Crystal Palace F.C.'s first official league season started in Division Two of the Southern League, which consisted mainly of other clubs' reserve sides alongside Grays United, Leyton, Southern United and St. Leonard's and was a successful one.
| 1905–06 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Sydney Bourne |
| Manager | John Robson |
| Southern Football League Division Two | 1st (promoted) |
| FA Cup | First round |
| Top goalscorer | League: Archie Needham 20 All: Archie Needham 21 |
| Highest home attendance | 5,000 (vs. Peterborough, 23 September) |
| Lowest home attendance | 1,500 (vs. Fulham Reserves, 14 October) |
| Average home league attendance | 2,812 |
The Palace opening match was against Southampton Reserves, and approximately 3,000 people paid 6d to stand or a shilling to sit. Palace led 3–0 after 30 minutes, before fading and losing 3–4. However, that was the club's only defeat in the League all season, and Crystal Palace won the championship and were promoted to the Southern League First Division. The season included a run of 17 straight victories, and a 9–1 win over Grays United at Crystal Palace. Attendances for the season were regularly between 2,000 and 3,000 although 4,000 watched the 1-1 FA Cup tie against Blackpool.[1] Palace also secured their record victory in this season, a friendly against West Beckenham on 24 February 1906 which Palace won 17–2.
Southern Football League Second Division
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 1905 | Southampton Reserves | H | 3 – 4 | Roberts, Needham, Thompson | 3,000 |
| 16 September 1905 | Swindon Town Reserves | A | 2 – 1 | Birnie, Harker | |
| 18 September 1905 | West Ham United Reserves | A | 0 – 0 | ||
| 23 September 1905 | Leyton | H | 0 – 0 | ||
| 14 October 1905 | Fulham Reserves | H | 5 – 0 | Wallace, Watkins (2), Needham (2) | 1,500 |
| 21 October 1905 | Southern United | H | 1 – 0 | Watkins | |
| 4 November 1905 | Grays United | H | 9 – 1 | Birnie, Harker (2), Watkins (2), Needham (2), Astley, Roberts | |
| 25 November 1905 | Watford Reserves | A | 3 – 1 | Roberts (2), Ross | |
| 13 December 1905 | Reading Reserves | H | 3 – 0 | Harker, Roberts, Watkins | 3,000 |
| 23 December 1905 | Swindon Town Reserves | H | 3 – 0 | Astley, Ross (2) | |
| 26 December 1905 | Portsmouth Reserves | H | 1 – 0 | Needham | 2,000 |
| 6 January 1906 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 4 – 1 | Thompson, Needham, Wallace (2) | |
| 20 January 1906 | St Leonards United | H | 3 – 1 | Woodger (2), Thompson | 3,000 |
| 27 January 1906 | Grays United | A | 3 – 0 | Walker (2), Needham | |
| 10 February 1906 | West Ham United Reserves | H | 3 – 1 | Woodger (2), Needham | 2,000 |
| 21 February 1906 | St Leonards United | A | 3 – 0 | Needham (2), Wallace | |
| 28 February 1906 | Southern United | H | 4 – 0 | Needham (2), Woodger, own goal | |
| 3 March 1906 | Watford Reserves | H | 4 – 0 | Roberts, Needham (2), Woodger | 2,000 |
| 10 March 1906 | Southampton Reserves | A | 2 – 0 | Thompson, Needham | |
| 24 March 1906 | Reading Reserves | A | 1 – 0 | Needham | |
| 7 April 1906 | Leyton | A | 2 – 1 | Wallace, Needham | 3,000 |
| 13 April 1906 | Portsmouth Reserves | A | 1 – 1 | Watkins | 8,000 |
| 14 April 1906 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 4 – 0 | Woodger (2), Moody, Needham | |
| 17 April 1906 | Fulham Reserves | A | 2 – 2 | Needham, Harker | 5,000 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crystal Palace | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 66 | 14 | 4.714 | 42 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Leyton | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 61 | 18 | 3.389 | 38 | |
| 3 | Portsmouth II | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 24 | 2.167 | 32 | |
| 4 | Fulham II | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 52 | 39 | 1.333 | 28 | |
| 5 | Southampton II | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 39 | 41 | 0.951 | 23 |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
FA Cup
As a brand new club Crystal Palace had to qualify for entry into the first round proper of the FA Cup. In the first qualifying round Palace were drawn at home against Clapham. The match saw Palace run out 7-0 winners, with William Watkins scoring the first ever hat-trick. The next round saw Palace overcome the 2nd Grenadier Guards and earn a draw against Chelsea in the third qualifying round. Chelsea at the time were a big draw, fielding the famous goalkeeper, William Foulke. Sadly, Chelsea were obliged to fulfil a League fixture on the same day, and chasing promotion from the Football League Second Division, decided to concentrate on the league. They fielded a reserve side against Palace who duly ran out 7-1, with Watkins scoring another hat-trick. The ease of this victory saw the FA change the rules to ensure clubs always fielded their strongest sides. Palace then dispatched Luton Town in the fourth and final qualifying round to ensure a place in the First Round Draw. Here they were paired with Blackpool, and the tie was eventually settled in a second replay at neutral venue Villa Park after both teams failed to make home advantage pay.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 October 1905 | First Qualifying Round | Clapham | H | 7 – 0 | Watkins (3), Innerd, Astley, Roberts, Harker | 1,500 |
| 28 October 1905 | Second Qualifying Round | 2nd Grenadier Guards | A | 3 – 0 | Harker, Wallace, Astley | 1,200 |
| 18 November 1905 | Third Qualifying Round | Chelsea | H | 7 – 1 | Watkins (3; 2 pen.), Innerd (2), Harker, Needham | 3,000 |
| 9 December 1905 | Fourth Qualifying Round | Luton Town | H | 1 – 0 | Harker | 5,000 |
| 13 January 1906 | First Round | Blackpool | A | 1 – 1 | Harker | 2,500 |
| 17 January 1906 | First Round Replay | Blackpool | H | 1 – 1 (aet) | Birnie | 4,000 |
| 22 January 1906 | First Round Second Replay | Blackpool | N | 0 – 1 | 5,000 |
Squad statistics
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK |  Bob Hewitson | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| FB | George Walker | 24 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| FB | Matthew Edwards | 15 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| FB |  Archie Grant | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| HB | Wilf Innerd | 16 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 3 |
| HB | Ted Birnie (c) | 22 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 29 | 3 |
| HB | Horace Astley | 13 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 4 |
| HB | Charles Palmer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | Arthur Wilson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HB | W. Mills | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | Stan Cubberley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | A.E. Henwood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | John Dick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | George Thompson | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| FW | Dick Harker | 16 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 23 | 10 |
| FW |  Walter Watkins | 15 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 13 |
| FW | Archie Needham | 21 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 27 | 21 |
| FW | Dick Roberts | 24 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 31 | 7 |
| FW | Charles Wallace | 19 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 26 | 6 |
| FW | Robert Ross | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| FW | George Woodger | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 |
| FW | W. Bryden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | F. Moody | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
References
- Bibliography
- King, Ian (2012). Crystal Palace: The Complete Record 1905–2011. Derby Books Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-78091-221-9.
- Matthews, Tony (editor). We All Follow The Palace. Juma, 1998. ISBN 1-872204-55-4
- Citations