Arsenal have been in the top flight for football the longest, in
fact when Arsenal celebrate 87 years in the top flight during 2006
the nearest team to them will be Everton on 52 years
Coventry,who were promoted under Jimmy Hill's stewardship in
1967, are the fourth-longest serving members of the elite.
Liverpool were promoted in 1963, and haven't slummed it in the
meantime, while neighbours Everton have held their top-flight
status ever since 1954, despite their best efforts during the
90s.
Then there's Arsenal. They were promoted from the old Second
Division in 1919 and have never been away since. But, predictably,
seeing as they hold the record for current top-flight longevity,
the nature of their promotion that year is controversial, to say
the least.
In 1919, the First Division was extended from 20 to 22 clubs.
During previous expansions, the relegated clubs from the previous
season were re-elected, while the top Second Division sides were
promoted as usual.
So Derby and Preston, the two top Second Division sides in 1915
- there had been a break for the War - did indeed move on up. And
Chelsea, who had finished 19th that season, were, as expected,
re-elected.
But the reason for Chelsea's escape were somewhat arbitrary. In
1915, Manchester United had, to avoid relegation, fixed their last
game (against Liverpool of all people). They won 2-0 and sent
Chelsea into the relegation places instead, but Liverpool chairman
John McKenna must have felt some guilt, because at the League's AGM
in 1919 he gave a speech insisting on the continued presence in the
top flight of the Stamford Bridge club.
For some reason however, he also suggested that lowly Arsenal,
who had finished fifth in the Second, should be rewarded for their
long service to the League. They should replace the team which came
20th in 1915, he argued.
And so it came to pass. The unfairly relegated club? Why,
Tottenham Hotspur.
UP THE GOONERS
