CASUALS IN COPENHAGEN

New research adds colour and context a century on from the Casuals’ 1925 tour to Denmark
 
This year is the 100th anniversary of the Casuals’ tour to Denmark in Easter 1925, and as part of our research into the trip we have uncovered new information previously missing from the club records.

Casuals played three games in Copenhagen, one each against Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) and Boldklubben 1903 (B.1903), and a third against a combined XI of the same two clubs, who would later amalgamate to form FC Copenhagen.

The tour almost certainly came about due to a shared connection between KB and Casuals, Nils Middelboe, who was a towering figure in Danish football. Nicknamed the ‘Great Dane’, he was the first-ever goalscorer for the national team and won silver medals at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics as part of the Denmark team that lost to Great Britain in both finals.

Middelboe is best known in England for becoming Chelsea’s first foreign player when he signed for the Stamford Bridge outfit in 1913, after moving to London for work. He joined Casuals nine years later, towards the end of his playing days – “when I felt professional football was too much for me.”

Middelboe – who made 14 appearances for Casuals in total – was unable to join the tour to Copenhagen as he was away in Italy on a business trip at the time, but he did agree to profile his English team-mates for the Danish newspaper SocialDemokraten three days before the first game against KB.

Thanks to the efforts of FC Copenhagen’s club historian, Torkil Fosdal, we are able to bring you a translation of Middelboe’s assessment of the Casuals side 100 years ago:

NILS MIDDELBOE ON “CASUALS”
‘They are fully equal to our best club teams’
 
When we learned that the famous London amateur team “Casuals” was coming to Copenhagen at Easter as guests of K.B. and B1903, and knowing that Nils Middelboe — perhaps the best football player the Nordic countries have produced, certainly one of the very best — had played for this club, we obtained Middelboe’s address in Italy and sent him a telegram asking him to tell our newspaper's readers something about the Englishmen.

We received a lengthy reply, from which we quote the following, which we believe will interest the entire Copenhagen football audience:
 
I’m very tired after having been on the move all day in this wonderful city and its surroundings, so you’ll have to bear with me as I jot down a few loose thoughts on the Casuals — what little I know.

It’s true that I joined the club in the autumn of 1922 (when I felt professional football was too much for me), but due to illness I had to stop after playing two or three matches and only began playing for them again in November–December last year.

Since then, I’ve played for them regularly, up until I left for this short trip 14 days ago.

Casuals — or more correctly The Casuals — is one of London’s oldest amateur clubs and is recruited mainly from Oxford and Cambridge, even before the students have completed their university education.

Thus, a young student named German (unfortunate name for an Englishman), who this year played centre-half for Oxford against Cambridge, has played several times for us.

I’ve done a lot to get him on the team for the Copenhagen trip (he’s a brilliant player), but he had already promised to travel with the Corinthians on their tour to Austria, so I probably won’t succeed.

And the same seems to have happened with a few other players who in England alternate between playing for the Corinthians and the Casuals.

Casuals play in a London amateur league, The Isthmian League, where we currently hold fourth or fifth place out of 14 or 16 clubs. A respectable position, considering that London’s top clubs belong to this league.
There is a close cooperation between the Corinthians and the Casuals, as these two clubs a few years ago almost jointly acquired the famous Crystal Palace ground; besides the ground, they also share finances and, to some extent, players.
 
Who are the Casuals, and what are they like?
 
Our goalkeeper is named Trapp. He’s small, but definitely a first-class amateur goalkeeper.
 
Right-back Payne is also good — a strong, stocky guy who goes through thick and thin. He is also the team captain.
 
I don’t know who will play left-back — that’s my position when I’m in the team.
 
Right-half Glenister is not unlike Ivar Lykke [a solid Danish half-back from KB] and has about the same level of playing ability.
 
Centre-half is also unknown, while the left-half is Dubuis. He originally played centre-forward, has also played well at back, is a hard worker and unpleasant to play against, but lacks style.
 
Right wing Sleightholme is quite a young man “of good promise”, fast and with a good understanding of the game.
 
Right inside-forward M. Howell is one of the team’s oldest players, and he is “Captain of The Casuals F. Club” (an honour, I think). He’s an excellent dribbler — though a bit inclined to overdo it — and scores quite a few goals by being in the right place at the right time. He is also a county cricket player.
 
Centre-forward Mayer is very unorthodox, but precisely for that reason often dangerous — extremely fast.
 
V. L. Lockton is the team’s veteran. No longer as quick as he used to be, but he has an excellent understanding of the game and a very good shot. He is also a county cricket player and the captain of the Casuals’ summer cricket team.
 
V. W. Pinfield has excellent ball control and plays not unlike Rambusch [Henry Rambusch was a left-winger from B.93 in Copenhagen in early 1900s] in his prime. He’s distinctly left-footed and has played brilliantly this season — surprisingly fast and agile considering his weight. Also a county cricket player, and the one with the best sense of humour on the team.
 
From a sporting point of view, they are a wonderful group of people, and I’ve greatly enjoyed playing with them.
I don’t know how two of the positions will be filled, and it’s possible there will be changes to the above-mentioned lineup. I can only give you the team as it was selected 14 days ago. If they manage to bring a truly good centre-half, I believe they are good enough to beat the best Copenhagen teams.
By the way, I hear today that another Copenhagen newspaper has written that I’m coming with the Casuals to Copenhagen. You can confidently deny that in Social-Demokraten.
 
Regards to your readers — and to you.
Nils Middelboe

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It’s fascinating to read Middelboe speak so openly about the close connection between the Corinthians and the Casuals at that time, prefiguring the amalgamation that would follow at the end of the next decade. It’s also a striking coincidence that KB and B.1903 would later amalgamate in similar fashion, although while the combined FC Copenhagen play professional football at the highest level, KB continue to run an amateur side to this day.

Unfortunately for the Casuals, the loss of a handful of likely players to the concurrent Corinthians tour of Germany and Austria meant that they were slightly weakened, and all three games in Denmark ended in defeat.
The full Casuals touring squad that year, under the management of G. Davison-Brown, was:
​
C.S. Trapp, H.G. Payne, H.F. Piper, F.H. Plaistowe, F.V. Smith, N.C.E. Ashton, C.E. Glenister, H.F. Dubuis, J.G. Knight, P.E. Mellor, H.C. Boddington, C.H. Sleightholme, S.F. Hepburn, M. Howell, J.G. Siewert, F.R. Mayer, J.H. Lockton and R.G. Pinfield.
​
They sailed over the North Sea – where goalkeeper Trapp suffered a little seasickness – and took the train from Esbjerg to Copenhagen, where the Hotel Hafnia had hoisted the British flag to welcome them.

They did a little bit of sightseeing, watched the changing of the guard at the Amalienborg Castle and visited the Marble Church (Marmorkirken), before rounding it all off with a tour of the Carlsberg brewery, which was probably the best part of the visit.

Then they got down to the football, and the line-ups for each game had not previously been known, but thanks to Mr Fosdal at FC Copenhagen, we can now fill in the blanks in our record books.
 
___________________________________________________
Friday 10 April 1925
KB 2
P Nielsen 1, 90
CASUALS 1
Sleightholme 11
Attendance: 8.000 (approx.)
 
KB: Graae; V Nielsen, Blicher; Eriksen, Jensen, Jørgensen; Dannin, Laursen, P Nielsen, Borg, Axholt
Casuals: Trapp; Payne, Piper; Glenister, Knight, Dubuis; Hepburn, Sleightholme, Lockton, Howell, Pinfield

____________________________________________________
 
Sunday 12 April 1925
B.1903 3
Weiss 31, Møllnitz 47, Nilsson 62
 
CASUALS 2
Smith 5, Howell 75
Attendance: 8.000 (approx.)

B.1903: Christiansen; C Jørgensen, Jensen; Søborg, Andersen, Havn; Hansen, V Jørgensen, Møllnitz, Weiss, Nilsson
Casuals: Trapp; Knight, Piper; Glenister, Dubuis, Boddington; Hepburn, Sleightholme, Mayer, Howell, Smith
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Monday 13 April 1925
KB/B1903 COMBINATION 2
Møllnitz, Nilsson 84
CASUALS 1
Hepburn 58
Attendance: 9.000 (approx.)

KB/B1903: Christiansen (B1903); V Nielsen (KB), Blicher (KB); A Jørgensen (KB), Jensen (KB), Havn (B1903); Hansen (B1903), V Jørgensen (B1903), Møllnitz (B1903), Laursen (KB), Nilsson (B1903)
Casuals: Trapp; Payne, Piper; Glenister, Knight, Dubuis; Hepburn, Sleigtholme, Lockton, Howell, Pinfield

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Words: Dominic Bliss
Images: Corinthian-Casuals Archive