**100 Years since Herbert Chapman Joined the Arsenal**
Here is the story so far…
By Tony Attwood
Most of us I think would be pretty annoyed to be removed from our jobs and then be replaced in exactly the same position, by someone else althoughly that is of course what happens to football managers. And certainly Knighton was annoyed about being dismissed, as he made very clear in his autobiography.
But we might note one particular point here. Knghton wrote his complaints about his dismissal at Arsenal in his autobiography after he had retired from football, and seemingly had very little money coming in. That was in 1948, 23 years after he was sacked. And he did so, as far as I have been able to find out, without any support or help in terms of confirmation of facts or the supply of printed documents etc from his former club. Indeed by the time he worked on the book, he had sunk way out of site in terms of being a serious commentator of football matters, having moved from League Division One to non-league.
In fact Arsenal manager Knighton’s last job was as manager of non-league Shrewsbury Town which he held from 1945 until just before his death. According to Soar and Taylor in their 2005 _The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal_ Knighton alleged that Norris sacked him to avoid paying him a bonus. What they don’t mention is that this event happened 23 years before he wrote his autobiography, by which time Norris had had passed away and the awful record of Knighton at Arsenal in the last couple of years of Knighton’s reign far from raising the issue of a bonus, actually raises the issue of why Knighton was not sacked sooner.
From the information we now have, Sir Henry knew who he wanted as manager, but had to wait for the right moment to approach him (ie by the time most of Arsenal’s debts accumulated through the building of the Highbury Stadium were paid off). This in turn left Arsenal sinking ever close to relegation, finishing in fact 20th in the league, in Knighton’s final disastrous season, as well as being knocked out of the FA Cup first round).
Some sources claim that Sir Henry said later her regretted his dismissal, stating it was the one mistake in his career, and that Norris left Knighton £100 in his will, but again I can find no way of confirming that this is not another part of Knighton’s own self-promoting propaganda following his years in football not only not winning any trophies but gradually sinking from running a Divison One club to a non-league side.
And I do think that in writing his autobiography Knighton needed what we might call some deviations from reality, since his record at Arsenal was singularly poor. He managed the club through 286 league and cup matches, and lost more games than he won, conceding more goals than the club scored, having a win percentage of 36.71% and winning no honours, while just scraping high enough to avoid relegation in his last two seasons. With such a record it really does seem rather ludicrous to suggest that there was anything the club could do other than sack him.
But if there is still any doubt about Knighton’s value to Arsenal we can compare his results and achievements with the man who succeeded him, Herbert Chapman. Knighton managed 286 games and had a win percentage of 36.71% while Chapman managed 411 and had a win percentage of 49.64%. And that win percentage was achieved having taken on a club that missed relegation by just one place in Knighton’s last year.
Knighton left Arsenal on [16 May 1925](https://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/25878) and Chapman was appointed 26 days later on 11 June, again suggesting clearly that Arsenal, Huddersfield and Chapman had had some discussions before Knighton left – which was not against the rulebook at that time.
Now it can be argued at this point that there is no logical reason at al for Chapman, as manager, to have moved from Huddersfield where he had just won the FA Cup, and the 1st division (twice). Why go from that astonishing success with a club that had never previously got anywhere near to winning anything, to a club that had just avoided relegation?
The answer can only be that Chapman recognised as indeed the directors of Huddersfield Town recognised, that there was no way in which Huddersfield Town could compete with other teams that had a much greater level of support. Although Huddersfield had a stadium that could hold 60,000, their crowds could sink to levels around 10,000 in bad weather. Indeed even in winning three trophies they were not anywhere near filling the stadium for match after match. And this mattered because match day income was the only income the club had, apart from selling players.
Arsenal however were getting much bigger crowds, even when fighting relegation and indeed their biggest home crowd in Knighton’s relegation-threatened last season was 51,000. True that was against Tottenham Hotspur, but it showed that the passion and excitement were there, and if only a half-decent team could be put out, it would surely grow. Indeed much was made of the fact that even with Arsenal lurking near the bottom of the league, the crowd for the Arsenal v Tottenham game invariably exceeded that for the Tottenham v Arsenal match by 20,000. Indeed back in 1920/21 crowds for matches against both Sunderland and Tottenham had exceeded 60,000. As Sir Henry Norris fully recognised, the passion and the attendances were there. The results simply just had to be a bit better.
So Knighton was dismissed and the advertisement which has since become rather famous, was run in Athletic News…
“Arsenal Football Club is open to receive applications for the position of TEAM MANAGER. He must be experienced and possess the highest qualifications for the post, both as to ability and personal character. Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant \[_sic_\] transfer fees need not apply.”
Chapman is reported to have doubled his Huddersfield salary at Arsenal (which must have been another factor in enticing him to move) and he soon signed Charlie Buchan (Sunderland’s all-time record scorer) as captain. Buchan was 34, but that didn’t seem to matter. It was just the sort of impact statement that Arsenal needed, and indeed he played three full seasons for the club.
What’s more, Buchan played 39 league games out of 42 in his first Arsenal season and scored 19 goals as Arsenal finished runners-up. Indeed we can see the difference the new management made by comparing the final season without Buchan, and the first season with the player…
20
Arsenal 1924/5
42
14
5
23
46
58
33
2
Arsenal 1925/26
42
22
8
12
87
63
52
The changes made to the team were easy to understand.
* Robson stayed in goal as before
* Mackie who had played half the previous season was retained at right back
* Kenedy at left-back was dropped after a dozen games
* Mine who had played in midfield most of the previous season was dropped after five games and did not return.
* Butler was retained at centre half
* Bob John was moved from mid-field to left bak
* Jock Rutherford who had played half the season in Knighton’s last campaign, got one game
* Neil, also got just one game
* Woods who had played all season as centre forward now got two games at outside riight
* Ramsay who had played two thirds of the season before being injured was injured again in the first match of the season but returned for the last 15 gmaes of the season
* Toner who played 30 games on the left wing played the first two games of Chapman’s first season and then was seen no more. On the wins two new men were introduced Lawson and Hulme, who interestingly half way through their run of games in 1926 swapped wings.
But we should not assume that Chapman was getting rid of the old and bringing in the new with total success. Lawson having made 13 appearances and scoring two goals in Chapman’s first campaign made no appearances in 1926/7 and left the club in March 1927 for Brentford then of the Third Division (South).
Joe Hulme was however a different kettle of fish, having come into the team he kept his place and except when injured he became a fixture in 1926/7. Between his arrival in 1926 and his departure in 1938 he played 333 games and scored 107 goals.
Thus we see the pattern and indeed can note that although Chapman was very good at spotting the right player for the Arsenal team, and was not afraid to make quick decisions, and of course, he did not get every transfer right by all means.
But it is perhaps worth considering the final league table in 1925/26 Chapman’s first season.
1
Huddersfield Town
42
23
11
8
92
60
57
**2**
**Arsenal**
**42**
**22**
**8**
**12**
**87**
**63**
**52**
3
Sunderland
42
21
6
15
96
80
48
4
Bury
42
20
7
15
85
77
47
5
Sheffield United
42
19
8
15
102
82
46
6
Aston Villa
42
16
12
14
86
76
44
7
Liverpool
42
14
16
12
70
63
44
8
Bolton Wanderers
42
17
10
15
75
76
44
9
Manchester United
42
19
6
17
66
73
44
10
Newcastle United
42
16
10
16
84
75
42
11
Everton
42
12
18
12
72
70
42
12
Blackburn Rovers
42
15
11
16
91
80
41
13
West Bromwich Albion
42
16
8
18
79
78
40
14
Birmingham City
42
16
8
18
66
81
40
15
Tottenham Hotspur
42
15
9
18
66
79
39
16
Cardiff City
42
16
7
19
61
76
39
17
Leicester City
42
14
10
18
70
80
38
18
West Ham United
42
15
7
20
63
76
37
19
Leeds United
42
14
8
20
64
76
36
20
Burnley
42
13
10
19
85
108
36
21
Manchester City
42
12
11
19
89
100
35
22
Notts County
42
13
7
22
54
74
33
And indeed let us compare Chapman’s first season with the ever-self-justifying Knighton’s final Arsenal campaign.
**Pos**
**Season**
**P**
**W**
**D**
**L**
**F**
**A**
**Pts**
20
Arsenal 1924/5
42
14
5
23
46
58
33
**2**
**Arsenal 1925/6**
**42**
**22**
**8**
**12**
**87**
**63**
**52**
Goals had almost doubled, and there were eight more wins and 11 fewer defeats in Chapman’s first season compared with Knighton’s last. Arsenal scored 41 more goals with Chapman running the show than Knighton, but Chapman’s defence was slightly weaker conceding five more. But most importantly Arsenal moved from just missing relegation to just missing out on the title – by five points. It was an extraordinary turnaround.