Chasing Four League Titles In A Row - The Leicester Connection

[kushiro]

So we're about to see something that's never happened before in English football - a club winning four titles in a row. 

 

In the past, every time a club has won three, they've fallen short the following season - Huddersfield in 1926/27, Arsenal in 1935/36, Liverpool in 1985/84 and Man U in 2009/10.  Now it looks like Man CIty will finally do it.

 

Looking back at those past attempts, you find some fascinating Leicester connections.

 

Let's have a look at them.

 

 

1926/27

 

The story of Huddersfield Town in the 1920s rivals Leicester 2016 as the most miraculous in the history of the League. In 1919 their chairman decided to wind the club up and move the whole operation 20 miles down the road, merging with a new amateur team called 'Leeds United', who would conveniently take over Huddersfield's place in Division Two.

 

Somehow though, the move didn't take place, and Association Football survived in Huddersfield. Six months later and the club had, incredibly, made it to their first FA Cup Final and won promotion to Division One. Four years after that, under legendary manager Herbert Chapman,  they won the League title. Then they retained it twice, despite Chapman moving to Arsenal.

 

In August 1926 they set out to win it for a fourth time. 

 

Two months into the season and the club that looked likely to stop them - to everyone's surprise - was Leicester City. In our two previous seasons in the top flight we had finished 17th (a year earlier), and rock bottom (in 1909).  We had also just suffered the shock of losing our own managerial legend. Peter Hodge had joined Manchester City; replaced by another Scot, Willie Orr.

 

The very first moment of the Orr era was actually captured on film. Here you see our opening game - at West Ham. If the brand new stand you see at the start looks familiar it's because the Double Decker, built the following year, was almost a carbon copy:

 

 

 

We drew that 3-3, and our next two away games were also in London - 2-2 at Spurs and 2-2 at Arsenal. Good early home form meant we traveled to Everton on September 18th knowing that a win could put us top for the first time ever. 

 

Those hopes seemed to have been dashed when Everton were 3-0 up at the break. But we somehow scored four in the second half, and the home side missed a last minute penalty to leave us in dreamland - at the top of the tree. 

 

We then won three of the next four, which left us a point behind leaders Burnley with a game in hand. Huddersfield were down in 8th place.

 

It didn't last. We took just a point from the next five games and were never real challengers after that, though our final position of 7th was by far our best ever.

 

Huddersfield ended up in second place, narrowly failing to make it four in a row, five points behind champions Newcastle United.

 

 

 

1935/36

 

1930s Arsenal were the second great team built by Herbert Chapman. But as with Huddersfield, he led them only in the first two seasons of the hat-trick of title wins. He died suddenly in January 1934, aged just 55.

 

As the Gunners opened the 1935/36 season, aiming for four in a row, Leicester were playing their first game in Division Two for a decade. We'd suffered our own shocking managerial bereavement - Peter Hodge, who'd returned to Filbert Street in 1932, passing away just six months after Chapman. His replacement Arthur Lochhead  - he of the music shop on Loseby Lane - took us down in his first season.

 

The club who stopped Arsenal's run were Sunderland, and the man who inspired their title win was a player we had let slip through our fingers. 

 

Raich Carter, still recognized today as one of the greatest ever English inside-forwards, came down for a trial at Leicester over the Christmas holiday in 1930. He had just turned 17 and was looking to sign his first professional contract.  He played for us in a reserve game at Filbert Street against Watford, but on a muddy pitch he couldn't show his true ablilty. He soon returned home to the North-East, Willie Orr telling him he'd never make it as he was 'too small'.

 

Who knows what the 1930s might have brought had we signed him. Sunderland were the beneficiaries, and Carter's magical skills helped them to stop Arsenal's run of title wins.

 

 

 

 

1984/85

 

Liverpool's bid for four in a row suffered a double blow before the season began. Captain Graeme Souness left for Sampdoria, and Ian Rush picked up an injury in pre-season that kept him out for nearly three months. By the time Rush returned, the Reds were in the bottom half of the table. 

 

But then came a typical Liverpool surge.  The first of their title hat-trick, in 1981/82, had come after they'd been 12th at New Year, and now the giants smelled the blood of another title run.

 

That was until Gordon Milne's Leicester City arrived at Anfield on Boxing Day:

 

 

 

 

The hero of the game was keeper Ian Andrews, who had only recently taken over from Mark Wallington.

 

Liverpool's climb up the table continued after that setback, and they would finish second behind Everton.

 

 

 

2009/10

 

 

We were in the Championship as Manchester United chased their fourth title in a row, but on United's books at the time were a group of players who would play a big part at the King Power in the years ahead.

 

Danny Drinkwatwer, 19, was on a season-long loan at that club that very nearly ceased to exist at the start of the story - Huddersfield Town. 

 

Danny Simpson, 22, was also on loan for the season - at Newcastle.

 

Matty James, 18, was named on the bench for one League Cup tie that season, but didn't get on the pitch. He too was soon loaned out - to Preston.

 

Ritchie de Laet, 20, was the only one of the future foxes to feature in United's quest for four in a row. He played in two games in December, a win over Wolves at Old Trafford, then a 3-0 defeat at Fulham. Here he is with one of Fulham's goalscorers that day, Bobby Zamora:

 

 

It was Chelsea who stopped United making it four in a row, and de Laet never played for United again. 

 

 

2023/24

 

So once again we've been a League below as a club strives for four in a row. The only impact we've had on Man City was to steal their Assistant Manager before the start of the season - and they don't seem to have missed him. 

 

If they do finish the job on Sunday, it will be the third City-City championship double - Manchester in the top flight, Leicester a League below. Exactly the same thing happened in 2014, and back in 1937.

 

At the end of that season, 87 years ago, we beat Spurs to clinch the Division Two title then a week later, while on a celebratory tour of Europe, we met the Man CIty squad completely by chance on Cologne Station. 

 

If it happens again, I wonder what Guardiola and Maresca will say to each other?

 

 

 

(and if this turns into a caption competition I'll have no complaints).

Edited 16 May 2024 by kushiro

[kushiro]

That brief video clip of our 3-3 draw at West Ham in 1926 shows only 20 seconds of action, but it's packed with goodies. 

 

A quick reminder:

 

 

 

I mentioned above that you can see West Ham's new Main Stand - so similar to the Double Decker. After that,  you see this:

 

 

On the left is our captain Johnny Duncan. who has just won the toss against West Ham skipper Sid Bishop - who we signed shortly afterwards. Later that season Bishop  became our first ever outfield player to be selected for England.

 

In the picture, Duncan is looking up at the sky. Why?

 

It's the position of the sun he's interested in. In those days, in almost every match report you see something like 'Smith won the toss and chose to defend the Kop end in the first half so the opposition would be playing into the sun'.  It never seems much of an issue anymore.

 

Next is this:

 

 

It's only a fleeting moment of action but it's possible to identify exactly what it shows. That's our left back Reg Osborne, looking back anxiously. And the keeper is our Kenny Campbell. Have we just conceded ? Well, a moment after that you see the ref signaling that a goal has been scored, running back to the half way line.

 

But which of West Ham's three goals that day was it?  Various visual clues tell us that this is still the first half. The Hammers only scored once in that period - a Stan Earle header from a corner. I'm pretty sure it's the first goal in a Leicester League game ever caught on film (or at least, that's still on existence).

 

Then we see this:

 

 

Kenny Campbell going to pick the ball out of his net after West Ham's second goal.

 

Then this:

 

 

 

The ball's in Campbell's net for a third time.

 

What a shame the cameas never captured any of Arthur Chandler's hat-trick.

[kushiro]

It's worth mentioning one more season.

 

Liverpool may well have won SIX in a row had they been champions in 1980/81. They won the two before that and the three after. 

 

Who played the biggest role in stopping them that season? The one club who did the double over them was - Jock Wallace's Leicester City. We also managed to get relegated that year.

[kushiro]

Apologies for the howler in the original post. 

 

Man U under Ferguson had TWO chances to win four in a row. I mentioned, 2009/10, but there was also 2001/02, when Wenger's Arsenal stopped them. 

 

That season United won 1-0 at Leicester in April to stay on Arsenal's heels - Solskjaer scoring the last ever winning goal for an away team at Filbert Street.

[Leeds Fox]

36 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Apologies for the howler in the original post. 

 

Man U under Ferguson had TWO chances to win four in a row. I mentioned, 2009/10, but there was also 2001/02, when Wenger's Arsenal stopped them. 

 

That season United won 1-0 at Leicester in April to stay on Arsenal's heels - Solskjaer scoring the last ever winning goal for an away team at Filbert Street.

I think we can let this one slide @kushiro

 

Great content as always