Ernest Needham: Prince of Half-Backs

 

Ernest Needham: Prince of Half-Backs

A unique series of articles by Ernest Needham is out now at £10

“I shall always think that Needham was the finest footballer I have ever seen.” Herbert Chapman, the greatest manager of his era, in 1932. Chapman made 22 first team appearances for Sheffield United in the 1902-03 season.

Whether Ernest Needham is Sheffield United’s greatest ever player has been previously evaluated in the programme. Chapman and many of Needham’s contemporaries thought so by bestowing on him the title of ‘the Prince of half backs.’ But with no one alive who saw him play and with only rare film footage we can only draw on the facts. They are that he achieved promotion to Division One with the Blades, twice captured the FA Cup and was our leader when the top flight title was won in 1897-98. He also collected an FA Cup runners up medal in 1901. 

Known as ‘Nudger’ for his ability to nudge opposition players off the ball, Needham generally played at left half but he could and did play when required in many other positions. The United captain was a superbly talented player. He passed the ball well with either foot, dribbled superbly, had the ability to read the game, possessed amazing stamina, had an eye for a goal and led his men with courage and intelligence. He had a never-say-die attitude.

He made 16 appearances for his country, winning eleven and drawing two of these games. He was one of the first professional players to captain his country and the first ever Sheffield United player to do so. England won the British Championship during the eight seasons in which Needham played for his country. He made ten appearances for the Football League. This record means Needham is Sheffield United’s most successful player in the club’s 131 year history. He was also a fine cricketer and made 186 matches for Derbyshire at County Cricket.

 In 1912, Needham wrote a series of 12 lengthy articles in the Sheffield Star Green ‘Un about his career, his achievements and disappointments, his thrill of the game, some of his big matches, his toughest opponents and greatest teammates plus his general thoughts on football. These have now been reproduced in a special 156 book that also contains some rare photographs and images plus a series of articles on football in the Victorian and Edwardian era’s in which Needham (1873-1936) played his football. There is also a special selection of Needham’s major games.

Needham’s articles recall his journey from working on the pit bank to moving from Staveley FC, where he won the Wharncliffe Cup, to Sheffield United, then of the Northern League. He writes of how he laid the foundation of a great career with Bill Hendry, signed from Preston North End, playing a pivotal role. There are tales of great games with Wednesday, who might have been the first Yorkshire side to win the FA Cup in 1896 but were beaten to the race for the first League title in 1897-98 by a United side in which Billy Foulke was a larger than life character.

There are reminiscences of great days in Division Two, United won promotion in 1892-93 by overcoming Accrington in the play offs, and the top flight, where the Blades finished as runners up in 1896-97 and 1899-1900.

Huge FA Cup games are examined including a series of matches that were little more than blood baths against the Wednesday in 1900 and a season earlier four competitive affairs with Liverpool at the 1898-99 semi final stage. The successful finals in 1899 against Derby County, a game in which Needham achieved almost the impossible in keeping Steve Bloomer quiet, and against, when a replay was required to win the trophy, Southampton in 1902 are written about in great detail. So too are the two games against Spurs in the 1901 Final.

Needham also recounts his time playing for England, singling out the match at Celtic Park against Scotland in 1898 when the Wednesday player Fred Spiksley and himself combined so brilliantly down the left that the Scots were very fortunate to only lose 3-1. Needham is bursting with pride when he details being made England captain for the game against Wales in 1903.

The last pair of articles looks at some of the greatest players of Needham’s era and the end of what was a brilliant footballing career.

The book is dedicated to the memory of life long Blades fan Martin Westby, whose dedication to researching and documenting the embryonic history of football leaves an immeasurable legacy, particularly within the City of Sheffield. Martin died in September of this year and a public commemorative event will be held in due course.

To buy the book see:- https://d.docs.live.net/6b757c5708db9222/needham.docx