Ernie Toseland (17 March 1905 – 19 October 1987) was an English

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 le ...

who played in the outside right position. He has been described as 'a flying winger – football's Jesse Owens'. p38

Early life

Toseland was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1905. Be began his career as a footballer playing for Higham Ferrers Town and then Northampton Town and Queens Park Rangers.

Manchester City

In 1928 he turned professional by signing for

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

who were then in the First Division. He was part of the City team until 1938 and appeared 368 times, scoring 61 goals in the process. Toseland joined a strong forward line at City which included England internationals such as outside left Eric Brook, inside forward Tommy Johnson and centre forward

Fred Tilson Samuel Frederick Tilson (19 April 1904 – 21 November 1972) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward for England along with Barnsley, Manchester City, Northampton Town and York City. With the Sky Blues he won the 1 ...

. The City team also included the England international centre half Sam Cowan and Scotland captain Jimmy McMullan.Toseland's first goal for City was scored in a 3–0 victory over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in the 1928–1929 football season. Eric Brook and Tommy Johnson scored the other goals. That season City finished eighth and Tommy Johnson scored a club record of 38 league goals. In the 1929–1930 season Manchester City finished third in the first division, three points behind runners up Derby County. Toseland scored three goals in the FA Cup that season but Manchester City were knocked out by Hull City in the fifth round. In the 1930–1931 season, City finished eighth in the league and Toseland scored ten league goals for the club. Eric Brook was the team's leading goalscorer that season with 16 goals. In the 1931–1932 season the City team, which now included the Scottish centre forward

Alec Herd Alexander Herd (8 November 1911 – 21 August 1982) was a Scottish professional footballer. Born in Bowhill, Fife, he played as a forward for Hamilton Academicals, Manchester City and Stockport County. Herd also represented Scotland in a ...

, managed to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup but were defeated by Arsenal by 1–0 with a goal from England international Cliff Bastin. In the following season, Toseland helped City reach the final. In the

1933 FA Cup Final The 1933 FA Cup Final was a football match between Everton and Manchester City on 29 April 1933 at Wembley Stadium in London. The deciding match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known ...

he was part of the Manchester City team that was defeated three goals to nil by Everton who were captained by England international

Dixie Dean William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...

. The Everton team also included former City player Tommy Johnson. In the

1934 FA Cup Final The 1934 FA Cup Final was won by Manchester City in a 2–1 win over Portsmouth. The match is most remembered for a young Frank Swift's heroics in goal and the predictions of City forward Fred Tilson. The match was also refereed by future FIFA p ...

Toseland was part of the City team which beat Portsmouth 2–1. Toseland had scored once in a 6–1 demolition of

in the semi-final of that year's competition. The other goals were scored by

and

(who scored four). In the 1934–1935 football season Toseland scored five goals and City finished fourth in the league, ten points behind champions

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. One of Toseland's five goals that season came in a memorable 5–0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the season. In the 1936–1936 season, Toseland was again City's fourth highest scorer in the league with ten goals. Eric Brook was the leading scorer with thirteen goals. In the 1936–1937 football season Toseland was part of the first

side to win the League Championship. The team went on an unbeaten run after Christmas, winning 14 times and drawing 6 games. The championship was won at Maine Road with a 4–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. In the 1937–1938 football season Toseland was part of the City team that were relegated from the first division despite scoring more goals than any other team. In 1938 he transferred to Sheffield Wednesday but only played fifteen times for his new team before the outbreak of war.

Retirement

Toseland continued to play amateur football after the war, signing for Mossley at the age of 41 and scored 12 goals in 49 appearances in the 1946–47 season, before retiring at the end of the season. He died in Stockport on 19 October 1987.

Honours

As a player

;

* FA Cup winners:

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

champions: 1936–37

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toseland, Ernie Manchester City F.C. players English men's footballers 1905 births 1987 deaths Men's association football wingers English Football League players English Football League representative players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. players Footballers from Northampton