1939–40 in English football
The 1939–1940 season was the 65th season of competitive football in England. It was suspended in September after the outbreak of World War II.
Overview
World War II broke out early into this season. Shortly after war was declared, most competitions, including the Football League, were abandoned as the country's attention turned to the war effort. A few leagues, such as the Northern League, did manage to complete a season, but more than half of the teams were unable to fulfil all their fixtures and resigned.
Blackpool sat at the top the First Division table at the time the abandonment occurred.[1] The FA Cup Extra-Preliminary Round was played, but with hostilities declared before replays took place, that competition too was abandoned. Entry fees received for the 1939–40 Cup were honoured for the next Cup in 1945–46.
Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead. Regional league competitions were set up. Appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records. The FA Cup was resumed for the 1945–46 season and The Football League for the 1946–47 season.
Honours
Wartime
After the abandonment of the football programme, the league was split into ten mini regional leagues. A national cup competition was also held.
| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| Midland League | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| West League | Stoke City |
| North-East League | Huddersfield Town |
| North-West League | Bury |
| South League 'A' | Arsenal |
| South League 'B' | Queens Park Rangers |
| South League 'C' | Tottenham Hotspur |
| South League 'D' | Crystal Palace |
| South-West League | Plymouth Argyle |
| East Midland League | Chesterfield |
| Football League War Cup | West Ham United |
League tables
League West
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke City | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 57 | 41 | 31 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 66 | 40 | 29 |
| 3 | Everton | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 64 | 33 | 28 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 74 | 41 | 28 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 73 | 41 | 28 |
| 6 | Wrexham | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 45 | 50 | 25 |
| 7 | New Brighton | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 55 | 52 | 23 |
| 8 | Port Vale | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 52 | 56 | 22 |
| 9 | Chester | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 40 | 51 | 19 |
| 10 | Crewe Alexandra | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 44 | 79 | 13 |
| 11 | Stockport County | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 45 | 79 | 11 |
| 12 | Tranmere Rovers | 22 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 41 | 93 | 7 |
League South A
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 62 | 22 | 30 |
| 2 | West Ham United | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 33 | 25 |
| 3 | Millwall | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 38 | 21 |
| 4 | Watford | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 38 | 21 |
| 5 | Norwich City | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 36 | 20 |
| 6 | Charlton Athletic | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 61 | 58 | 17 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 39 | 56 | 13 |
| 8 | Clapton Orient | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 28 | 60 | 13 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 37 | 43 | 12 |
| 10 | Southend United | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 30 | 61 | 8 |
League South B
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queens Park Rangers | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 49 | 26 | 26 |
| 2 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 52 | 37 | 24 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 37 | 23 |
| 4 | Reading | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 47 | 42 | 22 |
| 5 | Brentford | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 41 | 18 |
| 6 | Fulham | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 50 | 51 | 18 |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 37 | 42 | 16 |
| 8 | Aldershot | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 38 | 49 | 14 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 42 | 53 | 11 |
| 10 | Southampton | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 41 | 64 | 8 |
League South C
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 30 | 26 |
| 2 | West Ham United | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 53 | 28 | 24 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 26 | 23 |
| 4 | Brentford | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 34 | 20 |
| 5 | Millwall | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 30 | 19 |
| 6 | Charlton Athletic | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 36 | 18 |
| 7 | Fulham | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 38 | 42 | 17 |
| 8 | Southampton | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 28 | 55 | 13 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 53 | 11 |
| 10 | Portsmouth | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 26 | 45 | 9 |
League South D
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crystal Palace | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 64 | 30 | 27 |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 38 | 28 | 23 |
| 3 | Watford | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 41 | 29 | 21 |
| 4 | Southend United | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 37 | 19 |
| 5 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 40 | 41 | 18 |
| 6 | Aldershot | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 38 | 36 | 17 |
| 7 | Clapton Orient | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 33 | 45 | 17 |
| 8 | Norwich City | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33 | 36 | 16 |
| 9 | Reading | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 42 | 14 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 18 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 30 | 65 | 8 |
League South-West
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle | 28 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 72 | 41 | 36 |
| 2 | Torquay United | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 73 | 62 | 34 |
| 3 | Bristol Rovers | 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 62 | 55 | 28 |
| 4 | Newport County | 28 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 70 | 63 | 28 |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 66 | 63 | 28 |
| 6 | Swansea Town | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 54 | 60 | 26 |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 28 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 45 | 63 | 25 |
| 8 | Bristol City | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 57 | 92 | 19 |