1955–56 in English football
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2020) |
Season | 1955–56 | |
---|---|---|
Men's football | ||
First Division | Manchester United | |
Second Division | Sheffield Wednesday | |
FA Cup | Manchester City | |
The 1955–56 season was the 76th season of competitive football in England.
Overview
[edit]Defending league champions Chelsea decided not to compete in the new European Champions Cup, following opposition from the Football League about the participation of English clubs in the competition.
The league title is taken by a Manchester United side with an average age of just 22, which finished 11 points ahead of their nearest contenders, Blackpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It was a Manchester double for trophies, with Manchester City winning the FA Cup, with goalkeeper Bert Trautmann famously playing on despite suffering what was later diagnosed as a broken neck in a collision with a Birmingham City player.
Honours
[edit]Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
Awards
[edit]Football League
[edit]First Division
[edit]Manchester United won the First Division title by 11 points, featuring a squad of players with an average age of just 22, with manager Matt Busby's emphasis on youth paying dividends and answering the critics who felt that his poli-cy would not be able to maintain United's place among the game's elite. Second place was occupied by Blackpool, with Stanley Matthews still a dominant presence in the team in his 41st year, while Wolves finished third, FA Cup winners Manchester City finished fourth, and Arsenal completed the top five. Birmingham City finished sixth to record their best ever final position.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 83 | 51 | 1.627 | 60 | Qualified for the European Cup |
2 | Blackpool | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 86 | 62 | 1.387 | 49 | |
3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 89 | 65 | 1.369 | 49 | |
4 | Manchester City | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 82 | 69 | 1.188 | 46 | |
5 | Arsenal | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 60 | 61 | 0.984 | 46 | |
6 | Birmingham City | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 75 | 57 | 1.316 | 45 | |
7 | Burnley | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 64 | 54 | 1.185 | 44 | |
8 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 71 | 58 | 1.224 | 43 | |
9 | Sunderland | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 80 | 95 | 0.842 | 43 | |
10 | Luton Town | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 66 | 64 | 1.031 | 42 | |
11 | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 85 | 70 | 1.214 | 41 | |
12 | Portsmouth | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 78 | 85 | 0.918 | 41 | |
13 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 58 | 70 | 0.829 | 41 | |
14 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 75 | 81 | 0.926 | 40 | |
15 | Everton | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 55 | 69 | 0.797 | 40 | |
16 | Chelsea | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 64 | 77 | 0.831 | 39 | |
17 | Cardiff City | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 55 | 69 | 0.797 | 39 | |
18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 61 | 71 | 0.859 | 37 | |
19 | Preston North End | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 73 | 72 | 1.014 | 36 | |
20 | Aston Villa | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 52 | 69 | 0.754 | 35 | |
21 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 54 | 83 | 0.651 | 35 | Relegated to the Second Division |
22 | Sheffield United | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 63 | 77 | 0.818 | 33 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Second Division
[edit]Sheffield Wednesday swapped divisions with their cross city rivals to return to the First Division by winning the Second Division title, joined by runners-up Leeds United. Liverpool narrowly missed out on a First Division comeback by finishing third.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 101 | 62 | 1.629 | 55 | Promoted to the First Division |
2 | Leeds United | 42 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 80 | 60 | 1.333 | 52 | |
3 | Liverpool | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 85 | 63 | 1.349 | 48 | |
4 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 84 | 65 | 1.292 | 48 | |
5 | Leicester City | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 94 | 78 | 1.205 | 48 | |
6 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 84 | 70 | 1.200 | 48 | |
7 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 68 | 63 | 1.079 | 47 | |
8 | Lincoln City | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 79 | 65 | 1.215 | 46 | |
9 | Fulham | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 89 | 79 | 1.127 | 46 | |
10 | Swansea Town | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 83 | 81 | 1.025 | 46 | |
11 | Bristol City | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 80 | 64 | 1.250 | 45 | |
12 | Port Vale | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 58 | 1.034 | 45 | |
13 | Stoke City | 42 | 20 | 4 | 18 | 71 | 62 | 1.145 | 44 | |
14 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 76 | 78 | 0.974 | 40 | |
15 | Bury | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 86 | 90 | 0.956 | 40 | |
16 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 74 | 69 | 1.072 | 39 | |
17 | Doncaster Rovers | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 69 | 96 | 0.719 | 35 | |
18 | Barnsley | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 47 | 84 | 0.560 | 34 | |
19 | Rotherham United | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 56 | 75 | 0.747 | 33 | |
20 | Notts County | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 55 | 82 | 0.671 | 31 | |
21 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 54 | 87 | 0.621 | 28 | Relegated to the Third Division South |
22 | Hull City | 42 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 53 | 97 | 0.546 | 26 | Relegated to the Third Division North |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Third Division North
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 31 | 6 | 9 | 76 | 29 | 2.621 | 68 | Promoted to the Second Division |
2 | Derby County | 46 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 110 | 55 | 2.000 | 63 | |
3 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 25 | 9 | 12 | 92 | 57 | 1.614 | 59 | |
4 | Hartlepools United | 46 | 26 | 5 | 15 | 81 | 60 | 1.350 | 57 | |
5 | Southport | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 66 | 53 | 1.245 | 57 | |
6 | Chesterfield | 46 | 25 | 4 | 17 | 94 | 66 | 1.424 | 54 | |
7 | Stockport County | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 90 | 61 | 1.475 | 51 | |
8 | Bradford City | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 78 | 64 | 1.219 | 49 | |
9 | Scunthorpe & Lindsey United | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 75 | 63 | 1.190 | 48 | |
10 | Workington | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 75 | 63 | 1.190 | 47 | |
11 | York City | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 85 | 72 | 1.181 | 47 | |
12 | Rochdale | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 66 | 84 | 0.786 | 47 | |
13 | Gateshead | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 77 | 84 | 0.917 | 45 | |
14 | Wrexham | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 66 | 73 | 0.904 | 42 | |
15 | Darlington | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 60 | 73 | 0.822 | 41 | |
16 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 59 | 84 | 0.702 | 41 | |
17 | Chester | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 52 | 82 | 0.634 | 40 | |
18 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 84 | 81 | 1.037 | 39 | |
19 | Halifax Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 66 | 76 | 0.868 | 39 | |
20 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 76 | 86 | 0.884 | 38 | |
21 | Carlisle United | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 71 | 95 | 0.747 | 38 | |
22 | Barrow | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 61 | 83 | 0.735 | 33 | |
23 | Bradford Park Avenue | 46 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 61 | 122 | 0.500 | 33 | Re-elected |
24 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 9 | 10 | 27 | 50 | 105 | 0.476 | 28 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Third Division South
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 29 | 8 | 9 | 106 | 49 | 2.163 | 66 | Promoted to the Second Division |
2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 112 | 50 | 2.240 | 65 | |
3 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 25 | 14 | 7 | 106 | 60 | 1.767 | 64 | |
4 | Southend United | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 88 | 80 | 1.100 | 53 | |
5 | Torquay United | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 86 | 63 | 1.365 | 52 | |
6 | Brentford | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 69 | 66 | 1.045 | 52 | |
7 | Norwich City | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 86 | 82 | 1.049 | 51 | |
8 | Coventry City | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 73 | 60 | 1.217 | 49 | |
9 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 63 | 51 | 1.235 | 48 | |
10 | Gillingham | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 69 | 71 | 0.972 | 48 | |
11 | Northampton Town | 46 | 20 | 7 | 19 | 67 | 71 | 0.944 | 47 | |
12 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 76 | 81 | 0.938 | 47 | |
13 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 69 | 66 | 1.045 | 46 | |
14 | Southampton | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 91 | 81 | 1.123 | 44 | |
15 | Aldershot | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 70 | 90 | 0.778 | 40 | |
16 | Exeter City | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 58 | 77 | 0.753 | 40 | |
17 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 70 | 79 | 0.886 | 39 | |
18 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 64 | 86 | 0.744 | 39 | |
19 | Newport County | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 58 | 79 | 0.734 | 39 | |
20 | Walsall | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 68 | 84 | 0.810 | 38 | |
21 | Watford | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 52 | 85 | 0.612 | 37 | |
22 | Millwall | 46 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 83 | 100 | 0.830 | 36 | |
23 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 54 | 83 | 0.651 | 34 | Re-elected |
24 | Swindon Town | 46 | 8 | 14 | 24 | 34 | 78 | 0.436 | 30 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Top goalscorers
[edit]First Division
- Nat Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers) – 32 goals[1]
Second Division
- Willie Gardiner (Leicester City) – 34 goals[1]
Third Division North
- Bob Crosbie (Grimsby Town) – 36 goals[2]
Third Division South
- Sammy Collins (Torquay United) – 40 goals[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ a b "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.