Friday 11 November 2011

Football During The Second World War Chelsea Make 1945 Final of Football 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.

Throughout the latter 1930s it was becoming inevitable that a second World War with Germany was coming. On 3 September 1939 following Germany’s invasion of Poland, Neville Chamberlain announced war on Nazi Germany.
On 14 September 1939, the government announced football games would continue but not under the divisions that the game traditionally held season to season. The Football League survived 18 League matches before it was abandoned. After a fifty mile travelling limit was established, the football association divided the football league into separate regional leagues with reduced attendance numbers. In the interests of public safety, the number of spectators allowed to attend these games was limited to 8,000. These arrangements were later revised, and clubs were allowed gates of 15,000 from tickets purchased on the day of the game through the turnstiles.
Football stadiums during this time were used as military bases. Many footballers during this time left their careers to join the Territorial Army. The lack of numbers in squads saw clubs inviting Guest Players to play. Between September 1939 and the end of the war, 783 footballers joined in the war effort. 91 men joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers, 76 from Liverpool, 65 from Huddersfield Town, 63 from Leicester City, 62 from Charlton, 55 from Preston North End, 52 from Burnley, 50 from Sheffield Wednesday, 44 from Chelsea, and 41 each from Brentford and Southampton, Sunderland and West Ham United.
Each season saw the divisions switched around from region to region. The first season of the Wartime League 1939-40 season, saw ten divisions established, two in the north of England, one in the West Midlands, one in the East Midlands, one in the South West and two in London, which were both played in two sections. The FA Cup was suspended. To substitute for its absence, the Football League War Cup was established.
By May 1940 the Phoney War ended as Hitler ordered his troops to invade Britain and France Fears of Britain's safeties from bombings were increasing, but over 40,000 fans braved the warnings and turned out at Wembley Stadium to see West Ham United lift the Football League War Cup over Blackburn Rovers. On 19 September 1940, soon after the beginning of the Blitz, the Football Association relaxed their ban on Sunday football to provide recreation for war workers.
For the following 2 seasons, the leagues were reduced in numbers to just 3, containing a Northern Regional League, Southern Regional League, and a London League. The London War Cup was introduced.
From 1942-1945 the leagues were continued as 3, now established as League North, League South, League West, and now a League North Cup as oppose to London. The Football League War Cup continued on in these years.
In May 1945, Germany surrendered following the suicide of Adolf Hitler. The Wartime League's structure continued for one more season from 1945-1946. This season however marked the retirement of the Football League War Cup and the return of The FA Cup with a new structure; seeing home and away leg ties for the first time in its history with results being decided on aggregate goals, extra-time and penalty shoot-outs as opposed to several replay matches. The league was then returned to four divisions, Football League North and Football League South and Division 3 return to a north/south split.
The Wartime League produced very few memorable moments for fans of clubs who managed to play. The lack of availability for footballers to participate wore down the league's performance. Despite guest players being introduced, many teams still struggled to produce a full squad and resigned many matches. League table points were often added up by goal difference or appearances as oppose to match results.

Career debuts

Centre Forward Jackie Milburn made his career debut in the Wartime Football League for Newcastle United FC in 1943, scoring a total of 38 goals in the next 3 years of the league's life, going on to become a goal-scoring legend for both club and country thereafter.
Welsh winger George Edwards made his professional debut for Birmingham City FC in the Wartime League 1944-45 football season, winning the Football League South championship and reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup in the League's final season.

Wartime League Highlights

A Southern Group division in 1939 consisted of Arsenal, Brentford, Charlton, Chelsea, Fulham, Millwall, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
The Blitz was still taking place when the 1941 Football League War Cup Final took place at Wembley on 31 May. Preston North End and Arsenal drew 1-1 in front of a 60,000 crowd. Preston won the replay at Blackburn, 2-1. Robert Beattie got both of Preston's goals.
Wolves won the Football League War Cup in 1942 beating Sunderland 4-1. The team featured a player named Eric Robinson, who was to be killed during a military training exercise soon afterwards.
In the 1940-1941 season Preston North End needed to win their last game against Liverpool to win the North Regional League title. The nineteen year old Andrew McLaren scored all six goals in the 6-1 victory.
 Controversies
The prospect of large gatherings of crowds during the 2nd World War proves to be an incredibly high controversy to this day. During the first season of The Football Wartime League, Britain had not experienced any bombings or military attack by Germany or its allies. Whilst public attendance was reduced, fears of Britain's safety were moderate. However, despite the Phoney War ending and attacks on Britain and France beginning, the games continued and increases in attendance and match fixtures were introduced during the blitz. The government stood by its decision and claimed these games were recreation for war workers.
Many war workers and guest players who played these games however supported the wartime league, claiming it allowed them an outlet from the war.

Player statistics

Total records of goals and appearances during the Wartime League have been ignored in respective career and league statistics, allowing players post-World War II to go higher than some of them in goal-scoring and appearance rankings.
Many critics do not acknowledge the wartime league as counting for career goals and appearances. The original invention of the Wartime Football League stated that the matches were to be regarded as friendlies. Friendly matches to this day are not included in record terms for any team or player. Despite leagues being established in this time, the amount of Guest players, one-off appearances, resignations of teams from fixtures leading to adding up goal difference and appearances to go up the table, leads to many seeing these records as inaccurate, unfair, or unnecessary. Majority of fan-based arguments debate that a player who exceeds one's record through their wartime matches should nonetheless be seen as the club's highest goal scorer or appearance having been part of the team's squad even if only for a short time.
The most recent argument relates to the goal-difference between Jackie Milburn's and Alan Shearer's Newcastle United goal-scoring records. When counting Jackie's wartime matches, he scored a total of 238 professional goals for Newcastle United FC. In May 2005, Alan Shearer finished his career at 206 goals. He has since been defined as the club's highest ever goal scorer. The wartime league's exclusion from Jackie's United record sees him taken down to 200 goals. It has been debated among the Newcastle United fans that Shearer should be quoted as 2nd to Milburn in this respect. NUFC.com acknowledges Milburn's war record of an additional 38 goals, but his family have publicly supported Shearer's status and have not debated his achievement.
As You Read The Match Reports Below You Will See That Watching Football During The Blitz Was Pretty Dangerous But The Crowds in London Showed Their Blitz Spirit and Turned Out in Their Thousands!
Meanwhile in Germany......

The 1939-40 season started in August 1939, but with the outbreak of the Second World War shortly after, league football was suspended. It only resumed at the end of October, with a number of local city-championships having been played to bridge the gap. As the war progressed, top-division football became more regionalised. It also expanded into occupied territories, some of them annexed into Greater Germany, increasing the number of tier-one Gauligas considerably from the original 16 in 1933. The last German championship was played in 1944 and won by Dresdner SC, but the last official league game was played as late as 23 April 1945, being the FC Bayern Munich versus TSV 1860 Munich derby in the Gauliga Oberbayern, ending 3-2. The final years of league football saw the rise of military teams, like LSV Hamburg, who reached the 1944 German championship final, since most top-players were drafted into the German armed forces and ended up playing for these sides. Representative teams like the Rote Jäger also had a number of German internationals playing for them.
With the end of the war, ethnic German football clubs in the parts of Germany that were awarded to Poland and the Soviet Union disappeared. Clubs like VfB Königsberg and Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz, who had successfully competed in the German championship on quite a number of occasions disappeared for good. In Czechoslovakia, where the ethnic German minority in the Sudetenland was forced to leave the country, clubs experienced the same fate. A few, like BSK Neugablonz, where reformed by these refugees in West Germany.
Some of the events of the war continue to affect German football today. Within the first couple of weeks of the re-development of the Mercedes-Benz Arena in 2009, home of the VfB Stuttgart, 18 undetonated bombs left over from air raids on Stuttgart during the Second World War were found on the construction site. The stadium was originally built, like so many others in Germany, on rubble left over from the war.
Photos and NewsReels

The King Meets Chelsea's 1945 War Cup Final Team
Actual NewsReel Footage of This Event Click Here
 

     1945 Cup Final Programme


        Chelsea v Millwall

 



    Millwall Final Lapel Badge

NewsReel of a Post War Final But really Gives the Sense of Atmosphere in Wembley Click Here



Football League War Cup Honours and Match Reports

Northern Final


Winner Finalist
1942-1943 Blackpool Sheffield Wednesday
1943-1944 Aston Villa Blackpool
1944-1945 Bolton Wanderers Manchester United

Southern Final


Winner Finalist
1942-1943 Arsenal Charlton Athletic
1943-1944 Charlton Athletic Chelsea
1944-1945 Chelsea Millwall

Overall final


Winner Finalist
1939-1940 West Ham United Blackburn Rovers
1940-1941 Preston North End Arsenal
1941-1942 Wolverhampton Wanderers Sunderland
1942-1943 Blackpool Arsenal
1943-1944 Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa (shared)
1944-1945 Bolton Wanderers Chelsea

Tournament finals

1939–40

Final. West Ham United 1–0 Blackburn Rovers Wembley, 8th of June, 1940.
Attendance: 42,399
Sam Small Goal Report
137 games (including replays) were played to get to the final of the inaugural Football League War Cup. These matches were condensed into just 9 weeks. Despite the fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe fans came in thousands to watch the game at Wembley, despite its obvious danger as a bombing target.

1940–41

Final. Preston North End 1–1 Arsenal Wembley, 10th of May 1941.
Attendance: 60,000
Andrew McLarenGoal
Denis Compton Goal
Replay. Preston North End 2–1 Arsenal Ewood Park 31st of May 1941
Attendance: 45,000
Robert Beattie GoalGoal Report Frank Gallimore (OG) Goal
In the nine months leading up to the final, 127 large-scale night-raids had taken place, with London, the home of the final, being a regular target. This threat did not stop 60,000 people turning up to watch the game.
Preston North End beat Bury, Bolton, Tranmere Rovers (12-1), Manchester City and Newcastle (2-0) to reach the final. Andrew McLaren had scored nine goals during the tournament, including five goals in Preston's 12-1 win over Tranmere. Thanks to a late equaliser from Arsenal's Compton in the game at Wembley, this was the first final of the tournament to go to a replay.
The replay was moved away from London to Ewood Park. The win for Preston meant that they had completed the first wartime league and cup double, having also won the Northern Regional League.

1941–42

Final, first leg Sunderland 2–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Roker Park, Sunderland
Attendance: 34,776 Saturday 23rd of May 19421
Carter Goal 54'
Stubbins Goal 77'

Westcott Goal 11', Goal 87'
Final, second leg Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 Sunderland Molineux, Wolverhampton
Attendance: 43,038 Saturday 30th of May 1942
Westcott Goal
Broome Goal 51'
Rowley Goal 59', Goal 70'

Carter Goal 58'
The third competition in 1942 saw the final switched to a two-legged format with each team playing one leg on their home ground. This was the only time in the tournament's history that the final was decided in such a way.
Eric Robinson of Wolves was to die soon after his team won the tournament, during a military exercise.

1942–43

North Final, first leg. Blackpool 2–2 Sheffield Wednesday Bloomfield Road 1st of May 1943
Attendance: 28,000



Second leg. Sheffield Wednesday 1–2 Blackpool Hillsborough Stadium 8th of May 1943
Attendance: 42,657.



South final Arsenal 7–1 Charlton Athletic Wembley
Attendance: 75,000 1st of May 1943



Final Arsenal 2–4 Blackpool Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 55,195 15th of May 1943



In its final three years, the competition was split into north and south halves, with the winners of each section competing in a play-off, staged at Stamford Bridge, to decide the cup winner. The northern winners were decided over two legs, while the southern finalists met in a one-off Wembley final.
The overall final marked the second time Arsenal had got to the final. They would end up being the club who had reached the most Football League War Cup finals, yet did not win once. The final was also notable because both clubs had won their respective wartime divisions.

1943–44

North final, first leg. Blackpool 2–1 Aston Villa Bloomfield Road
Attendance: 28,000



Second leg. Aston Villa 4–2 Blackpool Villa Park
Attendance: 38,540



South final. Charlton Athletic 3–1 Chelsea Wembley
Attendance: 85,000



Final. Charlton Athletic 1–1 Aston Villa Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 38,540 Saturday 20th of May 1944

Shared
With the score in the final tied at 1-1 and, due to transport restrictions and bombing threats, a replay not an option, the game ended a draw. Charlton and Villa shared the 1944 trophy, an event that had not happened before and did not happen again.

1944–45

North final first leg Bolton Wanderers 1–0 Manchester United Burnden Park
Attendance: 40,000



Second leg Manchester United 2–2 Bolton Wanderers Maine Road
Attendance: 40,000



South Final Chelsea 2–0 Millwall Wembley
Attendance: 90,000



Final Chelsea 1–2 Bolton Wanderers Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 35,000 2nd of June 1945

Thursday 10 November 2011

Chelsea Between the Wars For Rememberance 11/11/11

A Look Through Chelsea's Results in the 1914-15 Season It Strikes Me As it Wouldn't be out of place this year 1911-12 Nearly a Hundred Years Later.

Tottenham 1 - 1 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 05-09-1914)

Bradford 2 - 2 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 09-09-1914)

Chelsea 0 - 3 Newcastle (Division 1 (old): 12-09-1914)

Middlesbrough 3 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 19-09-1914)

Chelsea 1 - 1 Sheff Utd (Division 1 (old): 26-09-1914)

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 03-10-1914)

Chelsea 3 - 1 Liverpool (Division 1 (old): 10-10-1914)

Bradford PA 3 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 17-10-1914)

Chelsea 2 - 2 Oldham (Division 1 (old): 24-10-1914)

Man Utd 2 - 2 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 31-10-1914)

Chelsea 2 - 1 Bolton (Division 1 (old): 07-11-1914)

Blackburn 3 - 2 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 14-11-1914)

Chelsea 4 - 1 Notts County (Division 1 (old): 21-11-1914)

Sunderland 2 - 1 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 28-11-1914)

Chelsea 0 - 0 Sheff Wed (Division 1 (old): 05-12-1914)

West Brom 2 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 12-12-1914)

Chelsea 2 - 0 Everton (Division 1 (old): 19-12-1914)

Chelsea 0 - 0 Man City (Division 1 (old): 25-12-1914)

Man City 2 - 1 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 26-12-1914)

Chelsea 1 - 4 Burnley (Division 1 (old): 28-12-1914)

Chelsea 1 - 1 Tottenham (Division 1 (old): 02-01-1915)

Chelsea 1 - 1 Swindon (FA Cup: 09-01-1915)

Chelsea 5 - 2 Swindon (FA Cup: 16-01-1915)

Chelsea 2 - 2 Middlesbrough (Division 1 (old): 23-01-1915)

Chelsea 1 - 0 Arsenal (FA Cup: 30-01-1915)

Chelsea 3 - 1 Aston Villa (Division 1 (old): 06-02-1915)

Liverpool 3 - 3 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 13-02-1915)

Man City 1 - 2 Chelsea (FA Cup: 20-02-1915)

Oldham 0 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 27-02-1915)

Chelsea 0 - 1 Bradford PA (Division 1 (old): 01-03-1915)

Chelsea 1 - 1 Newcastle (FA Cup: 06-03-1915)

Sheff Utd 1 - 1 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 08-03-1915)

Newcastle 0 - 1 Chelsea (FA Cup: 13-03-1915)

Newcastle 2 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 17-03-1915)

Chelsea 1 - 3 Blackburn (Division 1 (old): 20-03-1915)

Chelsea 2 - 0 Everton (FA Cup: 27-03-1915)

Chelsea 2 - 0 Bradford (Division 1 (old): 02-04-1915)

Chelsea 3 - 0 Sunderland (Division 1 (old): 03-04-1915)

Burnley 2 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 05-04-1915)

Sheff Wed 3 - 2 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 10-04-1915)

Bolton 3 - 1 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 14-04-1915)

Chelsea 4 - 1 West Brom (Division 1 (old): 17-04-1915)

Chelsea 1 - 3 Man Utd (Division 1 (old): 19-04-1915)

Sheff Utd 3 - 0 Chelsea (FA Cup: 24-04-1915)

Everton 2 - 2 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 26-04-1915)

Notts County 2 - 0 Chelsea (Division 1 (old): 28-04-1915)

Although I Wouldn't Mind Beating Manchester City as They Did in the FA Cup that Year Manchester United it seemed were just as hard to beat as ever.
Managers, Players and Performances 
David Calderwood
The Manager That Year was David Calderwood a Scotsman who had Managed the team from 1907 to 1933. Although we finished 8th. in 1914 and 19th. in 1915 he wasn't immediately sacked as you would see today. He won no Trophy's in his time But, his Win Ratio was 40% in his Time only bettered Later by Tommy Docherty in 1961-67 another Scotsman, What is it about Scotsmen and Success, Ask Sir Alex :0) We have had six of them over the years but thats another story. His Record was: 1907-33 Played 966 Won 384 Drawn 239 Lost 343 Goals For 1376 Against 1305 Wins 40%
The First World War cast a dark shadow over football but during the opening months of the conflict, Chelsea marked our first decade by reaching our first FA Cup Final.
The Chelsea Strip 1910-15
The 1915 Final was held in Manchester at Old Trafford - virtually impossible for Chelsea fans to reach under the circumstances. The opposition, Sheffield United, were more local and the considerable number of military uniforms visible amongst the largely Yorkshire crowd led to the game being dubbed 'The Khaki Final'. With the odds stacked against us, Chelsea lost 3-0.
 The Chelsea Strip 1918-29
 1920s
The FA Cup would provide the major moments for both Chelsea and Stamford Bridge in the 1920s.
Although he had passed away in 1912, Mears' original vision for his stadium was realised when three FA Cup Finals were played there in the years immediately prior to the opening of Wembley Stadium in 1923.
Chelsea very nearly reached the 1920 occasion, losing 3-1 to Aston Villa at the semi-final stage.
The Chelsea Away Strip 1922-23
Centre-forward that day was Jack Cock, the Chelsea glamour boy of that era. Decorated during the war, as well as stylish goalscoring, he did a neat line in singing on stage of an evening.
When First World War broke out he served in the British Army during the conflict, rising to the rank of Sergeant-Major and earning the Distinguished Conduct Medal and later the Military Medal for gallantry. He was reported as 'missing, presumed dead' at one point during the war. During his breaks from military service, he turned out for London sides Brentford and Croydon Common. Cock also played for England in the Victory International in 1919. With the resumption of league football in 1919, he moved back to Huddersfield who, at the time, were in severe financial trouble. Cock was sold to David Calderhead's Chelsea for a record £2,500 in October that year. A skilful, nimble striker with a powerful shot, he had a fanatical dedication to fitness, often staying behind to train long after his team mates had gone home. He scored twice on his Chelsea debut against Bradford and hit 22 more that season in 30 league games, a key factor in the club finishing third in the League and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals.
Cock's first season with the Stamford Bridge club proved to be his most successful, and thereafter his goalscoring record was never as prolific, though he was still top scorer at the club in 1920–21 and 1921–22. After scoring one goal in 11 appearances in 1922–23, he was transferred to Everton in February 1923. He ended his Chelsea career with a nonetheless impressive 53 goals from 111 games.

Jack COCK, Chelsea Career : 1919-23 League Appearances : 100 League Goals : 47 

Total Appearances : 111 Total Goals : 53

 The 1921 FA Cup Final at Stamford Bridge





Although the 1920s began with the highest league placing up to that point, third place in Division One behind West Brom and derby, the decade proved to be possibly the least remarkable in the club's history. Relegation was suffered in 1924 with return to the top flight only coming in at the end of the 1929-30 season.
The Chelsea Strip 1929-33
A sign of unexceptional times was that two of the favourite performers of the era were both left-backs, England international Jack Harrow.
Harrow signed for Chelsea for a fee of £50 from Croydon Common in 1911 and remained until 1926. He was club captain for much of that period, and led Chelsea to their first appearance in an FA Cup final in 1915, although they lost 3-0 on the day to Sheffield United in a match overshadowed by World War I. He was the first Chelsea player to make over 300 appearances, and ended his career with 333 in all competitions.
He played twice for the England national team, winning caps against Northern Ireland and Sweden in 1922 and 1923 respectively. He died in 1958.

Jack HARROW Chelsea Career : 1911-26 League Appearances : 305 League Goals : 5

 Total Appearances : 334 Total Goals : 5






Harrow gave way to Scottish international Tommy Law midway through the decade after 333 games.
Law, born in Glasgow, he signed for David Calderhead's Chelsea as a junior and made his debut for the club in 1926 against Bradford City. He soon established himself as Chelsea's first choice full-back, a position he would hold for most of his time at Stamford Bridge and was one of the less glamorous, though more reliable, members of a star-studded Chelsea squad which included his Scottish teammates, Hughie Gallacher, Alex Jackson, Willie Ferguson and Andy Wilson. He made 318 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 19 goals, mainly from penalties.
Law won two caps for Scotland, both against England. He made his debut during Scotland's famous "Wembley Wizards" 5-1 win over England at Wembley in 1928. His final cap came two years later, though this time the Scots lost 2-5.

Tommy Law 

Tommy LAW  Chelsea Career : 1925-39 League Appearances : 292 League Goals : 15

 Total Appearances : 318 Total Goals : 19






The Chelsea Strip 1933-39
1930s
Emerging from the horrors of war to face economic depression, Londoners wanted distraction and entertainment in their limited spare time. Crowd figures at the Bridge continued to rise, culminating in an October Saturday in 1935 when 82,905 crammed into the curving terraces for a league game against Arsenal - the highest official attendance ever recorded at the ground. It remains the biggest attendance in English league football too.

It was little wonder this London derby proved such a draw. Arsenal had built London's first great side - winning four out of five championships in the early 30s.

The pressure had long been on Chelsea to compete with our local rivals. Having never been shy of spending cash since our birth, at the start of the 1930s the club splashed out in style. Continuing strong links with north of the border - three Scottish international forwards were bought for large sums.
Alec Cheyne joined David Calderhead's Chelsea in 1930 for a club record fee of £6000 but, despite playing alongside other talented forwards such as Hughie Gallacher and Alex Jackson, he struggled to settle and joined French club Nîmes Olympique in 1932. He returned to Chelsea two years later, finally leaving in 1936. Upon retiring Cheyne moved into coaching, initially with Chelmsford City before becoming manager of Arbroath, though without success.
Cheyne won five caps for the Scottish national team, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against Norway and a goal direct from a corner – a feat which was only legalised the season before – against England. This last is credited with starting the 'Hampden Roar': as Scotland were playing with only ten players and there was less than a minute remaining of the game, the crowd of over 110,000 took up a roar of encouragement, which continued until well after the final whistle and subsequently became a common sound at Scotland home games. Cheyne is reported to have made scoring from corners something of a speciality, having performed the feat twice more for his club side the following season.

Alec CHEYNE Chelsea Career : 1930-32 & 1934-36 League Appearances : 62 League Goals : 12

 Total Appearances : 69 Total Goals : 13



Alex Jackson
Jackson signed for David Calderhead's big-spending Chelsea in September 1930 for £8,500, joining international team mates, Hughie Gallacher, Tommy Law and Alec Cheyne already at the club. His time at Chelsea was hampered by injuries, though he linked up well with the prolific Gallacher and himself scored 31 goals from 78 games for the club. Jackson's first-class career was then ended prematurely during the 1932-33 season. He and several other star players at the club were approached by French side Nîmes with a lucrative contract offer, which Jackson threatened to accept unless Chelsea broke their maximum wage structure and increased his salary. The club refused to budge and, in the days before the Bosman ruling, Jackson could do little. He was forced to finish his career playing for a series of non-league clubs such as Ashton National from Ashton-under-Lyne and Margate. He later joined French side Nice.

Alex JACKSON Chelsea Career : 1930-32 League Appearances : 65 League Goals : 26 

Total Appearances : 77 Total Goals : 30






 The Chelsea FA Cup Strip for 1931
Hughie Gallacher.
Gallacher joined David Calderhead's Chelsea as part of a £25,000 spending spree which also saw the club sign his fellow Scottish forwards Alex Jackson and Alec Cheyne; such was his popularity at Newcastle, when Chelsea visited St James' Park, the home of Newcastle United, that season the attendance was a record 68,386 with several thousand more locked out. Gallacher scored 81 goals in 144 games and was Chelsea’s top scorer in each of his four seasons in west London. The team sometimes clicked, such as in a 6–2 win over Manchester United and a 5–0 win over Sunderland but trophies remained elusive.
The FA Cup was to be the closest the club came to silverware. In 1932, the team secured impressive wins over Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday, and were drawn against Newcastle United in the semi-finals. Tommy Lang inspired Newcastle to a 2–0 lead, before Gallacher pulled one back for Chelsea. The Blues laid siege to the United goal in the second half, but were unable to make a breakthrough and the Geordies went on to lift the trophy.
Gallacher's time there was also marred by suspensions for indiscipline – including a two month ban for swearing at a referee – and off-pitch controversies. In 1934 he ended up in the bankruptcy court due to prolonged and acrimonious divorce. In November 1934 he was sold to Derby County for £2,750.
Small in stature, Gallacher was the biggest name in the game. Chelsea prised him away from Newcastle with a club record £10,000 fee.
Hughie Gallacher

The Stamford Bridge spectators, who had recently emerged from watching six years of Second Division football, our longest spell out of the top flight, caught their first glimpse of the new sparkling forward line in a 6-2 win over Man United. Hopes were sky high but expectations were not matched.

By Christmas both Birmingham and Derby had found the Chelsea net six times. Arsenal scored five at the Bridge. The pattern had been set for lower table finishes. It was a big disappointment.

An FA Cup run in 1932 brightened the mood and Chelsea found ourselves in our third semi-final. Ironically for Gallacher it was against Newcastle. The wee man scored past his former team but Chelsea lost 2-1. The next season we finished 18th out of 22 teams.

Those two redoubtable servants - Jack Harrow and then Tommy Law had ensured quarter-of-a-century of quality at left-back, but it wasn't enough to tip the balance.

Some of the stars missed too many training sessions and misfired in too many matches. It was a side high on ego but low on team spirit. While Gallacher's 81 goals in 144 games was a good return, he is remembered just as much for his indiscipline and volatile temper. After just over four seasons, he left for the north once more.

As London drifted to war again, Chelsea did little to lift the spirits of our fans. It often took England international goalkeeper Vic Woodley to prevent relegation being added to the worries.
Woodley was spotted by a Chelsea scout whilst playing for Windsor and Eton and signed for the club in 1931, making his debut the same year. Woodley was a member of the glamorous Chelsea side of the 1930s, playing alongside the likes of Hughie Gallacher, Alex Jackson and Alec Cheyne. Known for his reliability and his impressive sense of anticipation, Woodley's performances were often key to preserving Chelsea's First Division status with his high-profile team mates invariably failing to live up to expectations. So reliable was he that he kept John Jackson, Scotland's first choice goalkeeper, out of the Chelsea side.
Woodley won nineteen caps for England - all consecutive, a record at the time - and in an era when there was stiff competition for the England goakeeping jersey from Harry Hibbs, George Tweedy and Frank Swift. Woodley was a member of the England side which toured Nazi Germany in 1938, performing the Hitler salute before the match at the Olympiastadion. His international career was ended prematurely by the outbreak of the Second World War.
Woodley briefly resumed his playing career with Chelsea after the War, playing in their famous friendly match against Soviet side, Dynamo Moscow, but left on a free transfer shortly afterwards and joined Bath City. An injury crisis among Derby County's goalkeepers saw Woodley return to the First Division early in 1946, making a further 30 league appearances. Woodley's career also ended on a high note, as he kept goal during Derby's 4-1 FA Cup final win over Charlton Athletic.
He died in October 1978.

So it Seems David Calderheads Chelsea Were Quite a Team despite their lack of trophies, and could attract big signings.

The Next Manager of Chelsea Following Calderwood was Leslie Knighton an Englishman in 1933.

Leslie Knighton 
While Arsenal Manager Knighton was involved in one of the first recorded cases of doping; before a January 1925 FA Cup first round tie against West Ham United, Knighton gave the players what he described as "little silver pills", given to him by a Harley Street doctor who was a fan of the club; although the pills were successful in increasing the players' energy, the side-effects caused them to have raging thirst. Arsenal drew the match 0-0 and before the replay they rebelled and refused to take them; Arsenal eventually lost 1-0 in the second replay after the first finished 2-2. Knighton's activities, entirely legal under the rules at the time, were not made public until he recounted the episode in his memoirs.
Norris dismissed Knighton in the summer of 1925 and replaced him with Herbert Chapman. Knighton later alleged that Norris has only sacked him to avoid paying him a bonus (estimated at up to £4,000) from a benefit match that he was due. Norris denied this and instead cited Arsenal's poor record that season (having finished 20th and knocked out of the FA Cup first round), but later regretted his dismissal, stating it was the one mistake in his career and in his will left Knighton £100.
After leaving the Gunners, Knighton went on to manage Bournemouth (1925-28), Birmingham (1928-33), whom he led to the 1931 FA Cup Final.
His Six Years at Chelsea (1933-39) taking over from the long serving David Calderhead, Were unremarkable and he remains one of Chelseas least successful Managers. Moving on to Shrewsbury Town (1945-48), before their election to the Football League. Knighton retired to Bournemouth after suffering ill health and took on the less pressurised job of a golf club secretary, during which he found time to write an autobiography, Behind the Scenes in Big Football (1948). He died in 1959, aged 72.

Leslie Knighton 1933-39 Games 274 Won 93 Drawn 72 Lost 109 Goal For 419 Against 446 Win Ratio 34%

Next Manager was Billy Birrell in 1933

William (Billy) Birrell
He played for Raith Rovers and Middlesbrough, winning the Second Division title with the latter in 1927, before moving into management. He returned to Raith to become manager before leaving for Bournemouth in 1930 and then Queens Park Rangers in 1935. After guiding Rangers to 3rd place in Division Three South in 1938, he was appointed manager of First Division Chelsea shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.
During his time at Chelsea, the club consistently finished in mid-table, and narrowly missed out on relegation to the Second Division in 1951 on goal average. However, Birrell guided Chelsea to two FA Cup semi-finals, in 1950 and 1952, on both occasions losing out to Arsenal in replays. He retired following the latter defeat. Although his performance record is probably the worst of most Chelsea Managers, He also played a significant part in the development of the club's youth system, which was to pay dividends for future managers.

William Birrell 1939-52 Games 289 Won 95 Drawn 74 Lost 120 Goal For 410 Against 462 Win Ratio 33%
The Chelsea Strip 1939-46










The Next Manager For Chelsea was The First Championship Winning Manager Ted Drake But, thats another Story :0)