Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 29th December 1945
Programme of the Week Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 29th December 1945
The latest in a series of football programmes from my collection that relates to a game in the next few days.
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 2019 / 2020
This weekend Arsenal and Wolves enjoy a traditional Saturday afternoon 3pm kick off at the Emirates Stadium.
It’s a mixed start to the season for both teams. Arsenal sit 5th with 16 points after 10 games. But all does not seem to be well at the club. The manager Unai Emery is under pressure from the terrace and, apparently, in the dressing room. Skipper Granit Xhaka has had a hissy fit at the supporters and already some talk of this being a defining match, if Arsenal lose.
As for Wolverhampton Wanderers, they sit four points behind Arsenal in 12th place. Wolves have only lost twice, but 6 draws show that they are struggling to close out games. Last Sunday’s away game at Newcastle was a prime example.
Some blame Wolves Europa League commitments for a sluggish league start. However, most believe that Nuno’s men will win many more than they lose between now and May.
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 29th December 1945
It’s hard to imagine what the situation was in the country just 7 months after VE Day.
1945–46 was the first peacetime football season since the 1939–40 season was cut short due to World War II. On 7 May (as the war was ending), it was announced that the FA Cup would be resumed, and that the 44 clubs in the top two divisions of the 1938–39 season would play in the Football League North and Football League South without promotion and relegation from the previous peacetime season.
This arrangement was debated by the clubs over the following two months – with Wolverhampton Wanderers proposing an immediate return to a peacetime Football League as was to happen in France – before it was agreed at The Football League’s annual meeting in London on 25 July that regional leagues should continue for one more season.
The season kicked off on August 25th. Arsenal lost 0-2 at Coventry City and Wolves won 4-1 away at Tottenham Hotspur!
White Hart Lane
They are back at White Hart Lane for this fixture. Highbury Stadium was commissioned as an ARP Station during the War and was bombed. It did not reopen until later in 1946.
Both teams play on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, before this meeting on December 29th and each has played 22 matches. Wolves are 6th, on 26 points, 8 points behind the eventual League Champions Birmingham City and 13 behind current leaders Charlton Athletic.
Arsenal are 6 places and 5 points behind Wolves.
The match programme is a single sheet printed on both sides. Strangely, the colour leans more towards Wolves than it does Arsenal!
The front gives details of both Spurs and Arsenal’s upcoming 3rd round FA Cup fixtures as well as the teams.
The reverse gives details of Arsenal’s scores and fixtures for the season to date and the league table. There is also an ‘Items of Interest’ article that talks about previous games. It also talks about the whereabouts of players on active service and when they may be expected home. Both Compton brothers, Leslie and Denis, are mentioned. Very poignant.
The Main Men
There is a touch of bias here, but even the programme notes mention that the presence of Stanley Cullis, after two years in Italy, intensifies the appeal of the match.
This would be Cullis’ penultimate season before he became the most successful manager in Wolverhampton Wanderers history. He played 13 games in the 1945-46 season and 37 the following year before his retirement.
He would go on to oversee 3 league titles; 2 FA Cup victories; The Charity Shield, The Youth Cup and the Central League.
His statue stands outside the ‘North Bank’ Molineux – since renamed in his honour.
However, his skills on the pitch and goals by Tom Galley & Billy Wright, are not enough to prevent Arsenal securing a 3-2 victory in this match.
There are other notable names on the team sheets that day. Wolves stalwarts Billy Crook, Jimmy Dunn and Jimmy Mullen featured. For Arsenal Eddie Hapgood; Bernard Joy and Cliff Bastin all played.
Most intriguing for me was right winger Dr. O’Flannagan. This amazing Irishman played both football and rugby for Ireland. He was also a sprint champion, a long jumper and a Gaelic Footballer! In the 1945-46 season he plays 18 times and is top scorer with 11 goals. In later life, he gave long service to the International Olympic Association.
Good luck to both sides this weekend. Arsenal can’t improve their league position, though a win may improve the atmosphere around the club.
A win could see Wolves back in the top six, if other results go their way!