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Season 1931-32. Manchester League The Arrival of E. P. Gillibrand Prior to the start of the 1931-32 season, Mr. Willet, the Droylsden secretary, had to inform the committee that no fewer than nine of the previous season's team had left the club, and he and other officials had had a trying time in building up a new team. This however, they had now managed to do, and he was sure that by the end of the coming season the club would be more than happy with the new-look first eleven. Amongst the new signing's was a centre-forward by the name of E. P. Gillibrand, who was soon to become a big favourite with the Droylsden supporter's and possibly one of the best player's ever to have worn a Droylsden shirt. Ernie Gillibrand made his debut for the Market street club in Droylsden's first home match of the season, scoring a hat-trick in an 8-3 win against Heywood. In other games during this, his first season at the club, Gillibrand scored another hat-trick in a 5-1 home win against Ashfield; yet another hat-tick against league leaders Chapel-en-le-Frith, a match which Droylsden lost 4-8 at home in front of a 1,000 gate; a hat-trick in a 7-2 defeat of Hollingworth; another hat-trick against Barnton Vics, a game which Droylsden lost 4-5; a hat-trick in a 6-1 beating of Manchester Central; another hat-trick against Heywood in a game Droylsden won 5-0; and to top all that, the goal-scoring phenomenon put four goals past Glossop in a 6-4 victory at the Butchers' Arms, and notched yet another four goals in a 6-3 beating of Stockport County's 'A' team. As the correspondent remarked in his report of Droylsden's match against Manchester Central, "...and Gillibrand performed the hat-trick, a feat which has become quite common with him...." Gillibrand finished the season with an incredible total of 78 goals, which, considering less than 40 games were played to achieve that total, becomes yet an even more incredible feat. Despite the tremendous victories recorded above, Droylsden were also on the wrong end of some horrendous defeats, as against Buxton (1-4), Manchester Central, away, (0-6), Chapel-en-le-Frith (0-7) etc etc. Though on the whole, Droylsden won far more than they lost and ended the season 4th in the league table. This 1931-32 season was also another milestone in the history of the club, for it was in September 1931, that Droylsden played their first ever match in the most prized competition of all cup competition's - the FA Cup. Droylsden's first venture into the FA Cup saw them paired with Ellesmere Port at the Butchers' Arms, and it was announced in the local press that the Droylsden team had undergone 'special training' in readiness for the match. Exactly what the 'special training' amounted to was not revealed, though it must have had a beneficial effect on the players, for in front of a 2,000 plus gate, Droylsden won the match by 3 goals to 2. The team that represented Droylsden in their first ever FA Cup-tie is as follows:- Greaves, Boyle, Fitton, Fisher, Turner, Scanlon, Murphy, Travis, Gillibrand, Traynor and Goodwin. Droylsden were rewarded with another home-tie in the next round, and interest was shown to be growing in the town when 4,000 spectators turned out to see Droylsden progress still further by beating Shell Mex 3-1. However, the next round saw Droylsden's exit from the competition when they were beaten 1-5 by Stalybridge Celtic at Bower Fold, Droylsden's solitary goal coming from none other than, Ernie Gillibrand. FA Cup matches apart, bigger crowds were beginning to turn out for other important - if less ambitious - cup competitions. In the first round of the Gilcryst Cup, again at the Butchers' Arms, a gate of 3,000 spectators watched as Droylsden beat Denton United by 2 goals to 1, whilst in the opening round of the Ashton Challenge Cup, well over 1,000 spectators turned up at the Market street ground to see a thrilling 4-4 draw with Northern Nomads. The replay at Bower Fold, which the Nomads shared with Stalybridge Celtic, saw the Droylsden team bewilder their long suffering supporters by losing the match 1-5. All in all it had been a good season for Droylsden, and slowly but surely a strong team was beginning to be formed, which promised a brighter future in the season's to come. So heartened was Mr. Willet by the team's displays during the past season that he proudly boasted of how Droylsden now possessed one of the fastest forward lines in the Manchester League. Councillor Hetherington complimented the club on the record of the first team during the past season in scoring well over 100 goals in the league, which saw the club finish fourth, a point behind the runners-up. He was also complimentary about the Droylsden second eleven, which was placed third in the Manchester Amateur League at the end of the season, and had also achieved over a hundred goals during the season's campaign. Unfortunately, the second eleven were not attracting much interest at their home matches, and the club was becoming concerned. |