Hopkin's History of Football League Vol2(football book)

HOPKIN'S HISTORY OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Volume Two - 1946-1966

by Roger Hopkin (October 2009) Paperback, A4 297x210mm
164 pages
ISBN 978-1-905328-71-0
£12.99

The Football League has been with us since 1888. It is arguably the most brilliant, yet simple, invention to shape the way the game is played. Unlike cups, every team competes from start to finish. Each team plays each other, home and away, every season. Their matches provide league tables, wondrous things of order and beauty.

So many matches. So many goals. How best to condense this rich and complex history - from 1888 to the present - into accessible form? How best to provide as much information as possible in the least possible space? Roger Hopkin has wrestled with these problems for years. Here is his answer.

INTRODUCTION by Roger Hopkin

The aims of the second volume in this series are to preserve the history of our national game, to set down in one book a wealth of Football League data, and to explain how and when key issues were settled in the seasons 1946-1966.

Twenty seasons are covered, with use of a two-column layout to maximise the amount of information included. Final Tables for all four divisions are given, with end-of-season outcomes noted and statistics provided. The tables show games played, goals for, goals against, points earned, and have been tabulated to improve accuracy. It is important to remember that only two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw, with teams finishing level on points separated by goal-average.

The battles at the top and bottom of each division are highlighted using 'part-tables', before rounding off with paragraphs on 'final phases', showing how and when promotions and relegations were determined. The 'title race' section for Seasons 1958-1961 is presented in paragraph form - a personal choice, as this was when I first started following Football League matters in earnest. Statistics for 'divisional' crowds and goals are provided for all seasons.

Also covered are all the champion clubs' league results, together with club appearance, attendance and goal-scoring statistics. Details of F.A. Cup scores from Round 5 onwards, and the Football League Cup (1960-61 and after) from Round 4, are included, with short summaries of all Final ties. As with Volume One, snippets of information about the national game, its clubs and its characters, are sprinkled throughout the book.