When David Ashworth suddenly and surprisingly left Anfield for Oldham Athletic in December 1922, Liverpool turned to one of their Directors as a temporary answer. But not only did Matthew McQueen see the club safely through to a successful defence of their first division championship trophy, he stayed in the manager’s chair for five years even though he was nearly 60-years-old at the time he was asked to take over.
Matt and his brother Hugh had been two of the many Scotsmen recruited by John McKenna shortly after Liverpool were founded in 1892 following Everton’s decision to move from Anfield to Goodison Park. Both had played in Liverpool’s first-ever Football League match, against Middlesbrough Ironopolis in September, 1893. When his playing days were over, McQueen took the qualifications necessary to become a Football League referee and officiated as a linesman for a brief period in 1904. Towards the end of the First World War, he was appointed to become a Director on Liverpool’s Board.
After the successive championships of 1922 and 1923, the club’s fortunes declined somewhat with finishes of twelfth, fourth, seventh and ninth. But the team started the 1927/28 season in far from convincing form. There were just six victories from 17 matches before Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on Christmas Eve. Liverpool eventually finished in what appeared to be a comfortable sixteenth place out of 22 but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The fight to avoid relegation that year was extraordinary. Middlesbrough finished bottom with 37 points and Tottenham joined them in the Second Division with 38 points. But no fewer than SEVEN clubs with Liverpool among them escaped by finishing on 39 points. However, before that end-of-season drama took place, Matt McQueen had stood down as manager. He had tragically lost a leg in a road accident in the early 1920’s and his health had deteriorated further by the end of the decade. But before he stood down, McQueen had made one of Liverpool’s most significant signings ever, South African Gordon Hodgson, a wonderful striker of the ball who would go on score nearly 250 senior goals for the club in less than 400 appearances.
Matt became Liverpool through and through after his move from Scotland in the early 1890’s. He lived in Kemlyn Road just a stone’s throw from the stadium and was a frequent and popular visitor to the club for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 81 on 28 September, 1944.
Competition | Total | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals for | Goals against |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand totals | 229 | 93 | 60 | 76 | 354 | 307 |
League | 210 | 83 | 57 | 70 | 327 | 290 |
FA Cup | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 17 |
League Cup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Europe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wooltonian, one of the most accomplished writers on the Net is featured on LFChistory. In this article he takes a look at Liverpool in the 20s.
Liverpool wanted to become the fifth side since the League was formed in 1888 to win the championship in two consecutive seasons.
Player | Club | Fee | Date |
---|---|---|---|
William Chalmers | Old Aberdeen | Unknown | 1923 |
Joe Keetley | Accrington Stanley | £1,200 | 7 November 1923 |
Hector Lawson | Rangers | Unknown | 3 January 1924 |
Archie Rawlings | Preston North End | Unknown | 21 March 1924 |
Bill Cockburn | Stockport County | £2,000 | 27 May 1924 |
John Jones | Holyhead | Free | September 1924 |
Albert Shears | Aberdare Athletic | Unknown | 17 September 1924 |
Fred Baron | Mid-Rhondda United | £600 | February 1925 |
Tom Scott | Darlington | Unknown | 6 February 1925 |
James Jackson | Aberdeen | £1,750 | 20 May 1925 |
Arthur Riley | Boksburg | Free | August 1925 |
David McMullan | Distillery | Unknown | 16 October 1925 |
Cyril Oxley | Chesterfield | £2,000 | 27 October 1925 |
Gordon Hodgson | Transvaal | Free | 14 December 1925 |
Jimmy Gray | Transvaal | Unknown | 1926 |
Dick Edmed | Gillingham | £1,800 | 20 January 1926 |
Tom Reid | Clydebank | £1,000 | 12 April 1926 |
George Pither | Merthyr Town | £500 | 24 November 1926 |
Willie Devlin | Huddersfield Town | £0 | 6 May 1927 |
Bill Murray | Clydebank | Unknown | 28 November 1927 |
Bob Clark | Newcastle United | £3,000 | 26 January 1928 |
Tom Morrison | St. Mirren | £4,000 | 8 February 1928 |
Harry Race | Raby United | Unknown | 10 February 1928 |
Neil McBain | St. Johnstone | £1,000 | 8 March 1928 |
Player | Club | Fee | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Jack Sambrook | Stockport County | Unknown | 15 May 1923 |
Frank Mitchell | Tranmere Rovers | Unknown | June 1923 |
Francis Checkland | Tranmere Rovers | Unknown | October 1923 |
Harry Lewis | Hull City | £800 | 17 October 1923 |
John Bamber | Leicester City | Unknown | 8 February 1924 |
Bill Lacey | New Brighton | Unknown | June 1924 |
Harold Wadsworth | Leicester City | Unknown | 21 June 1924 |
Harry Beadles | Cardiff City | Unknown | 8 August 1924 |
Bill Cunningham | Barrow | Unknown | 9 August 1924 |
John Jones | Llandudno | Unknown | 1925 |
Dick Johnson | Stoke City | Unknown | 19 February 1925 |
Cyril Gilhespy | Bristol City | Unknown | May 1925 |
Billy McDevitt | Exeter City | Unknown | 22 May 1925 |
Joe Keetley | Wolves | Free | 26 May 1925 |
William Chalmers | Tranmere Rovers | Unknown | 11 June 1925 |
Hector Lawson | Airdrieonians | Unknown | 25 August 1925 |
Walter Wadsworth | Bristol City | Unknown | 14 May 1926 |
James Garner | Southport | Unknown | 4 June 1926 |
Archie Rawlings | Walsall | Free | 22 June 1926 |
Ted Parry | Walsall | Unknown | 25 June 1926 |
Dick Forshaw | Everton | £3,750 | 2 March 1927 |
Fred Baron | Southend | Unknown | 9 March 1927 |
David Pratt | Bury | Unknown | 30 November 1927 |
Willie Devlin | Hearts | Unknown | 27 December 1927 |
Bill Cockburn | QPR | Unknown | July 1928 |