The Season Summary 1909-10

A DISAPPOINTING SEASON
Exeter City's campaign has been one long drawn out disappointment. In the initial season of the club's Southern League career they ended up in the first six, and now they wind up in the last six, while in the final week of the campaign they were given the biggest thrashing they have yet experienced, going down at Coventry in the most in glorious fashion by six-nil, and five days later another heavy defeat was sustained at Leyton.

There has not been the difference between this season's side and that of last year which would adequately account for the material slide, but there has, at the same time, been a distinct falling back in one particular, namely, in forward consistency. The centre-forward position, for instance, has never been satisfactorily taken. McGuigan has been nothing like as valuable as he was in 1908 - 1909, and having met with a number of injuries, he has been out of active service for long spells at a time, and only very occasionally has he been at anything approaching his best.
This undoubtedly has been a great factor making for Exeter's non success, for apart from the fact that Bell relies for much of his effectiveness on his partnership with McGuigan, the Scotchman has been the only player the club has ever had whose centre-forward play bears the stamp of class. Green, in comparison, is erratic and too individualistic, and Evans, who played a couple of matches round about Christmas time, was only a partial success. As far as the other forwards are concerned Watson alone has been
consistent. Bell has been nothing like the successful shot he was last year, and though he again heads the City's list there have been games when his marksmanship was lamentably poor. Copestake has been good at times but has not enjoyed the best of health, and Garside's play has suffered similarly from illnesses which have at different times kept him out of the field for weeks together.

DEFENCE NOT TO BLAME
True, Crossthwaite has not been another Robinson, but for all that the Exeter defence has probably been stronger this year than it was in 1908-1909, a fact borne out to an extent by the goal average, - which, prior to the fiasco at Coventry, was better than it was at the close of last season, and much better than the average of other clubs in the lower half of the table.
To sum up the form of the different players in brief, it seems that Jones and Watson have been the most valuable men the City have had, and these two, with Crelley, Atkinson, and Hartley, the most consistent.

HOME AND AWAY: COMPARISONS
On twelve occasions the City have lost matches by a margin of only one goal. Their biggest victories were against Portsmouth and Millwall Athletic, 50 in each case, while until the match at Coventry they had never lost by more than a margin of three goals.
Until December 27th the City were not beaten at St. James's Park, and were the last but one Southern League club to hold such a record. Plymouth Argyle then defeated them easily, and unhappy days followed, three successive home reverses being experienced in March and April. On the whole the home record has not been worse than that of last season, but the doings away from home have been very sadly inferior. Before March 19th, in fact, not a victory had been registered on foreign soil, and in all only two points had been picked up. On that day Watford were beaten, and Reading have also been accounted for since, so that the total away points for the season has been a mere. six. It is recalled that last year, in that memorable three match tour, five points were accumulated in five days The one gratifying feature of the season has been the loyalty of the supporters, and even when things looked their blackest Exeter's gates were up to the average in the League, while on most occasions they have well exceeded the average.

THE RESERVES
As to the Reserves they have done shockingly bad, but here again the chief fault has been the forwards, the defence having been quite one of the best in the Plymouth League. There has been a dearth of local talent, and W.Wells, Heppell and White (two good backs) and Letheren have alone been consistent. The Reserves' record has been altogether unworthy of the club, and it is to be hoped that one or two new men will be persuaded Exeter -wards next winter.