1908 FA Charity Shield facts for kids

The 1908 FA Charity Shield was the very first Charity Shield football match. It was played between the champions of England's top two football leagues from the previous season. These were Football League winners Manchester United and Southern League champions Queens Park Rangers.

The game was created to replace an older match called the Sheriff of London Charity Shield. The Football Association (FA) decided to start a new event. This new match was set to happen at Chelsea F.C.'s home ground, Stamford Bridge in London.

The first match was played on a wet field in bad weather and ended in a 1–1 tie. The Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper, Charlie Shaw, even saved a penalty kick! People thought the teams would share the trophy. But, a replay was suggested and took place later in August.

The replay was also held at Stamford Bridge. The weather was much better this time, and a huge crowd of 50,000 fans came to watch! Manchester United won the second game with four goals to nil. Together, both matches raised over £1000 for charity, which was a lot of money back then!

The First Match: A Rainy Day Draw

Setting the Stage for the Charity Shield

The Charity Shield was created to be a special football match. It was meant to bring together the best professional teams. The idea was to have the winners of the Football League play against the champions of the Southern League.

The Football Association (FA) announced this new match in February 1908. They wanted the game to be played at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea F.C.. The date was set for April 27.

Just a week before the match, Queens Park Rangers were crowned champions of the Southern League. Around the same time, Manchester United won the Football League title. This meant these two teams would play in the first-ever FA Charity Shield! Both clubs agreed to play without asking for money for their costs. Chelsea also let them use Stamford Bridge for free. It had rained a lot before the match, making the field muddy. But by kick-off at 5:30 pm, it was just drizzling.

First Half Action: QPR Takes the Lead

Manchester United were surprised by how good the Queens Park Rangers players were, especially their defenders. QPR started strong and controlled the game early on. In the eleventh minute, Alfred Gittins and P. Skilton passed the ball to Frank Cannon. He dribbled towards the goal and scored past United's goalkeeper, Moger.

After the goal, Manchester United played better. But Skilton almost scored two more goals for Rangers. Just before half-time, United had a chance when Billy Meredith passed the ball to Jimmy Turnbull. However, a QPR player got injured, stopping the game. Right after, Charlie Roberts took the ball for United into the penalty area. He was fouled, and United got a penalty kick. George Stacey took the shot, but Charlie Shaw, the Rangers goalkeeper, saved it!

Second Half: United Fights Back

Manchester United played even better after half-time. Meredith moved to the right side of the field. He got the ball much more often, and his amazing dribbling skills caused big problems for the QPR defence.

In the 60th minute, Jimmy Bannister passed the ball to Meredith again. Meredith took the ball towards Filder, the Rangers' left-back. As he got close, he shot from outside the penalty area. The ball flew past the QPR keeper, and United scored to tie the game! Manchester United kept pushing, but the QPR defence was tough. Shaw, the goalkeeper, saved three more shots. The game ended in a 1–1 draw.

Match Details: First Game

27 April 1908 17:30	Manchester United	1–1	Queens Park Rangers	Stamford Bridge, London Attendance: 6,000
	Meredith  60'	Report	Cannon  11'

GK Harry Moger RB George Stacey LB Herbert Burgess RH Dick Duckworth CH Charlie Roberts (c) LH Alex Bell OR Billy Meredith IR Jimmy Bannister CF Jimmy Turnbull IL Sandy Turnbull OL George Wall Manager: Ernest Mangnall

GK Charlie Shaw RB John MacDonald LB Joe Fidler RH Evelyn Lintott CH John McLean LH Samuel Downing OR Fred Pentland IR Frank Cannon CF Percy Skilton IL Alfred Gittins OL Billy Barnes Manager: James Cowan

The Replay: Manchester United Dominates

Replay Background and Team Changes

After the first match ended in a draw, many people thought the trophy would be shared. However, Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird suggested playing a second match. This replay was set for August 29, again at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium.

Most of the players were the same for both teams. For Manchester United, Jack Picken replaced Sandy Turnbull. The weather for the replay was much better than the first game.

First Half: United Takes Control

The replay started at a fast pace. Queens Park Rangers began strongly, keeping the ball in the middle of the field. But soon, Manchester United's George Wall and Jack Picken caused trouble for them. Picken took a shot that bounced off John MacDonald in the Rangers defence.

Manchester United kept attacking, forcing their London opponents to defend for most of the first half. After 23 minutes, Billy Meredith crossed the ball to Jimmy Turnbull, who headed it past Shaw to put Manchester United one goal up. Moments later, Picken took the ball into the QPR box. Shaw ran out to get it but slipped, letting Turnbull score another goal!

Manchester United kept attacking. Jimmy Bannister hit a powerful shot, but Shaw punched the ball onto the underside of the crossbar, clearing it away. Again, Turnbull shot, and it hit the crossbar. He tried to score from the rebound, but Shaw caught the ball. Just before half-time, Manchester United got a corner kick, but the shot went over the bar.

Second Half: United Seals the Win

Most of the action in the second half also took place in QPR's half of the field. At one point, Shaw had to run ten yards out of his goal and dive onto the ball, with Picken falling on top of him.

Manchester United attacked again right away. Picken passed to Wall, who shot the ball past the QPR keeper for United's third goal. Rangers tried a few attacks, but they weren't very organized. One of their shots even hit the crossbar.

Manchester United's fourth goal came late in the game. Charlie Roberts passed forward to Meredith, who sent it into the penalty area for Jimmy Turnbull to score again. Before the match ended, Bannister got injured, and United finished the game with one less player. After the match, Sir William Treloar presented the trophy to the Manchester United players.

Match Details: Replay Game

Manchester United

Queens Park Rangers

GK Harry Moger RB George Stacey LB Herbert Burgess RH Dick Duckworth CH Charlie Roberts (c) LH Alex Bell OR Billy Meredith IR Jimmy Bannister CF Jimmy Turnbull IL Jack Picken OL George Wall Manager: Ernest Mangnall

GK Charlie Shaw RB John MacDonald LB J. Fidler RH Evelyn Lintott CH John McLean LH Samuel Downing OR J. MacNaught IR Frank Cannon CF Percy Skilton IL Alfred Gittins OL Billy Barnes Manager: James Cowan

After the Matches: Money for Charity

After both games were played, the Football Association announced how much money was raised. From both matches, after paying for costs, £1,104 5s. 2d. was collected for charity.

Manchester United was allowed to choose charities to receive £300 of this money. Queens Park Rangers could pick charities to receive £100. The Football Association decided to give their share of the money to hospitals and children's homes. This 1908 Charity Shield is the only one in history that needed a replay!

Images for kids

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  The Manchester United team from the start of the 1908 season.