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Charles Murray Buchan (22 September 1891 – 25 June 1960) was an English
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
, sporting journalist and commentator.
Buchan started his career in 1909 with Woolwich Arsenal (later renamed
Arsenal F.C.). He is known for his career with
Sunderland, where he became leading scorer for 7 of his 9 seasons with the club. He remains the club's all-time record League goalscorer. He was a winner of the
First Division title in 1913, and reached the
1913 FA Cup Final
The 1913 FA Cup Final was contested by Aston Villa and Sunderland on 19 April 1913 at London's Crystal Palace. Playing as the home side, Aston Villa won 1–0 on a goal by Tommy Barber on a crossed ball from Charlie Wallace. Wallace had ear ...
with Sunderland.
Buchan served with the infantry regiment,
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...
, during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was awarded with the
Military Medal
The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...
for his service.
He re-joined Arsenal in 1925, and saw the club to their first FA Cup final in 1927. Along with
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...
, Buchan was a pioneer of Arsenal's adoption of the
WM formation
In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...
, which brought significant success for the club in the 1930s. He was capped six times by the
England National Football Team
The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...
, scoring four goals.
After retiring from football, Buchan became a football
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
with ''
The Daily News'' - later renamed to ''
News Chronicle
The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...
''. He also commentated for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In 1947, he co-founded the
Football Writers' Association
The Football Writers' Association (FWA) is an association of football journalists and correspondents writing for English newspapers and agencies. It presents the Footballer of the Year Award, the oldest and most distinguished award given in the d ...
. From 1951, he edited his own football magazine - ''Charles Buchan's Football Monthly''.
Playing career
Early career
Buchan first played as an amateur for local club
Woolwich Arsenal, joining the club in December 1909. Whilst he impressed in reserve games, disagreements with manager
George Morrell over his expenses caused Buchan to decline to sign a professional contract.
Buchan moved to Northfleet United as an amateur for the remainder of the 1909–10 season. He won
Kent Senior Cup
The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association.
History
The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...
,
Kent League and Thames and Medway Combination medals. In the close season he signed for
Southern League club
Leyton
Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...
.
He was spotted by
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...
scouts in 1911, and was signed shortly after.
Sunderland and Wartime
A tall, elegant
centre forward, Buchan was highly successful at the Wearside club. Sunderland won the
1912–13 First Division title and narrowly missed out on
the Double - losing the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
final 1–0 to
Aston Villa. Frequently described as the best footballer in the country, Buchan was Sunderland's leading scorer for seven of his eight seasons at the club. This tally excludes the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
seasons, when full competitive football was suspended. He is Sunderland's all-time record League goalscorer, with 209 goals. Buchan was also capped by
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
- his debut coming against
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on 15 February 1913.
During the First World War, Buchan served with the
Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
and then the
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...
. He was awarded the
Military Medal
The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...
and on 11 September 1918 was promoted to temporary
second lieutenant for the final months of the war.
In 1925, Buchan left Sunderland. He was replaced by
Dave Halliday
David Halliday (11 December 1901 – 5 January 1970) was a Scottish association football player and manager. He achieved numerous distinctions and high rankings as a prolific goal-scoring forward with six senior clubs; St Mirren, Dundee, Sunde ...
, who scored at least 35 league goals in his four full seasons at Sunderland, becoming the most prolific goals-to-games performer in the club's history.
While at Sunderland, Buchan also played
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
for
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
in the 1920
Minor Counties Championship.
Arsenal
Buchan was re-signed by Arsenal. Sunderland manager
Bob Kyle initially demanded a £4,000 fee, but Arsenal manager
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...
bargained him down to £2,000 plus £100 per league goal scored by Buchan during his first season. Buchan made his debut in a
North London derby
The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is co ...
against
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
on 29 August 1925. He ultimately scored nineteen league goals during that first season.
Just as important as his goals was his contribution to Arsenal's tactics. Along with Chapman, Buchan contributed to Arsenal's development of the
WM formation
In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...
to fully exploit the relaxation of the
offside law. Buchan's idea was to move the
centre half
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...
from a roaming position in midfield to a "stopper" position in defence, with one forward brought back into midfield. This meant the offside trap was no longer the responsibility of the two full-backs, but the single central defender, while the
full backs were pushed wider to cover the wings. Eventually the change in tactic would bring Arsenal great success in the 1930s.
Buchan was a regular at Arsenal for three seasons. He captained Arsenal to their first ever Cup final in
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
...
, which they lost 1–0 to
Cardiff City. Buchan finally retired at the end of
1927–28, having scored 16 league goals that season despite being 36 years of age. In all he scored 56 goals in 120 matches for Arsenal; his count of 257 goals in the League (which would have been more had the First World War not intervened) makes him
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
's
33rd-highest goalscorer of all time.
Later career
After retiring, Buchan became a football
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
with ''Daily News'' which was later renamed ''
News Chronicle
The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...
.'' He also commentated for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In 1947, he co-founded the