The 1955–56 season was the 76th 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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Overview

Defending league champions Chelsea decided not to compete in the new European Champions Cup, following opposition from the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

about the participation of English clubs in the competition. The league title is taken by a

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 ...

side with an average age of just 22, which finished 11 points ahead of their nearest contenders,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

and

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 ...

. It was a Manchester double for trophies, with

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 ...

winning the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, with goalkeeper Bert Trautmann famously playing on despite suffering what was later diagnosed as a broken neck in a collision with a

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 ...

player.

Honours

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

Awards

Football Writers' Association *

Footballer of the Year Footballer of the Year may refer to: Association football World * FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) * FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) * The Best FIFA Men's Player (since 2016) Other * African Footballer of the Year * Asian Footballer o ...

– Bert Trautmann (

) Top goalscorer *

Nat Lofthouse Nathaniel Lofthouse (27 August 1925 – 15 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. He won 33 caps for England between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals, with one ...

(

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 ...

), 33

Football League

First Division

Manchester United won the First Division title by 11 points, featuring a squad of players with an average age of just 22, with manager

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 emphasis on youth paying dividends and answering the critics who felt that his policy would not be able to maintain United's place among the game's elite. Second place was occupied by Blackpool, with

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

still a dominant presence in the team in his 41st year, while Wolves finished third,

winners Manchester City finished fourth, and Arsenal completed the top five. Birmingham City finished sixth to record their best ever final position.

Second Division

Sheffield Wednesday swapped divisions with their cross city rivals to return to the First Division by winning the Second Division title, joined by runners-up Leeds United. Liverpool narrowly missed out on a First Division comeback by finishing third.

Third Division North

Third Division South

Top goalscorers

First Division *

(

) – 32 goals Second Division * Willie Gardiner ( Leicester City) – 34 goals Third Division North * Bob Crosbie (

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

) – 36 goals Third Division South * Sammy Collins (

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

) – 40 goals

References

{{1955–56 in English football