TheFootball League NorthandFootball League Southdivisions ofthe Football Leaguewere created temporarily for the League to continue through theSecond World Warwhile limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues started in 1940; however there was only one full season, in1945–46.Previous seasons were, in a sense, bit-part leagues with clubs only playing teams that were generally local. An example of this is that in the 1942 Football League NorthLeeds UnitedplayedMiddlesbrough,Gateshead,Newcastle United,Doncaster Rovers,Sunderland,Bradford Park Avenue,York City,Halifax TownandHuddersfield Town,which they played Home and Away in succession.[1]
The two leagues consisted of all the members of The First and Second Divisions of the Football League split on a purely geographical basis. The1945–46full season was instituted as a precursor to the resumption of the previous divisional split in force prior toWorld War II.As the war had only just finished travel was sometimes difficult to arrange, many of the players were still away and the teams often included guests.
Sheffield Unitedwere the Champions of League North andBirmingham Citywere the Champions of League South for the only full seasonin 1945–46.
Results and players' contributions do not tend to be included in official statistics.
1945–46 season
editNorth league table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sheffield United | 42 | 27 | 6 | 9 | 112 | 62 | 1.806 | 60 |
2 | Everton | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 88 | 54 | 1.630 | 55 |
3 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 45 | 1.489 | 51 |
4 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 98 | 62 | 1.581 | 49 |
5 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 67 | 60 | 1.117 | 48 |
6 | Newcastle United | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 106 | 70 | 1.514 | 47 |
7 | Chesterfield | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 68 | 49 | 1.388 | 46 |
8 | Barnsley | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 76 | 68 | 1.118 | 45 |
9 | Blackpool | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 94 | 92 | 1.022 | 45 |
10 | Manchester City | 42 | 20 | 4 | 18 | 78 | 75 | 1.040 | 44 |
11 | Liverpool | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 80 | 70 | 1.143 | 43 |
12 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 75 | 87 | 0.862 | 43 |
13 | Stoke City | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 88 | 79 | 1.114 | 42 |
14 | Bradford | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 71 | 84 | 0.845 | 40 |
15 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 17 | 4 | 21 | 90 | 89 | 1.011 | 38 |
16 | Burnley | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 63 | 84 | 0.750 | 36 |
17 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 61 | 89 | 0.685 | 35 |
18 | Sunderland | 42 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 55 | 89 | 0.618 | 35 |
19 | Preston North End | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 70 | 77 | 0.909 | 34 |
20 | Bury | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 60 | 85 | 0.706 | 34 |
21 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 60 | 111 | 0.541 | 29 |
22 | Leeds United | 42 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 66 | 118 | 0.559 | 25 |
South league table
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Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Birmingham City | 42 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 96 | 45 | 2.133 | 61 |
2 | Aston Villa | 42 | 25 | 11 | 6 | 106 | 58 | 1.828 | 61 |
3 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 92 | 45 | 2.044 | 60 |
4 | Derby County | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 104 | 62 | 1.677 | 52 |
5 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 104 | 69 | 1.507 | 52 |
6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 75 | 48 | 1.563 | 51 |
7 | West Ham United | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 94 | 76 | 1.237 | 51 |
8 | Fulham | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 93 | 73 | 1.274 | 50 |
9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 22 | 3 | 17 | 78 | 81 | 0.963 | 47 |
10 | Chelsea | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 76 | 73 | 1.041 | 43 |
11 | Arsenal | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 76 | 73 | 1.041 | 43 |
12 | Millwall | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 79 | 105 | 0.752 | 42 |
13 | Coventry City | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 70 | 69 | 1.014 | 40 |
14 | Brentford | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 82 | 72 | 1.139 | 38 |
15 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 72 | 73 | 0.986 | 37 |
16 | Southampton | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 97 | 105 | 0.924 | 37 |
17 | Swansea Town | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 90 | 112 | 0.804 | 37 |
18 | Luton Town | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 60 | 92 | 0.652 | 33 |
19 | Portsmouth | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 66 | 87 | 0.759 | 28 |
20 | Leicester City | 42 | 8 | 7 | 27 | 57 | 101 | 0.564 | 23 |
21 | Newport County | 42 | 9 | 2 | 31 | 52 | 125 | 0.416 | 20 |
22 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 3 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 120 | 0.325 | 14 |
Notes
edit- ^Leeds Fans Web-site"Leeds United: Season 1942 – 1942: Football League (Northern Section)",leeds-fans.org.uk (accessed 15 October 2006)
- ^Belton, Brian (2015).War Hammers II: The Story of West Ham United During the Second World War.The History Press.ISBN978-0750956024.