Fred Poland

Fred Poland
Personal information
Full name	Fred Poland
Place of birth	Dundee, Scotland
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1885	Dundee Our Boys
1886	Burnley
1887	Newton Heath
1888	Burnley
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fred Poland was a professional association footballer who played as a centre forward. He was signed by Burnley in April 1888. He had played football in Scotland for Dundee Our Boys.

Career

Pre-Football League

Poland moved to Lancashire from Scotland in search of work. He let it be known around Burnley that he was a footballer, having played at senior level in Scotland, and also that he was both a goalscorer and a goalkeeper. The football club heard about him and invited him to play in a friendly match against Newton Heath at Turf Moor. He played at centre-forward, exceeding expectations by scoring two goals in a 7-1 victory. He continued to play well and score goals as the 1887–1888 season drew to a close, and was retained by Burnley for the forthcoming inaugural Football League season.^[3]

1888-1889

Poland made his league début on 8 September 1888, as a forward, against Preston North End at Deepdale. The home team defeated Burnley 5–2, Poland scoring his team's second. He made nine appearances, from a possible 22 league games played by Burnley in season 1888–89, and scored five league goals.^[4]

References

^ "English National Football Archive". Retrieved 6 January 2018. (registration & fee required)
^ "English National Football Archive". Retrieved 6 January 2018. (registration & fee required)
^ Metcalf, Mark (2013). The Origins of the Football League. Amberley. pp. 192–193. ISBN 978-1-4456-1881-4.
^ "English National Football Archive". Retrieved 6 January 2018. (registration & fee required)