Part 16: What went wrong at Leeds?

Because most writers focus on Herbert Chapman’s years at Arsenal, which included, of course, his ultimate achievements, (which themselves were only ended due to his untimely death in January 1934), Chapman’s earlier work first as a player, then as player-manager, and finally as a manager at Leeds City (before moving on to Huddersfield and then Arsenal), is often ignored, which is a shame because a study of that work leads to a greater understanding of Chapman at Arsenal.

So let us back up a bit and get a full perspective of his movement from player to manager.   Chapman’s first engagement which included the role of manager (known in those days as club secretary, or sometimes “Secretary / Manager”) began in 1907 with Northampton Town as he moved from player/manager to manager.

Northampton had joined the Southern League in 1901/2 at a time when the League contained a range of clubs that have since gone on to greater things as the top eight in the final table for that 1901/2 season reveals.  (Arsenal at this time were the one club from the south that stood squarely behind the Football League.)

Southern League 1901/2 – final table

As can be seen from this top eight, the majority of the clubs thrived and became Football League clubs in due course.  Indeed of the 16 clubs in the league at this time all except near neighbours Kettering Town and Wellingborough (who came 14th) went on to become league clubs.  Kettering now play in the e Southern League Premier Division Central – the seventh tier of English football.  Wellingborough Town currently play in the Northern Premier League, Midland Division.

Thus we may note in passing, the two clubs, whose grounds are under eight miles apart can’t play any local derbies.  Even more oddly Wellingborough in the Northern League is eight miles almost due south of Kettering in the Southern League; but such is football.

But back to Chapman.  He joined Northampton in 1907 and with him in charge, the club were champions of the Southern League in 1908/9, and played Newcastle United in the subsequent Charity Shield match.  Northampton Town lost, but the league title was their first-ever trophy since joining the Southern League in 1901/2.  It was this success, that suggested (at least to anyone willing to listen) that Chapman could take a previously unsuccessful club and transform them into winners, within a year.   And indeed although the club were beaten in the Charity Shield it gives us our first view of Chapman’s understanding of just how a successful team could be built.  

At this time the Southern League was the dominant competition in central and southern England, where the Football League had very little foothold apart from Woolwich Arsenal.    As the  Daily News commented at the time, “With the exception of Woolwich Arsenal, who prefer to remain members of the Second Division of the Football League, all the best professional teams in the South are now enrolled in the ranks of the Southern League”.   Indeed in each of the three seasons from 1900 to 1902 there was a Southern League club in the FA Cup final, with Tottenham actually winning the trophy in 1901.

In fact, the Football League were not helping themselves in this period by club owners from the north imposing restrictions on player salaries and on their freedom of movement; restrictions which the Southern League did not have.  And indeed the Charity Shield game and the FA Cup were the only way in which clubs from the Football League and the Southern League could meet.   Yet the fact that only once did a Southern League club win the Charity Shield match clearly suggested which League was the stronger, even if they were much more closely balanced than became the case in later years.

It was indeed not until 1920 that the Southern League joined the Football League, becoming in fact the newly formed Third Division, which one year later became the Third Division (South) as more northern clubs left their existing leagues to join the now clearly dominant Football League, and thus created the Third Division (North).

So Chapman, in working with Northampton Town, was working with one of the newly emerging clubs in a league that was considered by many in the midlands and south as being a serious rival to the Football League of the north.

It was this near-instant success with Northampton Town that allowed Chapman to get the job with Leeds City in 1912.  For although Northampton had not won the league again since the 1908/9 triumph they had come fourth, second and third in the subsequent seasons, which contrasted positively with finishing 18th and 20th in the seasons before Chapman arrived.

Thus Chapman moved on, and then as we have previously seen, in 1915 left the club as football was closed down for the duration, returning for the opening games of the 1919/20 season.  Eight games were played before Leeds City were closed down by the league, at which point Leeds were shown in seventh place, just two points behind the second promotion spot.  Emphasising the point that there was all left to play for, the second promoted team – Huddersfield Town were tenth in the League – only a point below Leeds City.

Leeds City actually had a good start to the 1919/20 season and the league table after four matches showed them equal on points with Blackpool in fourth.     By the day on which they were expelled, the club had played eight games and slipped slightly down the league to seventh, although with a game in hand which if won would have taken them to at least fourth (depending on goal average). 

This showed a considerable recovery from the end of the 1914/15 season – but then that season, with players leaving to join the army and the already modest crowds at Leeds City declining further, can be seen as an aberration.   Leeds’ return to the upper part of the league was expected and would have been very much in keeping with Chapman’s previously established ability, with the team having risen from 19th to 4th in the League over the previous seasons.

We might also note at this moment that there were no transfer windows at this time –  players were generally signed on one-year contracts at the start of the season, but transferring could be undertaken at any time.

But Leeds had had a difficult time in 1914/15 ending up 15th in the league with results only a little better than in 1911/12.

I’ve not been able to find a serious review of the era which explains what went wrong for Leeds City in 1914/15 to cause their growth year by year across the previous seasons now to fall backwards into decline from fourth to 15th, but given the argument between the club and the League over finances, it is quite possible that some of the directors were withdrawing money or support from the club for the other ventures which the League wanted to know about.  Chapman, quite possibly, did not have a proper transfer budget – something which was the mainstay of building his success in years to come.

We really don’t have many details of that enquiry by the League that led to the demise of Leeds City FC, its directors and employees – but we do know that the directors and Chapman as manager were banned from football for life for failing to co-operate with the enquiry, not for anything they were actually proven to have done.  But the sudden decline in form that year suggests that players were being sold and not replaced and that money was draining out of the club, possibly for the benefit of the directors.

Indeed the fact that Leeds City conceded 15 goals in its last five games – a very un-Chapman-like performance – suggests that the manager did not have a proper squad to choose from nor the funds to buy new players.   And indeed it may have been this situation that made Chapman less than keen to fight his lifetime ban, and return to football immediately it was resumed after the war.

Certainly, since the directors were removed and the club closed down because of financial issues, we may well conclude that Chapman had not been given the money he might have wished in order to build the team he wanted, which is why the league position of Leeds City declined, but even so the final league table in which Leeds City feature, just days before they were shut down, showed them in seventh – so certainly an improvement on the final season before the league was closed for the duration.

Leeds City were formally ejected from the League after failing to produce the financial documents the league demanded, on the grounds that these documents were confidential.  This is the final league table in which they were cited.

10 October 1919 – League Division 2.

And so, Herbert Chapman was out of work and with the league season well under way, he sought employment elsewhere.