The shock of the 1947-48 season occurred off the pitch, when Chelsea and England centre-forward Tommy Lawton moved to Third Division Notts County in a record
?20,000 deal. County quickly began LciWton returns to recouping their huge investment with gates
The top flight of 30,000, a three-fold increase on what
They were used to. Lawton subsequendy moved on to Brentford, and looked set for a career in management. But the man who had inherited Dixie Dean’s mande made a dramatic return to the top flight with Arsenal, and showed that even in his mid-3 Os he was still a fearsome competitor. His 231 league goals came in at well under a goal every other game, and he scored 23 goals for England in just 22 full internationals.
Busby’s first trophy
In the first five postwar seasons Manchester United finished Division One runners-up four times, and fourth on the other occasion. The club finally got its hands on some silverware by winning the Cup in 1948. United twice came from behind against Blackpool to win 4-2, a match that was described as a classic for the purists. Blackpool’s Stanley Matthews, who had been honoured with the inaugural Footballer of the Year award, was now 33 and all neutrals wanted to see him get a winners’ medal. But two goals from Jack Rowley helped United to victory and ended the “Wizard of the Dribble’’ hopes for another year.
Matt Busby had inherited some good players when he took over as manager at OldTrafford in October 1945. He also bought wisely and moulded a side which was immediately challenging for top honours. The team was led by Johnny Carey, who played in every position except left-wing. Carey also had the unusual distinction of having played for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the latter thanks to his service in the British Army.
Opposite left: Tommy Lawton playing for Chelsea in 1946 before his departure for Third Division Notts County the following year. Lawton soon returned to top-flight football, signing for Arsenal at the start of the 1953-4 season. The Gunners had just won a record seventh league title but manager Tom Whittaker realised the need to bring new blood into the team.
Below: Stanley Matthews is presented to the Duke of Edinburgh before the 1953 Cup Final. It looked as though Matthews would be on the losing side for the third time when Blackpool was trailing 3-1 at the end of the first half. However, after the break Bolton faded and Blackpool’s Mortensen scored 2 so that the teams were level at the start of injury time. In the final moments of the game Perry crashed the ball into the net and Blackpool won a thrilling 4-3 victory. A crowd of 200,000 lined the streets to welcome the team home.
Left: Tommy McBain (left) and Bill Shankly pack the Carlisle team kit before setting off for a Cup - tie.
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