1958/59 SEASON REVIEW
It was an amazing start to the season for Les McDowall’s Blues, 3-0 behind to Burnley at half-time City eventually won 4-3 in a sensational game at Turf Moor.
In the opening game at Maine Road City had to come from behind again as they scored in the last minute to draw 3-3 with Bolton . That draw was to be the first of nine games in which the Blues failed to win.
They drew 1-1 at home to Preston , then lost 4-1 at Bolton and 3-1 at Leicester , before another draw at Maine Road, 1-1 against Luton .
A 3-1 home defeat to Everton and a 5-1 defeat to Luton at Kenilworth Road prompted the City board to bring inside left George Hannah to Maine Road from Lincoln, Hannah made his debut at Highbury… where City lost again, 4-1 to Arsenal, and after nine league games they were one point off bottom on just five points. Roy Clarke then left to join Stockport.
A dogged performance at Maine Road earned City a point in a 1-1 draw against United and then at the tenth time of asking The Blues won, beating Leeds 2-1 at Maine Road.
Although City’s home form was improvimg, they were still struggling on their travels as they lost again 2-0 at Wolves , however back in Manchester it was another two important points earned as they beat Portsmouth 3-2.
A sixth away defeat on the trot, 4-1 against Newcastle , left City bottom of the league, although with 14 games played the league table was very congested with the Blues only eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Roy Little left the club in October, moving to Brighton.
November brought another great home performance as City beat Tottenham 5-1, but then the Blues lost their seventh away game on the trot, 4-0 at Nottingham Forest.
Les McDowall’s Blues then made it 13 goals scored in their last three home games as they beat Chelsea 5-1 in a controversial game which saw Maine Road shrouded in deep fog for the whole game, any fan in the Kippax would have been lucky to see any of the six goals scored.
City earned their first point away from Maine Road in eight games with a 1-1 draw against Blackpool which left the Blues still in the bottom three in the league.
City slipped further into the relegation mire as they were beaten 1-0 by Blackburn at Maine Road and then drew 1-1 at Aston Villa .
Mixed results at home brought a 3-1 win against West Ham and a 4-1 defeat by Burnley , as we moved into the Christmas period.
Boxing Day was certainly bereft of cheer for the Blues as they were crushed 6-1 by Birmingham at St Andrews, and were now two points off the bottom of the table with 18 points from 23 games.
Birmingham visited Maine Road the day after and City got their revenge with a 4-1 win.
It was certainly not a happy New Year for the Blues as they failed to win throughout January. They lost 2-0 at Preston , drew 2-2 at Grimsby in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, however Grimsby triumphed 2-1 in the replay. Back in the league City were beaten 3-1 by Everton at Goodison Park, to leave them third from bottom of Division 1.
February began badly for the Blues as they drew 0-0 at home to Arsenal and then lost 4-1 against United at Old Trafford, however a welcome 4-0 win over Leeds at Elland Road followed, only for City to crash at home to Wolves 4-1.
The Blues finally pulled themselves away from the danger zone with two consecutive victories, beating Portsmouth 4-3 at Fratton Park and Newcastle 5-1 at Maine Road.
After 18 months at Maine Road without making himself a regular, Roy Warhurst moved on, joining Crewe.
City were then beaten 3-1 at White Hart Lane by fellow strugglers Tottenham , and so moving into the Easter period they were 5 points clear of the bottom two relegation positions.
The Blues managed a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest , but then went on a disastrous six game run where they failed to gain a single point, losing 2-0 at home to West Brom and then 3-0 at West Brom in the space of two days over Easter, too drop to fourth from bottom of Division 1 just one point above the relegation zone.
further defeats, 2-0 at Chelsea , 2-0 at home to Blackpool, 2-1 at Blackburn and 5-1 at West Ham , City were now in the bottom three with just two games left.
The penultimate game of the season saw City play relegation rivals Aston Villa , both teams had 28 points with the Villains having the superior goal average. The game finished goal-less at a very water-logged Maine Road leaving both clubs on level points going into the last game of the campaign.
In the last game of the season the Maine Road crowd cheered on City to a 3-1 victory over Leicester , and with news that Villa had lost at West Brom The Citizens had escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth.
In early May the board planned for the new season by bringing in tricky winger Clive Colbridge from Crewe for a fee of £10,000, and left back Andy Kerr from Partick Thistle. At the end of May Peter Horridge left Maine Road to join Crewe.
In the opening game at Maine Road City had to come from behind again as they scored in the last minute to draw 3-3 with Bolton . That draw was to be the first of nine games in which the Blues failed to win.
They drew 1-1 at home to Preston , then lost 4-1 at Bolton and 3-1 at Leicester , before another draw at Maine Road, 1-1 against Luton .
A 3-1 home defeat to Everton and a 5-1 defeat to Luton at Kenilworth Road prompted the City board to bring inside left George Hannah to Maine Road from Lincoln, Hannah made his debut at Highbury… where City lost again, 4-1 to Arsenal, and after nine league games they were one point off bottom on just five points. Roy Clarke then left to join Stockport.
A dogged performance at Maine Road earned City a point in a 1-1 draw against United and then at the tenth time of asking The Blues won, beating Leeds 2-1 at Maine Road.
Although City’s home form was improvimg, they were still struggling on their travels as they lost again 2-0 at Wolves , however back in Manchester it was another two important points earned as they beat Portsmouth 3-2.
A sixth away defeat on the trot, 4-1 against Newcastle , left City bottom of the league, although with 14 games played the league table was very congested with the Blues only eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Roy Little left the club in October, moving to Brighton.
November brought another great home performance as City beat Tottenham 5-1, but then the Blues lost their seventh away game on the trot, 4-0 at Nottingham Forest.
Les McDowall’s Blues then made it 13 goals scored in their last three home games as they beat Chelsea 5-1 in a controversial game which saw Maine Road shrouded in deep fog for the whole game, any fan in the Kippax would have been lucky to see any of the six goals scored.
City earned their first point away from Maine Road in eight games with a 1-1 draw against Blackpool which left the Blues still in the bottom three in the league.
City slipped further into the relegation mire as they were beaten 1-0 by Blackburn at Maine Road and then drew 1-1 at Aston Villa .
Mixed results at home brought a 3-1 win against West Ham and a 4-1 defeat by Burnley , as we moved into the Christmas period.
Boxing Day was certainly bereft of cheer for the Blues as they were crushed 6-1 by Birmingham at St Andrews, and were now two points off the bottom of the table with 18 points from 23 games.
Birmingham visited Maine Road the day after and City got their revenge with a 4-1 win.
It was certainly not a happy New Year for the Blues as they failed to win throughout January. They lost 2-0 at Preston , drew 2-2 at Grimsby in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, however Grimsby triumphed 2-1 in the replay. Back in the league City were beaten 3-1 by Everton at Goodison Park, to leave them third from bottom of Division 1.
February began badly for the Blues as they drew 0-0 at home to Arsenal and then lost 4-1 against United at Old Trafford, however a welcome 4-0 win over Leeds at Elland Road followed, only for City to crash at home to Wolves 4-1.
The Blues finally pulled themselves away from the danger zone with two consecutive victories, beating Portsmouth 4-3 at Fratton Park and Newcastle 5-1 at Maine Road.
After 18 months at Maine Road without making himself a regular, Roy Warhurst moved on, joining Crewe.
City were then beaten 3-1 at White Hart Lane by fellow strugglers Tottenham , and so moving into the Easter period they were 5 points clear of the bottom two relegation positions.
The Blues managed a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest , but then went on a disastrous six game run where they failed to gain a single point, losing 2-0 at home to West Brom and then 3-0 at West Brom in the space of two days over Easter, too drop to fourth from bottom of Division 1 just one point above the relegation zone.
further defeats, 2-0 at Chelsea , 2-0 at home to Blackpool, 2-1 at Blackburn and 5-1 at West Ham , City were now in the bottom three with just two games left.
The penultimate game of the season saw City play relegation rivals Aston Villa , both teams had 28 points with the Villains having the superior goal average. The game finished goal-less at a very water-logged Maine Road leaving both clubs on level points going into the last game of the campaign.
In the last game of the season the Maine Road crowd cheered on City to a 3-1 victory over Leicester , and with news that Villa had lost at West Brom The Citizens had escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth.
In early May the board planned for the new season by bringing in tricky winger Clive Colbridge from Crewe for a fee of £10,000, and left back Andy Kerr from Partick Thistle. At the end of May Peter Horridge left Maine Road to join Crewe.