100 seasons in the top divison: a key turning point 1933/4

By Tony Attwood

In this series, we have come across certain monumental years as we trace Arsenal’s 100 consecutive seasons in the top division – an achievement no other club is anywhere near equalling. (Everton who come second to Arsenal in this regard have clocked up a mere 68).

And the season we are currently looking at on this site, 1933/4, was one of extraordinary importance in that 100 season journey. For it was the season that Herbert Chapman, the man who transformed Arsenal from a club just missing relegation into a club that could win the league, that sadly saw Chapman pass away.

As we look back at the moment we come to the time when Arsenal were due to play Sheffield Wednesday on 6 January 1934 and Arsenal were top of the league.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Arsenal	23	14	6	3	41	20	34
2	Derby County	22	12	6	4	43	23	30
3	Huddersfield Town	23	11	8	4	52	35	30

Unfortunately, the last game had been a goalless draw with Birmingham City who were 16th in the league, but despite their lowly position, they presented some interesting dilemmas. At the moment approaching the game, Birmingham had the second-best defence in the league (conceding just two more than Arsenal) but were hampered by also having the second-worst attack in the league!

Arsenal had won their last four games and, as can be seen above, had a four-point lead over Derby, who had a game in hand.

It was becoming clear that teams were increasingly adjusting their playing style to get something extra out of a game, no matter how boring it made their style appear.

Indeed, if we look at the comparative league standings of the two clubs prior to this game, we can see what concerned Chapman.

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
16	Birmingham City	22	5	10	7	25	22	20
1	Arsenal	23	14	6	3	41	20	34

Arsenal could outscore most teams, but Birmingham’s defence was just about as good as Arsenal’s and indeed at this moment they were second in the league in that regard – second in fact only to Arsenal.

However, Birmingham had only won one of their last seven games, but they had drawn four of those seven, and with Derby County just four points behind Arsenal, Chapman clearly needed to keep up his team’s momentum. Birmingham were obviously beatable, but they also clearly knew how to play for draws (having drawn four and lost two of their last six games). And we should remember that at this time, while a draw gained one point as now, a win only gained two points, and so in overall terms, the draw was seen as more helpful at this time than it is today.

So obviously Arsenal’s opponents could be beaten, but Chapman appreciated that they would play for a draw, and he was looking for an edge, and a way to ensure that Arsenal would get the extra goal to secure a win.

Chapman thus continued his normal lifestyle of watching the teams that Arsenal were about to play, and from this would have learned a lot. For example, on Boxing Day, Birmingham City beat Sheffield United 4-2. It was the third time the club had scored four in this season, and Chapman clearly was intrigued, for besides scoring these goals, Sheffield United already looked like certainties for relegation, along with Chelsea. As a result, Chapman did not want to take chances. He went to the game, against the doctor’s orders. But worse, on New Year’s Day, he went on a scouting trip to see Bury play Notts County before moving on to watch Sheffield Wednesday, who Arsenal were due to play on 6 January.

After all this travelling, he returned to his home with a cold but still continued to watch matches, taking in Arsenal’s third team against Guildford City. The cold then turned into pneumonia, and in the early hours of the day on which Arsenal were due to play Sheffield Wednesday, he died of pneumonia. He was buried four days later on 6 January at St Mary’s Church, Hendon, where I am delighted to say Arsenal Independent Supporters Association held a special commemorative afternoon for Chapman, with the most kind and fulsome support of the vicar and other members of the church. Chapman was survived by his widow and four children.

That visit, to launch the commemorations of 100 seasons in the top division, and 100 years since the passing of Chapman, was to my mind a great success, and you can find details and pictures of the day on this site I am eternally grateful both to the vicar and my colleagues in the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association for arranging such a day.

But of course, the club had to carry on, although I think it is fair to say that many in football expected Arsenal then to crash, given the dominance Chapman had in the club, and the transformations he had achieved since his arrival. The team was very much Chapman’s team.

Previously in this series….

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