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 le ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, spending most of his career with

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Football career

Ireland was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

and, after leaving school, worked as a

coal-miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

at nearby

Kingsbury Colliery Kingsbury Colliery was a coal mine in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, which operated between 1897 and 1968. History It was opened in 1897 and changed the nature of the village almost overnight from a predominantly agriculturally based community to a min ...

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 plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

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

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, 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), 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 club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

and followed this with a victory over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

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 repute, ...

. 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

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 by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

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

Boscombe Boscombe is a suburb of 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 B ...

in February 1919, Ireland moved on to join

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The ...

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