1954–55 in English football

The 1954–1955 season was the 75th season of competitive football in England, from August 1954 to May 1955.

Overview

Chelsea, managed by legendary former Arsenal forward Ted Drake, celebrate their 50th anniversary by winning the league championship. They finish four points ahead of their nearest three rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Manchester United's new-look side with an emphasis on youth finish fifth, their title hopes dashed only by a slow start to the season. Just before the end of the season, their 18-year-old half-back Duncan Edwards becomes the youngest full England international of the 20th century.

Tottenham Hotspur can only manage a 16th-place finish in the First Division, despite the acquisition of skilful half-back Danny Blanchflower from Aston Villa.

This was the first season in Liverpool F.C.'s history in which they had played in the second division and not been champions. They had had three seasons in the division previously - 1893–94, 1895–96 and 1904–05, and were immediately promoted as champions each time.

Newcastle United win the FA Cup for the sixth time, matching the record set by Aston Villa. Three of those victories have come in the last five seasons.

UEFA announces that the European Champions Cup will be introduced from next season, to be contested between the champions of European domestic leagues, including those from Eastern Bloc countries.

Events

• 29 September 1954 – Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers and FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion share the Charity Shield after a 4–4 draw.
• 16 November 1954 – Wolverhampton Wanderers defeat Spartak Moscow 4–0 at Molineux, a team widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
• 11 December 1954 - Liverpool suffer the heaviest defeat of their history, losing 9-1 at Birmingham City in the Second Division.[1]
• 13 December 1954 – Wolves restore some pride to English football with a 3–2 win over Budapest Honvéd FC of Hungary, a team containing seven Hungarian internationals who defeated England 6–3 at Wembley in 1953, including Ferenc Puskás. It prompts the famous newspaper headline, which proclaims Wolves as the champions of the world.
• April 1955 – Gabriel Hanot's proposal for a European Champions' Cup is formally endorsed at the UEFA Congress.
• 2 April 1955 – England win the British Home Championship after a 7–2 defeat of Scotland, in which the 40-year-old Stanley Matthews creates five goals and the 18-year-old Manchester United protégé Duncan Edwards makes his debut.
• 16 April 1955 - Chelsea go four points clear of reigning league champions Wolverhampton in second with a draw with Portsmouth: the Londoners have two matches remaining of the season while Wolves have three. Six points behind the Pensioners are Portsmouth, Sunderland and Manchester City: the latter are chasing the Double, having qualified for the 1955 FA Cup Final.[2]
• 18 April 1955 – Inauguration of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
• 23 April 1955 – Chelsea secure the championship with a 3–0 home win against Sheffield Wednesday.
• 4 May 1955 – Birmingham City win 5–1 at Doncaster Rovers to finish level on points with both Luton Town and Rotherham United in the Second Division. On goal average, Birmingham are promoted as champions, Luton as runners-up while Rotherham miss out.
• 7 May 1955 – Newcastle United win the FA Cup, defeating Manchester City 3–1 at Wembley. Jackie Milburn opens the scoring after just 45 seconds – a Wembley Cup final record which stands for the next 42 years.

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Chelsea (1)	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Birmingham City	Luton Town
Third Division North	Barnsley	Accrington Stanley
Third Division South	Bristol City	Leyton Orient
FA Cup	Newcastle United (6*)	Manchester City
Charity Shield	Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion (shared)
Home Championship	England	Scotland

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Awards

Football Writers' Association

• Footballer of the Year – Don Revie (Manchester City)

Top goalscorer

• Ronnie Allen (West Bromwich Albion), 27

Football League

Main article: 1954–55 Football League

First Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Chelsea	42	20	12	10	81	57	1.421	52
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	19	10	13	89	70	1.271	48
3	Portsmouth	42	18	12	12	74	62	1.194	48
4	Sunderland	42	15	18	9	64	54	1.185	48
5	Manchester United	42	20	7	15	84	74	1.135	47
6	Aston Villa	42	20	7	15	72	73	0.986	47
7	Manchester City	42	18	10	14	76	69	1.101	46
8	Newcastle United	42	17	9	16	89	77	1.156	43
9	Arsenal	42	17	9	16	69	63	1.095	43
10	Burnley	42	17	9	16	51	48	1.063	43
11	Everton	42	16	10	16	62	68	0.912	42
12	Huddersfield Town	42	14	13	15	63	68	0.926	41
13	Sheffield United	42	17	7	18	70	86	0.814	41
14	Preston North End	42	16	8	18	83	64	1.297	40
15	Charlton Athletic	42	15	10	17	76	75	1.013	40
16	Tottenham Hotspur	42	16	8	18	72	73	0.986	40
17	West Bromwich Albion	42	16	8	18	76	96	0.792	40
18	Bolton Wanderers	42	13	13	16	62	69	0.899	39
19	Blackpool	42	14	10	18	60	64	0.938	38
20	Cardiff City	42	13	11	18	62	76	0.816	37
21	Leicester City	42	12	11	19	74	86	0.860	35	Relegated to the Second Division
22	Sheffield Wednesday	42	8	10	24	63	100	0.630	26

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Second Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Birmingham City	42	22	10	10	92	47	1.957	54	Promoted to the First Division
2	Luton Town	42	23	8	11	88	53	1.660	54
3	Rotherham United	42	25	4	13	94	64	1.469	54
4	Leeds United	42	23	7	12	70	53	1.321	53
5	Stoke City	42	21	10	11	69	46	1.500	52
6	Blackburn Rovers	42	22	6	14	114	79	1.443	50
7	Notts County	42	21	6	15	74	71	1.042	48
8	West Ham United	42	18	10	14	74	70	1.057	46
9	Bristol Rovers	42	19	7	16	75	70	1.071	45
10	Swansea Town	42	17	9	16	86	83	1.036	43
11	Liverpool	42	16	10	16	92	96	0.958	42
12	Middlesbrough	42	18	6	18	73	82	0.890	42
13	Bury	42	15	11	16	77	72	1.069	41
14	Fulham	42	14	11	17	76	79	0.962	39
15	Nottingham Forest	42	16	7	19	58	62	0.935	39
16	Lincoln City	42	13	10	19	68	79	0.861	36
17	Port Vale	42	12	11	19	48	71	0.676	35
18	Doncaster Rovers	42	14	7	21	58	95	0.611	35
19	Hull City	42	12	10	20	44	69	0.638	34
20	Plymouth Argyle	42	12	7	23	57	82	0.695	31
21	Ipswich Town	42	11	6	25	57	92	0.620	28	Relegated to the Third Division South
22	Derby County	42	7	9	26	53	82	0.646	23	Relegated to the Third Division North

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division North

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Barnsley	46	30	5	11	86	46	1.870	65	Promoted to the Second Division
2	Accrington Stanley	46	25	11	10	96	67	1.433	61
3	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	46	23	12	11	81	53	1.528	58
4	York City	46	24	10	12	92	63	1.460	58
5	Hartlepools United	46	25	5	16	64	49	1.306	55
6	Chesterfield	46	24	6	16	81	70	1.157	54
7	Gateshead	46	20	12	14	65	69	0.942	52
8	Workington	46	18	14	14	68	55	1.236	50
9	Stockport County	46	18	12	16	84	70	1.200	48
10	Oldham Athletic	46	19	10	17	74	68	1.088	48
11	Southport	46	16	16	14	47	44	1.068	48
12	Rochdale	46	17	14	15	69	66	1.045	48
13	Mansfield Town	46	18	9	19	65	71	0.915	45
14	Halifax Town	46	15	13	18	63	67	0.940	43
15	Darlington	46	14	14	18	62	73	0.849	42
16	Bradford Park Avenue	46	15	11	20	56	70	0.800	41
17	Barrow	46	17	6	23	70	89	0.787	40
18	Wrexham	46	13	12	21	65	77	0.844	38
19	Tranmere Rovers	46	13	11	22	55	70	0.786	37
20	Carlisle United	46	15	6	25	78	89	0.876	36
21	Bradford City	46	13	10	23	47	55	0.855	36
22	Crewe Alexandra	46	10	14	22	68	91	0.747	34
23	Grimsby Town	46	13	8	25	47	78	0.603	34	Re-elected
24	Chester	46	12	9	25	44	77	0.571	33

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division South

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Bristol City	46	30	10	6	101	47	2.149	70	Promoted to the Second Division
2	Leyton Orient	46	26	9	11	89	47	1.894	61
3	Southampton	46	24	11	11	75	51	1.471	59
4	Gillingham	46	20	15	11	77	66	1.167	55
5	Millwall	46	20	11	15	72	68	1.059	51
6	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	20	10	16	76	63	1.206	50
7	Watford	46	18	14	14	71	62	1.145	50
8	Torquay United	46	18	12	16	82	82	1.000	48
9	Coventry City	46	18	11	17	67	59	1.136	47
10	Southend United	46	17	12	17	83	80	1.038	46
11	Brentford	46	16	14	16	82	82	1.000	46
12	Norwich City	46	18	10	18	60	60	1.000	46
13	Northampton Town	46	19	8	19	73	81	0.901	46
14	Aldershot	46	16	13	17	75	71	1.056	45
15	Queens Park Rangers	46	15	14	17	69	75	0.920	44
16	Shrewsbury Town	46	16	10	20	70	78	0.897	42
17	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	12	18	16	57	65	0.877	42
18	Reading	46	13	15	18	65	73	0.890	41
19	Newport County	46	11	16	19	60	73	0.822	38
20	Crystal Palace	46	11	16	19	52	80	0.650	38
21	Swindon Town	46	11	15	20	46	64	0.719	37
22	Exeter City	46	11	15	20	47	73	0.644	37
23	Walsall	46	10	14	22	75	86	0.872	34	Re-elected
24	Colchester United	46	9	13	24	53	91	0.582	31

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Top goalscorers

First Division

• Ronnie Allen (West Bromwich) – 27 goals[3]

Second Division

• Tommy Briggs (Blackburn Rovers) – 33 goals[3]

Third Division North

• Don Travis (Oldham Athletic), John Connor (Stockport County) and Arthur Bottom (York City) – 30 goals[4]

Third Division South

• Ernie Morgan (Gillingham) – 31 goals[4]

Non-League honours

Competition	Winners
Isthmian League	Walthamstow Avenue
FA Amateur Cup	Bishop Auckland

National team

Date	Opposition	Venue	Competition	Result	Score
2 Oct 1954	Northern Ireland	Windsor Park, Belfast	British Championship	Won	2–0
10 Nov 1954	Wales	Wembley Stadium	British Championship	Won	3–2
1 Dec 1954	West Germany	Wembley Stadium	Friendly	Won	3–1
2 April 1955	Scotland	Wembley Stadium	British Championship	Won	7–2
15 May 1955	France	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris	Friendly	Lost	0–1
18 May 1955	Spain	Nuevo Estadio Chamartin, Madrid	Friendly	Drew	1–1
22 May 1955	Portugal	Estadio das Antas, Oporto	Friendly	Lost	1–3

References

2. "Chelsea nears English League Soccer Championship". The Gazette. Montreal. Associated Press. 18 April 1955. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
3. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
4. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.