Northampton Town In 1907, as he was about to leave Tottenham Hotspur, Chapman had recommended Spurs team-mate
Walter Bull to his old club Northampton Town, as their new manager. However, Bull changed his mind, and in turn recommended that Chapman take the job instead. Chapman changed his mind about retiring from the game, and instead agreed to become player-manager of Northampton Town. Northampton had finished bottom of the Southern League two seasons running immediately before Chapman's appointment, As a manager, he sought to change that; after seeing Northampton lose to
Norwich City despite dominating, Chapman opined that "a team can attack for too long". He thus set about creating a tactical framework for all his players; he dropped the
half backs (midfield) back to give his
forwards more space and draw the opposition defenders out of the
penalty area, Gradually, he created a style of highly organised, counter-attacking football, which was at odds with the prevailing orthodoxy but nevertheless highly effective;
Swindon Town's
England international Harold Fleming, after losing 4–1 at home to Northampton, remarked to Chapman: "You have something more than a team: you have a machine." winger
Fred McDiarmid and
playmaking centre half David McCartney. With this new talent, in his first season in charge, Chapman led Northampton to eighth place; with additional new signings, such as inside forward
Albert Lewis from
Coventry City, he used this as a springboard to take the Southern League title in
1908–09, with Lewis finishing as top scorer. By now, Chapman had retired as a player in first-class football, having played his last match against
Watford in January 1909, As Southern League champions, Northampton contested and lost the
1909 FA Charity Shield, 2–0 to
Newcastle United, and although they did not win the Southern League title again during Chapman's time as manager, they finished in the top four in each of the following three seasons. Additionally, they proved their mettle in the FA Cup against
First Division sides, knocking out
The Wednesday and taking
Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United to replays, losing 1–0 both times. In the 1912 close season, he was offered the chance to manage
Second Division Leeds City, and with Northampton's blessing moved north again to join the League club.
Leeds City Leeds City had finished 19th in the
Second Division in the season preceding Chapman's arrival, and were facing re-election. Chapman played an essential part in lobbying for the side's readmission and Leeds City were duly re-elected. Attendances rose at
Elland Road from 8,500 to 13,000 in his first year, With a strengthening of the defence, City's form improved further the next season, in
1913–14, coming fourth, two points outside the promotion places. Despite having failed on his promise to get the team promoted within two years, City's rising attendances and resulting better profits for the club kept the directors happy, and the club were confident of promotion in
1914–15. Leeds City lost six of their last eight games of the season, finishing just fifteenth. For the next two years, City's assistant manager,
George Cripps stood in for Chapman on the administrative side, while chairman
Joe Connor and another director took charge of the team. Chapman returned to Leeds City from Barnbow after hostilities had ended, but resigned suddenly in December 1918, eventually moving to
Selby to take up a position as a superintendent at an
oil and
coke works. No reason was given for his resignation, but as football resumed in
1919–20, Leeds City were accused by a former player of financial irregularities, involving illegal payments to guest players during wartime matches. Soon after, however, he was approached by
Huddersfield Town to become assistant to
Ambrose Langley, who had been a former team-mate of Herbert Chapman's brother Harry at The Wednesday. Chapman was promoted to full secretary-manager, replacing Langley, the following month, and soon made an impact, signing players such as
England international Clem Stephenson from
Aston Villa (who became captain under Chapman) and 18-year-old unknown
George Brown (who went on to become Huddersfield's all-time top scorer). In Chapman's first full season in charge (
1921–22), Huddersfield Town won the
FA Cup, beating
Preston North End 1–0 in the
final at
Stamford Bridge, the club's first major trophy. In the league, however, his side had spent most of the season fighting relegation and had finished 14th, so Chapman looked to strengthen his squad. As at Northampton, Chapman's tactics were based upon the principles of a strong defence and a fast, counter-attacking response, with the focus on quick, short passing and mazy runs from his wingers, who would pass low inside the defence instead of crossing from the byline. He had been granted control of all footballing affairs at the club and made this responsibility work to his advantage, encouraging the club's reserve and third teams to play the same style of football so that their players would function effectively in the first team if selected. With new players and using Chapman's system, Huddersfield were transformed. They finished third in
1922–23 The final goal by Brown in a 3–0 win over
Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season proved crucial, although ultimately it was Huddersfield's superior defensive record which had given them the advantage. Following the title win, Chapman kept faith with his squad, making only one new signing – outside right
Joey Williams – as they successfully defended their League title in
1924–25. Huddersfield started brightly but a poor run of form in October and November (in part caused by an injury to goalkeeper Ted Taylor) saw them drop to ninth at one point. Taylor was replaced by new signing
Billy Mercer and a resurgence in form saw Huddersfield climb the table, regaining top spot with a 5–0 win over
Arsenal in February, and eventually finishing two points clear of runners-up
West Bromwich Albion. As a testament to Chapman's philosophy of relying on a strong defence, it was the first time a title-winning side had gone through a season without conceding more than two goals in any match.
Arsenal as a tribute to his achievements at the club. In the 1925 close season, Chapman had already set about improving his squad for Huddersfield to seek a third successive title (something which had never been achieved before). At the same time, Arsenal was looking to replace
Leslie Knighton, who had been sacked. Arsenal chairman Sir
Henry Norris placed an advertisement in the
Athletic News: Although Arsenal had been fighting relegation in both the two previous seasons, and despite the chairman's restriction on spending, Chapman nevertheless moved to Arsenal soon afterwards, attracted both by the London club's larger crowds and a salary of £2,000, double what he earned at Huddersfield Town. At Arsenal, Chapman immediately made an impact by signing 34-year-old
Charlie Buchan, an England international and
Sunderland's all-time record goalscorer, whom he made Arsenal captain. Chapman came to Arsenal promising to make them the "Newcastle of the South". Chapman and Buchan's arrival at the club also coincided with a change in the
laws of the game in June 1925, that modified the
offside law. The change had reduced the number of opposition players that an attacker needed between himself and the goal-line from three to two (including the goalkeeper). Buchan's idea, implemented by Chapman, was to move the
centre half from a roaming position in midfield to a "stopper" position in defence. With the
inside forwards brought back to help the midfield, this changed the usual
formation from 2–3–5 to 3–4–3, or a "WM", so called after the shape it formed spelled out the letters. This meant the offside trap was now the responsibility of the single centre half, while the
full backs were pushed wider to cover the wings. Arsenal were by no means the only team to have come up with the idea of dropping the centre half into defence –
Newcastle United beat Arsenal 7–0 that season employing such a system with
Charlie Spencer at centre-half;
Queen's Park and
Tottenham Hotspur had also adopted similar systems. Arsenal went on to finish second in
1925–26, five points behind Chapman's old side Huddersfield Town, as they became the first club in England to win three titles in succession. It proved to be an early dawn for Arsenal, who spent most of the rest of the 1920s in mid-table, as Chapman took his time finding the right players to fit his new system, outlining a five-year plan for success. He retained relatively few players of his predecessor Knighton's era –
Bob John,
Alf Baker and
Jimmy Brain being the exceptions – and instead looked to bring in talent from elsewhere. In the same year, Arsenal became embroiled in a scandal; footballers' pay at the time was limited by a
maximum wage, but an FA inquiry found that Charlie Buchan had secretly received illegal payments from Arsenal as an incentive to sign for the club. Sir Henry Norris was indicted for his part and banned from football, but Chapman escaped punishment, and with the autocratic Norris replaced by the more benign
Samuel Hill-Wood, Chapman's power and influence within the club increased, allowing him control over all aspects of the club's business. It was the signing of David Jack in particular that highlighted Chapman's cunning when it came to transfer negotiations.
Bolton Wanderers had originally asked for a fee of £13,000, almost double the existing record.
Bob Wall, Chapman's personal assistant at the time, later recounted the negotiations he made with Bolton's directors as follows: Chapman's subterfuge succeeded, as he managed to bargain the inebriated Bolton directors down to £10,890. He was less successful in his attempt to sign
Jimmy McGrory from
Celtic. He had set up a meeting with Celtic manager
Willie Maley and young McGrory in summer 1928 when Maley and McGrory were on their way to a pilgrimage in Lourdes. A huge sum was offered (a blank cheque, some say) for the prolific McGrory, and Maley was more than ready to accept, for Celtic needed money to pay for its new stand. The deal fell through when McGrory, a homesick young Scotsman with an intense love for Celtic, refused to sign. Chapman had laid out a five-year plan for success in 1925, and it came to fruition exactly on schedule, as his Arsenal won their first major trophy in the
1930 FA Cup Final, beating his old side, Huddersfield Town, 2–0. Despite having finished only 14th in the League the same season, the win spurred Arsenal on and laid the foundations for a decade in which Arsenal would become the dominant team in England and eventually win five league titles. Chapman had by now perfected Arsenal's ruthless, counter-attacking strategy. He employed a robust front line of Lambert supported by David Jack and Alex James as deep-lying inside forwards, filling the gap vacated by the movement of the centre half into defence; Alex James in particular, with his passing supplying the front men, became celebrated as the engine of the team during the coming decade. Chapman employed Bastin and Hulme as pacy wingers who could cut inside instead of hugging the touchline; With the exception of James, keeping and dwelling on the ball and individuality were discouraged in favour of a quick passing game, although Chapman still conceded: "All the men are expected to play to plan, but not so as to stifle individuality." Chapman's tactics of fast-moving play meant the
wing half line of John and Jones were now pushed in to cover central
midfield, pivoting around the halfway line so that they could drop back to defend when necessary. Arsenal's defence were told to play deep and, with the support of the wing halves, fall back into their own
penalty area when the opposition had the ball; this allowed the opposition plenty of possession in Arsenal's half, until they reached the 18-yard line and faced a massed defence. Once Arsenal regained the ball – usually through the centre half Herbie Roberts – the ball would be quickly passed forward and the wing halves would push up to support the attackers, meaning Arsenal could quickly commit as many as seven men forward as a unit to rapidly attack and try to score. Though highly effective, Chapman's fast, counter-attacking passing approach to football contrasted with how the game was traditionally played in England at the time, with its emphasis on dribbling, possession and dwelling on the ball, and thus brought accusations of "Lucky Arsenal" or "Boring Arsenal" from commentators and opposition. Having won both League and Cup in separate seasons with two clubs, Chapman was determined to go one better and win
the Double – which had not yet been won in the 20th century – in
1931–32 but ended up missing out on both, finishing second in the League behind
Everton and losing the
1932 FA Cup Final controversially to
Newcastle United, with Newcastle's equaliser coming after the ball had gone behind for a goal kick. Undeterred, Chapman kept faith with his side and launched a bid for the
1932–33 title. However, it was during this season that Arsenal suffered one of the most infamous defeats in their history. In the
FA Cup third round, Arsenal had been drawn against
Walsall of the
Third Division North. Arsenal, as the previous season's losing finalists and league leaders, were clear favourites to win the match. On the day, five of the Arsenal first team were out with injury or
flu and had their places taken by reserves. Arsenal lost 2–0 in one of the greatest FA Cup upsets. Chapman was enraged by the result, and showed his ruthlessness by selling one player,
Tommy Black, who had conceded a
penalty in the game, to
Plymouth Argyle within a week of the result; another, striker
Charlie Walsh, was sold to
Brentford a week later. Despite the FA Cup setback, Arsenal bounced back in the League, and with the same scoring form as in 1930–31, finished the season having scored 118 League goals in total, including a 5–0 win over rivals
Aston Villa in that season's title-deciding match. In the following close season, Chapman became the first professional manager in charge of
England, albeit in an
ad hoc unofficial capacity, for a summer tour of Europe. He did not have any input into the selection process, the team being determined by the
FA's International Selection Committee, but did advise on tactics and gave pre-match team talks. Wary of his ageing Arsenal team and the club's inadequate reserves (as proven by the Walsall match), it was around this time that Chapman noted to club director
George Allison: "The team's played out, Mr Allison, we must rebuild". Chapman started the process, signing
Ray Bowden,
Pat Beasley and
Jimmy Dunne, and had converted the young
George Male from left half to right back. Chapman would not live to see the end of the season, let alone complete the task of rebuilding his side. Arsenal went into
1933–34 looking to retain the title, and started consistently; they worked their way to the top of the league and were a comfortable four points clear after a goalless draw with
Birmingham on 30 December 1933. This proved to be Chapman's last match in charge. ==Death==