Season Summary
Exeter City In 1922-1923
A MELANCHOLY STORY FROM ST JAMES'S PARK
Exeter City's supporters on April 28th watched the last home match of season 1922-23, and surely, in view of the absence of all kikelihood of the team doing any better this year than they have for the past eight weeks, they are not sorry.
Apart from the fact that the two last home matches of 1922-23 were devoid of points and provided a rather mediocre form of sport, there has been nothing serious to complain of with regard to home fixtures generally in a season which has been mainly unsuccessful. But there has recently been an excess of away matches over home matches, and that is where the dissatisfaction and discouragement have crept in.
MONOTONOUS DEFEATS
Since January the team has played away nine teams. It has won one of these nine matches, drawn one, and lost seven, scored ten goals in them and lost thirty-one. Football thrives according to the pitch at which public interest and enthusiasm are maintained, and a monotonous succession of defeats away from home tend very seriously to lower that pitch, even if the team is providing good entertainment at home. The position is improved if there is any reasonable prospect of better results to follow, but in this case the approach of the end of the season was one almost inevitable downward slide, which crushed all hope among the supporters.
That the end of the season has at last arrived is therefore a blessing, for there is the knowledge that the team cannot slide any further, and there is the hope that next season's horizon conceals better things.
LACK OF BACKBONE AND QUALITY
When Exeter City lost their first match of the season, by three goals to one at Aberdare, attention was called to the unfortunate lack of "backbone" and quality in the team, and it was expressed at the time that the Grecians gave promise of settling down into a jelly rather than a match winning combination.
After needing a replay to put Boscombe out of the F.A.Cup the Bath City fiasco looked ominous. The forwards rallied, and for a time did wonders with Crockford leading the attack. But the men in the front of the team were disheartened by the repeated serious
collapses on the part of the defence, and gradually but surely all the players have lost confidence. The season has been something of a gamble, and at different times the question has cropped up: Can Exeter City stay the course?
Right at the finish it was a very narrow squeak, and with one point less than was secured last year Exeter are safe, merely by the circumstance that Reading and Aberdare had to meet one another twice in the final matches. It is to be hoped that Exeter will be much happier in their choice of playing talent for the campaign of 1923-24.
What is wanted is a keen and enthusiastic fighting side of men who have neither learned everything there is to learn, nor who have everything yet to learn, but who are capable of learning with each game they play, and who do their talking and posturing, if any, off the field instead of on it.
THE BENEFIT MATCH
There has been no more interesting event staged at St James's Park during the season than the second part of the Rigby-Dockray benefit arrangement. The excellent cause in which the match was organised was in itself a stimulant, if any was needed, to attract City supporters witness such a galaxy of ex-Grecians' heroes as was provided. Chief honours, of course, went to "Pincher" Pym, who, bred and born a fisherman at Topsham, holds a particularly soft spot in the heart of every follower of the "soccer" code in Exeter and East Devon.
After his great triumph at Wembley, it was natural that this latest visit should have been more looked forward to than the one he made with his team in September. There were thousands of his admirers simply aching to give vent to the pride which they felt in the famous Exonian who has made such a success of his calling.
The game went with a splendid sporting swing, and it was quite something to be remembered to see such a gathering of many of the old favourites providing the patrons with good entertainment once more. It had quite a levening effect on the rather heavy, gloomy atmosphere in which the League season had ended.
A MELANCHOLY STORY FROM ST JAMES'S PARK
Exeter City's supporters on April 28th watched the last home match of season 1922-23, and surely, in view of the absence of all kikelihood of the team doing any better this year than they have for the past eight weeks, they are not sorry.
Apart from the fact that the two last home matches of 1922-23 were devoid of points and provided a rather mediocre form of sport, there has been nothing serious to complain of with regard to home fixtures generally in a season which has been mainly unsuccessful. But there has recently been an excess of away matches over home matches, and that is where the dissatisfaction and discouragement have crept in.
MONOTONOUS DEFEATS
Since January the team has played away nine teams. It has won one of these nine matches, drawn one, and lost seven, scored ten goals in them and lost thirty-one. Football thrives according to the pitch at which public interest and enthusiasm are maintained, and a monotonous succession of defeats away from home tend very seriously to lower that pitch, even if the team is providing good entertainment at home. The position is improved if there is any reasonable prospect of better results to follow, but in this case the approach of the end of the season was one almost inevitable downward slide, which crushed all hope among the supporters.
That the end of the season has at last arrived is therefore a blessing, for there is the knowledge that the team cannot slide any further, and there is the hope that next season's horizon conceals better things.
LACK OF BACKBONE AND QUALITY
When Exeter City lost their first match of the season, by three goals to one at Aberdare, attention was called to the unfortunate lack of "backbone" and quality in the team, and it was expressed at the time that the Grecians gave promise of settling down into a jelly rather than a match winning combination.
After needing a replay to put Boscombe out of the F.A.Cup the Bath City fiasco looked ominous. The forwards rallied, and for a time did wonders with Crockford leading the attack. But the men in the front of the team were disheartened by the repeated serious
collapses on the part of the defence, and gradually but surely all the players have lost confidence. The season has been something of a gamble, and at different times the question has cropped up: Can Exeter City stay the course?
Right at the finish it was a very narrow squeak, and with one point less than was secured last year Exeter are safe, merely by the circumstance that Reading and Aberdare had to meet one another twice in the final matches. It is to be hoped that Exeter will be much happier in their choice of playing talent for the campaign of 1923-24.
What is wanted is a keen and enthusiastic fighting side of men who have neither learned everything there is to learn, nor who have everything yet to learn, but who are capable of learning with each game they play, and who do their talking and posturing, if any, off the field instead of on it.
THE BENEFIT MATCH
There has been no more interesting event staged at St James's Park during the season than the second part of the Rigby-Dockray benefit arrangement. The excellent cause in which the match was organised was in itself a stimulant, if any was needed, to attract City supporters witness such a galaxy of ex-Grecians' heroes as was provided. Chief honours, of course, went to "Pincher" Pym, who, bred and born a fisherman at Topsham, holds a particularly soft spot in the heart of every follower of the "soccer" code in Exeter and East Devon.
After his great triumph at Wembley, it was natural that this latest visit should have been more looked forward to than the one he made with his team in September. There were thousands of his admirers simply aching to give vent to the pride which they felt in the famous Exonian who has made such a success of his calling.
The game went with a splendid sporting swing, and it was quite something to be remembered to see such a gathering of many of the old favourites providing the patrons with good entertainment once more. It had quite a levening effect on the rather heavy, gloomy atmosphere in which the League season had ended.
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