1965–66 Blackpool F.C. season

The 1965–66 season was Blackpool F.C.'s 58th season (55th consecutive) in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing thirteenth.

Blackpool F.C.

1965–66 season
Manager	Ron Suart
Division One	13th
FA Cup	Third round[1]
League Cup	Third round[2]
Top goalscorer	League: Alan Ball & Ray Charnley (16) All: Ray Charnley (19)
Home colours
← 1964–65 1966–67 →

Ray Charnley was the club's top overall scorer for the eighth consecutive season, with 19 goals. Alan Ball (sixteen goals) shared the accolade with him in the league.

Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival with annual indulgences included the sporting.^[3] When Puritans outlawed Christmas in England in December 1647 the crowd brought out footballs as a symbol of festive misrule.^[4] The Orkney Christmas Day Ba' tradition continues.^[5] In the former top tear of English football, home and away Christmas Day and Boxing Day double headers were often played guaranteeing football clubs large crowds by allowing many working people their only chance to watch a game.^[6] Champions Preston North End faced Aston Villa on Christmas Day 1889^[7] and the last Christmas Day fixture was in 1965 in England, Blackpool beating Blackburn Rovers 4-2.^[6]

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
11	Everton	42	15	11	16	56	62	0.903	41	Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
12	West Ham United	42	15	9	18	70	83	0.843	39
13	Blackpool	42	14	9	19	55	65	0.846	37
14	Arsenal	42	12	13	17	62	75	0.827	37
15	Newcastle United	42	14	9	19	50	63	0.794	37

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

1. Everton qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1965–66 FA Cup winners.

Notes

1. Entered competition in third round
2. Entered competition in second round
3. Forbes, Bruce David, Christmas: a candid history, University of California Press, 2007, ISBN 0-520-25104-0, pp. 68–79.
4. "Historian Reveals that Cromwellian Christmas Football Rebels Ran Riot" (Press release). University of Warwick. 17 December 2003. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
5. "Christmas Day Ba' 2023".
6. "Why football at Christmas is a very British tradition".
7. "The Last Time Football Was Played on Christmas Day in England". 25 December 2020.

References

• Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 1-873626-07-X.