On this day (21 November) in 1953 John McTavish made his Manchester City debut at Middlesbrough. The game ended in a 1-0 City win (an own goal). For this game John played as City’s right half, allowing Don Revie to move into the forward line. John retained his place pretty well throughout the rest of the season.
The following season saw the introduction of the “Revie Plan”, with John part of the initial team, away at Preston. Unfortunately, City were defeated 5-0 and John was dropped for the next game in favour of Ken Barnes. Barnes was viewed by players of the period as the main reason the plan had succeeded in the reserves, and so his selection helped transform the club’s fortunes that season. It was a shame for John, who then found opportunities became limited.
You can read more on John’s debut season of 1953-54 below. This 1,700 word article on the 1953-54 season is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
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