# 1907–08 Crystal Palace F.C. season

The 1907–08 season was one of change for the new club. John Robson departed the club to manage Brighton and Hove Albion, and club secretary Edmund Goodman stepped in to take over the role. Goodman's first problem was to find a replacement for goalkeeper Bob Hewitson. Hewitson had departed for Oldham, and his early replacement was William Hall of Manchester City. Hall played in the first ten games before losing his place to Josh Johnson, signed from Plymouth Argyle. Johnson swiftly established himself as first choice and would go on to play 295 times for the first team. Dick Harker left for Hibernian and Charlie Wallace was snapped up by Aston Villa, where he would go on to win both the Football League and the FA Cup. Horace Astley, hero of last season's FA Cup exploits, moved on to Heywood United, and Bill Ledger moved on to Sunderland.
Although Goodman brought players into the club, the squad of players used dropped from last season's 26 to 22. George Walker returned to the club from New Brompton, and forward Jimmy Bauchop was signed from Norwich City. John Brearley came to the club from Tottenham and Billy Davies joined from Stoke City. Davies would become Palace's first International, playing for Wales in their match against Scotland on 7 March 1908. George Woodger was called into the England squad as a reserve for the 4 April 1908 game against Scotland but did not make the first team. Forwards Isaac Owens and George Smith also played for Palace during this season, joining from Bristol Rovers and Bristol City respectively.

## Southern Football League First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 September 1907 | Northampton Town | H | 0 – 2 | | 5,000 |
| 7 September | Southampton | A | 3 – 2 | Davies, Woodger, Edwards (pen) | 5,000 |
| 14 September 1907 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0 – 4 | | 8,000 |
| 28 September | Queen's Park Rangers | H | 2 – 3 | Roberts (2) | 8,000 |
| 5 October 1907 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2 – 1 | Innerd, Needham | 17,000 |
| 7 October 1907 | Northampton Town | A | 1 – 1 | Innerd | |
| 12 October 1907 | Swindon Town | H | 4 – 1 | Woodger (3), Owens | 8,000 |
| 19 October 1907 | New Brompton | H | 3 – 3 | Owens, Davies, Woodger | 8,000 |
| 26 October 1907 | Luton Town | A | 0 – 4 | | 6,000 |
| 2 November 1907 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2 – 1 | Owens, Innerd | 10,000 |
| 9 November | Portsmouth | A | 1 – 0 | Swann | 8,000 |
| 16 November | Bradford (Park Avenue) | H | 1 – 1 | Roberts (pen) | 11,000 |
| 23 November 1907 | Millwall | A | 0 – 1 | | 5,000 |
| 30 November 1907 | Brentford | H | 2 – 1 | Roberts, Woodger | 7,000 |
| 7 December 1907 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1 – 2 | Roberts | 7,000 |
| 14 December 1907 | Leyton | H | 3 – 0 | Swann (2), Owens | 6,000 |
| 21 December 1907 | Reading | A | 1 – 2 | Brearley | 5,000 |
| 25 December 1907 | Norwich City | A | 1 – 0 | Brearley | 13,500 |
| 28 December 1907 | Watford | H | 3 – 1 | Roberts (pen), Woodger (2) | 7,000 |
| 4 January 1908 | Southampton | H | 1 – 0 | Roberts (pen) | 8,000 |
| 18 January 1908 | West Ham United | H | 1 – 3 | Woodger | 10,000 |
| 25 January 1908 | Queen's Park Rangers | A | 2 – 1 | Smith, Swann | 8,000 |
| 8 February 1908 | Swindon Town | A | 0 – 0 | | 7,000 |
| 12 February 1908 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0 – 2 | | 8,000 |
| 15 February 1908 | New Brompton | A | 2 – 2 | Smith, Woodger | 2,000 |
| 29 February 1908 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1 – 0 | Owens | 4,000 |
| 4 March 1908 | Luton Town | H | 4 – 2 | Needham, Owens (2), Davies | 4,000 |
| 7 March 1908 | Portsmouth | H | 2 – 2 | Woodger, Ryan | 10,000 |
| 14 March 1908 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | A | 1 – 0 | Owens | 8,000 |
| 21 March 1908 | Millwall | H | 2 – 0 | Needham, Bauchop | 13,500 |
| 28 March 1908 | Brentford | A | 1 – 1 | Bauchop | 9,000 |
| 4 April 1908 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1 – 1 | Woodger | 10,000 |
| 8 April 1908 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1 – 1 | Bauchop | 7,000 |
| 11 April 1908 | Leyton | A | 0 – 0 | | 5,000 |
| 18 April 1908 | Reading | H | 2 – 0 | Bauchop, Woodger | 10,000 |
| 20 April 1908 | Norwich City | H | 2 – 1 | Needham, Bauchop | 14,000 |
| 25 April 1908 | Watford | A | 1 – 4 | Bauchop | 3,000 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 2 | Plymouth Argyle | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 50 | 31 | 1.613 | 49 |
| 3 | Millwall | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 32 | 1.531 | 46 |
| 4 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 51 | 1.059 | 44 |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 42 |
| 6 | Bristol Rovers | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 59 | 56 | 1.054 | 42 |

## FA Cup

After a good run in the FA Cup last season, Palace were this time allowed to enter the draw in the first round proper. They were eventually dispatched by Grimsby Town in the third round, having been drawn away from home in each tie. Had they managed to beat Grimsby, a rematch with Newcastle would have been the reward.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 January 2908 | First Round | Coventry City | A | 4 – 2 | Roberts, Woodger (2), Davies | 9,992 |
| 1 February 1908 | Second Round | Plymouth Argyle | A | 3 – 2 | Roberts, Smith, Swann | 17,830 |
| 22 February 1908 | Third Round | Grimsby Town | A | 0 – 1 | | 8,828 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | William Hall | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| GK | Henry Balding | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | Joshua Johnson | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| FB | Matthew Edwards | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| FB | Harry Collyer | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| FB | George Walker | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| HB | Wilf Innerd (c) | 34 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| HB | Charles Ryan | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| HB | Bill Forster | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| HB | Arthur Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | Fred Lewis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | John Brearley | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 2 |
| FW | Billy Davies | 31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 4 |
| FW | George Smith | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 3 |
| FW | George Woodger | 35 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 15 |
| FW | Archie Needham | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 4 |
| FW | Dick Roberts | 20 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 9 |
| FW | Robert Baker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | James Bauchop | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
| FW | H. Higgins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Herbert Swann | 37 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 5 |
| FW | Isaac Owens | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 8 |