Sidney Ireland (1886–1964) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, spending most of his career with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Football career

Ireland was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and, after leaving school, worked as a coal-miner at nearby Kingsbury Colliery where he was spotted by scouts from

, joining the Southern League club in the summer of 1911. He made his "Saints" debut on 30 September 1911, taking the place of

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians *J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926), ...

in a 2–1 victory over

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. Although he also played in the following match, a 5–0 defeat by

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, Ireland spent the rest of the season in the reserves until returning to the first-team on 23 March 1912 in place of Robertson (who had been sold to

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

), with manager George Swift attempting to improve the performances of a side which had won only once in the previous ten games. Southampton defeated

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

and followed this with a victory over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

and Ireland retained his place for the rest of the season which ended with the Saints three points above the relegation zone. Ireland now made the left-back position his own and was ever-present in the 1912–13 season under new coach

Jimmy McIntyre James Alfred McIntyre (31 October 1881 – 1954) was an English footballer who became manager at Southampton, Coventry City and Fulham. Playing career McIntyre was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. He was a journeyman player of some reput ...

. Although Saints continued to struggle on the pitch, again finishing the season just above the relegation places, Ireland began to establish a reputation as "''the best left-back in the Southern League''". Missing only two matches in the following season, Ireland was rewarded by representing the Southern League against the Scottish and Irish Leagues. In the 1914–15 season, when Ireland missed only three matches, Southampton began to show signs of improvement, finishing sixth in the table, before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

caused the suspension of normal football for four years. During the war, Ireland guested for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

as well as turning out occasionally for Southampton. He also played several representative matches for the Midlands against the Rest of England in 1916 and for an England XI later that same year. His military duties took him to the Western Front, where he was captured by the Germans in 1918, spending the remainder of the war in a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

. Although he played for Southampton in a Victory Cup match against

Boscombe Boscombe () is a suburb in Bournemouth England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne. Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 ...

in February 1919, Ireland moved on to join Merthyr Town in the summer of 1919 for their final season in the Southern League, in what the "Athletics News" described as "''an outstanding capture''". In 1920 he signed for Birmingham Combination side Rugby Town where he stayed for 8 seasons making a total of 170 league appearances.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Sid 1886 births 1964 deaths Footballers from Coventry English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Merthyr Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Manchester United F.C. wartime guest players Southern Football League players British Army personnel of World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Germany British World War I prisoners of war