1899-1900

To say that little success attended the team?s efforts during the season Is almost an understatement. They could hardly have fared worse.

Indeed, as a result of the defeat at Brighouse on February 20th, at which stage only three matches had been won out of the twenty-five played, the team were in danger of finishing at the bottom of the table.

Fortunately the players rallied strongly during the last two weeks of the league programme, winning four matches out of five, and thus escaped the indignity of having to playa? test match against the winners of the Second Competition.

The last match of the season was the 1st Round Northern Union Cup-tie at Normanton, where the following Leeds team met with defeat by five points to nil: Jagger; Lumley, Summersgill, Connor, Willey; Hallas, Jackson; Gregg, W. Glover, G. Glover, Allison, Westmoreland, Moon, Fothergill, Walker.

One remarkable feature of the season?s work is the fact that more than fifty players were called upon for first-team duty, and as no fewer than twenty-eight of those players were making their first appearance in the Leeds jersey, there is probably little need to look further for the causes of failure. In addition to Tommy Summersgill, who made a welcome re-appearance from retirement, Leeds introduced: G. Allinson, A. Bentley, G. E. Biltcliffe, E. Biltcliffe, W. Bromley, W. Bryan, W. Bullock, G. H. Buttery, J. Collins, I. Crane, F. Daltry, W. Davies, J. Eddison, H. Glover, A. Hall, E. Hallas, J. H. Hartley, J. W. Hunt, A. Lee, J. W. Lister, J. H. Roberts, E. Tottle, J. W. Turner, J. C. Waite, F. Walker, R. Watson, W. Westmoreland, T. Wright.

Unfortunately, as in the previous year, few of these players? made the grade? and the Committee were almost as far off as ever they were in their efforts to build a powerful combination. They might well have wondered how things would have turned out if brothers W. and C. Usher, of Cardiff, had honoured their agreement and come North to play against Batley in the opening match of the season.

At the Annual General Meeting held at the end of the season it was reported that the Football section had sustained a loss of almost ?430, and that the average attendances were down to 3,500. The Chairman had to face a great deal of criticism, but he analysed the position most carefully, pointing out that in assessing the playing strength of the club, and the support given by the public, it must be borne in mind that four other teams in the Leeds area were taking part in the same competition: Bramley, Hunslet, Holbeck and Leeds Parish Church, none of which had met with any real success, though Bramley had easily the best playing record. It was, therefore, apparent that it would be better for all concerned if there were only three clubs in Leeds in membership with the Northern Union.