Leyton were to find this new season even more challenging than the last. The only significant new signing was Herbert Charles Kingaby from Aston Villa, but that ended in disaster for the player, and the Players’ Union.Â
Long before the passing of the Bosman ruling, Kingaby took on the professional footballing powers in the courts, attempting to gain his freedom. Aston Villa argued that they held his registration, and therefore he couldn’t play for any other club. As Leyton played in the Southern League, and Villa in the Football League Kingaby thought he should be able to play for the East London Club.
The Players’ Union backed him, but their strategy was a poor one, resulting in the suit being dismissed. The Union were almost ruined financially and membership fell drastically.
The results on the pitch were to be unspectacular, although Leyton did score over 50 league goals A late rally over the Easter weekend helped Leyton finish one place off the foot of the table.
Leyton were still playing in the Western League as well as the Southern League, and as if to show that ‘they were made of tougher stuff’ in those days, a friendly with Clapton Orient was played without a half-time break because the fog on the ground was so bad.
On 1 February 1908 Leyton played Reading at the Hare and Hounds, in a game which could have descended into an all-out riot. As they had been all season, Leyton were adequate in front of goal, but the game was “not contested without a certain amount of roughness being introduced” according to The Sportsman. Reading’s right back Conquet took one to the ribs in the first half, and managed to stagger on til the second half but soon gave up. He was joined on the sidelines by his team mate and goalkeeper Rae who was sent off four foul play, after taking a running jump and landing into Leyton’s William Sillor.
According to The Sportsman, “Rae met with a hostile reception on his way to the dressing room, several spectators endeavouring to strike him as he entered the enclosure”. At this point the club officials stepped in and returned order to proceedings, and everyone perhaps realising that they’d got ahead of themselves a bit, quietened down for the rest of the game.
On 15 Feburary Leyton met fellow strugglers Norwich City at Osborne Road (now Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road). The result, which ended in a 2-0 victory was of little importance. Leyton’s Scottish full back Andrew Ramsey played what was said to have been a sterling game and was apparently in good health. Early on Sunday morning he suffered an attack of influenza. His condition deteriorated and he was diagnosed as having brain fever from which he died on Friday morning. He was just thirty-four years old.
At a time when promotion and relegation was more of idea than something which actually happened, Leyton’s 19th-place finish out of 20, was disappointing, but not enough to see them drop to Division Two. Two clubs left the division at the end of the season; Tottenham Hotspur and Bradford Park Avenue, left for the Football League, despite finishing seventh and 13th respectively.
Scoring 52 goals in 38 games made Leyton one of the division’s better scorers, and was more than second-placed Plymouth Argyle (50) and third-placed Millwall (49). But it was at the other end where the problems lay. 74 goals conceded was the second-worst in the division, one goal better off than bottom placed New Brompton (now Gillingham). Leyton’s 11 draws was the joint-most in the division. Had they turned a few of those into wins, the picture could have been far more rosy.
