| 1939-40 season | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Performance | |
| Division 1 |
Season postponed after 3 games |
| Western Division |
Runners-up |
| War League Cup |
1st round |
| Top scorers | |
| Division 1 |
Taylor (2) |
| Western Division |
Nieuwenhuys (18) |
| War League Cup |
Fagan (1) |
| Overall |
Nieuwenhuys (18) |
| Attendances | |
The 1939-40 season was an unofficial season during World War II, and was Liverpool's 48th season of football since they were established. The outbreak of World War II saw the suspension of all professional football in September 1939; Liverpool had played just three games by this point and sat fourth place in the league.
An unofficial regional league system was put in place throughout the country, and Liverpool were placed in the Western Divison, along with Everton and Manchester United among others. Due to many players going off to take part in military service, Liverpool's depleted squad was suplemented by guest players. Notable players to continue playing this season include Arthur Riley, Berry Nieuwenhuys, Billy Liddell and Bob Paisley.
As the FA Cup had also been suspended, a replacement knockout competition - the War League Cup - was put in place. Liverpool were knocked out at the first hurdle by Barrow, who beat Liverpool 4-1 on aggregate over the two-legged tie. Liverpool were much more successful in the Western Divison, finishing just two points behind champions Stoke City. South African forward Berry Nieuwenhuys finished as top scorer in the season, scoring 18 goals in all competitons. No statistics attained during the war years were counted as official.
Squad[]
- GK. Dirk Kemp
- GK. Eric Holmes Mansley
- GK. Arthur Riley
- DF. Matt Busby
- DF. Tom Cooper
- DF. John Easdale
- DF. Jim Harley
- DF. Ray Lambert
- DF. Jimmy McInnes
- DF. Bernard Ramsden
- DF. Fred Rogers
- DF. Eddie Spicer
- DF. Phil Taylor
- DF. Jack Tennant
- MF. Tom Bush
- MF. Alf Hanson
- MF. Billy Liddell
- MF. Berry Nieuwenhuys
- MF. Bob Paisley
- MF. Stan Palk
- MF. Harman Van Den Berg
- FW. Jack Balmer
- FW. Len Carney
- FW. Cyril Done
- FW. Willie Fagan
- FW. Bill Kinghorn
- FW. George Paterson
- ?. A W Brown
- ?. Douglas F Cooke
- ?. Peter Dermont Doherty
- ?. Stanley Eastham
- ?. Ron Guttridge
- ?. Walter Halsall
- ?. G Leadbetter
- ?. George Murphy
- ?. Robert William Stuart
- ?. Frank Swift
- ?. George Walton
Note: Fixed squad numbers were not introduced until the 1993-94 season.
Friendlies[]
| Date | Opponent | Score | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 August 1939 | Everton | 2-1[1] | Taylor, Balmer |
| 16 September 1939 | Chester | 5-0 | Fagan 2, Nieuwenhuys, Balmer, Carney |
| 23 September 1939 | Bolton | 3-0 | Balmer 2, Busby |
| 30 September 1939 | Blackburn | 5-0 | Taylor 2, Fagan, Nieuwenhuys, Balmer |
| 7 October 1939 | Everton | 1-4 | Taylor |
| 14 October 1939 | Crewe Alexandra | 1-0 | Nieuwenhuys |
| 16 December 1939 | Preston North End | 0-1 | |
| 25 December 1939 | Everton | 2-3 | Fagan 2 |
| 26 December 1939 | Everton | 1-2 | Busby |
| 30 December 1939 | Preston North End | 3-1 | Fagan, Done 2 |
| 25 March 1940 | Bolton | 0-1 | |
| 5 May 1940 | Oldham | 4-2 | Carney, Liddell, G. Leadbetter, Nieuwenhuys |
Results[]
League[]
| Date | Opponent | Score | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 August 1939 | Sheffield United | 1-2 | McInnes |
| 30 August 1939 | Middlesbrough | 4-1 | Taylor 2, Van Den Ber, Balmer |
| 2 September 1939 | Chelsea | 1-0 | Done |
Western Division[]
| Date | Opponent | Score | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 October 1939 | Stockport | 3-0 | Balmer (15, 88), Fagan (89) |
| 28 October 1939 | Port Vale | 1-1 | Balmer (15) |
| 11 November 1939 | Tranmere | 3-1 | Fagan, Nieuwenhuys 2 |
| 18 November 1939 | Man Utd | 1-0 | Fagan (pen 61) |
| 25 November 1939 | Wrexham | 1-2 | Nieuwenhuys |
| 2 December 1939 | Everton | 2-2 | Nieuwenhuys (50), Fagan (pen 51) |
| 9 December 1939 | Stoke | 1-3 | Fagan |
| 23 December 1939 | New Brighton | 6-2 | Done 4, Carney, Eastham |
| 1 January 1940 | Crewe Alexandra | 7-3 | Nieuwenhuys 3, Liddell, G. Leadbetter, Busby, Carney |
| 6 January 1940 | Man City | 7-3 | Liddell 3, Fagan 2, Nieuwenhuys 2 |
| 20 January 1940 | Chester | 1-1 | Nieuwenhuys |
| 24 February 1940 | Port Vale | 8-3 | Fagan 4 (1 pen), Van Den Berg 2, Tennant, Liddell |
| 16 March 1940 | Man Utd | 0-1 | |
| 22 March 1940 | Crewe Alexandra | 6-3 | Fagan 3 (2 pens), Carney, Balmer, Liddell |
| 23 March 1940 | Wrexham | 0-0 | |
| 30 March 1940 | Everton | 3-1 | Nieuwenhuys 2 (28, 29), Liddell |
| 6 April 1940 | Stoke | 1-2 | Balmer |
| 11 May 1940 | Stockport | 4-3 | Nieuwenhuys 3, Van Den Berg |
| 18 May 1940 | Chester | 0-4 | |
| 25 May 1940 | Man City | 3-2 | Nieuwenhuys, Liddell (pen 80), Murphy (83) |
| 29 May 1940 | Tranmere | 8-3 | Nieuwenhuys 2, Doherty 2, Carney 2, Liddell, Hanson |
| 1 June 1940 | New Brighton | 0-0 |
War League Cup[]
| Round | Date | Opponent | Score | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1st leg) | 20 April 1940 | Barrow | 0-2 | |
| 1 (2nd leg) | 27 April 1940 | Barrow | 1-2 | Fagan (pen) |
Tables[]
League[]
Note: Season was suspended after 3 games.
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | G. Avg | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 2.00 | 5 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2.00 | 4 |
| 5 | Bolton | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1.20 | 4 |
Western Division[]
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | G. Avg | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 57 | 41 | 1.39 | 31 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 66 | 40 | 1.65 | 29 |
| 3 | Everton | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 64 | 33 | 1.94 | 28 |
| 4 | Man Utd | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 74 | 41 | 1.80 | 28 |
| 5 | Man City | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 73 | 41 | 1.78 | 28 |
| 6 | Wrexham | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 45 | 50 | 0.90 | 25 |
| 7 | New Brighton | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 55 | 52 | 1.06 | 23 |
| 8 | Port Vale | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 52 | 56 | 0.93 | 22 |
| 9 | Chester | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 40 | 51 | 0.78 | 19 |
| 10 | Crewe Alexandra | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 44 | 79 | 0.56 | 13 |
| 11 | Stockport | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 45 | 79 | 0.57 | 11 |
| 12 | Tranmere | 22 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 41 | 93 | 0.44 | 7 |
Player stats[]
Note: Stats during war years are unofficial.
| Pos. | Name | League | WD | WLC | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FW | Jack Balmer | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| ? | A W Brown | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Matt Busby | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| MF | Tom Bush | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| FW | Len Carney | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
| ? | Douglas F Cooke | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Tom Cooper | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| ? | Peter Dermont Doherty | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| FW | Cyril Done | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| DF | John Easdale | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| ? | Stanley Eastham | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| FW | Willie Fagan | 3 | 0 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 15 |
| ? | Ron Guttridge | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| ? | Walter Halsall | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Alf Hanson | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| DF | Jim Harley | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| GK | Dirk Kemp | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| FW | Bill Kinghorn | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Ray Lambert | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| ? | G Leadbetter | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| MF | Billy Liddell | 0 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 9 |
| GK | Eric Holmes Mansley | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | Jimmy McInnes | 3 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| ? | George Murphy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| MF | Berry Nieuwenhuys | 3 | 0 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 18 |
| MF | Bob Paisley | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | Stan Palk | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | George Paterson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Bernard Ramsden | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| GK | Arthur Riley | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| DF | Fred Rogers | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | Eddie Spicer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ? | Robert William Stuart | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ? | Frank Swift | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Phil Taylor | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| DF | Jack Tennant | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| MF | Harman Van Den Berg | 3 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| ? | George Walton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Transfers[]
In[]
None.
Out[]
None.
References[]
- ↑ Jubilee Fund benefit match.