Brighton & Hove Albion 1908-09 Season

Brighton & Hove Albion 1908-09 Season Overview

The 1908-09 season was Jack Robson’s first full year in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion and it was a mixed campaign. Although the Albion struggled in Southern League Division One, they came within one game of silverware in both the Western League and the Southern Professional Charity Cup.

Robson had a busy summer as he brought 16 new players to the Goldstone Ground. Home form was decent and Brighton lost only six of their 32 Division One and Western League fixtures at Hove in the 1908-09 season. Just like in the 1907-08 campaign, the Albion’s problems lay away from home. A meagre nine Division One points out of a possible 40 were gathered away from home and that ultimately is what led to an 18^th placed finish in the 21-team division, just one point clear of the relegation zone.

The Robson Era began in decent enough fashion. Brighton won eight of their first 12 games in all competitions up to mid-October. Included in that run was a stunning 3-0 Goldstone success over eventual Division One runners up Swindon Town on Saturday 10^th October 1908, undoubtedly the result of the season.

Results were sporadic at best after that, but there were some more impressive home performances to savour. Bristol Rovers would end the campaign in fifth but were hammered 5-0 at the Goldstone on Saturday 5^th December 1908 and Crystal Palace were beaten 3-0 on Saturday 23^rd January 1909.

A run of six defeats in nine games following the victory over the Eagles culminated in a 2-0 defeat away against New Brompton at the Priestfield on Saturday 13^th March 1909 which sent the Albion into the relegation zone for the first time.

That proved to be something of a wake-up call and Brighton won their next six Division One games in succession. They defeated Millwall 2-0 at the Goldstone, Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at Park Royal, Southend United 2-0 at Roots Hall, Portsmouth 2-1 at Fratton Park and Coventry City 5-1 and Reading 6-2 at the Goldstone. Six of Brighton’s 10 away points coming in the space of 11 days.

Brighton took just one more point from their final four Division One games, a 1-1 draw away at Norwich City on Saturday 24^th April. That blistering six game winning strike had proven to be enough to keep them up however and did at least give optimism for the future.

Further optimism came from the Western League. Brighton won the 1908-09 Division One A title having led the way from the second game of the season to the last. They finished 16 points from their 12 games, three clear of runners up QPR.

The overall winners of the Western League were decided via a playoff between the Division One A champions and the Division One B champions. Millwall were the Albion’s opponents with the final taking place at West Ham United’s Boleyn Ground on Monday 5^th April 1909. Nothing could separate the sides as they played out a 1-1 draw in front of 2,500 spectators, Jack Martin getting the Albion goal. A replay as convened for Thursday 22^nd April 1909, again at the Boleyn Ground. Martin scored once more for Brighton but Millwall ran out 2-1 winners to be crowned Western League champions.

A week later and Brighton have another final to look forward to in the Southern Charity Cup. Having eliminated Reading (1-0) and Portsmouth (2-1), the Albion welcomed Brentford to the Goldstone for the final with the Bees running out 2-0 winners.

In the FA Cup, the Albion were handed a plumb draw away against reigning Football League champions Manchester United in round one. Over 300 Brighton fans made the journey north to see their team frustrate United, helped by Bank Street pitch being turned into a mud bath by heavy rain prior to kick off. Harold Halse scored the only goal as United won 1-0 on their way to winning their first FA Cup, eventually defeating Bristol City 1-0 in the final.

Martin finished the campaign as top scorer with 25 goals. One of Robson’s biggest summer concerns had been replacing the goals of Jack Hall, sold to Middlesbrough for a club-record £350 in April 1908 after top scoring in both the 1906-07 and 1907-08 seasons. Martin proved to be a more than capable replacement following his arrival from Blackburn Rovers.