Alfred McMinn, was an English manager for Southampton F.C. from August 1896 to May 1897.
In the spring of 1895, McMinn (then a club committee member) accompanied Charles Robson on a trip to the Potteries to recruit players. McMinn was a native of Staffordshire and was "most persuasive on his home turf". [1] [2] On this trip, Robson and McMinn signed six players: Jack Farrell, Samuel Meston and Willie Naughton from Stoke, Watty Keay from Derby County, Joe Turner from Dresden United and Alf Wood from Burslem Port Vale, as well as recruiting Stoke's long-serving trainer, Bill Dawson. The Saints committee were anxious to secure their services and signed them before the English Football League season was over. Port Vale and Stoke lodged a complaint with the Football Association about "poaching", and an emergency FA meeting was held at Sheffield, resulting in the Saints being severely censured for negligence. St Mary's were ordered to pay their own costs, plus £4 6s 3d to Stoke and £1 13s to Port Vale. McMinn was suspended for a year and Dawson for a month. Wood's registration with St Mary's was cancelled (shortly afterwards he moved to Stoke). [1] [2]
During the summer of 1896, Robson resigned his position as secretary in order to concentrate on his cricket career, being replaced by McMinn (having served his twelve months' suspension), with Mr. E. Arnfield as his assistant. [3] McMinn led the side to their best season since their foundation, winning the Southern League title at the third attempt and into the Second Round of the FA Cup. [3]
After one season in charge of the Saints, McMinn stepped down from day-to-day involvement with the team, with Arnfield replacing him. In July 1897, McMinn became the Hon. Secretary of the newly formed Southampton Football & Athletic Company Limited. [4] He remained on the board of the limited company until he resigned in the summer of 1900. [5]
Southampton
Walter Keay was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward for various clubs, including Partick Thistle in Scotland and Derby County and Southampton in England. His main claim to fame was scoring the first goal at The Dell stadium on its opening on 3 September 1898.
Joseph Turner was a professional footballer who played in the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton. Southampton were a Southern League club at the time, and their feat was all the more remarkable in that they had already been losing finalists two years earlier. Turner missed the 1900 final and had also previously missed a crucial penalty when Southampton lost a semi final to Nottingham Forest in 1898.
John Farrell was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Farrell played in the Football League for Stoke and New Brighton Tower and played a major part in Southern League club Southampton's major cup runs at the turn of the 20th century.
Charles Robson was an English cricketer, who played first-class cricket as a wicket-keeper for Middlesex between 1881 and 1883, and for Hampshire from 1891 to 1906, for whom he served as captain for three years from 1900 to 1902. He was later associated with W. G. Grace's London County team. He was also secretary to Southampton St Mary's Football Club for one season, from 1895 to 1896, and was one of the founding directors of the company which was established in 1897 when the club changed its name to Southampton Football Club.
Alfred Josiah Edward Wood was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Burslem Port Vale, Derby County and Stoke. He helped Villa to finish second in the First Division in 1902–03 and helped Stoke to reach the FA Cup semi-finals in 1899.
The 1895–96 season was the eleventh since the foundation of Southampton St. Mary's F.C. and their second in league football, as members of the Southern League. They finished the league season in third place behind the previous season's champions, Millwall Athletic, and Luton Town. In the FA Cup they reached the first round proper for the second consecutive season, where they were defeated by The Wednesday, of the Football League.
The 1896–97 season was the twelfth since the foundation of Southampton St. Mary's F.C. and their third in league football, as members of the Southern League. The season was the most successful yet, with St. Mary's claiming the Southern League title for the first time and reaching the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup. It was the start of the most successful period in the club's history — in a period of eight years, they were Southern League champions six times and reached the final of the FA Cup twice.
The 1897–98 season was the 13th since the foundation of Southampton F.C. and their fourth in league football, as members of the Southern League.
The 1892–93 season was the eighth since the foundation of St. Mary's F.C. based in Southampton in southern England. It was the second year that the club competed in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup and the first season that the club embraced professionalism with several players being signed on professional terms. This policy was not to prove a great success initially as the club were not only defeated in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup but also suffered their first-ever defeat in a final of a Hampshire F.A. cup competition.
The 1893–94 season was the ninth since the foundation of St. Mary's F.C. based in Southampton in southern England. For the third consecutive year, the club were eliminated in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup; they were also defeated in the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup.
The 1899–1900 season was the 15th since the foundation of Southampton F.C. and their sixth in league football, as members of the Southern League.
The 1900–01 season was the 16th since the foundation of Southampton F.C. and their seventh in league football, as members of the Southern League.
The 1922–23 season was the 28th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's first in the Second Division of the Football League. Having secured promotion from the Third Division South as champions the previous season, the largely unchanged Saints team avoided relegation comfortably and finished in the middle of the league table in their first season as a second-flight club. After a poor start to the campaign in which they picked up only one point from their first five matches, Southampton began to improve in form and move up from the Second Division relegation zone. The club picked up several wins over higher-placed opponents challenging for the division's two promotion places, allowing them to finish mid-table. Southampton finished in 11th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses, and an even goal average.
The 1923–24 season was the 29th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's second in the Second Division of the Football League. Having finished in a mid-table position the previous season, the club made progress towards their goal of promotion to the First Division by finishing fifth in the second flight in 1923–24. The campaign started off relatively poorly, as the club won just two of their opening ten fixtures and found themselves around the middle of the table again. However, the team's performances began to improve, and by the middle of January they had made it to the top five in the division. With tough competition at the higher end of the Second Division, Southampton continued to drop points in key matches and finished the season in fifth place with 17 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses.
The 1924–25 season was the 30th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's third in the Second Division of the Football League. Following the 1923–24 season, in which the club finished just three points shy of the First Division promotion places in fifth place, the Saints dropped two positions to finish seventh in the league. As with the last season, Southampton began their Second Division campaign poorly and found themselves at the bottom of the table after two losses in their first three games. The side continued to struggle to pick up wins, but steadily began making their way up the table over the next few months. A number of wins over the Christmas period and an eight-game unbeaten run at the end of the season helped Southampton finish in seventh place with 13 wins, 18 draws and 11 losses.
The 1925–26 season was the 31st season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's fourth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the top half of the league table in their first three seasons in the division, Southampton had their worst year to date in the second flight when they finished in 14th place, ending just six points above the first relegation position. The club suffered a string of losses at the beginning of the campaign, leaving them with points to make up in later months. Former player Arthur Chadwick was brought in as Southampton's new manager in October, and the club subsequently secured their position in the Second Division with a run of wins over the Christmas period, despite continuing to lose points. The club finished in 14th place with 15 wins, eight draws and 19 losses.
The 1928–29 season was the 34th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's seventh in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the bottom half of the Second Division league table the last three seasons, the club returned to challenging for promotion to the First Division when they finished fourth, their highest position in the league to date. The team were strong throughout the campaign, picking up key wins over teams around them in the table to secure a strong position. They stayed in the top six of the league for most of the campaign from September, reaching third place on two occasions and dropping to seventh just twice. Southampton finished the season in fourth place with 17 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses, five points behind Grimsby Town in the first promotion place.
The 1930–31 season was the 36th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's ninth in the Second Division of the Football League. After securing their place as a top-half side in the Second Division over the past two seasons, the Saints began to lose their footing on the league and dropped to ninth in the division. The club failed to win any of their first four games of the campaign, briefly struggling to stay above the two relegation places, but had soon made their way to the top half of the division where they remained for the rest of the season. The Saints were unable to challenge for promotion to the First Division, however, briefly reaching the top five but remaining a long way off the top two sides. Southampton finished the season in ninth place in the table with 19 wins, six draws and 17 losses.
The 1931–32 season was the 37th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's tenth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the top half of the Second Division league table for the past three seasons, the Saints struggled to challenge in 1931–32 and ended up finishing in 14th place, closer to relegation than promotion. Southampton's first season with manager George Kay started strongly, as the team picked up four wins in their first five matches and reached the top of the Second Division league table for the first time in the club's history. Form quickly deteriorated, however, and the club was briefly involved in a fight for survival in the new year. After picking up a few more wins, Southampton secured their safety and finished in 14th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses.
The 1932–33 season was the 38th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's 11th in the Second Division of the Football League. It was another disappointing campaign for the Saints, who finished mid-table and rarely competed for promotion to the First Division. After a slow start to the season, the club had established themselves in the top half of the table by October with a string of victories. By the end of the calendar year, Southampton had dropped as low as 14th in the Second Division table – the position in which they finished the previous season – after a period of poor form in December. Wins were hard to come by in the second half of the season, but a strong run of results in April meant that the side finished 12th with 18 wins, five draws and 19 losses, seven points above the first relegation place.