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 ...

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

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

'. p38

Early life

Toseland was born in Northampton in 1905. Be began his career as a footballer playing for Higham Ferrers Town and then

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Manchester City

In 1928 he turned professional by signing for Manchester City 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

internationals such as outside left

Eric Brook Eric Fred Brook (27 November 1907 – 29 March 1965) was an English footballer who played in the outside left position. Brook was also an England international. He was a muscular player with 'one of the fiercest shots in pre-war football' p25 a ...

, 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 ...

. The City team also included the England international centre half

Sam Cowan Samuel Cowan (10 May 1901 – 4 October 1964) was an English football player and manager. A relative latecomer to the sport, Cowan did not play football until he was 17 and was 22 by the time he turned professional. He made his league debut for ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

captain

Jimmy McMullan James McMullan (26 March 1895 – 28 November 1964) was a Scottish football player and manager. He won 16 Scotland caps as a player at half-back and was part of the famous ''"Wembley Wizards"'' side of 1928. Playing career Early life and T ...

.Toseland's first goal for City was scored in a 3–0 victory over Aston Villa in the 1928–1929 football season.

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 Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

. Toseland scored three goals in the FA Cup that season but Manchester City were knocked out by

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

in the fifth round. In the 1930–1931 season, City finished eighth in the league and Toseland scored ten league goals for the club.

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, 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 Clifford Sydney Bastin (14 March 1912 – 4 December 1991) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Exeter City and Arsenal. He also played for the England national team. Bastin is Arsenal's third-highest goalscorer of all time. C ...

. 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. 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 ...

Toseland was part of the City team which beat

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

2–1. Toseland had scored once in a 6–1 demolition of Aston Villa in the semi-final of that year's competition. The other goals were scored by Alec Herd 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. One of Toseland's five goals that season came in a memorable 5–0 victory against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

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.

was the leading scorer with thirteen goals. In the 1936–1937 football season Toseland was part of the first Manchester City 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 Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

. 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

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 Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...

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

; Manchester City *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

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 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

* Football League First Division 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