The 1945-46 Arsenal F.C. season was Arsenal Football Club's first post-war football season. The team finished eleventh and were knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup. It was George Allison's last full season as Arsenal manager. [1]
| 1945–46 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry | ||
| Manager | George Allison | ||
| Football League South | 11th | ||
| FA Cup | Third round | ||
The 1945-46 season was the first peacetime football season since World War II began. In May 1945, the Football League announced that the FA Cup would return for the coming season, eliminating the wartime cup competitions. In July, the Football League came to an agreement that regional leagues would continue for one more season with some adjustments. [2]
Arsenal entered the season with £150,000 in pre-war debts. They also continued to play their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions and was still being used for that purpose. [3] Highbury had bombed during the war and required repairs before Arsenal could return. [4]
Arsenal performed poorly in the league, flirting with relegation before finishing thirteenth. Although some players remained from Arsenal's successful 1930s runs, age, injury, and attrition led to a much weaker team than took the field prior to the war. Cliff Bastin was aging and Ted Drake had retired. Arsenal struggled to find success. [5] Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham.
One notable occurrence was when Arsenal hosted Dynamo Moscow late in 1945, a rare European match. London was covered in a "pea-souper fog." [3] The fog was so bad that Dynamo wanted the match postponed but due to match sales, the FA refused. Arsenal manager George Allison brought in several guest players to strengthen Arsenal's side. Dynamo took an early lead in front of a 54,000 strong crowd. The fog was so thick that Russian referee Nikolay Latyshev had both of his assistants run the same side of the pitch. The first half finished 3-2 to Arsenal. At halftime, Arsenal's goalkeeper Wyn Griffiths was replaced by a spectator, QPR's Harry Brown, as he had taken several blows to the head and was unaware of even the score. The second half saw Sergei Solovyov equalize for Moscow and a George Drury red card for throwing a punch. Visibility continued to decrease. Dynamo went ahead and Arsenal had a goal disallowed. The game became increasingly rough. Dynamo won the match, and would go on to play one further match in their tour of England. [6]
Arsenal's score comes first [7]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
Selected results from the league.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 August 1945 | Coventry City | A | 0–2 | ||
| 27 August 1945 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | 25,000 | |
| 1 September 1945 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | ||
| 3 September 1945 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | ||
| 8 September 1945 | Luton Town | H | 0–2 | ||
| 15 September 1945 | Luton Town | A | 2–1 | ||
| 22 September 1945 | Aston Villa | H | 2–4 | ||
| 29 September 1945 | Aston Villa | A | 1–5 | ||
| 6 October 1945 | Swansea Town | H | 4–1 | ||
| 13 October 1945 | Swansea Town | A | 2–3 | ||
| 20 October 1945 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | ||
| 27 October 1945 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–6 | ||
| 3 November 1945 | Fulham | A | 2–5 | ||
| 10 November 1945 | Fulham | H | 2–0 | ||
| 17 November 1945 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 3–0 | 14,479 | |
| 24 November 1945 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 4–0 | 26,419 | |
| 1 December 1945 | Portsmouth | A | ?–? | ||
| 8 December 1945 | Portsmouth | H | ?–? | ||
| 15 December 1945 | Nottingham Forest | H | ?–? | ||
| 22 December 1945 | Nottingham Forest | A | ?–? | ||
| 25 December 1945 | Newport County | A | 2–1 | 13,003 | |
| 26 December 1945 | Newport County | H | 7–0 | 16,536 | |
| 29 December 1949 | Wolverhampoton Wanderers | H | ?–? | ||
| 12 January 1946 | West Bromwich Albion | H | ?–? | ||
| 19 January 1946 | West Bromwich Albion | A | ?–? | ||
| 2 February 1946 | Birmingham City | H | 0–3 | ||
| 9 February 1946 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–1 | ||
| 16 February 1946 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–2 | ||
| 23 February 1946 | Brentford | A | 3–6 | 22,250 | |
| 9 March 1946 | Chelsea | H | 1–2 | ||
| 13 March 1946 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | ||
| 16 March 1946 | Chelsea | A | 2–1 | ||
| 23 March 1946 | Millwall | A | ?–? | ||
| 30 March 1946 | Millwall | H | ?–? | ||
| 6 April 1946 | Southampton | H | ?–? | ||
| 13 April 1946 | Southampton | A | ?–? | ||
| 19 April 1946 | Derby County | A | ?–? | ||
| 20 April 1946 | Leicester City | H | ?–? | ||
| 22 April 1946 | Derby County | H | ?–? | ||
| 27 April 1946 | Leicester City | A | ?–? | ||
| 29 April 1946 | Brentford | H | 1–1 | 5,250 | |
| 4 May 1946 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | 30,000 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 22 | 3 | 17 | 78 | 81 | 0.963 | 47 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 76 | 73 | 1.041 | 43 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 76 | 73 | 1.041 | 43 |
| 12 | Millwall | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 79 | 105 | 0.752 | 42 |
| 13 | Coventry City | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 70 | 69 | 1.014 | 40 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 L1 | 5 January 1946 | West Ham United | A | 0–6 | ||
| R3 L2 | 9 January 1946 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 |
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