FA Cup.Willie Haines, the club's top scorer the previous season, ranked second with 15 goals in the league, followed byJohnny Arnold on seven league goals. Nine players were signed by the club during the campaign, with eight released and sold to other clubs. The average attendance at The Dell during the 1929–30 season was 12,786. The highest attendance was 25,934 againstTottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day 1929, which surpassed the last season's new league record of 24,247. The lowest attendance of the season was 4,881 againstMillwall on 3 March 1930.

Several players left Southampton at the end of the1928–29 season. In May, inside-forwardTommy Taylor joined Welsh sideRhyl Athletic,^[1] while centre-forwardDouglas Vernon – signed as an emergency replacement forWillie Haines in February – was recalled by theRoyal Air Force.^[2] In June, the club sold outside-leftBilly Murphy to fellowSecond Division clubOldham Athletic,^[3] with fellow wingerReg Watson moving the other way as part of the deal.^[4] Also in June, the Saints signed inside-forwardBill Fraser fromAldershot Town in an "unusually complicated deal" including an initial payment of £60, another £200 from afriendly match between the two sides, £50 if he made 20 appearances for the first team during the season (which he did not), and a 5% share of any future transfer fee.^[5] The following month, inside-leftCharlie Petrie and Scottish centre-forwardArchie Waterston both moved to theThird Division North – the former joinedYork City,^[6] while the latter joinedTranmere Rovers.^[4] In August, Southampton brought in two more players – inside-rightOswald Littler joined fromRochdale (after aFootball Association suspension for the player was lifted upon appeal by the club),^[7] and full-backArthur Roberts signed fromArdsley Athletic.^[8]

Transfer activity continued during the course of the season. In September 1929, the Saints Supporters Club raised £400 to sign Scottish inside-leftPeter Dougall (as well as teammate William Hood) fromClyde, with an additional £50 to be paid should either player make six appearances for the club.^[9] In October, recent amateur signingErnie Warren left the club to sign another amateur deal withSouthwick, although by March 1930 he had returned to sign for the Saints as a professional.^[4] The most significant transfer of the season came in February, when the campaign's top scorerDick Rowley was sold toTottenham Hotspur for a fee of £3,750,^[10] the club's second highest transfer fee to date after the £3,860 received forBill Rawlings two years earlier.^[11] In March the club signed forward Thomas Groves fromBlakenall and Scottish half-back Alex Sharp fromAyr United,^[12][13] with Warren also returning on professional terms.^[4] Just before the end of the season, Oswald Littler left Southampton to joinSouthern League sideGuildford City.^[7]

Players transferred in

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Fee	Ref.
Bill Fraser	England	FW	Aldershot Town	June 1929	£260+	[5]
Reg Watson	England	FW	Oldham Athletic	June 1929	Exchange	[4]
Oswald Littler	England	FW	Rochdale	August 1929	Unknown	[7]
Arthur Roberts	England	FB	Ardsley Athletic	August 1929	Unknown	[8]
Peter Dougall	Scotland	FW	Clyde	September 1929	£450	[9]
William Hood	England	unknown				[9]
Thomas Groves	England	FW	Blakenall	March 1930	Free[a]	[12]
Alex Sharp	Scotland	HB	Ayr United	March 1930	Free	[13]
Ernie Warren	England	FW	Southwick	March 1930	Unknown	[4]

Players transferred out

Name	Nationality	Pos.	Club	Date	Fee	Ref.
Tommy Taylor	England	FW	Rhyl Athletic	May 1929	Unknown	[1]
Douglas Vernon	England	FW	Royal Air Force	May 1929	Unknown	[2]
Billy Murphy	England	FW	Oldham Athletic	June 1929	Exchange	[3]
Charlie Petrie	England	FW	York City	July 1929	Unknown	[6]
Archie Waterston	Scotland	FW	Tranmere Rovers	July 1929	Unknown	[4]
Ernie Warren	England	FW	Southwick	October 1929	Free	[4]
Dick Rowley	Ireland	FW	Tottenham Hotspur	February 1930	£3,750	[10]
Oswald Littler	England	FW	Guildford City	April 1930	Unknown	[7]

Southampton began the 1929–30Second Division campaign againstBarnsley, who had finished the previous season just four points above relegation.^[14] During the game,Jerry Mackie became the first Southampton player to be sent off sinceJames Moore in December 1920, as the Saints lost 3–1 and started off in the bottom half of the Second Division league table.^[15][16] A 2–2 draw withHull City was followed by home wins overBlackpool andWest Bromwich Albion,^[17] which helped the Saints move up to seventh in the league.^[18]Dick Rowley quickly established himself as the season's top scorer with consecutive hat-tricks againstChelsea andNottingham Forest in late September, the latter of which was a 5–0 away win,^[17] and later became the first Southampton player to score four goals in an away match when they beatBradford City 5–2 on 2 November.^[10] A week later the club reached third in the Second Division table, their highest position of the season, after having picked up six wins in eight fixtures.^[17][19]

The 5–2 win over Bradford City was Southampton's last away win of the season until April, with their poor form on the road holding back their hopes of promotion to the top flight.^[15] Three losses and two draws saw the club drop to tenth in the table by mid-December, although by the end of the year they had returned to the top four following three more wins.^[20] The home win overTottenham Hotspur on 26 December was a new league record attendance atThe Dell of 25,934.^[15] After Rowley was sold to Spurs in February, the club struggled to continue scoring and ultimately dropped too many points to remain in the fight for promotion.^[15] In March the club won just one game, a 2–1 home win over Bradford City, although managed to remain in the top seven of the league.^[17][21] Three wins out of six in April helped them move up to sixth, although a pair of thrashings at the hands ofCharlton Athletic and West Bromwich Albion saw them drop back to seventh, where they finished with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.^[17]

Barnsley v Southampton

31 August 19291	Barnsley	3–1	Southampton	Barnsley
			Haines	Stadium:Oakwell Attendance: 5,000

Southampton vHull City

2 September 19292	Southampton	2–2	Hull City	Southampton
	Weale Haines			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 11,419

Southampton vBlackpool

7 September 19293	Southampton	4–2	Blackpool	Southampton
	Watson Coates Rowley			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 9,838

Southampton vWest Bromwich Albion

9 September 19294	Southampton	3–2	West Bromwich Albion	Southampton
	Rowley Weale			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 20,035

Bury v Southampton

14 September 19295	Bury	4–2	Southampton	Bury
			Rowley Watson	Stadium:Gigg Lane Attendance: 14,000

Southampton vChelsea

21 September 19297	Southampton	4–2	Chelsea	Southampton
	Rowley Cribb			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 16,569

Nottingham Forest v Southampton

28 September 19298	Nottingham Forest	0–5	Southampton	West Bridgford
			Rowley Littler	Stadium:City Ground Attendance: 7,000

Southampton vOldham Athletic

5 October 19299	Southampton	2–0	Oldham Athletic	Southampton
	Rowley Coates			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 17,600

Millwall v Southampton

12 October 192910	Millwall	1–1	Southampton	London
			Harkus	Stadium:The Den Attendance: 20,000

Southampton vWolverhampton Wanderers

26 October 192912	Southampton	3–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Southampton
	Rowley Arnold			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 13,308

Bradford City v Southampton

2 November 192913	Bradford City	2–5	Southampton	Bradford
			Rowley Coates	Stadium:Valley Parade Attendance: 14,000

Southampton vSwansea Town

9 November 192914	Southampton	2–1	Swansea Town	Southampton
	Rowley Arnold			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 16,600

Cardiff City v Southampton

16 November 192915	Cardiff City	5–2	Southampton	Cardiff
			Rowley Littler	Stadium:Ninian Park Attendance: 12,000

Southampton vPreston North End

23 November 192916	Southampton	1–2	Preston North End	Southampton
	Rowley			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 10,110

Bristol City v Southampton

30 November 192917	Bristol City	3–1	Southampton	Bristol
			Watson	Stadium:Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance: 9,000

Southampton vNotts County

7 December 192918	Southampton	2–2	Notts County	Southampton
	Rowley Coates			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 9,235

Reading v Southampton

14 December 192919	Reading	1–1	Southampton	Reading
			Cribb	Stadium:Elm Park Attendance: 10,000

Southampton vCharlton Athletic

21 December 192920	Southampton	2–0	Charlton Athletic	Southampton
	Jepson Cribb			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 10,161

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

25 December 192921	Tottenham Hotspur	3–2	Southampton	London
			Cribb	Stadium:White Hart Lane Attendance: 26,564

Southampton vTottenham Hotspur

26 December 192922	Southampton	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
	Rowley			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 25,934

Southampton vBarnsley

28 December 192923	Southampton	4–0	Barnsley	Southampton
	Rowley Keeping Weale			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 8,168

Blackpool v Southampton

4 January 193024	Blackpool	5–1	Southampton	Blackpool
			Rowley	Stadium:Bloomfield Road Attendance: 10,000

Southampton vNottingham Forest

1 February 193027	Southampton	2–0	Nottingham Forest	Southampton
	Weale Haines			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 9,921

Oldham Athletic v Southampton

8 February 193028	Oldham Athletic	3–2	Southampton	Oldham
			Haines	Stadium:Boundary Park Attendance: 15,000

Southampton vStoke City

22 February 193029	Southampton	2–1	Stoke City	Southampton
	Haines			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 10,924

Southampton vBradford City

8 March 193032	Southampton	2–1	Bradford City	Southampton
	Mackie Arnold			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 11,091

Swansea Town v Southampton

15 March 193033	Swansea Town	2–2	Southampton	Swansea
			Mackie Arnold	Stadium:Vetch Field Attendance: 7,000

Southampton vCardiff City

22 March 193034	Southampton	1–1	Cardiff City	Southampton
	Haines			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 14,000

Preston North End v Southampton

29 March 193035	Preston North End	1–1	Southampton	Preston
			Haines	Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 6,000

Southampton vBristol City

5 April 193036	Southampton	3–0	Bristol City	Southampton
	Jepson Haines Dougall			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 9,788

Notts County v Southampton

12 April 193037	Notts County	1–2	Southampton	Nottingham
			Jepson Haines	Stadium:Meadow Lane Attendance: 10,500

Southampton vReading

19 April 193038	Southampton	4–2	Reading	Southampton
	Haines Jepson Arnold			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 11,346

Southampton vBradford Park Avenue

21 April 193039	Southampton	2–2	Bradford Park Avenue	Southampton
	Mackie Arnold			Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 15,302

Bradford Park Avenue v Southampton

22 April 193040	Bradford Park Avenue	1–1	Southampton	Bradford
			Haines	Stadium:Park Avenue Attendance: 10,038

Charlton Athletic v Southampton

26 April 193041	Charlton Athletic	4–1	Southampton	London
			Haines	Stadium:The Valley Attendance: 8,000

West Bromwich Albion v Southampton

3 May 193042	West Bromwich Albion	5–1	Southampton	West Bromwich
			Arnold	Stadium:The Hawthorns Attendance: 10,000

Southampton entered the1929–30 FA Cup in the third round againstSecond Division rivalsBradford City, who they had recently beaten 5–2 in the league. The Saints were described by club historians as being in poor form defensively, with "an awful defensive mix-up" leading to an opening goal for the hosts.^[15]Dick Rowley equalised later, but Bradford were able to score three more goals and advance.^[15] Southampton's elimination marked the third consecutive season in which they had failed to win a game in the FA Cup – their worst run since the three seasons between1911–12 and1913–14.^[23]

Bradford City v Southampton

11 January 1930Round 3	Bradford City	4–1	Southampton	Bradford
			Rowley	Stadium:Valley Parade Attendance: 25,000

Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played seven additional first-team matches during the 1929–30 season. The first was afriendly match againstSouthern League sideAldershot Town on 25 September, which ended in a 3–3 draw. Goals for the Saints were scored byDick Rowley (two) andJohnny Arnold.^[24] The club hosted amateur sideCorinthian in February, winning 2–0 thanks to a brace fromWillie Haines.^[24] Three more friendlies followed in April. The first, against a Salisbury District XI, ended in a 2–2 draw withBill Fraser andJerry Mackie scoring for Southampton; the second was a 6–1 thrashing of Hampshire League sideAndover, with goals scored by Haines (three), Fraser (two) and Arnold; and the third was a 1–0 loss at aRoyal Air Force team.^[24]

The club ended the season with two games against local rivalsPortsmouth, in the annual Hampshire Benevolent Cup and Rowland Hospital Cup fixtures. The former game took place atFratton Park on 5 May and ended goalless, with both sides dominating a half each according to theSouthern Daily Echo.^[25] Two days later, Southampton hosted Pompey in the Rowland Hospital Cup. TheFirst Division visitors won the match 2–0 thanks to a pair of goals from centre-forward Methuen, although theEvening News admitted that Portsmouth were "somewhat lucky to win".^[25]

Aldershot Town v Southampton

25 September 1925Friendly	Aldershot Town	3–3	Southampton	Aldershot
			Rowley Arnold	Stadium:Recreation Ground

Southampton vCorinthian

15 February 1930Friendly	Southampton	2–0	Corinthian	Southampton
	Haines			Stadium:The Dell

Salisbury District XI v Southampton

9 April 1930Friendly	Salisbury District XI	2–2	Southampton	Salisbury
			Fraser Mackie

Andover v Southampton

16 April 1930Friendly	Andover	6–1	Southampton	Andover
			Haines Fraser Arnold	Stadium:Walled Meadow

Southampton vPortsmouth

7 May 1930Rowland Hospital Cup	Southampton	0–2	Portsmouth	Southampton
			Methuen	Stadium:The Dell Referee: Gibbs

Southampton used 28 different players during the 1929–30 season, 13 of whom scored during the campaign. The team played in a2–3–5 formation throughout, using twofull-backs, threehalf-backs, twooutside forwards, twoinside forwards and acentre-forward.^[17] GoalkeeperWillie White made the most appearances for the club during the campaign, missing only two league games and the FA Cup fixture. Left-backMichael Keeping played in all but three league games and both end-of-season games.^[17] Centre-forwardDick Rowley finished as the season's top scorer with 25 goals in the Second Division and one in the cup, despite leaving the club four three months before the end of the season.Willie Haines, who took Rowley's place in the side after his departure, scored 15 goals in the league, whileJohnny Arnold scored seven.^[17]

Name	Pos.	Nat.	League		FA Cup		Other[b]		Total
			Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.	Apps.	Gls.
Bill Adams	HB		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Johnny Arnold	FW		18	7	0	0	1	0	19	7
Arthur Bradford	HB		33	0	1	0	2	0	36	0
Herbert Coates	FW		25	4	1	0	2	0	28	4
Stan Cribb	FW		11	5	1	0	0	0	12	5
Peter Dougall	FW		12	1	0	0	0	0	12	1
Bill Fraser	FW		10	0	0	0	2	0	12	0
Thomas Groves	FW		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Willie Haines	FW		19	15	0	0	0	0	19	15
George Harkus	HB		30	1	0	0	0	0	30	1
Ted Hough	FB		21	0	0	0	2	0	23	0
Bert Jepson	FW		14	4	0	0	0	0	14	4
Michael Keeping	FB		39	1	1	0	0	0	40	1
Bill Luckett	HB		12	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
Jerry Mackie	FW		20	3	1	0	1	0	22	3
A. Newman[c]	FW		0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
Alex Sharp	HB		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Bert Shelley	HB		11	0	0	0	1	0	12	0
Bill Stoddart	HB		8	0	1	0	2	0	11	0
George Thompson	GK		2	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
Ernie Warren	FW		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Reg Watson	FW		14	4	0	0	1	0	15	4
Bobby Weale	FW		27	4	1	0	0	0	28	4
Willie White	GK		40	0	0	0	2	0	42	0
Arthur Wilson	HB		24	0	1	0	0	0	25	0
Stan Woodhouse	HB		33	0	0	0	2	0	35	0
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
Oswald Littler	FW		12	3	0	0	0	0	12	3
Dick Rowley	FW		25	25	1	1	0	0	26	26

• Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (10 August 1987),A Complete Record of Southampton Football Club: 1885–1987, Derby, England: Breedon Books,ISBN 978-0907969228
• Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (28 November 2013),All the Saints: A Complete Who's Who of Southampton FC, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing,ISBN 978-0992686406
• Juson, Dave; Aldworth, Clay; Bendel, Barry; Bull, David; Chalk, Gary (10 November 2004),Saints v Pompey: A History of Unrelenting Rivalry, Bristol, England: Hagiology Publishing,ISBN 978-0953447459

• Southampton F.C. official website

• Southampton F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1929–30 season

• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from November 2025