Unlikely disaster at White Hart Lane

On the morning of 2 April 1949, 15,000 expectant Saints supporters were making their way to White Hart Lane in North London. It was the day of the big match against fellow promotion hunters, Tottenham Hotspur, but the fans, who caught the train from Southampton Central or motored up the old A30 in a procession of coaches especially laid on by the supporters club, had every reason to be confident that promotion to Division One could be achieved for the first time ever.

With eight games left in the season they were seven and six points clear of second and third place respectively and hot favourites to go up. Indeed the Spurs programme notes under the title of The Southampton tussle declared Saints were in “what appears to be an unassailable position” and adding they have never had First Division football at The Dell but “only a series of unlikely disasters will prevent them of it”. Saints last 11 games had produced 9 wins and two draws and with the talismanic Charle Wayman scoring 11 goals in that run there was no reason to fear 4^th place Tottenham, despite the fact White Hart Lane was bursting to the gunnels with a 69,000 plus crowd. The players posed for a pre-match photo which would feature on the cover of Soccer magazine a few months later. The team line up had remained unchanged for the last eight games, ever since Bill Heaton had arrived from Leeds and come in on the left wing in place of Wilf Grant.

Spurs’ pitch was dry and bumpy after a mild early Spring and the ball was light and mischievous which made it awkward to bring under control. By the beginning of the second half the game was beginning to take on the hallmarks of a nil nil draw which would have been an more acceptable result for the away side. Midway through the second half, though, Spurs’ hearts were in their mouths, when a Ted Bates’ shot hit first one post then the other before dropping dead on the line to be cleared by a relieved Ditchburn. As someone watching said it was “as near as anything possible on a football field without being a goal”.

But then came an incident which was to define Southampton’s season. Charlie Wayman tore a muscle in his thigh. Today, of course, he would immediately be replaced by a substitute but back then none were allowed and injured players were usually stuck out on the left-wing to act as nuisance value. And that’s where Charlie was in the 82nd minute when Bates gathered the ball and ran boldly at the Spurs defence before picking out the limping Charlie, perhaps forgetting his centre-forward was a virtual invalid. The Daily Express takes over the story.

Many years later Charlie described his heroic goal “I don’t know how I got to the ball, to put it in the back of the net….. Teddy (Bates) had it and he pushed it to me and I put it on this foot and I hit it and it came back off the goalkeeper and I hit it with my other foot – the one that worked (laughs). Then they carried me off……we went to the Palladium on the night and, oh dear me, talk about the pain”!

However Charlie’s bravery had left Saints sitting pretty. Eight points clear with seven games left (only two points for a win back then remember), surely promotion was in the bag but those two words in the Tottenham programme “unlikely disasters” now came back to haunt those in the town who followed their football club.

With Bobby Veck replacing Wayman, Saints lost the next game to Bradford PA, 2-0 and then were beaten at home by West Ham. Two points were picked up in the next match away to Grimsby, thanks to a 90^th minute penalty, but then a third defeat in four games came at the hands of Bury. Manager Bill Dodgin was desperate and for the home match v Grimsby picked a far-from-fit Charlie. He did manage “one flashing shot brilliantly saved by Chisholm the Grimsby goalkeeper” but with Bates missing a sitter the game ended goalless.

Fellow promotion hopefuls, West Bromich Albion provided the season’s penultimate fixture and a Dell record crowd of 30,586 saw Saints, without Wayman, equalise in the 87^th point through Eric Day to salvage a point and so keep hopes alive.

The last game of the season was away to Chesterfield and as it later transpired a point would have been enough to clinch second spot. Wayman was once again thrust into the fray but to no avail. Saints had a goal by Bates incorrectly disallowed for offside and then Chesterfield scored the game’s only goal.

The unthinkable had happened, the “unassailable position” had been overhauled. Fulham and West Brom went up and the Football Echo commented “It was the end of a tragic slide which must be without parallel in football”. Little did Saints fans know that next season they would come even closer to winning promotion but there is only so much heartache the readership can take so that story must wait another day.