1908 MATCHES IN JUNE

FIFA was founded in May 1904, in Paris, but the England FA representatives did not offer their country as a joining member, leaving the continentals, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland to form their own "association". The FA seemed to think that their association was "above" the rest and hence international football was being protected. From 1904 England's only international challenges were from the "home" countries, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, usually towards the end of the league season in February, March and April.  

The England football team did not play any matches in June until in 1908, when the England international team played its first match in June on the 6th, during their first European tour. Four matches in early June two against Austria and none against Hungary and Bohemia were meant to be an advertisement for the game, "invented by the  English". With football very much in its infancyhe England team totalled 28 goals for, against 2! The tour squad shown below with their opposition, travelled between June 6th to the 13th, in Vienna, Budapest and Prague.

https://gameofthepeople.com/2014/08/26/the-pioneers-englands-1908-european-tour/ is the reference for the notes below.

Thjis was a period when England could claim to be “masters of the footballing universe”. Understandably, there was not a lot of well organised football being played in Europe! This was largely because the game in the United Kingdom had evolved faster than in other European countries, there could be little doubt that England were far advanced of their neighbours across the English Channel. This view would be strengthened in 1908 when England went on a summer tour to central Europe and later in the year, Great Britain would scoop the gold medal in the longest Olympic Games on record."

The full squad was: Goalkeeper – Horace Bailey (Leicester F); Full backs – Bob Crompton (Blackburn), Jesse Pennington (WBA); Half backs – Walter Corbett (Birmingham), Robert Hawkes (Luton), Ben Warren (Derby), Billy Wedlock (Bristol City); Forwards – Jock Rutherford (Newcastle), Jimmy Windridge (Chelsea), Vivien J Woodward (Tottenham), George Hilsdon (Chelsea), Frank Bradshaw (Sheff W), Arthur Bridgett (Sunderland).

Austria were no competition for England and in the first meeting on June 6 at the Cricketer Platz in front of 3,500 people, they ran out 6-1 winners. Hilsdon and Windridge scored doubles and Woodward and Bridgett netted one apiece. The speed of the England forwards was too much for a pedestrian Austrian back line. Two days later, at the Hohe Warte stadium, England bettered that scoreline to win 11-1.Woodward grabbed four and Bradshaw three. The other goals were scored by Warren, Bridgett, Rutherford and Windridge. Almost half the Austrian side played for sides from Bohemia.

The team moved on to Budapest and on June 10, they beat a Hungarian side drawn almost exclusively from Budapest sides. They won easily 7-0, with Hilsdon scoring four (plus goals from Windridge, Woodward and Rutherford). Interestingly, the referee was Hugo Meisl, who would later become the manager of the Austrian “Wunderteam”.

This really was a whistle-stop tour and on June 13, they travelled to Prague to play Bohemia at the Stadion Letna in front of the biggest crowd of the trip – some 12,000. The Bohemia side comprised 11 Slavia Prague players (pictured). This time England won 4-0 with goals from Hilsdon (2), Rutherford and Windridge. That was it, the tour was over, but a year later, England returned to central Europe where they did it all over again. They left an impact on local football folk, though, and when they returned to the region, the crowds were more than double 1908 levels.

There was another tour in 1909 in Hungary (2 matches) and Austria, but these were hardly a challenge with 20 goals for and 5 against, as the FA were treating the tour as an advertisement for the game, which they intended to become a World phenomenon-it worked, eventually.