Mexborough and Swinton Times August 31, 1907
The Football Season.
Denaby United Football Club.
Change, But Not Decay.
We give above a photograph of last year’s Denaby team. We do so, for the most part, in order to illustrate the great change which has come over the constitution of the Midland league side job in the space of one short year.
The players whom the reader sees before him (including “Tommy” Tomkins, who is in “mufti”) last year carried all before them up to Christmas; now, with the exception of three old stages, they are all gone.
Paul “Bob” Hunter will never play football again. – The knife of the surgeon saw to that. However, one of the most promising men in the Midland league, has been snapped up by Rotherham Town, more shame to the Wednesday scouts. Eyre has gone to strengthen the front rank of Rotherham County, who are going to come out strong. Hopkins also goes to Millmoor, and so does “Billy” Westwood. “Tommy” Tomkins, the cleverest and most hard-working centre half in Midland league football last year, will this season be engaged, amongst other things, in feeding Lavery and the rest of the Leeds City forwards. He fetched the only transfer fee which has come into the coffers of the Denaby club this season. Chris Welch and Donald Lees, two of the old men of the team, have not signed on again; Brockhurst went to South Kirkby during last season, and Wharton, whose countennance also beams on the reader, went to Rotherham Main last season.
Frank Heppenstall completes a list of casualties, and it will be seen that Westwood, Tomkins, and habit are quite the most severe of the club’s losses.
Yet a healthy ton of optimism prevails among the management. They count upon having as sturdy a defence, as brainy a halfback line, and a much faster forward line, than last year. Hancock and Lawley, without doubt the two most valuable players, remain. Decide Hancock, G. W. Massie last year of Manchester city reserve, and David Hill, of Conisborough, St Peter’s have been signed on for goal, and this department is particularly strong.
In the full-back department Lawley, Marshall, Beard (of Gratham) Ramsden (Central Albion), and Horton (Oxford Street), will appear; and, apparently, from the recent practice match, there will be keen competition between Lawley, beard and Marshall, for first team places.
The halfbacks are: Nimrod, Kelly (Glossop), Linley (Hoyland Town). E. and B. Mcgowan (Heeley friends), and Burton. We are pleased to note that Nimrod is retained, while according to experts, the loss of “Tommy” Tomkins is compensated in the equation of Kelly, the newcomer revealed at the recent practice match that he is a second Donald Lees for brains, and is quite up to Tomkins standard in the matter of nimbleness. The brothers McGowan are also youths of promise.
The forwards are E. Dyal, G. Blackburn (Worksop West End) Betts (Oxford Street) F. J. Webster, A. Powell, Hoften (Worksop) Moseley, T. Dyal, Middleton (Sheffield Oak Street), H. Wright, W. Speight, and Holroyd.
Outstanding in merit, amongst these are so far as can be judged at present, “Teddy” Dyal, the clever little outside right; Blackburn, a youth whol gives great promise of development and is very clever with the ball; and Wright, a great goalscorer.
Taking “ en bloc” it appears to us that the Denaby management has secured material from which it is possible to mould a very powerful Midland league side. They have lost some good men; let us help that these diamonds in the rough will turn out beautifully polished gems.
The committee is not going to allow the grass to grow under its feet, by any means. It is quite possible that in a couple of seasons, there commodious stand, which is quite an ornament to the ground, will succeed in paying for itself. It has incurred the liability of £400, and is worth the money, every penny of it.
The groundsman has been busy in other directions. The turf has been prepared carefully, and is now in excellent condition. The top end is even now being banked up, and shortly, no doubt, we shall see a rival stand-in that quarter of the field.
We are further please that they old fowl run has not been dismissed to the timber yard. We have a curious hankering over that second hand Noah’s Ark. Many are the times that we have whispered uncomplimentary descriptions of the stand, but the stand and we are growing old together. And “a fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind.” We shall occasionally patronise the old omnibus in preference to the more up-to-date structure.
By the way, the stand will be initiated into the mysteries of football on 7 September, and will be opened by Mr W. H. Chambers, on the occasion of the Wednesday reserve match, the first game been with the new Midland Leaguers is on the Leicester Fosse ground on Monday.
Later in the season Wakefield City are to be met in the first round of the qualifying competition of the English cup. This hurdle should be safely negotiated.
In the fall the young man’s fancy,
lightly turns to prospects great,
leaving for a time fair Nancy,
casting off angelic Kate;
for summer, idle summers past,
and good King football’s come at last.
With an air and main quite sprightly
he ransacked the drawers and shelves,
for the garments packed right tightly,
and they were sturdy, pipe clayed twelves;
for tedious crickets dying fast,
King football gets his own at last.
With the look of lofty papers he
froze aside billiards and whist;
A 10 mile trot the rule must be
across the fixture list
bids him all frivolous sport to cast.
King football has come back at last.
Every morning, before the hour of five.
He goes out from a “duck”
just a quick sprint, and then a dive
into the local brook;
The cows – staid matrons, stand aghast
but then, King’s football come at last.
At their practice matches see him there,
very eager and very bold;
He’ll work like 10, nor turn a hair,
and all because he’s been told
that efficiency strong and fast.
His chance at football’s come at last.
In the fall, the football fever comes,
there is football in the air;
in the street and everywhere it hums.
It’s a species of nightmare;
football jokes and fables are amassed,
when glorious football comes at last,