FA Cup 3rd Round – Blackpool v Margate, January 11th, 1936

When Blackpool drew Southern League Margate in the third round of the FA Cup to be played on 11 January 1936, manager Joe Smith commented “We ought to win, and I think we shall win. But I’m taking nothing for granted. All I can say is that I shall be surprised if Blackpool are not in the fourth round.” But Margate, a club that had been adopted as Arsenal’s nursery team, had already accounted for two Third Division clubs in its Cup run; Queens Park Rangers were beaten 3-1 in the first round and Crystal Palace were defeated by a similar score in the second round. Indeed a word of warning came in the Gazette on the day of the draw as it stated emphatically “These giant killers require watching.”

The Margate squad included in its ranks three players with Football League experience, Jack Lambert and Charles Preedy, who had both appeared for Arsenal in an FA Cup final, and David Robbie, who had spent 13 years at Bury. Manager James Ramsey along with Lambert had attended Bloomfield Road a week earlier to watch Blackpool surprisingly lose 3-2 to Bury but he had noticed that the Blackpool forwards were yards faster on the ball than his Margate players were. So he had devoted a lot of the training time on the south coast to track work to ensure quickness off the mark.

His players travelled to Blackpool on the Thursday before the game and stayed at the Cleveleys Hydro where their preparations were limited to a walk on the Promenade and an hour’s fieldwork behind the hotel. On the Friday afternoon the players visited Bloomfield Road to get a feel for the ground and in the evening they visited a local cinema as that was one of the activities prior to Cup ties that they felt had brought them good luck. They did have a last minute scare when Evans was struck down with lumbago and the club quickly sent a telegram to Margate for a replacement. Brophy arrived at the Cleveleys Hydro on the Friday but on the morning of the match Evans had recovered sufficiently to take his place in the side.

Meanwhile Blackpool had announced their side on the Thursday prior to the game with Joe Smith confirming that there were no injury doubts and saying “From that point of view we have emerged very well from the holiday games.” And he added, “More or less, the policy has been one of rest and recuperation from those games. We are happily placed in Blackpool, where there is unlimited fresh air with special invigorating qualities.” Just to ensure that there was no complacency in his team he warned “The boys realise there are no walk-overs in Cup ties.”

On Saturday morning Blackpool was alive with supporters wearing amber and black favours, waving rattles and sounding bugles for 500 Margate fans had travelled overnight on a train that had taken eight hours for the journey. Meanwhile the players had a short stroll while the manager commented “Every one of my men will play for the entire 90 minutes. We are out to give Blackpool a great match.” In addition to those supporters who had travelled from the south coast, there was quite a contingent from Darwen who had travelled over to watch a boy who had made his way in the east Lancashire town make only his third appearance for the Margate club.

The newspapers on that morning had the news splashed across their sports pages that 18 year-old George Holden, who only a year earlier had been in the sixth form at Darwen Grammar School, would play at outside right in place of the experienced David Robbie. The Margate manager had no doubt about his decision and had said of Holden “He is a born footballer. He still requires speed and experience, but I am certain that the crowd tomorrow and the importance of the match will not affect him. He will forget that there’s a crowd watching him.”

Six Englishmen, one Welshman and four Scotsmen were in the Margate side and the Scotsmen in particular were said to be “familiar with front-page football”. John Davie at centre forward was a product of Dunfermline and the previous season had played for Hibernian. Andrew Farr, said to be the Alec James of the front line, was at one time a contemporary of Bobby Finan in the Yoker Athletic forward line and had been a professional with Clyde at only 17. Robert McFarlane at left half was a Scottish Youth international and the previous season had played for Tranent Juniors who won the Scottish Junior Cup. And 20 year-old Alec Miller at right back had played Scottish Second Division football with East Fife.

Of the rest of the Margate side, Charles Preedy had returned to the town where he had been educated after success with Arsenal while Sheffield-born Charles Walker had joined Margate after two seasons with the Arsenal reserve side. James Evans of Merthyr had played for Hereford and had scored all three goals that defeated Crystal Palace in the second round and Ernest Tuckett, a centre half discovered at Redcar by Herbert Chapman, had also been with Arsenal before joining Margate. Jack Lambert had one claim to fame that was close to Blackpool’s hearts as he had been the first player to score against the club in the First Division when he had been with Arsenal. And finally Joe Clare had been signed by Arsenal from Accrington Stanley and had been sent to Margate to finish his football apprenticeship.

Joe Smith, whose side was entirely free from injuries, repeated his earlier views with “I am taking nothing for granted. But Blackpool should be in the fourth round.” The local press likened the game to that against non-league Cheltenham Town two seasons previously when Blackpool, a goal down at half-time had eventually triumphed. It made the point that it expected Blackpool to win but added “We want no half-time deficits!”

The Margate players spent a relaxed Saturday morning with a mile walk on the Promenade in the face of a biting wind while the Blackpool players, in their separate homes, had a late breakfast and reported to the ground 45 minutes before the kick-off. When the Margate players arrived at the ground for the game they were met at the players entrance by Blackpool captain Phil Watson who presented the team with a three-foot long, 50-pound bar of Blackpool rock. It had been specially made by the local firm of Waller & Hartley, was in a carton in the colours of the two teams and had the names of the two teams running through it. Jack Lambert the Margate captain , when asked what he would do with it, commented facetiously “It will make a good pedestal for the Cup!”

For the game Blackpool fielded its strongest side which was Wallace, P Watson, Witham, Bokas, Cardwell, S Jones, Watmough, T W Jones, Finan, Doherty and Oram. The Margate side was Preedy, Miller, Walker, Evans, Tuckett, Macfarlane, Holden, Farr, Davie, Lambert and Clare.

Blackpool kicked against the wind towards the north end in the first half but all the action was at the other end as Margate showed that they had not come simply to defend. Almost the whole of the first 45 minutes was spent with the Blackpool defence in retreat as the tearaway Margate forwards repeatedly caught them out of position. And when Blackpool did get a chance to get forward, the strong, organised Margate defence kept the forwards well out of shooting distance. It was no surprise therefore when Margate took the lead and went in at the break one goal to the good. A major Cup upset was on the cards.

It carried on that way for the first 15 minutes of the second half but then the Margate players visibly tired as Blackpool strove for an equaliser. It eventually came, much to the relief of most of the 13,800 crowd, and then when Dickie Watmough shot into the roof of the net before the Margate defenders could close him down Blackpool were able to take control of the game. A further goal came and at the final whistle it was 3-1 with Watmough, two, and Finan having sealed Blackpool’s place in the fourth round.

Great Games by Blackpool FC historian Gerry Wolstenholme.

#margate #blackpoolfc #1930s #blackpoolhistory #blackpoolfcfans