18.7.13

The London Combination 1915-19

The 1914-18 war put football under the spotlight. The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on August 4th, and the country, in a state of  fervour, was somewhat stunned when, on September 1st , the Football League programme kicked off as usual.
In fact the 1914-15 season was completed in the face of criticism from the press, the public and politicians that footballers 'weren't doing their bit' for the war effort, and that it was very un-English for fit young men to be paid for playing a game whilst there was a war on. 
For the 1915-16 season and onwards the Football League and FA Cup were suspended. Makeshift competitions were arranged on a regional basis.
London and south of England based clubs , largely from the Southern League but including the capital's 5 Football League clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Clapton Orient and Fulham) came together in the London Combination.

1915-16
Principal competition


P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
1
Chelsea
22
17
3
2
71
18
37
2
Millwall
22
12
6
4
46
24
30
3
Arsenal
22
10
5
7
43
46
25
4
West Ham United
22
10
4
8
47
35
24
5
Fulham
22
10
4
8
45
37
24
6
Tottenham Hotspur
22
8
8
6
38
35
24
7
Brentford
22
6
8
8
36
40
20
8
Queen's Park Rangers
22
8
3
11
27
41
19
9
Crystal Palace
22
8
3
11
35
55
19
10
Watford
22
8
1
13
37
46
17
11
Clapton Orient
22
4
6
12
22
44
14
12
Croydon Common
22
3
5
14
24
50
11

Supplementary competition


P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
13
Chelsea
14
10
1
3
50
15
21
14
West Ham United
14
9
2
3
32
16
20
15
Tottenham Hotspur
14
8
3
3
32
22
19
16
Fulham
14
9
0
5
38
19
18
17
Millwall
14
8
2
4
30
22
18
18
Crystal Palace
14
8
2
4
41
29
18
19
Watford
14
5
3
6
22
20
13
20
Brentford
14
5
2
7
29
33
12
21
Croydon Common
14
4
3
7
28
27
11
22
Clapton Orient
14
3
4
7
17
27
10
23
Arsenal
14
3
4
7
19
31
10
24
Luton Town
14
4
1
9
31
44
9
25
Queen's Park Rangers
14
2
5
7
14
37
9
26
Portsmouth
14
2
2
8
23
64
8


1916-17


P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
1

West Ham United
40
30
5
5
110
45
65
2
Millwall
40
26
6
8
85
48
58
3
Chelsea
40
24
5
11
93
48
53
4
Tottenham Hotspur
40
24
5
11
112
64
53
5
Arsenal
40
19
10
11
62
47
48
6
Fulham
40
21
3
16
102
63
45
7
Luton Town
40
20
3
16
101
82
43
8
Crystal Palace
40
14
7
17
68
72
35
9
Southampton
40
13
8
18
57
80
34
10
Queen's Park Rangers
40
10
9
20
48
86
29
11
Watford
40
8
9
22
69
115
25
12
Brentford
40
9
7
24
56
99
25
13
Portsmouth
40
9
4
27
58
117
22
14
Clapton Orient
40
6
7
27
49
104
19


1917-18


P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
1

Chelsea
36
21
8
7
82
39
50
2
West Ham United
36
20
3
7
103
51
49
3
Fulham
36
20
7
9
75
60
47
4
Tottenham Hotspur
36
22
2
12
86
56
46
5
Arsenal
36
16
5
15
76
57
37
6
Brentford
36
16
3
17
81
94
35
7
Crystal Palace
36
13
4
19
54
83
30
8
Queen's Park Rangers
36
14
2
20
43
73
30
9
Millwall
36
12
4
20
52
74
28
10
Clapton Orient
36
2
4
30
34
104
8


1918-19


P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
1

Brentford
36
20
9
7
94
46
49
2
Arsenal
35
20
5
11
85
54
45
3
West Ham United
36
17
7
12
65
51
41
4
Fulham
36
17
6
13
70
55
40
5
Queen's Park Rangers
36
16
7
13
69
60
39
6
Chelsea
36
13
11
12
70
53
37
7
Crystal Palace
36
14
6
16
66
73
34
8
Tottenham Hotspur
36
13
8
15
52
72
34
9
Millwall
36
10
9
17
50
67
29
10
Clapton Orient
36
3
6
27
35
123
12


When life, and football,  began to return to normal in 1919, there was a distinct possibility that top class football in England might continue to be divided along geographical lines. The Southern League as an organization was no longer the force it was. It could not compete with the Football League and, in fact, made overtures to the Football League to absorb its members en masse, either as a southern Second Division or as a means of expanding  the Football League to 3 divisions. There was a  possibility of the 5 London based Football League clubs defecting and forming an alternative league to replace the old Southern League. On  25th April 1919  the London Combination held a meeting to decide whether it should vote itself out of existence , having been intended as a temporary wartime league.  The  member clubs voted in favour of  retaining the CombinationThe London clubs  felt that they had been neglected by the northern orientated League management committee  during the war, but that they had managed very well despite this. Added to this was the fact that on merit alone, based on their positions at the end of the 1915-15 season, all 5 should have been in Division 2 when league football resumed.
The Football League, as we have seen, was business minded, always seeking new markets, looking for opportunities to widen it's sphere of influence. The possibility of losing it's foothold in the capital went against everything the League had been working towards in the 1890s and 1900s. 
To be continued...