Sid Ireland

Sid Ireland

Personal information
Full name	Sidney Ireland
Date of birth	1889
Place of birth	Tamworth, England
Date of death	Unknown
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Left-back
Youth career
	Kingsbury Colliery
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1911–1915	Southampton	120	(0)
1919–1920	Merthyr Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Sidney "Sid" Ireland (born 1889) was an English professional footballer who played as a left-back, spending most of his career with Southampton.

Ireland was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire and, after leaving school, worked as a coal-miner at nearby Kingsbury Colliery where he was spotted by scouts from Southampton, joining the Southern League club in the summer of 1911.

He made his "Saints" debut on 30 September 1911, taking the place of John Robertson in a 2–1 victory over Northampton Town. Although he also played in the following match, a 5–0 defeat by Brighton, Ireland spent the rest of the season in the reserves until returning to the first-team on 23 March 1912 in place of Robertson (who had been sold to Rangers), with manager George Swift attempting to improve the performances of a side which had won only once in the previous ten games. Southampton defeated Luton Town and followed this with a victory over Plymouth Argyle and Ireland retained his place for the rest of the season which ended with the Saints three points above the relegation zone.

Ireland now made the left-back position his own and was ever-present in the 1912–13 season under new coach Jimmy McIntyre. Although Saints continued to struggle on the pitch, again finishing the season just above the relegation places, Ireland began to establish a reputation as "the best left-back in the Southern League". Missing only two matches in the following season, Ireland was rewarded by representing the Southern League against the Scottish and Irish Leagues.

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