The 1945–46 season was the 66th season of competitive football in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Overview
1945–46 was the first peacetime football season since the
1939–40 season was cut short due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. On 7 May (as
the war was ending), it was announced that the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
would be resumed, and that the 44 clubs in the top two divisions of the
1938–39 season would play in the
Football League North and Football League South without promotion and relegation from the previous peacetime season. This arrangement was debated by the clubs over the following two months – with
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
proposing an immediate return to a peacetime Football League as was to happen
in France – before it was agreed at The Football League's annual meeting in London on 25 July that regional leagues should continue for one more season.
[‘Association Football – Plans for Next Season’; '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', 26 July 1945, p. 8
To make up for the lack of quality matches, all FA Cup rounds from round one up to and including the quarter-finals were made two-legged ties (rather than the traditional single matches) with the aggregate score determining who went through to the next round.
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
eventually won the Cup.
From the
next season, a full football programme was restored, including
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
and international matches.
Honours
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
See also
*
England national football team results (unofficial matches)
This is a list of the England national football team's results from 1870 to the present day that, for various reasons, are ''not'' accorded the status of official International A Matches.
1870s
1890s
The Football Association (FA) instig ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1945-46 In English Football
Wartime seasons in English football