Cubberley Stan Image 2 Leeds City 1910

Description

Edmonton, London born left half Stan Cubberley began his football career with Enfield and played for Cheshunt in 1903 and Asplin Rovers in 1904 before joining Southern League Crystal Palace, for whom he made a single first team appearance in 1905-06 before joining Second Division Leeds City in May 1906. He made his Football League debut at West Bromwich Albion in September 1906, and in the next game against Lincoln City he switched to inside right position and opened his goal account, when scored City’s goal in a 1-1 draw. Nmrod reported “It was a wonderful effort, with Cubberley throwing himself full length at a Fred Parnell centre as it floated across the goalmouth “and ball and man went into the net amid a great outburst of applause” He scored half of his goals for City in that first season as he subsequently settled into the more defensive left half role from November 1907.

When the club parted ways with Gilbert Gillies in early 1908, replacing him with Frank Scott-Walford, Cubberley was one of the few players to retain his place under the new manager as he brought in a host of recruits from the Southern League. Cubberley was a regular in the City first team over seven seasons, and was appointed club captain for 1910-11, when he started 35 League and FA Cup games, but under new manager Herbert Chapman he fell out of favour in 1912-13, and he moved to Southern League club Swansea Town in January 1913 after 6 goals in 188 appearances for the The Peacocks. He remained there one season before he and team-mate Arthur Allman left to join First Division Manchester United in 1914, but he never made the Old Trafford first team in peacetime, where he ended his playing career, appearing twice for them in wartime league football in 1915-16. During the First World War he enlisted with the Motor Transport section of the Royal Army Service Corps.

His older brother was Archie Cubberley, a forward who played for Tottenham Hotspur in the Southern League in the 1890’s, and also played in all of the club’s first Southern League, Amateur Cup and FA Cup games, scoring the winner in their first ever FA Cup victory, against West Hertfordshire in October 1894, although his career was cut short by a serious knee injury suffered on Christmas Day 1894.