Reply With QuoteThere were 6 in 1921/22 and 22/23
Cardiff Wrexham Aberdare Merthyr Swansea Newport.
Edit there were 6 until Aberdare went out in 26-27.
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Good appointment for the Gogs. I'm sure he has got it in him to get the club back into the football league. Always good to see four Welsh clubs there. Maybe Merthyr can make it in a few years too with Johnny Owen behind them? Don't think there has ever been five Welsh teams in the football league?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57681799
There were 6 in 1921/22 and 22/23
Cardiff Wrexham Aberdare Merthyr Swansea Newport.
Edit there were 6 until Aberdare went out in 26-27.
Cheers for the info. I didn't realise Aberdare and Newport were in the league at the same time and had forgotten that Merthyr once boasted a league teamOriginally Posted by Hilts
Me and Bluetit used to go and watch them if we couldn’t get a hansom cab to a City away gameCheers for the info. I didn't realise Aberdare and Newport were in the league at the same time and had forgotten that Merthyr once boasted a league team
Cardiff, Merthyr, Newport and Swansea were the first Welsh teams admitted into the football league in 1920. Cardiff were elected to go straight into Division 2; the others into Division 3. Cardiff were supposedly favoured as they were the strongest team in Wales at the time. Portsmouth, Watford and Crystal Palace finished above City in the Southern League that season and probably felt a bit miffed at not being elected into Div 2. It proved to be a good move by the football league as Cardiff were promoted to Div 1 at the first time of asking, while Swansea, Merthyr and Newport finished 5th, 8th and 15th in Div 3 respectively.Cheers for the info. I didn't realise Aberdare and Newport were in the league at the same time and had forgotten that Merthyr once boasted a league team
In 1921, Aberdare and Wrexham joined the football league as further expansions meant new Div 3 north and south. Aberdare would finish 8th in Div 3(S), becoming Wales's second best side in the football league in their first league season. They would finish 21st, 12th, 18th and 9th before finishing bottom of the league in 1926/27, where they lost their place to Torquay after a controversial ballot.
Swansea were the second Welsh side to win a promotion in 1924/25 having finished 5th, 10th, 3rd and 4th in their first 4 seasons. Despite finishes of 5th and 6th in Div 2, they would not manage to join Cardiff in Div 1 but remained a second tier side up until WW2. Cardiff finished 4th, 9th and 2nd in their first 3 seasons in the top division, losing out to Huddersfield in the closest ever finish between the top 2. Despite winning the FA cup in 1927, Cardiff would join Swansea in Div 2 following relegation in 1928/29. Two seasons later and Cardiff would be a struggling Div 3 side until WW2 started while Swansea were the top side in Wales throughout the 1930s.
Wrexham remained a steady Div 3(N) side. Merthyr spent 10 seasons in Div 3 and mainly struggled. They were not re-elected in 1930 and lost their league place. Newport had suffered similar struggles as Merthyr and were also not re-elected in 1931, but a good season in the Southern League saw Newport readmitted. They would finish in the bottom two in 3 of the next 4 seasons but were re-elected each time. In 1938/39 Newport won Div 3(S) but saw the next season abandoned at the start of the war. Their first, and only full season in Div 2 after WW2 saw them relegated.
And if not youd listen to the game on the wireless😂Me and Bluetit used to go and watch them if we couldn’t get a hansom cab to a City away game
Think I’m right in saying Newport’s only season at Division 2 level saw them have the biggest defeat in football league history, when they lost 13-0 to Newcastle.
Great stats Eric👍🏻
I wasn't aware of that, so thanks. I just looked it up. Len Shackleton scored 6 for Newcastle that day and, apparently, he scored 3 goals in 2.5 minutes.
While I was scrolling through some stats, I never realised we were the first team to concede a goal through goalline technology.
It is a wireless, easier to say than ‘battery operated appliance’
what was the "They would finish 21st, 12th, 18th and 9th before finishing bottom of the league in 1926/27, where they lost their place to Torquay after a controversial ballot."?
According to Wikipedia:
Aberdare's loss of their Football League place was controversial. In the first ballot, Aberdare and Southern League side Torquay, the latter having previously applied to join the League in 1923, tied with 21 each. That round of voting was marred by controversy as there was reported to be one spoilt ballot paper (for Aberdare?). Aberdare's secretary claimed that one of the scrutineers was "an interested party". Aberdare lost the second ballot with 19 votes to Torquay's 26
According to a Torquay fanside, in the initial ballot, Kettering, Yeovil and Ebbw Vale lost out to Aberdare and Torquay, who tied in first place in that first ballot.
Looking at election to the football league, here's a list of Welsh sides who failed in their bids to join.
1921 - Abertillery Town, Barry, Bridgend Town, Pontypridd, Aberaman Athletic (who later joined/split/joined/split etc with Aberdare)
1922&3 - Pontypridd, Llanelly
1925 - Mid Rhondda (?)
1927 - Aberdare
1931 - Merthyr, Newport
1932&3 - Merthyr, Llanelly
1947 - Merthyr, Llanelly, Barry Town, Bangor City
1948 - Merthyr, Bridgend
1949&50 - Merthyr
1951 - Merthyr, Llanelly
1952&4 - Merthyr
Tonypandy presumably?
The early days fascinate me. Interesting that Leeds Utd joined the league the same year as us and were also fast tracked to Division 2. Although there was a Leeds City who were chucked out of the league a few years earlier for financial skullduggery. Their manager, a certain Herbert Chapman, was also banned from the game but later reinstated to mastermind Huddersfield’s trio of league championships, the first of which was pipping us, the dodgy c*nt
Treorchy, I think. The great Jimmy Seed , Spurs star of the 1920's played for them. They used to get 10k gates in the early 20's.
They reckon 80% of Aberdare's gate came from the mining community. When the depression hit and unemployment reached 70% in places like Merthyr, clubs like them and Aberdare allowed fans in for half price until the FA banned the practice, and gates dropped to below 1000 at times..
A Charlton legend as well, I believe there’s a Jimmy Seed Stand at The Valley.
A Charlton legend as well, I believe there’s a Jimmy Seed Stand at The Valley. Very often if I’m driving around the valleys area I wonder what young Cockney boys with sides such as Clapton/Leyton Orient or Brentford etc felt they were going into. Obviously no A470 then, maybe a train from Paddington to Cardiff General, then perhaps change for Aberdare or even a charabanc. I’ll bet there were some wide eyes at the scenery on the faces of lads on their first trip to Wales, must have seemed like a different planet to the hustle and bustle of The Smoke.
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