1954–55 in English football

Football in England
Season1954–55
Men's football
First DivisionChelsea
Second DivisionBirmingham
FA CupNewcastle United
← 1953–54 England 1955–56 →

The 1954–55 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

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

Top goalscorer

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

Second Division

Third Division North

Third Division South

Non-League honours

Competition Winners
Isthmian League Walthamstow Avenue
FA Amateur Cup Bishop Auckland

National team

Date Opposition Venue Competition Result Score
2 October 1954 Northern Ireland Windsor Park, Belfast British Championship Won 2–0
10 November 1954 Wales Wembley Stadium British Championship Won 3–2
1 December 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

  1. ^ "A timeline for Liverpool Football Club - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!".
  2. ^ "Chelsea nears English League Soccer Championship". The Gazette. Montreal. Associated Press. 18 April 1955. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.