{"id":13172,"date":"2024-05-22T08:50:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T07:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thearsenalhistory.com\/?p=13172"},"modified":"2024-05-22T08:50:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T07:50:26","slug":"arsenal-deliberately-lose-to-relegate-tottenham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=13172","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal Deliberately Lose to Relegate Tottenham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Except it’s a load of old cobblers<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the stories about Arsenal that Tottenham fans like dredge up due to their seemingly perpetual inferiority complex is that the Middlesex club were relegated in 1928 because Arsenal deliberately lost games to ensure this happened.<\/p>\n

Even worse is that it gets an airing in some histories written about Arsenal, even the club\u2019s official history!<\/p>\n

So, is it true? Of course not.<\/p>\n

\"mythbusters\"<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at this paragraph written by a particularly deluded fan:<\/p>\n

\"Really?\"
Really?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want to read the whole blog, it is available by clicking here<\/a>. I don\u2019t recommend it, though.<\/p>\n

Now, Alessio informs us that Arsenal deliberately lost games against Burnley and Portsmouth in 1927-28 when Tottenham finished second from bottom in the First Division. A look at Arsenal\u2019s fixtures for that season show us that they played Burnley on 31 August and 5 September, the second and fourth games of the season. To have foreseen that Arsenal defeats in these two games so early in the season would have resulted in Tottenham being relegated would be stretching the realms of fantasy to the very extreme. On top of that, Arsenal actually won both of these games.<\/p>\n

The game at Portsmouth was the ninth of the season, and was also won. This story isn\u2019t looking too strong, is it? But\u2026the home game was the 32nd<\/sup> of the season played on 28 March, and Arsenal lost. Could this be the game that Tottenham fans have been seeking? Let\u2019s take a look at the league table on the morning of this game:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pos<\/td>\nTeam<\/td>\nPlayed<\/td>\nPoints<\/td>\nGoal Avge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nHuddersfield Town<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n1.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nEverton<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n1.42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nLeicester City<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n1.19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nCardiff City<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n1.02<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nBolton Wanderers<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n1.25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nBlackburn Rovers<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n35<\/td>\n0.88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nNewcastle United<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n1.06<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nWest Ham United<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n1.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/strong><\/td>\nTottenham Hotspur<\/strong><\/td>\n34<\/strong><\/td>\n34<\/strong><\/td>\n0.96<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nBury<\/td>\n35<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n0.90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\nBirmingham City<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n0.95<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\nBurnley<\/td>\n35<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n0.79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/td>\nSunderland<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n1.09<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/strong><\/td>\nArsenal<\/strong><\/td>\n31<\/strong><\/td>\n32<\/strong><\/td>\n0.97<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\nDerby County<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n1.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\nLiverpool<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n1.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17<\/td>\nAston Villa<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n0.98<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18<\/td>\nMiddlesbrough<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n0.97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19<\/td>\nPortsmouth<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n0.74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20<\/td>\nManchester United<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n29<\/td>\n0.88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21<\/td>\nSheffield United<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n29<\/td>\n0.87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22<\/td>\nSheffield Wednesday<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n0.90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Woah, hold on a minute. Tottenham were above Arsenal and twelve places above the relegation zone. Admittedly Arsenal had games in hand but Tottenham were in a far better position than most of the other clubs below them. A win for Portsmouth put them above Arsenal who dropped two places to 16th<\/sup>. Now that is a pretty poor attempt to get Tottenham relegated.<\/p>\n

At this point it is worth noting that the First Division this season was incredibly tight. The final table showed just 7 points separating 18 teams. The two relegated teams had 37 and 38 points and the 7 teams above them had 39 points as shown below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pos<\/td>\nTeam<\/td>\nPlayed<\/td>\nPoints<\/td>\nGoal Avge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nEverton<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n53<\/td>\n1.54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nHuddersfield Town<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n51<\/td>\n1.34<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nLeicester City<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n48<\/td>\n1.33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nDerby County<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n1.16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nBury<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n1.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nCardiff City<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n0.88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nBolton Wanderers<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n43<\/td>\n1.23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nAston Villa<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n43<\/td>\n1.07<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nNewcastle United<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n43<\/td>\n0.97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/strong><\/td>\nArsenal<\/strong><\/td>\n42<\/strong><\/td>\n41<\/strong><\/td>\n0.95<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\nBirmingham City<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n0.93<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\nBlackburn Rovers<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n0.85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/td>\nSheffield United<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n0.92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/td>\nSheffield Wednesday<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n1.04<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\nSunderland<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16<\/td>\nLiverpool<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17<\/td>\nWest Ham United<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18<\/td>\nManchester United<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19<\/td>\nBurnley<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.84<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20<\/td>\nPortsmouth<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21<\/strong><\/td>\nTottenham Hotspur<\/strong><\/td>\n42<\/strong><\/td>\n38<\/strong><\/td>\n0.86<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22<\/td>\nMiddlesbrough<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n0.92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I think we can see that it would be impossible to pin any result on being \u201cthe one that mattered.\u201d But let\u2019s continue.<\/p>\n

After the Portsmouth game, Arsenal lost just two more league games. The first was on 7 April. I very much doubt that this game resulted in Tottenham being relegated as it was against\u2026Tottenham!<\/p>\n

So, it MUST have been the other defeat, yes? Only if you try really hard to clutch at straws. The other defeat was on 28 April against Manchester United who were in the relegation zone. This game and the Portsmouth game are the ones stated in the official history. Arsenal were now safe from relegation, and Tottenham were three points clear of the relegation zone with just one game remaining. This is how the table looked on the morning before the game against Manchester United.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pos<\/td>\nTeam<\/td>\nPlayed<\/td>\nPoints<\/td>\nGoal Avge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nEverton<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n50<\/td>\n1.57<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nHuddersfield Town<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n47<\/td>\n1.37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nLeicester City<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n46<\/td>\n1.27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nDerby County<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n1.16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nCardiff City<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n0.89<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nBolton Wanderers<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n1.24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nAston Villa<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n1.06<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nBury<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n0.95<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/strong><\/td>\nArsenal<\/strong><\/td>\n39<\/strong><\/td>\n39<\/strong><\/td>\n0.96<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nNewcastle United<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.94<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\nBlackburn Rovers<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.91<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\nBurnley<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/td>\nPortsmouth<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n0.77<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/td>\nWest Ham United<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n0.94<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\nBirmingham City<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n0.92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16<\/strong><\/td>\nTottenham Hotspur<\/strong><\/td>\n41<\/strong><\/td>\n38<\/strong><\/td>\n0.88<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17<\/td>\nLiverpool<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n1.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18<\/td>\nMiddlesbrough<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n0.96<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19<\/td>\nSunderland<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n0.94<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20<\/td>\nSheffield United<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n0.92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21<\/td>\nManchester United<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n35<\/td>\n0.82<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22<\/td>\nSheffield Wednesday<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n1.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Arsenal losing to Manchester United was equally damaging to Tottenham, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. West Ham and Birmingham could also be included in this group. How on earth could Arsenal have targeted Tottenham and not these other teams?\u00a0A win for Tottenham would have pretty much guaranteed them safety but they lost 2-0 to Liverpool.<\/p>\n

Arsenal finished in the top half of the table, just three points safe from the drop.<\/p>\n

As much as it would be great for it to have really been like this, It\u2019s plain to see that there is no way that Arsenal could have deliberately lost games during 1927-28 to get Tottenham relegated, mainly because of how tight the First Division was that season.<\/p>\n

But this story doesn\u2019t end here. This is actually a double mythbuster. According to some history books, Sir Henry Norris was hauled before the Football League to explain Arsenal\u2019s performances that allegedly sent their neighbours down.<\/p>\n

However, in a previous blog<\/a> we showed that Sir Henry stepped down from Arsenal\u2019s board of directors in July 1927 and was banned from having any involvement in football later that summer. He no longer held any influence at the club, and there is no way that Herbert Chapman would have done him a favour following the acrimonious exchanges during the Football Association’s investigation. This part of the story is pure fabrication.<\/p>\n

It does make you wonder: how much of Arsenal’s history has been made up to suit certain people’s agendas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Who
Who ya gonna call?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Background to this article<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following discussions with Steve Kell of the Arsenal Football Supporters Club, Mark and I suggested writing for Gunflash for the 2015-16 season. Steve pointed out this would continue Gunflash’s tradition of publishing articles by guest writers, which makes it a great honour for us to be part of this great publication.<\/p>\n

Current and back issues of Gunflash are available from the Arsenal Football Supporters Club on matchdays on the corner of Gillespie Road and St. Thomas’ Road, and via their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to subscribe to the blog (top right). You know it makes sense.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Copies of our books\u00a0Royal Arsenal \u2013 Champions of the South<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Arsenal: The Complete Record 1886-2018<\/a>\u00a0are still available from the publishers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Except it’s a load of old cobblers One of the stories about Arsenal that Tottenham fans like dredge up due…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[649,654,653],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-games","category-herbert-chapman","category-the-arsenal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p87inb-3qs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35449,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35449","url_meta":{"origin":13172,"position":0},"title":"Arsenal reserves beat Tottenham first team (but not 1980)","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"26 September 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Arsenal reserves beat Tottenham first team No doubt many of you will know that in April 1980 Arsenal had a massive fixture pile up caused by progression to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the Cup-Winners\u2019 Cup which coincided with the traditional Easter football fest. The situation was exacerbated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bertie Mee"","block_context":{"text":"Bertie Mee","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=662"},"img":{"alt_text":"1970-02-14 Daily Mirror Arsenal reserves v Tottenham","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1970-02-14-Daily-Mirror-Arsenal-reserves-v-Tottenham.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35477,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35477","url_meta":{"origin":13172,"position":1},"title":"Why Don\u2019t Tottenham Have Any Footballing Friends?","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"9 January 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews The Wealdstone Raider may have been talking about the first 40 years of Tottenham's existence. If you've read our last two blogs on the true story behind Arsenal's election to the First Division in 1919\u00a0and how the truth has subsequently been distorted, you may\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 36 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 36 comments","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35477#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Daily Mirror 30 May 1908","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/1908-05-30-Daily-Mirror-Tottenham-expelled-from-Southern-League-but-not-voted-into-Football-League.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/1908-05-30-Daily-Mirror-Tottenham-expelled-from-Southern-League-but-not-voted-into-Football-League.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/1908-05-30-Daily-Mirror-Tottenham-expelled-from-Southern-League-but-not-voted-into-Football-League.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35495,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35495","url_meta":{"origin":13172,"position":2},"title":"Arsenal’s last game outside the top flight","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"24 April 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Arsenal - top flight kings On 24 April 1915 Arsenal played their last game outside of English football\u2019s top flight. No other team has gone as long as Arsenal since their last game in a lower division in England. However, the time and circumstances surrounding this last game are not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Games"","block_context":{"text":"Games","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=649"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Sportsman 16 April 1915","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/1915-04-16-The-Sportsman-Morrell-resigns.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/1915-04-16-The-Sportsman-Morrell-resigns.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/1915-04-16-The-Sportsman-Morrell-resigns.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35616,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35616","url_meta":{"origin":13172,"position":3},"title":"10 March 1919 – The Arsenal 18 Tottenham Hotspur 8","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"10 March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Why did Tottenham poll so few votes in 1919? If you\u2019re not already aware, following the end of World War One the members of the Football League decided to increase the size of both the First Division and Second Division by two teams. At a meeting held on 10 March\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35616#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Sporting_Life_09_May_1900_0008_Clip.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Sporting_Life_09_May_1900_0008_Clip.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Sporting_Life_09_May_1900_0008_Clip.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Sporting_Life_09_May_1900_0008_Clip.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2140,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=2140","url_meta":{"origin":13172,"position":4},"title":"1949-50 A New Era For The Arsenal","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"31 March 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we publish all of Arsenal's home programmes from the 1949-50 season. 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