Ernest Needham
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| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 January 1873 | ||||||||
| Place of birth | Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, England | ||||||||
| Date of death | 8 March 1936 (aged 63) | ||||||||
| Place of death | Chesterfield, England | ||||||||
| Playing position | Left half | ||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||
| Waverley | |||||||||
| – | Staveley Wanderers | ||||||||
| – | Staveley Town | ||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||
| 1891–1909 | Sheffield United | 464 | (49) | ||||||
| National team | |||||||||
| 1894–1902 | England | 16 | (3) | ||||||
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Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ernest 'Nudger' Needham (21 January 1873 – 8 March 1936) was an English footballer and cricketer. He played football 14 times for England and captained the side in 1901.
He was an outstanding left half who played for Sheffield United from 1891 until 1910. He was instrumental in their promotion campaign of 1892–93 and then captained their team from 1895 to 1905. Under his captaincy, United won the Football League First Division in 1898 and the FA Cup in 1899 and 1902.
He played first-class cricket for Derbyshire from 1901 to 1912.
Needham was born at Whittington Moor, Chesterfield. Having previously played as a forward for Waverley F.C. and Staveley Wanderers, Needham agreed to sign for United when they met his club, Staveley Town on 10 February 1891.
He made his debut for the Blades on 5 September 1891, in a pre-season game against Woolwich Arsenal. Originally a right winger, injuries during his first season saw him move to left half.
Short yet solidly built and blessed with immense stamina, he was fast, resolute and brave. His consistently accomplished and energetic displays made him the star of the side and won him the title, 'the prince of half backs'. Writer Alfred Gibson made the following comments about Needham in 1906:
"There is one thing which has made Earnest Needham stand out of the common run of halves; he is neither a constructive nor a destructive half-back alone; he is both at once. One moment you will see him falling back to the defence of his own goal, or checking the speedy rush of his wing; the next, he is up with his forwards, feeding them to a nicety, and always making the best of every opening. Where he gets his pace from is a mystery. He never seems to be racing, yet he must be moving at racing pace; he never seems to be exhausted, yet in a big game he is practically doing three men's work."
A fine shot, Needham possessed great ball control: "This is one of the secrets of his greatness for very seldom when he has the ball is he deprived of it, whilst the accuracy of his wing passes, and the telling force of his punches straight across the field to an unprotected wing, spell danger to any kind of defence."
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