100 seasons in the top division: 1971/2 and 1972/3

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Links to recent articles in this series appear at the foot of this piece.

By Tony Attwood

If you have been staying with me through this series on 100 seasons in the top division of English football, you will have noted that the “100 seasons” is an achievement unique to Arsenal, with their nearest rivals in this regard – Everton – having only started their current run in the top flight in 1931/2. This compares with Arsenal, whose tenure goes back to the season 1919/1920, and whose 100th year we are celebrating in this series.

And of course, as we noted in the last episode 1970/71 was a particular high point – the first Arsenal double. Of course, any “double” is worthy of celebration, but this was especially so since it seemed to come out of nowhere.as in 1969/70 Arsenal came 12th in the 1st Division and went out of the two cups at the first opportunity.

But 1969/70 saw Arsenal give games to Charlie George, John Roberts, Eddie Kelly and Ray Kennedy and these were the players who shone beyond belief, along with the previously established regulars in the golden season of 1970/71

However, as we saw in the last episode, in 1971/2 there was no building on this wonderful double season of 1970/1, for although Arsenal got to the cup final for the second year running, this time there were no celebrations as Leeds United took the trophy.

Arsenal finished fifth in the league, six points off the top position and thus had no trophy to follow up on the Double Season, the year before. But to boost the squad, during the campaign, Arsenal signed Alan Ball for a record fee. He had been a member of England’s World Cup triumph of 1966, and was in fact the only member of that squad to play for Arsenal.

In fact, the 1971/2 season began with controversy as Arsenal failed to appear in (what we later learned was illegally named) Charity Shield and went to play Benfica instead. It was a decision that did not go down well in the authorities nor the media who generally did the FA’s bidding, and ensured that there was a near-universal anti-Arsenal feeling in football throughout the season.

But what was also particularly notable in 1971/2 was how much Arsenal’s goal scoring and defending had both declined between one season and the next. The goal scoring was down from 71 goals in 1971 down to 58 goals in 1971/2. The defence was also not as solid, letting in 40 as opposed to 29 the previous season. Thus, in just one season, the goal difference declined from +42 to +18, an enormous collapse at both ends of the pitch.

But it could also be said that Arsenal ended the 1971/2 season just six points behind Derby County, who won the league, and five behind Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City, who each finished on 57 points. In short, it was a disappointing season, and there was a gap between Arsenal and those above them, but it was not looking insurmountable.

And thus there were also some positive thoughts preparing the club for 1972/3, although in the end this turned out to be another “nearly” season. Closer than 1971/2 certainly, but not at the extraordinary standard of 1970/1.

Through this 1972/3 season, Alan Ball looked much more like a player integrated into the team, rather than a player dropped in to save a sinking ship. But Arsenal lost George Graham, who accepted the chance to join Manchester United at the end of 1972, but undoubtedly wished he hadn’t as they finished up 18th, 20 points below Arsenal in second.

It was also a season of upset in the ranks, particularly with McLintock being upset by having the captaincy taken away from him and given to Blockley.

Thus althought Arsenal ended the campaign in second, and closer to the top club than to the third-placed team, the season ended with no real feeling that this was a team pushing forward to regain earlier heights. One win in the last seven games seemed to sum it all up. Radford scored 15 goals, almost twice the number of the season before, and the table suggested Arsenal were still challenging for the top position, but of course, there was no trophy for the second year running.

But also, there was no European football for the following season either. Liverpool who won the league, went into the European Cup; Arsenal, coming second, went nowhere, and this needs a moment of explanation.

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup had been formed on the basis of “one city, one team” because there had been considerable concern from clubs in Europe about dominant cities such as Madrid, Milan and indeed London, taking up a number of places. However, this rule had quickly been overruled, and there was by this time no limit on the number of teams from the same city that could enter the Fairs Cup.

But the Football Association decided that it, alone, would keep the old rules and indeed kept them until the summer of 1975. Thus, Arsenal, finishing second in the 1972/3 season, were refused the right to take up their place in the Uefa Cup because Tottenham was nominated by the FA as London’s representative in Europe, having won the League Cup. As a result, Wolverhampton Wanderers was given the second European place.

However, some of the media either mistakenly or deliberately suggested that Arsenal were responsible for not taking up their place. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence for but whatever the cause, Ipswich Town took up a place in the Uefa Cup first round along with Leeds United, and Tottenham Hotspur, who qualified through having won the League Cup, but were seemingly not barred by the “one club per city” rule!

Quite how any of this can be clarified through the use of logic is completely beyond me, but if you know, I’d welcome an explanation with evidence. There are plenty of explanations, but none of them seems to come from a reliable source that can be checked! The most common report says that Arsenal refused to take up their place, but again, I can’t find anything to substantiate this.

Here is the final table for the top eight at the end of the sesaon

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Liverpool	42	25	10	7	72	42	60
2	Arsenal	42	23	11	8	57	43	57
3	Leeds	42	21	11	10	71	45	53
4	Ipswich Town	42	17	14	11	55	45	48
5	Wolverhampton W	42	18	11	13	66	54	47
6	West Ham United	42	17	12	13	67	53	46
7	Derby County	42	19	8	15	56	54	46
8	Tottenham Hotspur	42	16	13	13	58	48	45

Thus Arsenal had come 12th in 1970, first in 1971, 5th in 1972 and second in 1973. It was only the third time in thier entire history Arsenal had come runners up – the others being 1925/6 and 1931/2.

The series continues. Recent posts in the series are

More deatils of the series can be found on the home page

100 seasons in the top division: 1971/2 and 1972/3

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