A trophy-winning sprinter in his youth, Fred Mouncher could exploit his exceptional speed on either wing.

He didn’t always exploit it well enough for the liking of some fans – and he seemed to perform better on the road, away from those critics – but after a couple of in-and-out seasons, he pretty much made the outside-left position his own in the next two: 1905-06-07. In the summer of 1906, he almost moved to Dundee, when flattering terms were offered. But he stayed until November 1907 when cash-strapped Southampton needed to sell him to one of the London clubs – Tottenham, Chelsea or Fulham – that were bidding for him. Second Division Fulham got the nod and Fred Harrison, with whom Mouncher had first played local football at Fitzhugh Rovers, went with him. He blossomed at Fulham and even had an international trial in 1908.

He later switched to left-half before his health began to fail. In 1910, shortly before his younger brother, Sydney, joined Southampton as an amateur, Fred’s consumption forced him to retire. He managed to live through most of the First World War with his illness and was planning to return to Southampton, as the licensee of the Railway Hotel in St Denys. But in February 1918, at the age of 34, he succumbed to his condition and would not get to see Sydney play for Millwall in the final season of the Southern League.