Having won both the Cumberland Senior League and the Cumberland Cup in their inaugural season, Carlisle United successfully applied to be admitted to the Second Division of the Lancashire Combination in May 1905.
The aim, as it was reported to the club's AGM, was to improve the game in the Border City.
The Lancashire Combination had begun life back in 1891 with the Second Division being established in 1903. Though almost entirely composed of clubs in Lancashire, Workington had been admitted in 1904 so United were guaranteed at least one local derby fixture. It was though a bold step for the Carlisle club who had to agree to pay the train fares for the visiting team for two seasons as well as providing them with a tea!
The AGM had other good news to report. The success of 1904-05 had resulted in the club's bank balance increasing from £24 to £90 despite the outlay of £52 on player's wages, an early sign of professionalism in the ranks. Yet this balance and more was needed to develop a new and better ground at Devonshire Park, situated off Lismore Place and Catholic Lane on what are now Trinity School playing fields. A new stand seating 800 was erected and banking erected all around the playing area.
The new season's preparations also included moves to strengthen the playing staff. Several players were recruited from other local sides, not least Carlisle Red Rose who had severe financial difficulties. Other players came from further afield including Tom Smith who arrived as both player and trainer from Preston NE. Smith was a Maryport man originally and as well as Preston had also played for Tottenham with whom he had won an FA Cup winners medal in 1901.
The Lancashire Combination era began on 2 September 1905 at home to St Helens Town. Despite two goals from Smith, the visitors won 3-2. The next game at home to Blackpool Reserves was lost 5-1 and despite a first win at Burnley, Carlisle then crashed 8-1 at Clitheroe in what proved to be almost the worst defeat of the season.
Soon afterwards a new goalkeeper, James Scott, was signed from Barnsley and immediately results began to improve. The defence became noticeably tighter to the extent that Carlisle were able to sustain a mid table position for most of the season. A rare lapse came on 2 January 1906 when the trip to Brynn Central ended in an 8-0 rout, the biggest defeat of the campaign.
The most convincing victory had come a week earlier on Christmas Day 1905 when Hyde St George's were thrashed 10-2. Not surprisingly Hyde were to finish bottom of the table although it was reported rather unsurprisingly that they were 'somewhat short of their strongest side' when they arrived in Carlisle. Despite this fact, a total crowd of 11,310 watched the two home games on Christmas Day and Boxing Day while a further 1,000 were said to have been admitted without paying after forcing entry into the ground.
Carlisle finished the season in thirteenth place among the nineteen teams in the Combination. The campaign ended with four successive home matches, the last of these being the local derby with Workington. Though Carlisle were safely placed in mid table, Workington were near the top and in with a real chance of promotion to Division One. The teams had met a month earlier in Carlisle's last away match of the season which saw the Reds win 3-1. The return match at Devonshire Park attracted a gate in excess of 10,000 with receipts of no less than £208 thanks to increased admission prices. The match ended 1-1 and Workington eventually missed promotion by a single point.
What though of Carlisle Red Rose who were still Carlisle United's principal rivals in the city? Financial troubles had caused them to resign from the Cumberland Senior League the previous summer. Fortunately they were later readmitted, playing their home games at the Milholme Bank ground that had just been vacated by United. The two sides were then drawn together in the FA Cup First Preliminary Round. Carlisle United won 3-0 at Devonshire Park before losing at Barrow in the next round.
It was not until the end of the season that the City's two leading sides met again. By that time Red Rose had won the Cumberland Cup Final, beating Frizington White Star who had just pipped them for the Cumberland League title. On 30 April 1906 United and Red Rose met in a friendly match in aid of the Red Rose club. The result was a 1-1 draw so supporters of both clubs could look back on a season in which honour was satisfied.
Fixtures and Results
| Date |
Comp |
Opponents |
Score |
| September 2, 1905 |
LC |
St HELENS TOWN |
2-3 |
| September 9, 1905 |
LC |
BLACKPOOL |
1-5 |
| September 16, 1905 |
LC |
Burnley Res |
3-0 |
| September 23, 1905 |
LC |
Clitheroe |
1-8 |
| September 30, 1905 |
LC |
BRYNN CENTRAL |
0-0 |
| October 7, 1905 |
FAC |
CARLISLE RED ROSE |
3-0 |
| October 14, 1905 |
LC |
NEWTON LE WILLOWS |
6-3 |
| October 21, 1905 |
Fr |
MANCHESTER CITY A |
0-3 |
| October 24, 1905 |
LC |
Hyde St George's |
1-0 |
| October 28, 1905 |
FAC |
Barrow |
2-4 |
| November 4, 1905 |
LC |
HASLINGDEN |
6-0 |
| November 11, 1905 |
LC |
BURNLEY RES |
1-2 |
| November 18, 1905 |
LC |
Colne |
1-4 |
| November 25, 1905 |
LC |
Chorley |
0-2 |
| December 2, 1905 |
LC |
BACUP |
6-2 |
| December 9, 1905 |
LC |
St Helens Town |
0-2 |
| December 23, 1905 |
LC |
Blackpool |
3-4 |
| December 25, 1905 |
LC |
HYDE ST GEORGE'S |
10-2 |
| December 26, 1905 |
LC |
CLITHEROE |
2-0 |
| December 30, 1905 |
LC |
Ashton Town |
1-1 |
| January 1, 1906 |
LC |
SKELMERSDALE |
2-1 |
| January 2, 1906 |
LC |
Brynn Central |
0-8 |
| January 13, 1906 |
LC |
COLNE |
2-2 |
| January 20, 1906 |
LC |
FAILSWORTH |
1-2 |
| January 23, 1906 |
LC |
Padiham |
0-1 |
| January 24, 1906 |
LC |
Oswaldtwistle Rovers |
2-0 |
| January 27, 1906 |
LC |
Skelmersdale |
0-3 |
| February 3, 1906 |
LC |
Failsworth |
2-2 |
| February 10, 1906 |
LC |
ASHTON TOWN |
3-1 |
| February 17, 1906 |
LC |
Haslingden |
2-4 |
| February 24, 1906 |
LC |
Lancaster |
0-2 |
| March 3, 1906 |
LC |
OSWALDTWISTLE ROVERS |
1-2 |
| March 10, 1906 |
Fr |
GRIMSBY TOWN |
0-2 |
| March 17, 1906 |
LC |
Newton le Willows |
2-1 |
| March 24, 1906 |
LC |
Bacup |
1-0 |
| March 31, 1906 |
LC |
Workington |
1-3 |
| April 7, 1906 |
Fr |
PRESTON NE Res |
1-1 |
| April 13, 1906 |
Fr |
GREENOCK MORTON |
2-0 |
| April 16, 1906 |
LC |
PADIHAM |
2-0 |
| April 21, 1906 |
LC |
LANCASTER |
1-1 |
| April 26, 1906 |
LC |
CHORLEY |
3-1 |
| April 28, 1906 |
LC |
WORKINGTON |
1-1 |
Key: LC = Lancashire Combination, Fr = Friendly, FAC = FA Cup
Final League Table - Lancashire Combination Division 2
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
| Colne |
36 |
24 |
6 |
6 |
95 |
40 |
54 |
| Blackpool Res |
36 |
23 |
4 |
9 |
92 |
66 |
50 |
| Workington |
36 |
21 |
7 |
8 |
102 |
50 |
49 |
| St Helens Town |
36 |
17 |
10 |
9 |
51 |
39 |
44 |
| Chorley |
36 |
18 |
6 |
12 |
88 |
62 |
42 |
| Failsworth |
36 |
19 |
3 |
14 |
86 |
62 |
41 |
| Brynn Central |
36 |
16 |
9 |
11 |
76 |
55 |
41 |
| Ashton Town |
36 |
17 |
6 |
13 |
70 |
60 |
40 |
| Clitheroe Central |
36 |
16 |
5 |
15 |
86 |
58 |
37 |
| Burnley Res |
36 |
16 |
5 |
15 |
69 |
55 |
37 |
| Lancaster |
36 |
12 |
11 |
13 |
54 |
70 |
35 |
| Skelmersdale Utd |
36 |
14 |
6 |
16 |
75 |
77 |
34 |
| Carlisle United |
36 |
14 |
6 |
16 |
70 |
73 |
34 |
| Padiham |
36 |
14 |
2 |
20 |
63 |
82 |
30 |
| Bacup |
36 |
9 |
9 |
18 |
45 |
87 |
27 |
| Oswaldtwistle R |
36 |
10 |
4 |
22 |
56 |
77 |
24 |
| Newton-le-Willows |
36 |
10 |
4 |
22 |
45 |
89 |
24 |
| Haslingden |
36 |
10 |
3 |
23 |
64 |
115 |
23 |
| Hyde St George's |
36 |
7 |
4 |
25 |
50 |
118 |
18 |
