1939-40 in English football
Encyclopedia
The 1939–1940 season was the 65th season of competitive football (soccer)
in England
. It was suspended in September after the outbreak of World War II
.
broke out early into this season. Shortly after war was declared, most competitions were abandoned as the country's attention turned to the war effort. A few leagues, such as the Northern League
, did manage to complete a season, but more than half of the teams were unable to fulfil all their fixtures and resigned.
Blackpool
sat atop the table at the time the abandonment occurred.
The FA Cup
Extra-Preliminary Round was played, but with hostilities declared before replays took place, that competition too was abandoned. Entry fees received for the 1939–40 Cup were honoured for the next Cup in 1945–46
.
Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead. Regional league competitions were set up. Appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records. The FA Cup was resumed for the 1945–46 season and The Football League
for the 1946–47 season
.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was suspended in September after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Overview
World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out early into this season. Shortly after war was declared, most competitions were abandoned as the country's attention turned to the war effort. A few leagues, such as the Northern League
Northern League (football)
The Northern League is a football league in North East England for semi-professional and amateur teams. Having been founded in 1889, it is the oldest surviving football league in the world after the Football League....
, did manage to complete a season, but more than half of the teams were unable to fulfil all their fixtures and resigned.
Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
sat atop the table at the time the abandonment occurred.
The FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Extra-Preliminary Round was played, but with hostilities declared before replays took place, that competition too was abandoned. Entry fees received for the 1939–40 Cup were honoured for the next Cup in 1945–46
1945-46 in English football
The 1945–1946 season was the 66th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:1945–1946 was the first football season since the 1939–1940 season was cut short due to World War II. The FA Cup was the main competition to be played this season along with the Football League North and Football...
.
Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead. Regional league competitions were set up. Appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records. The FA Cup was resumed for the 1945–46 season and The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
for the 1946–47 season
1946-47 in English football
The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1946–47 season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Eighty-eight teams competed over four divisions. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over...
.
Wartime
After the abandonment of the football programme, the league was split into ten mini regional leagues. A national cup competition was also held.| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| Midland League | Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at... |
| West League | Stoke City Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts... |
| North-East League | Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town F.C. Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One... |
| North-West League | Bury Bury F.C. Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the... |
| South League 'A' | Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups... |
| South League 'B' | Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years... |
| South League 'C' | Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
| South League 'D' | Crystal Palace Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in... |
| South-West League | Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle F.C. Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the... |
| East Midland League | Chesterfield Chesterfield F.C. Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower... |
| Football League War Cup Football League War Cup The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945 which aimed to fill the gaping hole left in English Football by the cancellation of the FA Cup.- Background:... |
West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
League South A
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups... |
18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 62 | 22 | 30 |
| 2 | West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 33 | 25 |
| 3 | Millwall Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the... |
18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 38 | 21 |
| 4 | Watford Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade... |
18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 38 | 21 |
| 5 | Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The... |
18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 36 | 20 |
| 6 | Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,... |
18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 61 | 58 | 17 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in... |
18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 39 | 56 | 13 |
| 8 | Clapton Orient Leyton Orient F.C. Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63... |
18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 28 | 60 | 13 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 37 | 43 | 12 |
| 10 | Southend United Southend United F.C. Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had... |
18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 30 | 61 | 8 |
League South B
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years... |
18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 49 | 26 | 26 |
| 2 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A.F.C. Bournemouth A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899.... |
18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 52 | 37 | 24 |
| 3 | Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 37 | 23 |
| 4 | Reading Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship... |
18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 47 | 42 | 22 |
| 5 | Brentford Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One.... |
18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 41 | 18 |
| 6 | Fulham Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season... |
18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 50 | 51 | 18 |
| 7 | Portsmouth Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from... |
18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 37 | 42 | 16 |
| 8 | Aldershot Aldershot F.C. Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable... |
18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 38 | 49 | 14 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.... |
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 42 | 53 | 11 |
| 10 | Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... |
18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 41 | 64 | 8 |
League South C
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 30 | 26 |
| 2 | West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 53 | 28 | 24 |
| 3 | Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups... |
18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 26 | 23 |
| 4 | Brentford Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One.... |
18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 34 | 20 |
| 5 | Millwall Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the... |
18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 30 | 19 |
| 6 | Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,... |
18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 36 | 18 |
| 7 | Fulham Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season... |
18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 38 | 42 | 17 |
| 8 | Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... |
18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 28 | 55 | 13 |
| 9 | Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 53 | 11 |
| 10 | Portsmouth Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from... |
18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 26 | 45 | 9 |
League South D
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crystal Palace Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in... |
18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 64 | 30 | 27 |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years... |
18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 38 | 28 | 23 |
| 3 | Watford Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade... |
18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 41 | 29 | 21 |
| 4 | Southend United Southend United F.C. Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had... |
18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 37 | 19 |
| 5 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A.F.C. Bournemouth A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899.... |
18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 40 | 41 | 18 |
| 6 | Aldershot Aldershot F.C. Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable... |
18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 38 | 36 | 17 |
| 7 | Clapton Orient Leyton Orient F.C. Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63... |
18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 33 | 45 | 17 |
| 8 | Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The... |
18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 36 | 16 |
| 9 | Reading Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship... |
18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 42 | 14 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.... |
18 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 30 | 65 | 8 |
League South-West
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle F.C. Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the... |
28 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 72 | 41 | 36 |
| 2 | Torquay United Torquay United F.C. Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley... |
28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 73 | 62 | 34 |
| 3 | Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers F.C. Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city.... |
28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 62 | 55 | 28 |
| 4 | Newport County | 28 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 70 | 63 | 28 |
| 5 | Swindon Town Swindon Town F.C. Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011... |
28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 66 | 63 | 28 |
| 6 | Swansea Town | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 54 | 60 | 26 |
| 7 | Cardiff City Cardiff City F.C. Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for... |
28 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 45 | 63 | 25 |
| 8 | Bristol City Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City... |
28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 57 | 92 | 19 |