The Strange Case Of The Dog That Was Never Found : A Football TL

Pete U

In January 1902, Newton Heath FC were in serious danger of going out of business, and were the subject of a winding up order. They were saved by a group of local businessmen, led by John Henry Davies, who only became interested when he found a dog that had escaped from a fundraising event, with which his daughter became smitten (the dog, not the event).

In April 1902, with survival secured, Newton Heath FC were renamed Manchester United FC.

But what if the dog never escapes from the fundraiser....
 

Pete U

The Manchester Guardian, Monday 20th January 1902

"The financial travails of Newton Heath FC continued, as the ongoing winding up order meant the club was again unable to fulfill its' fixture in the Second League this weekend. Any hope of a new club being built from the ashes seem to be fading, as no new investors are forthcoming to support the stricken club"


The Manchester Guardian, Friday 24th January 1902

"...the court found in favour of the President of Newton Heath, William Healey, and decreed that the full amount of £242 17s. 10d. should be paid in full by the club. As the club was unable to provide said funds, it was declared bankrupt..."

Football League statement, Tuesday 28th January 1902

"...as Newton Heath Football Club are unable to complete their fixture obligations through reasons of bankruptcy, said club will be removed from the competition forthwith, and their results expunged...."
 

Pete U

The expunging of Newton Heath's records from the league standings had very little impact on the overall positions of the other clubs in the Second Division.

West Bromwich Albion won the division, and Middlesbrough were promoted alongside them, 8 points ahead of third placed Lincoln City. Small Heath and Manchester City were relegated from Division One, meaning football in Manchester was struggling. Walsall Town Swifts were elected to the league to replace the fallen club, and would start playing league football in 1902-03.

Sunderland won their fourth league title, whilst Sheffield United lifted the FA Cup for the second time.

[Note: The next club to be elected to the Football League, Bradford City, were not founded until 1903 (and joined the league without playing a game). As they don't yet exist, I've gone with the League voting for the only other side to apply that year - I've changed this from Spurs, who I had originally put in there]
 
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MatthewFirth

Very good start.
I were planning an international football timeline, but it'll be interesting to see how it fits in here first.
 
Meadow

Meadow

Will Kürlich Kerl said:
For those Americans out there, Football refers to soccer.
Click to expand...

Actually, it refers to Association Football. As opposed to Rugby Football (Union or League), American Football, Canadian Football, Gaelic Football and various others. Typical for the Yanks to come up with a shorthand just for themselves ;)
 

Will Ritson

DocU said:
The expunging of Newton Heath's records from the league standings had very little impact on the overall positions of the other clubs in the Second Division.

West Bromwich Albion won the division, and Middlesbrough were promoted alongside them, 8 points ahead of third placed Lincoln City. Small Heath and Manchester City were relegated from Division One, meaning football in Manchester was struggling. Tottenham Hotspur were elected to the league to replace the fallen club, and would start playing league football in 1902-03.

Sunderland won their fourth league title, whilst Sheffield United lifted the FA Cup for the second time.

[Note: The next club to be elected to the Football League, Bradford City, were not founded until 1903 (and joined the league without playing a game). As they don't yet exist, I've gone with the League voting for the only non-league side ever to win the cup, although I think a case could be made for Southampton]
Click to expand...
This is an interesting turn of events. It's worth noting that the likes of Bradford City were already in existence, only playing rugby league. In Bradford's case they were Manningham FC, playing out of Valley Parade and had recently won the Northern Union Championship. Yorkshire and, to a lesser extent, south Lancashire, at this time were dominated by rugby league, and the Football League was keen to get a strong foothold in such counties. Rugby Union is still in turmoil, having recently lost around half of it's national clubs (essentially it's two strongest counties) and the bulk of the England team. It still isn't clear at this point whether the urban Midlands clubs (Leicester Tigers, Coventry etc.) and the Welsh coalfield teams will also switch to league.
 

Pete U

Will Ritson said:
This is an interesting turn of events. It's worth noting that the likes of Bradford City were already in existence, only playing rugby league. In Bradford's case they were Manningham FC, playing out of Valley Parade and had recently won the Northern Union Championship. Yorkshire and, to a lesser extent, south Lancashire, at this time were dominated by rugby league, and the Football League was keen to get a strong foothold in such counties. Rugby Union is still in turmoil, having recently lost around half of it's national clubs (essentially it's two strongest counties) and the bulk of the England team. It still isn't clear at this point whether the urban Midlands clubs (Leicester Tigers, Coventry etc.) and the Welsh coalfield teams will also switch to league.
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Interestingly, it looks like Manningham FC were in financial trouble in 1902-03, and the meeting to encourage them to switch codes took place in Jan 1903, after the POD. With Newton Heath folding, I'm not sure that the FL would chase another club with financial issues, but there is another team that would fit the bill...

And a bit better research means I have amended the new team to the one other that applied for FL membership at the end of 1901-02
 
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Pete U

The Football League 1902-03

First Division
Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Bury
Derby County
Everton
Grimsby Town
Liverpool
Middlesbrough
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Notts County
Sheffield United
Stoke City
Sunderland
The Wednesday
West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division

Barnsley
Blackpool
Bristol City
Burnley
Burslem Port Vale
Burton United
Chesterfield
Doncaster Rovers
Gainsborough Trinity
Glossop
Leicester Fosse
Lincoln City
Manchester City
Preston North End
Small Heath
Stockport County
Walsall Town Swifts
Woolwich Arsenal
 
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Pete U

The main beneficiaries of the collapse of Newton Heath were two other nearby clubs, Manchester City and Stockport County, who were in prime position to sign the players cut adrift. The recently relegated City were able to bolster their squad, which had been expected to make a quick return to the top flight. Stockport, who had finished second bottom the previous season, were able to build a team that, while not expected to be pushing for promotion, would be capable of achieving a mid-table finish.
 

Pete U

While the 1902-03 season was ongoing, the Football League was actively looking for areas where the professional game could be expanded into. The prime area of interest was the West Riding of Yorkshire, which was dominated by the Rugby League. Discussions were led by a Bradford journalist, James Whyte, and initially involved Whyte, the Football League and Manningham FC.

However, it became clear that Manningham's financial situation was perilous, and League officials were concerned about the impact of another club folding after Newton Heath. Fortunately, Bradford had another club, Bradford FC, who were a much more stable operation. After lengthy discussions, Bradford FC were encouraged to submit an application to the Football League, and were, on the quiet, guaranteed election to the Second Division for the 1903-04 season. This course of action would not meet with the approval of the whole club...
 

Will Ritson

DocU said:
After lengthy discussions, Bradford FC were encouraged to submit an application to the Football League, and were, on the quiet, guaranteed election to the Second Division for the 1903-04 season. This course of action would not meet with the approval of the whole club...
Click to expand...
"Northern, Northern"
 

Pete U

Excerpt from "100 Years Of Football In The Shade", Picador Press, 2003

After Newton Heath folded, the Bank Street stadium had no tenant. Interest in football was still high in Manchester and the surrounding towns, and a group of local businessmen saw the potential in owning a new city centre club. After lengthy negotiations, Manchester Central FC was officially founded on 17th March 1903, and adverts for players were placed soon afterwards.

The club's aim was League football, but the board took the view that a solid base had to be established before that could happen. The club applied to join the Midland League, rather than the Lancashire League, as it was perceived as a better competition, and also Midland League clubs had a good track record of being elected into the Football League. The club was accepted, and would begin playing in the 1903-04 season
 
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