1943/44 Season Summary

The war looked very different at the fourth meeting of the Football League Management Committee. The Allies had taken the whole of North Africa, whilst in the North Atlantic German U-boats were having a hard time losing 43 boats in May 1943. The Germans were in retreat on the eastern front and the Japanese were being forced out of New Guinea. An end to the war did not yet look insight, but defeat looked unlikely now.

The fourth summer of the war found the Football League Management Committee meeting at the Holborn Restaurant in London on 28th June 1943. The minimum admission price was raised again to 1d 6d., consequent upon the increase in Entertainment Tax. Forces personnel in uniform and juveniles were admitted for 7d. Whilst the League raised the maximum wage to £2 per week, each club was restricted to no more than fourteen professional players.

On January 15th 1944 the Blackpool v Southport game was the subject of a running commentary on the B.B.C Forces wavelength. It was the first time that a radio boradcast had been made of a game involving Southport although, back in 1931, there was a resume from the Liverpool studio of the memorable sixth round F.A. Cup tie at Everton. Around this time Southport’s team was strengthened by the acquisition from Preston of Scottish International George Mutch, who scored 14 goals in 32 games. He was one of sixty players called on during the season. Youth was at last given its chance wehn Ken Banks and Joe Simpkin appeared; both were offered professional terms before the season was out.

Southport ended a largely disappointing campaign by winning the Liverpool Senior Cup for the first time since 1932; in a two legged final they drew 1-1 at Haig Avenue against Everton. The home game was marred by an incident which saw local youngster Ned Taylor and Everton’s Stan Natham sent off; Taylor had kicked the visiting inside-left who sprang to his feet and retaliated by striking Taylor with his fist. This was the first time that two players had been sent off in any one game since before 1921.

In the second leg the following week Southport assembled their ‘team of all talents’ which included five internationals and one inter-league player. Conway (Blackburn Rovers), Pope (Hearts), Kinsell (West Brom), simpkin, Woodruff (Burnley), Martin (Hearts), Gardner (Burnley), Mutch (Preston North End), Dougall (Preston North End), Rawlings (Milwall) and Pearson (Newcastle United). The best away performance of the season was rewarded when each player received three National Savings Certificates.

During the season service calls greatly weakened the side and the situation was well summed up in the Annual Report which stated that ‘the club has no players of its own available today and had to depend on guest players and the goodwill of Commanding Officers of the various units’.

A £492 profit further assisted in cutting down the overdraft to a mere £50 as against £2,300 at the outbreak of the war. the improved financial position meant that the club could even send a cheque for £45 to the Estates Committee of Southport Council, representing the six months’ rent originally written off bu the Committee in 1941 when things were at a low ebb.

Large parts of the above summary are reproduced with Permission from:
The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F. C., by Michael Braham and Geoff Wilde (Palatine Books, 1995). ISBN 978-1-874181-14-9

Other sources: https://www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk/Blog/ww2.html

 

North First Championship (ending December 25, 1943)

 1. Blackpool FC        	18 12  4  2  56-20  28
 2. Manchester United FC	18 13  2  3  56-30  28
 3. Liverpool FC        	18 13  1  4  72-26  27
 4. Doncaster Rovers FC 	18 11  5  2  45-25  27
 5. Bradford Park Avenue AFC	18 11  4  3  65-28  26
 6. Huddersfield Town AFC	18 12  2  4  48-25  26
 7. Northampton Town FC 	18 10  5  3  43-25  25
 8. Aston Villa FC       	18 11  3  4  43-27  25
 9. Sunderland AFC       	18 10  3  5  46-30  23
10. Hartlepool FC         	18 10  3  5  44-31  23
11. Everton FC              	18  9  4  5  60-34  22
12. Blackburn Rovers FC 	18 10  2  6  47-32  22
13. Rochdale FC           	18 10  2  6  43-41  22
14. Sheffield United FC 	18  8  5  5  30-26  21
15. Lincoln City FC        	18  8  4  6  51-40  20
16. Birmingham FC       	18  8  4  6  38-31  20
17. Manchester City FC  	18  9  2  7  38-35  20
18. Mansfield Town FC    	18  9  2  7  32-33  20
19. Derby County FC     	18  8  4  6  43-45  20
20. Chester FC           	18  9  2  7  40-43  20
21. Grimsby Town FC     	18  8  3  7  32-36  19
22. West Bromwich Albion FC	18  8  3  7  42-44  19
23. Gateshead AFC       	18  8  2  8  40-51  18
24. Burnley FC          	18  5  7  6  24-22  17
25. Walsall FC           	18  5  7  6  27-31  17
26. Nottingham Forest FC	18  6  5  7  33-39  17
27. Leeds United AFC       	18  6  5  7  38-50  17
28. Leicester City FC     	18  6  4  8  33-30  16
29. Darlington             	18  6  4  8  49-48  16
30. Rotherham United FC 	18  7  2  9  38-42  16
31. York City FC        	18  7  2  9  35-40  16
32. Halifax Town AFC      	18  6  4  8  27-36  16
33. Southport FC         	18  7  2  9  33-51  16
34. Stoke City FC       	18  6  3  9  40-35  15
35. Chesterfield Town FC	18  7  1 10  29-31  15
36. Oldham Athletic AFC 	18  7  1 10  30-44  15
37. Stockport County FC  	18  5  5  8  24-43  15
38. Coventry City FC    	18  4  6  8  25-23  14
39. Newcastle United FC 	18  5  4  9  32-37  14
40. Sheffield Wednesday FC	18  5  4  9  29-34  14
41. Middlesbrough FC    	18  4  6  8  35-52  14
42. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	18  5  3 10  30-42  13
43. Bury FC             	18  6  1 11  31-44  13
44. Barnsley FC         	18  5  2 11  32-42  12
45. Bradford City AFC   	18  4  3 11  27-47  11
46. Wrexham AFC         	18  5  1 12  43-63  11
47. Notts County FC     	18  4  3 11  26-53  11
48. Bolton Wanderers FC 	18  5  0 13  24-46  10
49. Tranmere Rovers AFC 	18  4  1 13  39-71   9
50. Crewe Alexandra FC  	18  4  1 13  29-62   9 

North Second Championship (December 27, 1943 to May 6, 1944)

 1. Bath City FC        	21 16  2  3  78-26  34
 2. Wrexham AFC            	21 15  4  2  62-29  34
 3. Liverpool FC         	21 14  2  5  71-38  30
 4. Birmingham FC        	20 12  5  3  47-19  29
 5. Rotherham United FC 	21 12  5  4  54-30  29
 6. Aston Villa FC       	21 13  3  5  50-34  29
 7. Blackpool FC        	20 12  3  5  53-27  27
 8. Cardiff City AFC    	21 13  1  7  53-28  27
 9. Manchester United FC	21 10  7  4  55-38  27
10. Bradford Park Avenue AFC	20 11  4  5  50-30  26
11. Newcastle United FC 	20 13  0  7  47-36  26
12. Everton FC          	21 12  1  8  73-39  25
13. Stoke City FC       	21 10  5  6  66-45  25
14. Leicester City FC     	21 10  5  6  40-32  25
15. Darlington              	21 11  2  8  50-30  24
16. Nottingham Forest FC	20  9  6  5  32-20  24
17. Sheffield United FC 	21 11  2  8  53-35  24
18. Coventry City FC    	21 10  4  7  48-37  24
19. Manchester City FC  	21  9  6  6  42-35  24
20. Lovell's Athletic FC	20 10  2  8  48-30  22
21. Gateshead AFC        	21  9  4  8  45-53  22
22. Doncaster Rovers FC  	17  9  3  5  42-33  21
23. Derby County FC       	21  8  5  8  33-28  21
24. Rochdale FC           	20  8  5  7  40-36  21
25. Barnsley FC          	17  8  4  5  34-30  20
26. Halifax Town AFC       	20  8  4  8  44-42  20
27. Chester FC          	20  9  2  9  65-65  20
28. Hartlepool FC        	20  8  4  8  49-50  20
29. Stockport County FC 	19 10  0  9  44-49  20
30. Sheffield Wednesday FC	20  8  4  8  32-36  20
31. Blackburn Rovers FC 	16  8  3  5  30-27  19
32. Huddersfield Town AFC	21  8  3 10  41-40  19
33. West Bromwich Albion FC	21  5  9  7  46-48  19
34. Bolton Wanderers FC 	21  8  3 10  42-49  19
35. Leeds United AFC    	18  8  3  7  34-40  19
36. Northampton Town FC 	19  9  0 10  37-39  18
37. Burnley FC           	18  6  6  6  39-42  18
38. Bristol City FC      	20  6  5  9  38-42  17
39. York City FC         	20  7  2 11  37-40  16
40. Middlesbrough FC    	21  6  4 11  41-51  16
41. Swansea Town FC     	20  7  2 11  42-67  16
42. Grimsby Town FC     	15  6  3  6  23-28  15
43. Bury FC             	20  6  3 11  38-55  15
44. Oldham Athletic AFC 	18  5  4  9  28-36  14
45. Sunderland AFC      	19  6  2 11  44-58  14
46. Chesterfield Town FC	19  5  4 10  31-41  14
47. Mansfield Town FC   	14  6  1  7  23-25  13
48. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	20  3  6 11  28-56  12
49. Walsall FC	                17  3  6  8  17-35  12
50. Tranmere Rovers AFC 	20  6  0 14  29-62  12
51. Bradford City AFC    	18  4  2 12  27-47  10
52. Southport FC        	20  3  3 14  35-67   9
53. Lincoln City FC     	18  3  2 13  25-56   8
54. Notts County FC     	20  3  0 17  23-68   6
55. Crewe Alexandra FC  	18  2  1 15  31-83   5
56. Aberaman FC          	18  1  1 16  20-87   3

League North Cup (December 27, 1943 to February 26, 1944) 

 1. Wrexham AFC                 10  9  0  1  26-12  18
 2. Bath City FC                10  8  1  1  30-11  17
 3. Stoke City FC               10  8  1  1  43-19  17
 4. Leicester City FC           10  6  3  1  22- 9  15
 5. Sheffield United FC         10  7  1  2  33-16  15
 6. Bradford Park Avenue AFC    10  6  3  1  23-14  15
 7. Manchester United FC        10  6  3  1  28-18  15
 8. Everton FC                  10  7  0  3  42-16  14
 9. Birmingham FC                9  6  2  1  22-10  14
10. Rotherham United FC         10  6  2  2  32-17  14
11. Liverpool FC                10  7  0  3  36-21  14
12. Newcastle United FC         10  7  0  3  25-20  14
13. Lovell's Athletic FC        10  6  1  3  33-16  13
14. Blackpool FC                10  6  1  3  23-13  13
15. Barnsley FC                 10  5  3  2  22-16  13
16. Coventry City FC            10  5  3  2  19-17  13
17. Blackburn Rovers FC         10  6  1  3  21-18  13
18. Cardiff City AFC            10  6  0  4  23-13  12
19. Sheffield Wednesday FC       9  5  2  2  17-11  12
20. Manchester City FC          10  5  2  3  27-19  12
21. Bristol City FC             10  4  4  2  17-16  12
22. Darlington                  10  5  1  4  28-14  11
23. Oldham Athletic AFC         10  4  3  3  24-14  11
24. Rochdale FC                 10  4  3  3  21-14  11
25. Derby County FC             10  5  1  4  20-14  11
26. Aston Villa FC              10  5  1  4  20-16  11
27. Hartlepool FC               10  4  3  3  25-25  11
28. Gateshead AFC               10  5  1  4  27-28  11
29. Grimsby Town FC             10  5  1  4  18-19  11
30. Leeds United AFC            10  5  1  4  19-22  11
31. York City FC                10  5  0  5  22-16  10
32. Burnley FC                  10  4  2  4  22-19  10
33. Stockport County FC         10  5  0  5  23-28  10
34. Nottingham Forest FC         9  3  3  3   8- 7   9
35. Chester FC                  10  4  1  5  31-31   9
36. Mansfield Town FC           10  4  1  5  12-19   9
37. Huddersfield Town AFC       10  3  2  5  16-19   8
38. West Bromwich Albion FC     10  2  4  4  24-29   8
39. Doncaster Rovers FC          9  3  2  4  14-24   8
40. Middlesbrough FC            10  2  3  5  14-20   7
41. Bolton Wanderers FC         10  3  1  6  15-27   7
42. Walsall FC                  10  2  3  5  11-22   7 
43. Sunderland AFC              10  3  0  7  25-37   6 
44. Bury FC                     10  2  2  6  18-30   6
45. Halifax Town AFC            10  2  2  6  14-25   6
46. Southport FC                10  2  2  6  14-25   6
47. Chesterfield Town FC        10  2  1  7  17-25   5
48. Swansea Town FC             10  2  1  7  19-38   5
49. Crewe Alexandra FC          10  2  1  7  21-46   5
50. Notts County FC             10  2  0  8  14-29   4
51. Northampton Town FC          9  2  0  7   9-19   4
52. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC  10  0  4  6  11-27   4
53. Lincoln City FC              9  1  1  7  14-31   3
54. Bradford City AFC           10  1  1  8  11-26   3
55. Aberaman FC                 10  0  1  9  11-39   1
56. Tranmere Rovers AFC         10  0  0 10  11-41   0

Source:
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Author Dinant Abbink


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