John Warner (1883 – 16 May 1948)[1] was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back in the years prior to World War I, spending most of his career with Portsmouth in the Southern League.
In 1904, Preston were promoted to the First Division; once in the top division, Warner was unable to get past the established full-back pairing of Joe Derbyshire and Tommy Rodway and spent the entire 1904–05 season in the reserves.
In May 1905, he moved to the south coast to join Southampton of the Southern League.
[1] He could also use the ball well, but after 18 appearances, generally at left-back (where he competed with Arthur Hartshorne),[2] the directors released him, under the mistaken impression that one of his knees was unsound.
His 227 league appearances for the Fratton Park club proved that the Southampton directors had made a serious error.