By Tony Attwood
Arsenal entered November 1924 in 7th position, with their first match of the month away to Bolton who were sitting three points below Arsenal.
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GAvg | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Birmingham City | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 1.000 | 16 |
2 | Huddersfield Town | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 2.667 | 15 |
3 | Notts County | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 1.857 | 15 |
4 | West Bromwich Albion | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 1.556 | 15 |
5 | Sunderland | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 11 | 1.909 | 14 |
6 | Manchester City | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 27 | 19 | 1.421 | 14 |
7 | Arsenal | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 1.091 | 14 |
8 | Bury | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 18 | 1.000 | 14 |
9 | Liverpool | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 14 | 1.357 | 13 |
10 | Aston Villa | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 16 | 1.188 | 13 |
11 | Blackburn Rovers | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 19 | 1.000 | 13 |
12 | West Ham United | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 0.917 | 13 |
13 | Newcastle United | 13 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 16 | 1.125 | 12 |
14 | Leeds United | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 1.000 | 12 |
15 | Bolton Wanderers | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 16 | 1.125 | 11 |
Bolton had two wins and two draws in their last four games, and on this occasion kept up the run with a comfortable 4-1 win that seemed to suggest that Arsenal’s good run earlier in the season was now over.
Arsenal’s win and the draw at the end of October after the defeats to Bury and Huddersfield had steadied the ship a little but losing 1-4 away to Bolton on the 1st of the month did remind supporters of the four goals conceded against the champions in the second week of October. Conceding four twice in five games suggested things were not right in defence especially as Bolton were 15th in the league.
Arsenal used exactly the same team as had played against Tottenham and they had exactly the same player score the only goal: Jimmy Brain playing at inside right. But Bolton were in a rich vein of form as their unbeaten run extended on through this game and indeed reached nine games in total. In fact apart from this 4-1 victory, the run included a 6-1 win over Preston and a 5-0 win over West Ham. Their position in the league belied the new strength they had found.
Most worrying for Arsenal was that despite their earlier success, Arsenal now had a shocking away form with one win and one draw out of five, having scored four and conceded nine. Their one hope had been to stop Bolton scoring and then keep them frustrated while Brain or Wood nipped in with a goal. That last part happened as Brain got his second goal in two games, but the defence simply didn’t get to grips with the fact that although Bolton’s home form was not as good as Arsenal’s (in fact no one’s home form was as good as Arsenal) they had only been beaten once at home in the League, which made Arsenal’s task even more difficult.
And Arsenal sank into the bottom half of the table, with the knowledge that two of the teams immediately below them had games in hand.
The following day Sunday 2 November, the Sunday Express became the first newspaper in the world to publish a crossword. Complete with instructions on what one had to do. At least it might have proved a diversion from the football.
However beyond Arsenal’s parochial concerns more interest was focused on the fact that the league table now had new leaders in the shape of Notts County – the team Arsenal had to play next. Founder members of the League, County had never won the 1st division but they had won the 2nd division three times, and the FA Cup once. However they were existing on crowds of under half those of Arsenal (just 13,350) and indeed less than Millwall of the 3rd Division (South). Only their neighbours Nottingham Forest had a lower average crowd in the first division.
Away from home County had won three, lost three and drawn one, having scored just six and conceded the same number. In fact, although they had a very average attack they had the best defence in the league.
On the same day that Arsenal played County (8 November 1924) Robert Turnbull, Arsenal’s record scorer of the entire Knighton era (with 20 goals in 35 league games in 1922/3), was transferred to Charlton Athletic. In all he played 59 league games and scored 26 goals. But he had played 18 games in the previous season and scored just six goals and it was felt his time was past. One can only hope that Knighton followed what Turnbull got up to subsequently and contemplated his own part in the player’s decline – and the number of goals he scored thereafter.
Meanwhile The Times column on the County game said it was “an unpleasant game to watch” and this comment reveals to us another part of County’s new found success: a combination of the offside trap plus pure thuggery. They even had a player sent off in this match – Cock – a rarity in the 1920s, but even after that Arsenal could not battle through the ten man defence. No one watching the game had much doubt why the crowds were so low.
Arsenal were now 14th in the league, just one point and one place above Tottenham, although six clear of Burnley in 21st. What had looked for a brief moment like a great triumph of a season in the local derby now looked like the preface to another Knighton disaster season.
On 10 November Arsenal played in the second round of the London FA Charity Cup, this time away to West Ham. As always Arsenal played predominantly their first team although Tom Whittaker got a game. 0-2 down at half time Arsenal lost 1-4. G. Colin also got a game – his only first team match. Mackie got the goal – a penalty.
But then things turned round once again for on 15 November Arsenal played Everton in Liverpool and won 2-3. Everton started the day two points and three places below Arsenal, and Arsenal as we have noted had a poor away record. But most of all Everton were extraordinarily erratic.
In September and October they had gone eight league games without a win, including four straight defeats. Then they reversed the trend and went four without defeat. But this loss to Arsenal was the first of four straight defeats!
Add to this the fact that Everton’s home form was poor – they had only won two games out of six before the Arsenal match, and there was a chance of anything turning up. Here’s the Daily Mirror report, retrieved by Andy Kelly which takes us onto another issue.
Curious Incident in Game with Everton at Goodison Park
“Few people expected the Arsenal to win at Goodison Park. Everton pressed in the first half, but could not beat a fine defence, and just on the interval Ramsay scored for the Arsenal.
“Everton made all the pace at the start of the second half. Irvine soon equalised, and Hargreaves gave Everton the lead. In a dingdong finish Young equalised and then Ramsay scored the winning goal
“There was a curious incident in the game. The F.A., in changing the corner kick rule, did not say that the ball should not be played twice in succession by the same player. Chedgzoy, in taking a corner, hit the ball ten yards, and, following-up, sent in shot before another player had touched it. The referee obviously agreed with Chedgzoy’s idea of the rule for he waved for the play to proceed.”
So what was going on?
In an Fifa commentary on the change of rules to allow goals to be scored direct from corners it is suggested that this Everton v Arsenal game was the first in which this mistake in the rule change was exploited. The Fifa commentary is erratic, but it gives us enough to confirm the Daily Mirror report.
Here’s what they say…
“Way back in June 1924, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) modified article 11 of the Laws of the Game to allow goals to be scored directly from a corner kick for the first time. Upon reading about said change, a sports journalist from Liverpool called Ernest Edwards found a loophole in the new edict, which he shared with the powers-that-be at Everton: “There’s nothing in the book as it stands to prevent you dribbling the ball right into the middle instead of kicking it from the corner. Why not try it out and see what happens?”
“Edwards had an ideal accomplice for his experiment in the shape of Everton’s then forward and usual corner-taker Sam Chedgzoy. Following Edwards’ suggestion in a game against Woolwich Arsenal, Chedgzoy placed the ball for a corner kick before calmly dribbling it goalwards, while everyone present looked on in amazement. When the referee began to reprimand him, the winger simply asked him, “What’s in the rules to stop me doing it?”
Of course there was no Woolwich Arsenal FC in that season but as we have seen above Arsenal certainly did play Everton in that season.
But now the story gets odd, because elsewhere in the article it says that following the event there was “an emergency meeting of the IFAB, who amended the rules in early August 1924. The first goal struck after the rule change was scored by Billy Alston later that month in Scottish second-division action, although the first to be dubbed a gol olímpico would not come until October.”
That would suggest the rule was modified in June 1924, and supposedly Everton played Woolwich Arsenal and then the rule was changed again in August 1924. Which makes no sense. But Andy’s finding of the Mirror report confirms it was in this match away to Everton that it all took place – Fifa simply have the dates wrong, and the name of Arsenal.
Ramsay got two of the goals – his first goals since the opening game of the season, while Young, returning to the centre forward role he had occupied in the previous season off and on, scored the other.
But I want to stay for a moment longer with the corner kick rule, since as we have already seen, this is the season at the end of which the rules were changed in relation to the offside law. Two things are to be learned here: one that the writing of the rules was sloppy and not properly checked, and the other that even Fifa don’t have proper records of proceedings.
This is important when we come to discuss the offside law – which as we have seen was causing concern on the basis that it was reducing the entertainment level and thus reducing crowds.
But will come later. For now we move on to 22 November as Arsenal returned to Highbury and played a goalless draw with Sunderland. Sunderland were second in the league before the game, equal on points with Notts County who were still topping the table. And Sunderland’s away form was good – they had won four and drawn one of their eight away games thus far, so the goalless draw was another step on the road to recovery for Arsenal, if not very entertaining for the fans.
On the same day Sidney Hoar was purchased from Luton for £3000 (and remember we were still in the era of “no transfer over £1000 according to Knighton, and closer than ever to Knighton to the writing his memories. He really ought to have remembered that purchase.
Although he had played on both wings for Luton, Hoar played more often on the right than the left for Arsenal under Knighton – in fact all his 19 goals in this season were on the right wing with first Toner and then Haden sharing duties on the left. Even the arrival of Chapman as manager in 1925, and the transfer in of Joe Hulme in 1926 did not stop Hoar playing an important part in the team. It is said in some reports that Joe Hulme, who cost much the same as Syd Hoar, and was a tremendous success forced Hoar out out of the team, but this was not the case.
Indeed it was Hoar’s ability to play on the left and right wings that helped him force himself back in the side later in his career. He played at outside left all the way through the 1927 cup run, including the final, and played his last game for the club on 2 March 1929.
He then left Arsenal in September 1929 for Clapton Orient for a fee of £1,000 having played 117 matches for Arsenal and scored 18 goals. Hoar played at Orient for one season before retiring in the summer of 1930 at the age of 35.
Thus I think on occasion Knighton deserves credit for some of his transfers. He lacked the skill of Chapman to meld a team, and his reputation is forever soured by the lies he made up for his autobiography, but his network of scouts (who were not wound up by Sir Henry we might note although that is also what he claimed) served him well.
Back with the football the month ended with another good result for the club against with Cardiff City. Arsenal were sitting 12th in the league and Everton five points behind in 18th.
Thus Arsenal were not at the dizzy heights of earlier in the campaign, but their free fall down the table with six defeats in ten games between 17 September and 8 November seemed to have come to an end. Indeed although the 1-1 away draw with Cardiff was hardly a stunning victory it did suggest more stability. After all the club had not lost in three.
Young played his third game as centre forward and got his first goal, and Brain returned after missing two games through injury. But it was Lewis in goal whom the press made star of the show. There was talk that he could go on to great things, as could Brain.
Here is the top of the league table at the end of November 1924…
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GAvg | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Notts County | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 2.286 | 22 |
2 | Sunderland | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 19 | 1.579 | 22 |
3 | Birmingham City | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 19 | 1.000 | 22 |
4 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 13 | 1.615 | 21 |
5 | Huddersfield Town | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 12 | 1.833 | 20 |
6 | Bolton Wanderers | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 32 | 19 | 1.684 | 20 |
7 | Aston Villa | 17 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 28 | 21 | 1.333 | 20 |
8 | Newcastle United | 18 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 27 | 19 | 1.421 | 19 |
9 | Manchester City | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 37 | 31 | 1.194 | 19 |
10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 18 | 1.389 | 18 |
11 | Arsenal | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 19 | 0.895 | 18 |
And here is a list of the games for the month
Rnd | Date | Opposition | H/A | Comp | Res | Score | Crowd |
13 | 01/11/1924 | Bolton Wanderers | A | FL | L | 1-4 | 18,000 |
14 | 08/11/1924 | Notts County | H | FL | L | 0-1 | 35,000 |
2 | 10/11/1924 | West Ham United | A | LFACC | L | 1-4 | 10,000 |
15 | 15/11/1924 | Everton | A | FL | W | 3-2 | 20,000 |
16 | 22/11/1924 | Sunderland | H | FL | D | 0-0 | 35,000 |
17 | 29/11/1924 | Cardiff City | A | FL | D | 1-1 | 20,000 |
We are currently evolving a complete series on Henry Norris at the Arsenal.
Perhaps the most popular element in the Norris story is that of Arsenal’s promotion to the first division in 1919. The most complete review of this, which puts right the numerous misunderstandings of the events of that year appears, and most importantly cites contemporary articles and reports, such as the minutes of the FA meeting where the promotion was confirmed, and the reports in local papers thereafter, is set out below in these articles.
After that there is a complete index of all the articles in the series in chronological order.
The preliminaries
- April 1915: New revelations concerning perhaps the most important month in Arsenal’s history
- November / December 1915: the match fixing scandal comes to the fore: Norris is armed
The voting and the comments before and after the election
- The first suggestion that Arsenal could be elected to the 1st division.
- Arsenal in January 1919: rioting in the streets and the question of promotion
- What the media said about the election of Arsenal to the 1st division in 1919
- Arsenal prepare for the vote on who should be promoted to the First Division
- March 1919: The vote to extend the league and what the media said
- Why did the clubs vote for Arsenal rather than Tottenham in March 1919?
The Second Libel
The Third Allegation
The Fourth Allegation
Did Henry Norris really beg Leslie Knighton to stay and offer him the hugest bonus ever? And if so, why were there no new players?
- May/June 1921: Knighton the fantasist. The fourth allegation.
- Why did Arsenal manager Knighton turn down Man City but not buy players? Summer of 1921.
The Fifth Story:
The Sixth Allegation
- March 1922: Desperate times for Arsenal, Norris returns and the transfer limit allegation overturned
The Seventh Allegation
- Arsenal in the Summer 1923: another Knighton allegation but the evidence is again against him.
- Anticipation a plenty but another terrible start to the season: August 1923 – the non-signing of Moffatt.
Here’s the year by year account. We’re adding two or three new articles a week.
The Henry Norris Files Section 1 – 1910.
- Part 1. How Arsenal fell from grace.
- Part 2: heading for liquidation and the first thought of moving elsewhere
- Part 3: March and April 1910 – the crisis deepens
- Part 4: the proposed mergers with Tottenham and Chelsea.
- Part 5: The collapse of Woolwich Arsenal: how the rescue took shape.
- Part 6: It’s agreed, Arsenal stay in Plumstead for one (no two) years
- Part 7: Completing the takeover and preparing for the new season
- Part 8: July to December 1910. Bad news all round.
Section 2 – 1911
Section 3 – 1912
- 11: 1912 and Arsenal plan to move away from Plumstead
- 12: How Henry Norris chose Highbury as Arsenal’s new ground
- 13: Amid protests from the locals Arsenal’s future is secured
- 14: Arsenal relegated amidst allegations of match fixing
Section 4 – 1913
- How Henry Norris secured Highbury for Arsenal in 1913.
- Norris at the Arsenal: 1913 and the opening weeks at Highbury
- When Highbury opened, and “Victoria Concordia Crescit” was introduced
- The players who launched Arsenal’s rebirth and Arsenal’s games in October 1913.
- The rebirth of Arsenal after the move to Highbury: November 1913.
- December 1913, the alleged redcurrent shirts, and Chapman comes to Highbury for the first time
Section 5 – 1914
- Arsenal’s first ever FA Cup match at Highbury and a challenge for promotion: Jan 1914
- Arsenal February and March 1914; the wall falls down, the team slips up.
- The end of Woolwich Arsenal and of the first season at Highbury.
- Arsenal at the end of the world: May to August 1914.
- The newly named The Arsenal start their first season and go top of the League
- As the death toll mounts Arsenal keep playing: October 1914
- November 1914: The Times journalist goes to a reserve match without realising it.
- December 1914: The Footballers’ Battalion formed by Arsenal chairman and others
Section 6 – 1915
- January 1915: Arsenal players start to leave their club for their country
- Arsenal in February and March 1915: the abandonment of football is announced and the result is… curious
- April 1915: New revelations concerning perhaps the most important month in Arsenal’s history
- Norris promoted, the League loses interest but football pulls itself back together.
- Arsenal move into the London Combination in September 1915
- Arsenal in wartime: Norris’ genius for administration comes to the fore but reduces Arsenal’s playing staff.
- November / December 1915: the match fixing scandal comes to the fore: Norris is armed
Section 7: – 1916
- Arsenal in wartime: January 1916. The end of the first wartime league.
- Arsenal, February 1916: the 2nd league and a terrible tragedy on the pitch
- Arsenal: March – May 1916. The team in decline, entry to football taxed for the first time.
- Arsenal wartime league tables and player appearances: 1915/16
- Arsenal at war; Tottenham move out of WHL, Arsenal hit rock bottom. June to Sept 1916.
- Arsenal Oct 1916: a tragic death, a slow recovery
- Arsenal in wartime: November and December 1916
Section 8: 1917
- January 1917: Arsenal’s upturn continues, gang culture in London, turmoil in Russia.
- Arsenal in February 1917: Arsenal on the up, George Allison’s contribution.
- Arsenal – March 1917. Measles, price rises, women start to serve.
- Arsenal in April and May 1917. Norris goes missing, Arsenal continue winning.
- Norris at the Arsenal: Arsenal Players in the wartime league, 1916/17
- Henry Norris is knighted for setting up the Footballers’ Battalion. June 1917
- Sir Henry Norris promoted to Lt Colonel in recognition of his work in the War Office
- September 1917: Arsenal’s form definitely on the up.
- October 1917: Arsenal slip into sharp decline; Norris gains a new appointment
- Arsenal at the end of 1917. Crowds collapse, results poor, the war drags on.
Section 9: 1918 and the end of the war
- Arsenal in 1918: Chapman’s downfall, votes for women, schooling for all, Arsenal erratic
- Norris at the Arsenal: March 1918, crowds drop, rationing, the war turns
- April 1918: the third wartime league ends; Ireland rebels against conscription.
- The 1917/18 season; Arsenal’s players and the final league table
- Autumn 1918: Arsenal winning, the war grinds to an end, crowds return
- November 1918: war ends, FA / League quarrel, Henry Norris is called on (again).
- Norris at the Arsenal. 1-10 December 1918; allegations of corruption heard in court.
- Arsenal, 11 – 31 December 1918. A 9-2 victory, the chairman becomes an MP, footballers unionise.
Section 10: 1919, the reform of football, the promotion of The Arsenal
- The first suggestion that Arsenal could be elected to the 1st division.
- Arsenal in January 1919: rioting in the streets and the question of promotion
- What the media said about the election of Arsenal to the 1st division in 1919
- Arsenal prepare for the vote on who should be promoted to the First Division
- March 1919: The vote to extend the league and what the media said
- Why did the clubs vote for Arsenal rather than Tottenham in March 1919?
- Arsenal in March 1919: the London Victory Cup and its consequences
- April 1919: the end of wartime football (at least for 20 years)
- May 1919: war football ends and the wonderful Alf Baker is signed
- Summer of 1919. Widespread rioting as Arsenal prepare for division 1.
- August 1919: Arsenal return to the First Division for the next 99 years
- Arsenal establish themselves in the Division 1 amidst scandal, profiteering and strikes.
- October 1919: Chapman banned for life, Leeds kicked out, Whittaker joins
- November 1919: Arsenal solid but in debt, Labour advances, another goalscorer, Norris honoured.
- 1919: The first Christmas for the new expanded league
Section 11: 1920 – the second half of the first post-war season and onwards.
- January 1920: Arsenal’s solid start as a 1st division team falters
- February 1920: the press discuss Arsenal (and gets it totally wrong.)
- March 1920: Henry Norris threatened at Parliament, Arsenal win 2 lose 2.
- April 1920 Arsenal gain mid-table security in their first season back.
- The FA thanks Norris, the League expanded again. May 1920.
- Exposing the second libel against Henry Norris: the summer of 1920.
- Arsenal hire a music hall star as their new centre forward. October 1920
- When Arsenal were willing to criticise the press; Arsenal in November 1920.
- Arsenal meet the king, Ireland split in two, Scotland says no. December 1920.
Section 12: 1921
- The first north London derbies, Knighton gets another star; Highbury’s top crowd: Jan 1921
- The 3rd Knighton allegation against Norris: did he sell much-needed Fred Pagnam just for profit?
- Arsenal’s worst home defeat, but a quick recovery pulls things around. March 1921
- April 1921: Strikes, the best run of the season, and a film of a 1921 game.
- May/June 1921: Knighton the fantasist. The fourth allegation.
- Arsenal and the League 1920/1: the crowds and Arsenal’s team
- Why did Arsenal manager Knighton turn down Man City but not buy players? Summer of 1921.
- The Arsenal collapse of autumn 1921: Knighton’s curious positional strategy
- When Arsenal hit rock bottom of the League. October 1921
- Arsenal in November 1921: the fog, the goal rush, the resignation.
- Man U take over from Arsenal at the foot of the league
Section 13: 1922
- Arsenal in January 1922. Norris returns, progress resumes
- Arsenal in Feb 1922. Norris missing, Cup success, relegation threatens, and a monkey
- March 1922: Desperate times for Arsenal, Norris returns and the £2000 transfer limit allegation overturned
- April 1922: Arsenal and Man U fight against relegation. Only one survives.
- 1922: Arsenal’s end of the season tour and summary of games
- Norris breaks free, transfer fees spiral, terrorism returns, fixtures look awful. Arsenal – Summer of 1922.
- Arsenal Sept 1922: the first Hill-Wood arrives, Spurs seriously warned, Arsenal debts reduced
- October 1922: Henry Norris withdraws, Arsenal in dire straits
- Arsenal descend to the depths and miraculously rise from the abyss
Section 14: 1923
- Jan/Feb 1923. A settled Arsenal and the victories finally start coming.
- March 1923: The curious case of Henry White; March 1923
- Spring 1923: Arsenal clear of relegation; real progress at last?
- Arsenal in the Summer 1923: another Knighton allegation but the evidence is against him.
- Anticipation a plenty but another terrible start to the season: August 1923
- Arsenal in September 1923: recovery after a terrible start; a new insight into Henry Norris
- October 1923: Arsenal learn variable tactics as the vultures circle over Henry Norris
- Arsenal to beat the world record transfer fee? The club’s history: November 1923
- Arsenal in Dec 1923. Misreporting in the press, Chapman appears, Norris’ political career
Section 15: 1924
- Jan 1924: Arsenal slip dangerously while Cardiff, Bolton and Huddersfield march upwards
- Arsenal in February 1924: Under Knighton’s guidance the club is sinking fast
- Arsenal closer and closer to relegation but Ramsay comes to the rescue March 1924
- Arsenal in the spring of 1924. Relegation is avoided; Chapman wins the League
- Arsenal in the summer: 1924: the tour, and a review of the transfers.
- 1924/5: Knighton’s best start and a look back to Norris’ work at Fulham
- Oct 1924. The press attack Knighton (wrongly), an Arsenal star is born, and changing the offside law