1935–36 was Southampton's fiftieth season since their original formation in 1885, but the club approached their jubilee season in a gloomy state with little to celebrate. They did, however, venture into the transfer market signing centre-forward Vic Watson from Kay's former club West Ham United. The team made a superb start to the season with four wins and two draws in the first six games and by the end of September Saints were top of the table. Once again, this form could not be sustained, and only three further games were won before the new year. The slump continued into 1936 being partly relieved by a 7–2 victory over Nottingham Forest on 15 February. On 28 March Saints suffered their heaviest-ever league defeat, going down 8–0 away to Tottenham Hotspur and two days later had their lowest ever home attendance for a league match, when only 1,875 turned out on a Monday night to witness a 1–0 defeat against Port Vale. Predictably, the directors responded by selling their better players, with goalkeeper Billy Light (another product of the nursery side) being sold to West Bromwich Albion for £2,000. Once again Saints finished the season in a disappointing 17th position, with Watson top-scorer on 14 goals.