Charlie Webb

Name: Charles Graham Webb
Born: 14 September 1886, Kildare
Died: 1975
Position: Inside-Left

Representative Honours: Ireland: 3 Full Caps (1909-1911), 1 Amateur Cap (1909); Irish League: 1 Cap (1908); Army Representative.
Club Honours: (with Brighton) Southern League Champion 1909/10; FA Charity Shield Winner 1910.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup	Other
Essex Regiment	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bohemians	-	-	Amat.	-	-	-
Brighton & H.A.	08/09-14/15	-	-	219/64	-	*56/15
Cheshire.Regiment	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS			£-	219/64	-	56/15

* all other games

Brighton Goals in Detail: 

Season	Tot	SL	FA	CS	SC	SA
08/09	5	5
09/10	9	9
10/11	16	14		1	1
11/12	18	17			1
12/13	13	10	1			2
13/14	18	9	2			7
Total	79	64	3	1	2	9

SL – Southern League, FA – FA Cup, CS – Charity Shield, SC – Southern Counties Cup, SA – Southern Alliance

Biography:
Born at the Curragh Army Barracks in Kildare, Charlie Webb was the son of Sergeant William Webb. He played in the Irish League for Bohemians before playing in England with Southern League side, Brighton and Hove Albion.

Webb proved a reliable goalscorer from inside left for Brighton, finding the net 79 times in all, including a strike on his debut against West Ham. In the 1909/10 season he scored nine times as the Seagulls won the Southern League title for the only time and in the Charity Shield he scored the winner against Football League Champions Aston Villa – the only time a Southern League team won the Shield.

Honoured at inter-league level while with Bohs, Webb won all three of his international caps whilst a Brighton player. His first cap, against Scotland at Ibrox, gave Webb little chance to shine as a “poor” Ireland side was comprehensively beaten. Although the Irish ran Wales close in his second game, even taking an early lead through Billy Lacey, he again finished as a loser. Two years followed before his third capped was won, and again Scotland were the opponents. He came in for the unavailable James Macauley and in a bright start for the Irish forward-line he was presented with an open goal only to shoot wide. The Scots then showed their class to win 2-0.

During the Great War Webb served with the Cheshire Regiment, attaining the rank of corporal. Captured by the Germans, it was while in captivity that he received a letter from the Brighton directors informing him of his appointment as manager.

Webb began his stewardship on his return to England in 1919 and held the post continuously until 1947. His 28 years in charge remains a club record and spanned 1,200 games and the club’s election to the Football League as founder members of Division Three (South) in 1920. He famously produced a number of steady sides on a shoestring budget and worked tirelessly for the club, selling tickets for cup ties from his house and storing the gate money in his larder over the weekend while waiting for the bank to open!

After Webb’s retirement as Brighton manager in 1947 he was honoured with a grand testimonial match, First Division giants Arsenal and Portsmouth playing each other at the Goldstone Ground in 1949. Although he passed away in 1975, Webb is still fondly remembered in his adopted town. In 2003 a bus was named after him and that same year a plaque was unveiled in his honour at his long-time home on Frith Road.

Ireland Cap Details:
15-03-1909 Scotland A L 0-5 BC
20-03-1909 Wales... H L 2-3 BC
18-03-1911 Scotland A L 0-2 BC

Summary: 3/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 3.

Additional details by Martin O'Connor.