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The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
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.The Times, 9 September 1946; ''Association Football Only Five Clubs''
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
on 31 May 1947. Wolves could have clinched their first league title with a victory in that match, but instead the title was won by Liverpool for the fifth time. Due to a bitter winter that postponed many fixtures Liverpool had to wait until the match between Stoke City and Sheffield United on 14 June. A win for Stoke would see them take the title on goal average; however, Sheffield United prevailed 2–1 to give Liverpool its fifth league championship.


Events

The season commenced on 31 August 1946. The largest crowd of the day was 61,000 at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea beat
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
4–3. Aggregate attendance was 950,000 for the 43 matches – the match between Newport County and
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
was postponed due to floods. In September, Scottish International Inside-forward, Tommy Walker, joined Chelsea from Hearts for £6,000 (''2010: £''). By 14 September most teams had averaged five games with only
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
maintaining a 100% record. By 23 September, only
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
,
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
, Rotherham United and
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
remained unbeaten. On 5 October
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
created a Second Division record, scoring 13 against Newport County. New signing
Len Shackleton Leonard Francis Shackleton (3 May 1922 – 28 November 2000) was an English footballer. Known as the "Clown Prince of Football", he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers. He also played cricket in the Mino ...
scored five. In 1946
Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...
toured Great Britain opening with a 2–2 draw against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
on 2 October before losing 3–1 to
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
.The Times, 8 October 1946, ''Association Football Birmingham Beat Sparta''


Honours

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition


Football League


First Division

The first post-war season saw Liverpool win out in one of the most dramatic finishes to any title race; needing to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in order to wrestle the title away from them, they walked away with a 2–1 win, and their first league title since 1923. However, the surprise package of the season were Manchester United, as
Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...
's appointment as manager had an immediate impact and brought them a second-place finish, their highest since their last title win in 1911, with the intervening decades generally only having seen mid-table finishes combined with occasional spells in Division Two; it would prove to be just the start of two decades of immense success under the new manager's leadership. Wolves finished third, having led the table for much of the season, before being undone by a late loss of form. Despite finishing fourth, Stoke City had the opportunity to snatch the title away from Liverpool, due to their final game of the season being delayed by almost two weeks; a loss to Sheffield United ended their hopes, however. At the bottom, Leeds United were relegated in bottom place, ultimately being cost dear by abysmal away form that saw them earn just one point away from
Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...
, and returning to the Second Division after 15 years. Brentford went down after five seasons in Division One; they would ultimately not return to the top-flight until 2021.


Second Division

Manchester City won promotion back to the top-flight at the second attempt, closely followed by Burnley, who returned to Division One for the first time since 1930. Newport County's first season in the second tier (not counting the abandoned 1939–40 season) ended in immediate relegation, with the club shipping a staggering 133 goals; it would ultimately prove this incarnation of the club's only season at this level before its dissolution in 1989. Fellow Welsh club Swansea Town were also relegated.


Third Division North

Doncaster Rovers were promoted to the Second Division, beating out South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United, whose own record would have been enough for promotion in most years. Southport and Halifax Town were both re-elected to the Football League.


Third Division South

Cardiff City won the division, meaning that they passed two of their Welsh rivals, Swansea and Newport, on their way up to the Second Division. Norwich City and Mansfield Town were both re-elected, though Mansfield were transferred to the Third Division North for the following season.


Top goalscorers

First Division * Dennis Westcott (
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
) – 38 goals Second Division * Charlie Wayman (
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
) – 30 goals Third Division North * Clarrie Jordan (
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
) – 42 goals Third Division South * Don Clark ( Bristol City) – 36 goals


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1946-47 in English Football