Charlie Buchan Charles " Charlie " Murray Buchan ( 22 September 1891 – 25 June 1960 ) was an English football player and writer . Buchan ' s playing career started with Arsenal ( then Woolwich Arsenal ) before he moved to Leyton , and then onto a prolific fourteen - year period with Sunderland : he was Sunderland ' s leading scorer for seven of his nine seasons with the club , and remains the club ' s all - time record League goalscorer . He won the Football League First Division with Sunderland in 1913 and was a losing finalist in the 1913 FA Cup Final . During his period with Sunderland Buchan served with the Sherwood Foresters after the outbreak of the First World War , being awarded the Military Medal . He re - joined Arsenal in 1925 and was a losing finalist again in Arsenal ' s first FA Cup final in 1927 . Buchan was responsible , along with Herbert Chapman for Arsenal ' s adoption of the WM formation which eventually brought Arsenal significant success in the 1930s . He was capped six times by the England national football team , scoring four goals . After retiring from football Buchan became a football journalist with the " Daily News " ( later renamed the " News Chronicle " ) , wrote one of the first coaching manuals , and also commentated for the BBC . In 1947 , he co - founded the Football Writers ' Association , and from September 1951 until his death , he edited his own football magazine , " Charles Buchan ' s Football Monthly " , which was published until June 1974 . Playing career . Early career . Born in Plumstead , London , Buchan first played as an amateur for local club Woolwich Arsenal , joining the club in December 1909 . However , having impressed in reserve games , he fell out with manager George Morrell over his expenses , and declined to sign to a professional contract . Buchan moved to Northfleet United as an amateur for the remainder of the 1909 - 10 season . Winning Kent Senior Cup , Kent League and Thames and Medway Combination medals . In the close season he signed for Southern League Leyton ; whilst playing for them he was spotted and signed by Sunderland in March 1911 . 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 final 1 – 0 to Aston Villa . Frequently described as the best footballer in the country , Buchan was Sunderland ' s leading scorer for seven of the eight seasons from 1912 – 13 to 1923 – 24 ( excluding the World War I 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 , his debut coming against Ireland on 15 February 1913 . His appearances were limited by the lack of internationals due to war ; he only earned six full caps , scoring four goals . During the First World War , Buchan served with the Sherwood Foresters . He was awarded the Military Medal and on 11 September 1918 was promoted to temporary second lieutenant for the final months of the war . In 1925 , when nearly 34 , Buchan and Sunderland parted company . His place in the team went to a player who hit at least 35 league goals in each of his four full seasons at Roker Park , Dave Halliday , the most prolific goals to games goal scorer in the club ' s history . While at Sunderland he played cricket for Durham in the 1920 Minor Counties Championship . Arsenal . Buchan was re - signed by Arsenal ( as they were now called ) . Sunderland manager Bob Kyle initially demanded a £4 , 000 fee , but Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman bargained him down to £2 , 000 plus £100 per goal scored by Buchan during his first season ; he utlimately scored twenty - one , thus forcing Arsenal to pay £100 more than Kyle ' s original demand . Buchan made his debut in a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on 29 August 1925 . Just as important as his goals was his contribution to Arsenal ' s tactics ; it was Buchan who came up , along with Chapman , of rejigging Arsenal ' s formation to the " WM " , to fully exploit the relaxation of the offside law . Buchan ' s idea was to move the centre half 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 back s 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 , despite his age , for three seasons . He captained Arsenal to their first - ever Cup final in 1927 , but again was on the losing side , as Cardiff City beat the Gunners 1 – 0 , thanks to a freak mistake by Arsenal ' keeper Dan Lewis . 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 ' s sixth - top goalscorer of all time . Later career . After retiring , Buchan became a football journalist with the " Daily News " ( later renamed the " News Chronicle " ) , wrote one of the first coaching manuals , and also commentated for the BBC . In 1947 , he co - founded the Football Writers ' Association , and from September 1951 until his death , he edited his own football magazine , " Charles Buchan ' s Football Monthly " . Although its popularity fell after Buchan ' s death the magazine continued to circulate until June 1974 , 14 years later . He published his autobiography , " A Lifetime in Football " in 1955 . Buchan died in 1960 , at the age of 68 , whilst holidaying in Monte Carlo .