Certain facets of our modern game are taken for granted, such as numbered shirts and floodlights. But these were still futuristic ideas when Herbert Chapman was in his heyday – although he did his utmost to convince the authorities that they should be adopted.

Chapman was the Alex Ferguson of his time, guiding two of his clubs to unprecedented honours by persuading his board of directors to wield the chequebook to bring in players he needed. He did not win anywhere near as many titles as the Scot, but might well have come close had he lived beyond the age of 55. His tactical awareness and evolvement was second to none. Under his leadership Huddersfield and Arsenal won the League or F.A. Cup six times in 11 years and went on to add four more trophies after his departure.

Chapman’s playing career had been unexceptional as he moved 12 times in 11 years. He then took the player-manager’s job at Northampton where, in 1909, he claimed his first title as the Cobblers finished six points ahead of Swindon – which had been one of those dozen moves.

The son of a coalminer, he studied mining engineering. But that would have been of little value when he headed to Wiltshire in 1899. Accepting a job as a solicitor’s clerk under the supervision of former Town goalkeeper George Butterworth, he signed as a professional at the County Ground on May 2.

The biography ‘Herbert Chapman – Football Emperor’ states that he ‘retained his amateur status even while playing for professional clubs.’ But the F.A. registration lists refute this claim and he would have been paid around 30 shillings (£1.50) per week.

He made his debut in an opening day defeat at Bristol City, but was then ruled out for a month with a leg injury. But he marked his home League debut with both goals in a 2-0 win over Chatham on October 7. “Chapman’s desire to be in the thick of the fight frequently took him away from his position,” wrote the North Wilts Herald, “but he put in useful work and the credit for the two goals was solely his own.”

He scored again in the next home fixture with Sheppey United, but at 2-2 the game was ended by fog with 25 minutes still to play. This proved to be Chapman’s last outing for Town and having struggled to impress his boss with his grasp of shorthand, he was on his travels again, signing for the Kent club in November.

On New Years Day 1934, Chapman caught a chill but still travelled to watch Arsenal’s reserve side at Guildford. He died from pneumonia a few days later.

The F.A. experimented with numbered shirts for the Cup Final in 1933, but the practice was not compulsory for another six years, while the regular staging of floodlit games did not commence until the 1950s. - Paul Plowman