The way in which Division One was expanded in 1919-20 got the new era off to a controversial start. The expectation was that the top two Second Division sides from the 1914-15 season, Derby and Preston, would simply be promoted. But die Football League decided that Arsenal would go up too. The Gunners had finished only 5th in diat final pre-war season, and Chairman Henry Norris was said to have engaged in some feverish behind-the-scenes lobbying in order to get the club elected to the top table. Three promoted teams meant that a First Division club had to go. Tottenham had finished bottom in 1914-15 and they were the obvious candidates. It took Spurs just one season to bounce back, but the circumstances in which they had swapped places with their north London rivals did nothing to promote harmony between the two clubs.
Below: Aston Villa play Huddersfield in the 1920 Cup Final. Viliams winning goal was scored by Kirton who had joined the Birmingham side from Leeds City after the club had been forced to sell off its entire squad.
Above: Aston Villa collect the Cup at Stamford Bridge in 1920.
Leeds expelled over illegal payments
The early drama of the 1919-20 campaign took place off the field, when Second Division side Leeds City were expelled from the league for making illegal payments. City, managed by Herbert Chapman, had won the Northern regional championship in 1918 and seemed to be a team on the up. After the allegations were made Chapman chose to put a match to the club’s books rather than submit them for scrutiny. He was suspended and Port Vale took over Leeds’ fixtures. For Chapman and Leeds it was the parting of the ways, though both would rise again after a brief period in the wilderness. In 1920 the club reconstituted itself as Leeds United and returned to the fold. That same year Chapman, after a short spell with an engineering firm, also returned to the game. Over the next 14 years, first with Huddersfield Town and then with Arsenal, Chapman would take club management into a different realm.
Above: Supporters of both Aston Villa and Huddersfield seemed full of confidence on their way to the 1920 Cup Final. Villa, who eventually won a closely fought contest 1-0 after extra time, had now won the Cup six times. They would only win the competition once more in the twentieth century - beating Manchester United in 1957.
Below left: Cantrell, the Spurs centre-forward, and Bliss (right) inside-left, battling with defenders in the Wolves* goalmouth during the 1921 Cup Final.
Below right: Bliss gets past Woodward as the defender slips on the muddy surface. Heavy rain had created poor playing conditions and spectators were disappointed that the quality of the football suffered. Spurs* 1-0 win was the first southern victory in the Cup since 1901 when the London club last won the trophy.
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