No rational person can refute the claim that the Wenger era Arsenal squad is one of the great teams of English football. Maybe not of European football, but certainly of English football. The unbeaten season, the record number of games without being shutout, three consecutive FA Cup finals - a litany of records.
What initially struck me as being interesting about this is that Arsenal have managed to be a truly exceptional team at virtually the same time that Manchester United have also fielded a team for the ages. Two historic teams at one time, what are the chances of that? Well, better than I thought apparently. Almost every time one team put together a great run, at least one other club was there with them (within a year or two). The lone exceptions - Arsenal in the 30s and Liverpool from the mid-70s through the 80s, the only two clubs to truly dominate an era in English football.
Let’s take a look at the top level of English football, all the way back to 1889, to see if there has been another era in which two teams that could both be called truly great have co-existed:
The first great professional team in England was Preston North End, who put together a seven year run that featured back-to-back titles and then three straight runners up finishes. All told they had seven top four finishes over a nine year span. That’s pretty solid in my book, plus they also put together a hellacious unbeaten run. At just about the same time Sunderland put together three title-winning seasons and two runners up over a seven year span. That’s five top two finishes in seven years. Wow. Not to be outdone, Aston Villa rattled off five titles in seven years. So, in a twelve year span, three teams put together terrific runs that included back-to-back titles. Over the next 17 seasons only one team would repeat as Champion.
Jump ahead to 1922 as Liverpool win the first of two straight. There run is halted by Huddersfield Town who go on to rattle off three straight titles. A few years later Sheffield Wednesday do the back-to-back and record five top three finishes on the trot. So, a nine year span that sees three different squads win at least two straight titles.
Now we reach the 1930s, a decade owned by the Arsenal who win five titles and throw in a second and third place finish (that’s seven top three finishes over eight years). For the first time in English football one club owns a significant stretch of time and no one else can touch them.
After WWII Manchester United starts their terrific run, grabbing the title in 1952, ‘56 and ‘57. Not to be outdone, Wolverhampton Wanderers grab the top spot in 1954, ‘58 and ‘59 (Note, the Munich Air Tragedy certainly played a huge factor here, but we can only look at the facts).
Once again we hit a barren patch for great teams, as no one can repeat as champions from 1960-1975. Lots of good teams - Leeds United, ManU, Liverpool and Arsenal’s ‘71 Double Squad, but no one dominates.
Now we enter the Liverpool era. From 1976 to 1990 they win a ridiculous 10 of 15 titles. No one can touch that. For us North Americans, think NY Yankees, UCLA or Boston Celtic basketball or Montreal Canadians. Just on another planet. Of the five times they didn’t win it, they came in second four times. That’s 14 top two finishes in 15 years! Are you kidding me? Arsenal have done it seven years in a row now, which is remarkable. They are only half way to Liverpool’s record.
That brings us to the ’90s and present day, dominated by two teams ? Arsenal and Manchester United. So with the exception of Herb Chapman’s Arsenal squad and the Liverpool Boot Room boys, it seems that the best teams in England have always had a present day rival for the crown. Were they spurred on by a desire to go above and beyond the accomplishments they had just witnessed? Is England that competitive of a footballing nation? When you look at the other major leagues you’ll see that it’s similar rarely does a team dominate an era by itself. Arsenal and Liverpool’s achievements really were special
9 Responses to “Arsenal and Liverpool - the only two clubs to dominate in the history of English”
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August 20th, 2004 at 9:03 am
Great research. I know you’re concentrating on the English domestic game but you can’t fail to mention that as well as the 10 league championships in 15 years they also won the European cup four times.
A truly remarkable team that every fan cheered when they played in Europe, Unlike ManUre who incite hatred in many.
August 20th, 2004 at 9:25 am
It’s really hard to comprehend how ridiculously dominant Liverpool were. I consider myself a student of the sport (not saying I know that much, just that I love the history of the game). I’ve read a book (The Boot Room Boys?) on Liverpool. Great stuff. As you rightly point out, they also did the business in Europe. Who knows what those Arsenal teams of Chapman would have done had the European Cup been around at the time.
August 20th, 2004 at 12:05 pm
You’re probably aware of the Battle of Highbury. Italy were World Cup winners in the 30’s and they played England in a “friendly” at THOF. The England team had seven Arsenal players in the side, it would have been all eleven but we had a couple of scots and Welsh playing for us.
England (Arsenal) won 3-2 but many players were injured due to the Italians not liking the fact that The Arsenal were beating them out of sight.
August 20th, 2004 at 12:56 pm
I really loved the post Rick. Fresh material, and very compelling. Unlike you, I don’t know a great deal of history surrounding the English football world, just a bit here and there. That is why I was so interested in your piece. In fact, while I had always heard people speak with respect of the Liverpool side, or Manchester United, I never knew how thoroughly Liverpool dominated the English game during that span of time. It truly does sound surreal. As much as I love the Arsenal, I couldn’t imagine us winning 10 out of 15 titles in this modern era. I’m extremely excited to see what the new stadium will do to raise the stature of the club above the lofty position it already holds. That, and I think it might mean I can get a ticket if I ever get over to England.
August 20th, 2004 at 1:24 pm
Ice!
You can get a ticket to the Arsenal… just get over to England!!! The airfares get LOW in the fall/early Winter… and the pilgrimage HAS to be made to understand in full.
Book: Rebels for the Cause
(an alternative History of the Arsenal FC)
This book was excellent… I learned alot of history that I had no idea about…
cheers!
August 20th, 2004 at 6:16 pm
Herbert Chapman no doubt was one of the greatest managers of English football, afterall, not too many managers could claim himself as an inventor of a popular formation which spread across the world in the mould of Chapman’s “W-Formation”. But I would say AW is better than him.
‘Cos judging from history, Chapman’s success was based on “buying the best players at all cost” - wasn’t it a similiar approach adapted by a certain Real Madrid and Chelsea side which we love to hate?! In a sense, I’m glad that Arsenal today are no longer the “Bank of England” as it once was. And the satisfication of seeing AW’s ability to turn the rock into diamond and leads us to more glory just simply greater than hearing ppl saying we “buy” the trophies. But there is no stopping Roman and Perez though!
August 20th, 2004 at 6:23 pm
Agree. An excellent read for not so conventional Arsenal history.
August 21st, 2004 at 4:58 am
Andez,
Did you just said A. Wenger is better than Herbert Chapman? Please don’t go there. Come on let get real here my good friend.
Both men revolutionized football in their era but to sit down and say one is better than the other is not on esp. when most of us were not even born to see Chapman Arsenal.
Chapman will always be known as The Arsenal whiles time will judge Wenger. You can’t compare T. Adams with PV the same way. Arsenal are playing some sweet football of last but there was a big foundation beforehand.
Let not forget the past.
August 21st, 2004 at 9:59 am
i apologize for it Love_G, u r right, i cannot compare the past and present. although i personally favour AW’s “buy cheap sell high” approach, I dare not to write off the contribution of Mr. Chapman to Arsenal Football Club. Without him, we are now probably a lower division outfit like his former club Huddersfield Town.