1939–40 in English football

The 1939–40 season was the 65th season of competitive football in England. It was suspended in September after the outbreak of World War II.

Football in England
Season1939–40
Men's football
Football Leagueabandoned
Football League Second Divisionabandoned
FA Cupabandoned
England

Overview

World War II broke out early into this season. Shortly after war was declared, most competitions, including the Football League, were abandoned as the country's attention turned to the war effort. A few leagues, such as the Northern League, did manage to complete a season, but more than half of the teams were unable to fulfil all their fixtures and resigned.

Blackpool sat at the top of the First Division table at the time the abandonment occurred.[1] The FA Cup Extra-Preliminary Round was played, but with hostilities declared before replays took place, that competition too was abandoned. Entry fees received for the 1939–40 Cup were honoured for the next Cup in 1945–46.

Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead. Regional league competitions were set up. Appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records. The FA Cup was resumed for the 1945–46 season and The Football League for the 1946–47 season.

Honours

Wartime

After the abandonment of the football programme, the league was split into ten mini regional leagues. A national cup competition was also held.

Competition Winner
North West LeagueBury
North East LeagueHuddersfield Town
West LeagueStoke City
East Midland LeagueChesterfield
Midland LeagueWolverhampton Wanderers
South West LeaguePlymouth Argyle
South A LeagueArsenal
South B LeagueQueens Park Rangers
South C LeagueTottenham Hotspur
South D LeagueCrystal Palace
Football League War CupWest Ham United

League tables

North West League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Bury 22 16 2 4 64 30 2.133 34
2 Preston North End 22 15 2 5 58 27 2.148 32
3 Blackpool 22 13 6 3 73 36 2.028 32
4 Bolton Wanderers 22 13 4 5 55 30 1.833 30
5 Oldham Athletic 22 11 2 9 55 61 0.902 24
6 Burnley 22 9 5 8 48 43 1.116 23
7 Barrow 22 8 4 10 54 57 0.947 20
8 Blackburn Rovers 22 7 4 11 37 40 0.925 18
9 Rochdale 22 5 5 12 38 58 0.655 15
10 Southport 22 5 4 13 34 62 0.548 14
11 Carlisle United 22 4 4 14 38 68 0.559 12
12 Accrington Stanley 22 2 6 14 31 73 0.425 10
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

North East League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Huddersfield Town 20 15 4 1 54 22 2.455 34
2 Newcastle United 20 12 1 7 59 39 1.513 25
3 Middlesbrough 20 9 4 7 49 42 1.167 22
4 Bradford PA 19 10 2 7 44 38 1.158 22
5 Leeds United 18 9 3 6 36 27 1.333 21
6 Bradford City 19 8 4 7 41 37 1.108 20
7 Hull City 20 8 1 11 35 41 0.854 17
8 York City 20 8 1 11 36 51 0.706 17
9 Darlington 19 6 3 10 44 56 0.786 15
10 Hartlepools United 20 6 1 13 27 47 0.574 13
11 Halifax Town 19 3 2 14 28 53 0.528 8
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

West League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Stoke City 22 13 5 4 57 41 1.390 31
2 Liverpool 22 12 5 5 66 40 1.650 29
3 Everton 22 12 4 6 64 33 1.939 28
4 Manchester United 22 14 0 8 74 41 1.805 28
5 Manchester City 22 12 4 6 73 41 1.780 28
6 Wrexham 22 10 5 7 45 50 0.900 25
7 New Brighton 22 10 3 9 55 52 1.058 23
8 Port Vale 22 10 2 10 52 56 0.929 22
9 Chester 22 7 5 10 40 51 0.784 19
10 Crewe Alexandra 22 6 1 15 44 79 0.557 13
11 Stockport County 22 4 3 15 45 79 0.570 11
12 Tranmere Rovers 22 2 3 17 41 93 0.441 7
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

East Midland League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Chesterfield 20 14 2 4 69 23 3.000 30
2 Barnsley 20 10 5 5 43 29 1.483 25
3 Sheffield United 20 12 1 7 46 34 1.353 25
4 Grimsby Town 20 10 2 8 40 44 0.909 22
5 Mansfield Town 20 9 3 8 49 48 1.021 21
6 Doncaster Rovers 20 7 4 9 37 45 0.822 18
7 Lincoln City 20 9 0 11 42 53 0.792 18
8 Rotherham United 20 7 4 9 24 42 0.571 18
9 Sheffield Wednesday 20 5 5 10 33 42 0.786 15
10 Nottingham Forest 20 5 4 11 37 43 0.860 14
11 Notts County 20 6 2 12 40 57 0.702 14
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

Midland League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 28 19 3 6 76 44 1.727 41
2 West Bromwich Albion 28 18 4 6 87 51 1.706 40
3 Coventry City 28 13 3 12 68 57 1.193 29
4 Birmingham 28 12 5 11 56 60 0.933 29
5 Luton Town 28 10 4 14 76 88 0.864 24
6 Northampton Town 28 7 8 13 48 59 0.814 22
7 Leicester City 28 7 6 15 51 71 0.718 20
8 Walsall 28 7 5 16 51 83 0.614 19
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

South West League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Plymouth Argyle 28 16 4 8 72 41 1.756 36
2 Torquay United 28 14 6 8 73 62 1.177 34
3 Bristol Rovers 28 9 10 9 62 55 1.127 28
4 Newport County 28 12 4 12 70 63 1.111 28
5 Swindon Town 28 10 8 10 66 63 1.048 28
6 Swansea Town 28 10 6 12 54 60 0.900 26
7 Cardiff City 28 6 13 9 45 63 0.714 25
8 Bristol City 28 7 5 16 57 92 0.620 19
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

South A League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Arsenal 18 13 4 1 62 22 2.818 30
2 West Ham United 18 12 1 5 57 33 1.727 25
3 Millwall 18 8 5 5 46 38 1.211 21
4 Watford 18 9 3 6 44 38 1.158 21
5 Norwich City 18 7 6 5 41 36 1.139 20
6 Charlton Athletic 18 8 1 9 61 58 1.052 17
7 Crystal Palace 18 5 3 10 39 56 0.696 13
8 Clapton Orient 18 5 3 10 28 60 0.467 13
9 Tottenham Hotspur 18 5 2 11 37 43 0.860 12
10 Southend United 18 4 0 14 30 61 0.492 8
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

South B League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Queens Park Rangers 18 12 2 4 49 26 1.885 26
2 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 18 11 2 5 52 37 1.405 24
3 Chelsea 18 9 5 4 44 37 1.189 23
4 Reading 18 10 2 6 47 42 1.119 22
5 Brentford 18 8 2 8 42 41 1.024 18
6 Fulham 18 7 4 7 50 51 0.980 18
7 Portsmouth 18 7 2 9 37 42 0.881 16
8 Aldershot 18 5 4 9 38 49 0.776 14
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 18 5 1 12 42 53 0.792 11
10 Southampton 18 4 0 14 41 64 0.641 8
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

South C League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Tottenham Hotspur 18 11 4 3 43 30 1.433 26
2 West Ham United 18 10 4 4 53 28 1.893 24
3 Arsenal 18 9 5 4 41 26 1.577 23
4 Brentford 18 8 4 6 42 34 1.235 20
5 Millwall 18 7 5 6 36 30 1.200 19
6 Charlton Athletic 18 7 4 7 39 36 1.083 18
7 Fulham 18 8 1 9 38 42 0.905 17
8 Southampton 18 5 3 10 28 55 0.509 13
9 Chelsea 18 4 3 11 33 53 0.623 11
10 Portsmouth 18 3 3 12 26 45 0.578 9
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

South D League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Crystal Palace 18 13 1 4 64 30 2.133 27
2 Queens Park Rangers 18 10 3 5 38 28 1.357 23
3 Watford 18 7 7 4 41 29 1.414 21
4 Southend United 18 8 3 7 41 37 1.108 19
5 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 18 8 2 8 40 41 0.976 18
6 Aldershot 18 7 3 8 38 36 1.056 17
7 Clapton Orient 18 7 3 8 33 45 0.733 17
8 Norwich City 18 6 4 8 33 36 0.917 16
9 Reading 18 6 2 10 31 42 0.738 14
10 Brighton & Hove Albion 18 2 4 12 30 65 0.462 8
Source: "Season 1939-40". English Football Archive. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

See also

References
  • Smales, Ken (2006). "The 1940s". Nottingham Forest: The Official Statistical History. Pineapple Books.
  1. Football Statistics Archive
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