Easson Jimmy Image 3 Portsmouth 1930

Description

Brechin, Angus born inside left Jimmy Easson began his football career with Grange of Arbroath in 1925 and played for Carnoustie in 1926 and East Craigie in 1927 before joining First Division Portsmouth in 1928, making his Football League debut at Manchester United in May 1929. He became a first team regular from the end of September, scoring 15 goals in 1929-30 before being Portsmouth’s leading goalscorer in 1930-31 with 30 goals, including hat-tricks in wins over Manchester United and Liverpool, as Portsmouth finished fourth in the League Championship. Shortly afterwards, he was named by the England selectors for their international side for a match against Ireland, but they realised their mistake when the records were checked for Easson’s birthplace.

In May 1931, he was selected to join the Scotland team on their European tour. His first cap came in a 5-0 defeat against Austria on 16th May, followed by a match against Switzerland a week later, when Easson scored the opening goal in a 3-2 victory. Despite his “frail and small appearance”, he became one of the most feared inside forwards in the First Division and his partnership with Jack Weddle made the pair feared throughout the League in the early 1930’s. In 1931-32, Easson netted another hat-trick at Blackburn Rovers and missed only two games. scoring 24 goals, and he scored 13 goals in 1932-33 as Portsmouth recorded back to back top ten finishes. His third and final Scotland cap came in a 3-2 defeat by Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff on 4th October 1933.

Easson played in the 1934 FA Cup Final defeat against Manchester City at Wembley and stayed at Fratton Park until March 1939 when he joined Fulham. By now, he had lost his place at inside left to Bert Barlow; his last game for Portsmouth ended identically to the first, against Manchester United in a 0-0 draw in December 1938. In his ten years with Portsmouth, he made a total of 312 appearances, scoring 107 goals. However he made only three appearances for Fulham before his career was effectively ended by the outbreak of the Second World War. during which he returned to Scotland and guested for Carnoustie Panmure.

After the War, he returned to Fratton Park as a trainer, remaining with Portsmouth until July 1950. During his first spell as a trainer, Easson twice helped guide Portsmouth to successive League Championships in 1948-49 and 1949-50. In 1951, he took up a coaching position at local rivals, Southampton, where he remained until February 1953. In April 1951, Easson was involved in an altercation with Southampton’s Irish international goalkeeper, Hugh Kelly after a defeat at Leicester City. After the match, the team stayed in the Midlands to play a friendly match at Boston. Kelly returned to the team hotel with Ken Chisholm of Coventry City and two young ladies. When Easson tried to get the ladies to leave, he and Kelly had an argument which culminated in Kelly giving the trainer a black eye. As a result, Kelly was immediately placed on the transfer list and never played for The Saints again. Easson returned to Fratton Park for the 1957-58 season before his eventual retirement.