High Spirits: A History of the British League A football TL

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"It was the game of the people. What better way to unite the people after the war than to unify the game?"
-Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA 1934-1962


1945. The Second World War had ended and soon football across the United Kingdom would return to normal. However Stanley Rous, Secretary of the FA since 1932, was having a bath one cold November night. Sitting reading a newspaper article about football in Britain, Stanley had a thought. A league for the whole of the UK, where teams from Scotland, England and Wales can compete. For weeks after he designed the league before copying and submitting it to the FA and SFA. The FA seemed content with the idea but it took some effort to bring the SFA onside. However in January 1946, after long negotiations, the SFA finally agreed. Starting August 1946, the British League was created.

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The layout was basic: 16 teams would compete in the League. 6 teams from Scotland, 8 from England and 2 from Wales. That number was not static by any means though, the bottom 3 teams are relegated to their respective national divisions and the winners of the English and Scottish 1st Divisions enter automatically but the runners up enter play offs to decide who gets the empty space.

The teams in the first season were:

Scotland
Rangers
Hibernian
Celtic
Aberdeen
Dundee
Morton

Wales*
Swansea
Wrexham

England*
Everton
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Charlton Athletic
Middlesbrough
Arsenal
Derby County
Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City

*Figures taken from the 1938-1939 season highest placed from their respective nations

The stage was set for the beginning of the 1946/1947 season. People all over Britain waited for the British League to begin...

"I suppose the best thing about it was that after all, even the Jocks had agreed to it."
-Theo Kelly, Everton Manager 1939-1951
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So thoughts and suggestions are all welcome. I know that the SFA are quite independent about the way they do things but I decided to have that fierce independence give way to this idea.

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1946/1947 Season
Part 1
"The first Game"

"To all those who view the football match today,

The British League seeks to unite the people of Britain through football. All people present at the stadium or listening on radio at home, I simply say thank you. Your presence shows that the people care about the League which has been backed by not only the FA and SFA but the cabinet and of course myself, King George VI.
Good luck to all"
-Telegram sent to Vethc Field, Swansea, before kick off at the first ever BL game

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August 17th 1946

Swansea City

V

Arsenal

(Squad lists are a bitch to come by for this time period so I've had to improvise some)

Arsenal (Red shirt with white arms, white shorts, black socks with white top)Manager: George Allison

GK: George Swindin
DF: Laurie Scott
DF: George Male
DF: David Nelson
DF: Leslie Compton
MF: Kevin O' Flanagan
MF: Joe Mercer (C)
MF: George Curtis
FW: Cliff Bastin
FW: Reg Lewis
FW: Jimmy Logie

Swansea (White shirt, shorts, black socks)

Manager: Haydn Green

GK: Ivor Coll
DF: Reg Weston (C)
DF: Gryf Jones
DF: Richard West
DF: Adam Smith
MF: Rory Ovol
MF: David Sallin
MF: Bobby West
MF: Michael Beatty
FW: Trevor Ford
FW: Frank Rawcliffe

The Players line up and the captains stand in the centre, waiting on the referee to toss the coin.He flips the coin and points to Swansea.

0' Swansea kick off and Ford recieves the ball
2' Ford gets past Curtis but Mercer stops him, Arsenal have the ball
7' Arsenal slowly push forward
9' O'Flanagan crosses the ball into the box, Logie recieves GOAL! Logie shoots into the top right corner, sending Coll the wrong way
10' Swansea kick off
21' Both teams check any advance by the opposition
25' Curtis runs with the ball straight past the midfielders but is stopped by Weston FREEKICK TO ARSENAL
26' Bastin takes the freekick. GOAL! Bastin chips the ball past the wall and Lewis headers it past the keeper!
27' Swansea kick off again
32' Ford to Rawcliffe, Rawcliffe to Beatty, Beatty to Ford, Ford shoots! Saved by Swindin! Swindin proves why he's number one by that miraculous save
39' Swansea advance with the ball
41' Rawcliffe tackled by Scott, FREEKICK TO SWANSEA
42' Sallin misses the keeper by a mile!
45' 2 minutes stoppage time added
47' The ref blows his whislte to signify the end of the first half

Half Time: ARSENAL 2 SWANSEA 0 Goal Scorers: Jimmy Logie (9'), Reg Lewis (26')

45' The players assume postions as Arsenal kick off
51' Play is slow, Arsenal hold onto the ball
54' Mercer has the ball snatched off him by Sallin, Swansea move forward
55' Sallin to Ovol, Ovol to Beatty, Beatty runs rings around the Arsenal defenders
56' Beatty puts it through Nelson's legs and Rawcliffe recives it
57' Rawcliffe enters the box GOAL! Rawcliffe slams it past Swindin
58' Arsenal kick off
60' The game is centred on the midfield as the defense halts anything from getting out
70' Compton recieves the ball and clears it past Swansea forwards
71' Lewis takes the ball and sprints forward with it
73' Lewis to Bastin, Bastin advances
75' Bastin to O'Flanagan, O'Flanagan enters the box he chips it over Coll... GOAL! O'Flanagan probably seals the deal here that's Arsenals' third
76' Swansea kick off
86' The game is very slow and Arsenal toy with Swansea
89' 1 minute stoppage time added
91' The final whistle goes

Full Time: Arsenal open the British League in style by thrashing Swansea in this game. If they keep this up, they could easily win the lot.

Match Summary:
ARSENAL 2
SWANSEA 1

Goals: 9' (Logie, Arsenal) 26' (Lewis, Arsenal) 57' (Rawcliffe, Swansea) 75' (O'Flanagan, Arsenal)

League Table

Arsenal 3
Aberdeen 0
Bolton 0
Celtic 0
Charlton 0
Dundee 0
Derby 0
Everton 0
Hibernian 0
Middlesbrough 0
Morton 0
Rangers 0
Stoke City 0
Wolverhampton 0
Wrexham 0
Swansea 0

(Note: I'll only be doing major games in this form)

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1946/1947 season
PART 2

Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th of August 1946

Before three o'clock, when all the other games would kick off, the teams heard the news from Vetch Field. Arsenal had thrashed Swansea 3-1. That was the standard of football people now expected.

British Football News said:
FANTASTIC OPENING TO THE BRITISH LEAGUE!
The British League got off to a good start this Saturday with great goals scored in many games.
The highlight for me was Arsenal's victory 3-1 over Swansea at Vetch Field saw goals from Reg Lewis, Jimmy Logie and Kevin O'Flanagan secure a win.

Elsewhere around the country, five more games took place.
Stoke City 2 - 1 Everton
Bolton 3 - 0 Dundee
Wrexham 1 - 0 Middlesbrough
Rangers 1 - 1 Derby
Celtic 3 - 1 Charlton

An all round good day of football as Bolton lead the table.
Bolton 2
Arsenal 2
Celtic 2
Wrexham 2
Stoke City 2
Ranger 1
Derby 1
Morton 0
Aberdeen 0
Wolverhampton 0
Hibernian 0
Middlesbrough 0
Everton 0
Charlton 0
Swansea 0
Dundee 0
Two games were played on Sunday the 18th August.
Hibernian clashed with Wolverhampton in a ferocious draw that saw two players sent off. Morton hammered Aberdeen 4-1 in a spectacular game that saw Billy Steel of Morton netting a hat-trick and defender William Campbell secure the victory.

At the end of the weekend, the table looked like this:

Bolton 2
Morton 2
Arsenal 2
Celtic 2
Wrexham 2
Rangers 1
Derby 1
Wolverhampton 1
Hibernian 1
Middlesbrough 0
Everton 0
Charlton 0
Swansea 0
Aberdeen 0
Dundee 0

Short update but next will be more in depth.
Comments are always welcome.
 
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Just a wee nitpick, would it not be two points for a win in the forties?

Please carry on. Please. This sounds good. ;) :D
 
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This looks really good, how are you making the results? Using Football Manger or something? I like it, backing Morton for the championship :)
 
Just a wee nitpick, would it not be two points for a win in the forties?

Please carry on. Please. This sounds good. ;) :D

This looks really good, how are you making the results? Using Football Manger or something? I like it, backing Morton for the championship :)
Hmm seems at least two people are interested.
Oddly I didin't know about the two points thing in the forties. Researching football back then and missing that!

To simulate results I use my own wee system that is a secret (random number generator if the two sides seem equal enough, take into account more details if the sides are a bit spilt apart, as well as in all games giving the home team a slight advantage)

For anyone interested I'll get a new part up.
 
It's good, but I expect we will see Rangers relegated in a landslide while Celtic cruise to the top going by your sig. :D
 
1946/1947 Season
Part 3
August 24th, 25th, 31st and September 1st

Weeks 2 and 3 of the Season saw Arsenal take the lead with 6 points and keep up perfomances with two remarkable wins, first against Bolton (2-0) and then against Stoke (2-1).

British League Daily said:
WEEKEND FOOTBALL BEST YET!

Arsenal on top as Bolton falter!

Middlesbrough 0 - 2 Morton
Rangers 1 - 0 Celtic
Aberdeen 0 - 0 Wrexham
Wolverhampton 2 - 1 Stoke
Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton
Dundee 0 - 0 Swansea
Charlton 1-0 Hibernian
Everton 2-2 Derby
The League Table now reads:

Arsenal 4
Morton 4
Rangers 3
Wolverhamtpon 3
Wrexham 3
Bolton 2
Stoke City 2
Celtic 2
Charlton 2
Derby 2
Hibernian 1
Everton 1
Dundee 1
Aberdeen 1
Swansea 1
Middlesbrough 0

Arsenal were a powerhouse in the 1930's. Stars like Cliff Bastin, Bryn Jones, Reg Lewis, Jimmy Logie and George Male returned after the war to a side that seemed to be lacking. Many bookies had George Allison's side down as underdogs going into the Swansea game. The bookies were proved wrong when Arsenal smashed the Welsh side, leaving them demoralised and many around the nation astounded.

Arsenal

Colours: arsenal-1946-1958_ef.gif
Manager: George Allison
Grounds: Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London
Bookies' odds of winning League: 4:1
Star Players: Cliff Bastin, Reg Lewis, Jimmy Logie, George Swindin
Main Starting 11:

GK: George Swindin
DF: Laurie Scott
DF: George Male
DF: David Nelson
DF: Leslie Compton
MF: Kevin O'Flanagan
MF: Joe Mercer
MF: George Curtis
FW: Cliff Bastin (C)
FW: Reg Lewis
FW: Jimmy Logie

Football UK said:
THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER!
British League dominates headlines around the world!
The British League has made headlines around the world from Donegal to Dehli as footballers get prepared for the Home Nations Cup. Each player will want to win a cap for his country and England definate picks are: Reg Lewis, George Swindin and Wolverhampton star Dennis Westcott.
Results of the Weekend
August 31st & September 1st

Celtic 0-1 Wolverhampton
Morton 1 - 1 Rangers
Wrexham 2 -0 Dundee
Stoke 1- 2 Arsenal
Bolton 3 -0 Everton
Swansea 0- 1 Aberdeen
Hibernian 0- 0 Charlton
Derby 2-0 Middlesbrough

The League table at the end of September 1st was as follows:

Arsenal 6
Morton 5
Wolverhampton 5
Derby 4
Wrexham 5
Bolton 4
Rangers 4
Charlton 3
Aberdeen 3
Stoke City 2
Celtic 2
Hibernian 1
Everton 1
Dundee 1
Swansea 1
Middlesbrough 0

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So comments? Suggestions? Nitpicks?

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