Teams like,,,,Arsenal

I agree. People are saying 'it was a hundred years ago' but this latest debacle was loathed for exactly the same reason showing nothing has changed, and clubs such as Arsenal (or their owners )believe they have a right to be elevated above others due to size and financial power rather than football merit. 100 years and nothing changed.

 

You mean “usually involve Leeds loosing”

 

Would have been England regular of not for Pearce.

 

What’s the story behind this please?

 

People say that the football in the prem is the best in the world, i personally find it mind numbingly boring, this tippy tappy chess match stuff isn,t for me, give me the 70s and 80s style any day...As for the refs, its been taken out of their hands completely with VAR, i was all for it when it was first introduced as i assumed that it would only be used for penalties and balls over the line etc, but its taken over every part of the game and killed it stone dead, goals ruled out because a boot lace was off side, nah.....

 

Except that Dixon was a right back and Pierce a left back.

Probably Gary Stevens and Paul Parker who kept him out.

 

When football started up again after WW One, they increased the size of the First Division to 22 teams from 20. The Top 2 from the 2nd Division (Preston & Derby) were promoted and the FA decided to relegate the team who finished bottom of the First Division with a "vote" to see who would replace them, instead of awarding it to the team who finished 3rd - i.e Barnsley. Arsenal won the "vote" and hence replaced..... Tottenham.

 

Chelsea were due to be relegated from the 1st division as they finished 2nd bottom. The league decided to increase the size of the 1st division by 2. Barnsley finished 3rd and Arsenal 5th in the 2nd division. The league decided that Chelsea shouldn't be relegated (probably would have been a different decision if say Bradford City were 2nd bottom) and somehow Arsenal (4 points behind The Reds with 2 points for a win) were promoted - been there ever since.

I thought every Reds fan knew this.

I was going to say that something like this couldn't happen today, but on second thoughts it could easily happen today. Particularly if say the Arsenal owner had Boris Johnson's mobile number....

Edited to correct my ignorance...

 

Tottenham finished bottom of the First Division in the last season before WW One and were relegated to the 2nd Division - replaced by Arsenal.

 

Oops, yes you're right, it was Chelsea that were reprieved.

 

Good grief. That scares the hell out of me almost a quarter of a century on.

I can't think there's ever been a better team that's played at Oakwell than that one.

 

In his book, Tony Adams talks about the champions chant, as one of his best moments in his career.

 

Reading some of the accounts it seems over the years the story has been hijacked by the Spurs / Arsenal rivalry , the basic facts though were still the top league were expanding to 22 teams , Spurs came bottom and should have been relegated anyway , we came third in Second division , Arsenal 6th , their Chairman Norris was well connected politically and socially and had just moved Arsenal to Highbury and needed the bigger crowds from Div 1 to pay off the clubs debt to Norris . Chelsea were reprieved because it was widely felt they had been unjustly relegated pre 1st WW after a match fixing scandal . The League had a vote and Norris got his way after allegations money changed hands and favours called in . Arsenal fans say this is rubbish and it was just that Arsenal were a popular club !! Think we got 5 votes

 

Aw

 

Doh yeah your right

 

I was aware of the Arsenal one, but don’t know the Spurs one

 

Was that the League Cup?

I came home from uni to watch that.

Missed my lectures the next day

 

Yes mate it was. Year before the promotion season iirc

 

This!

English football was as bent then as it is now.