What a strange collection of results yesterday in the Premier League. The only time I can recall Liverpool suffering such a heavy defeat was in May 1955 when they lost 6-1 to Rotherham but that was in the Second Division. I remember it well as my boss was from Rotherham and the Millers needed double figures to pip Luton on goal average for promotion. That season Liverpool finished mid-table with Boro as both teams had just been relegated in the previous season. However I’ve also just discovered that Liverpool also lost 9-1 to Birmingham City in that same season and that remains Liverpool’s biggest defeat.
As for Manchester United their heaviest defeats have been 7-0 to Blackburn in 1926 and to Aston Villa in 1930 both in the First Division, then to Wolves in 1931 in the Second Division. For the record Boro’s biggest defeat was 9-0 to Blackburn in 1954 seven days after having beaten West Ham 6-0.
But the strangest result was in December 1908 when Newcastle lost 9-1 at home to Sunderland, the half time score being 1-1, yet the Geordies still went on to win their third First Division title 7 points ahead of Everton with the Mackems a further 2 points behind in 3rd place.
Finally just trying to make any sense of this season’s results only Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool have won both of their 2 home games this season whilst Manchester Utd have lost both of their home matches. A similar situation is appearing in the Championship with only Bournemouth, Bristol City, Luton and Reading having won both of their home games. Also 13 teams in the Premier League and 9 in the Championship have won one and lost one either at home or away so far this season. This might be because home advantage is irrelevant with no crowds, but if this trend continues perhaps we may see a more congested final League table in both Divisions at the end of the season. We are used to saying that any team in the lower leagues can win or lose against any other. I hope that this continues in the Premier League also, as it will make for a much much interesting season. Who knows, it might increase Boro’s chances also in the Championship.
City let in 5. United let in 6.
Liverpool.....Here, hold my beer......!
City let in 5. United let in 6.
Liverpool.....Here, hold my beer......!
But then Leicester lose 3-0 at home to West Ham after scoring 5 at Manchester City. However that book you kindly sent me about the history of the First Division did show some strange results in the past, but none of them tops that Tyne-Wear derby in 1908.
I think there is a surreal feeling about matches at the moment without crowds. I'm struggling to follow games and hold much interest as it all just seems staged. It gives me an uncomfortable feeling of politicised sport, just play the games to keep the masses happy and occupied otherwise their unwanted attentions may spread elsewhere.
To put it in perspective it is clearly not as evil as the 1978 World Cup in Argentina with the military junta torturing civilians less than half a mile away from the Stadium used for the Final itself but nevertheless it just all feels very fake and false to me. The Premiership results just confirms my innermost discomfort and disdain for it all.
I would say the lack of fans attending definitely makes for a more open game.
We all know that Football didn’t start with the advent of the Premier League, but as we celebrate Armistice Day on Wednesday I thought I might give a few facts about what I remember about those first 3 seasons following the Second World War starting with football of course. Today we’ve seen some strange results especially in the Premier League and most people’s views have suggested that the reason is because of matches being played without spectators. However in the 1947/48 season when the overall attendances in the 4 Divisions totalled 41,271,414 fans starved of football saw the minimum admittance charge doubled from a pre-war 6 old pennies to one shilling (5 pence in today’s currency) and then to 1 shilling and 9 pence which at the time seemed exorbitant. Nevertheless fans came in their droves especially for Cup ties. Yeovil Town (then a non league club) had a reputation of being the most successful giant killers in the FA Cup having already disposed of Bury and Sunderland that season were drawn away to Manchester United, although the match was actually played at Maine Road as Old Trafford was still closed following the effects of War damage. Yeovil lost 0-8 but a record crowd of 81,565 ensured that the Glovers received receipts of over £7,000 which was more than their total receipts for the two previous seasons combined.
Several clubs enjoyed massive crowds, but especially in the First Division produced strange results as is happening today with no crowds. Liverpool had won the First Division title in the previous season with 57 points yet still lost 5 home matches to Blackpool 2-3, Bolton 0-3, Boro 0-1, Sheffield Utd 1-2 and Wolves 1-5, and also only drew 3 of their remaining home matches. In the following season when Arsenal won the League, the Gunners lost 3 home matches to Chelsea 0-2, Derby 1-2 and Liverpool 1-2 with another 3 home matches drawn. It wasn’t until Portsmouth won the title the following season that home form seemed to be a decided advantage as Pompey won 18 of their 21 matches and drew the remaining 3. So it begs the question whether results of matches played behind closed doors is a disadvantage or not. In recent seasons Manchester City have accumulated 100 points in 2017/18, 98 in the following season and Liverpool 99 points last season with 18 home wins and 1 draw which suggests that home form is paramount.
Now reverting to the immediate post war years, Newcastle United then a Second Division club averaged over 60,000 crowds. In fact nearly 31,000 attended a practice match between their first team and their reserve team in a pre-season friendly. Before wor’ Jackie Milburn came on the scene, the Magpies sold their centre forward Albert Stubbins to Liverpool for a record transfer fee of £13,000 which was almost doubled a year later when Derby Country forked out £25,000 for Manchester United’s Johnny Morris. When England’s centre forward Tommy Lawton surprisingly left Chelsea for Third Division Notts County he quadrupled their attendance figures and scored 90 goals in 151 matches for them, but although County were promoted within 2 seasons they never reached the First Division whilst he was there. In the Third Division North with Raich Carter as manager Hull City attracted a record crowd of 49,655 at Boothferry Park in a top of the table clash with Rotherham United on Christmas morning 1948, with football obviously taking precedence over Christmas dinner.
Of course some of these remembrances are not related, but just picked out of the air as I remember what life was like for a sports mad kid just after the war. For instance I recall Brian Close being the youngest player ever selected for England against New Zealand before he had even received his Yorkshire cap. Although I have no interest in boxing today, I recall Freddie Mills beating Sugar Ray Robinson winning the World middleweight championship and thereafter starting a disastrous film career, Bruce Woodcock winning the Lonsdale belt as British heavyweight champion, Tony Mottram once reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Peter Allis emulating his father Percy in winning several British Golf Championships but never the Open Championship, Tommy Simpson winning a stage in La Tour de France, and Yorkshire’s own Beryl Burton who dominated women’s cycling, Joe Davis dominating snooker and Horace Lindrum doing the same at billiards.
Does anyone remember the lamp lighter who used to cycle along Parliament Road and Newport Road riding his bike and carrying a long pole lighting the gas lamps at dusk and extinguishing them at dawn? There was a famous song written at the time about him sung by Bing Crosby. What about spam, powdered egg, bread and beef dripping, cleaning one’s teeth with salt instead of toothpaste, castor or cod liver oil on Friday nights as that was bath night, food rationing, etc. The h’apenny bridge over Saltburn’s valley gardens, the opening of Children’s matinees at the Regent Cinema in Redcar on Saturday mornings, the roller skating rink at the Coatham Enclosure in Redcar, the Pierrots on Redcar beach, people digging up their flower beds and lawns to grow fruit and vegetables because of the shortage of allotments? Outside toilets at school usually frozen up in Winter, Air raids over Teesside, gas masks and some people think wearing face masks today is a nuisance?
I could go on, but in some ways the coronavirus pandemic and the approach of Armistice Day has brought out the nostalgia in me as I hope to survive this second wave of self isolation and who knows if I will be able to share these memories in 4 or 5 months time. So forgive my self indulgence as it’s too late to write a book now about the initial post war years, but in some ways they were happy times and nostalgia is wasted on the young.
One for you Ken.....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-34256124
And to think that Boro were willing to sell him to Barnsley for half the £500 fee that they had paid Durham for his services before that memorable season, but the Tykes couldn’t raise the transfer fee. In fact they still preferred Jimmy McClelland as Boro failed to win any of their first 4 matches and Camsell only got in the team when McClelland was injured. Although Camsell failed to score in his first match of that season, he only failed to score twice more in his next 25 appearances.
Incidentally the mention of Steve Bloomer in that article scoring in each of his first 10 England appearances, plus his 238 goals in 375 matches for Derby County was the reason Boro bought him 10 years before Camsell.
There is another angle to selection for the England team at that time. The team was selected by a commitee of three directors of leading clubs. There were plenty of deals done, i.e. If you vote for our right back I'll vote for your wing half. On the subject of the record goals scored in a season, I'm afraid it became a target to be beaten by any means, and as the season wore on, any time the ball ended in the net after a melee in the goalmouth, the Everton players all rushed to congratulate Dean, which left the ref no option but to book him as the scorer. Same subject, these selectors had another card up their sleeves, if the England Captain was injured and missed a match, he would never be selected unless it was as Captain (it was thought to be undignified) that particular rule ended Hardwick's England career. It's strange to think of being in the room as they got to picking their striker, one would have thought a no brainer with the present holder on 16 goals at 2 per game, but no, someone had the brass neck to say ' I think we need a change here he was eating his peas with his knife after the match'. That the rest of them agreed to drop him, says it all.