On this day (28 January) in 1961 Denis Law’s six goals against Luton in the FAC were wiped from the records when the game was abandoned due to waterlogged pitch. Manchester City were winning 6-2, and lost the replay 3-1 (Law scored City’s consolation). If you want to know more about the 1960-61 season then you can read the following 1200 word article. It’s a subscriber piece and if you want to read it (plus all other articles on the site) then please subscribe (see below).
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Denis Law had such a wonderful footballing career, with so many periods deserving focus. Inevitably – and rightly – many will focus on his exploits with Manchester United and Scotland. Following his death I’d like to add to the tributes out there by highlighting a couple of periods of his career that may be being overlooked. It’s totally understandable, but today I’d like to highlight his Manchester City career. A career that saw him become a City legend. Not many manage to become idolised at both City and United in equal measure (Meredith & Kidd are the other prominent two I can think of) but Law managed it.
He was signed by City in March 1960 from Huddersfield Town for a record figure of £55,000 – £10,000 more than the previous British transfer record. It was a bold move by Les McDowall but was clear proof that City were still a force to be reckoned with, particularly as they had managed to fight off the likes of Arsenal to sign the 20 year old.
Denis Law signs for City from Huddersfield
Law was a lethal finisher, and a genuine crowd pleaser. His first goal for the Blues came during his debut match at Leeds United on 19th March 1960, although City were defeated by the odd goal in seven. His second League game brought another goal as West Ham were defeated 3-1 at Maine Road on 30th March. He ended the season with 7 appearances.
The following season he was top scorer with 19 League goals – 1 more than Joe Hayes – and again made the headlines with an amazing goalscoring feat in an abandoned cup tie. On 28th January City were defeating Luton 6-2 with Law scoring all City’s goals, when the match was abandoned. In the replay, Law again scored but this time City were defeated 3-1 in conditions which Law himself believed were worse than the original game.
In addition to his performances for City, Law was making a name for himself with his country. He made 5 international appearances during his first two seasons at Maine Road, and was an obvious choice for his beloved Scotland.
All the media interest which understandably focused on Law helped to make him known throughout the footballing world and, with City still struggling to find consistency during the early sixties, it was perhaps inevitable that he would move on. In the end he was transferred to Italian side Torino for another record. This time he became Britain’s first £100,000 footballer when the Italians paid City £110,000 for his signature in July 1961.
After a little over a year in Italy, Law returned to Manchester. This time to help United. In his first season there he helped the Reds avoid relegation, but regrettably City suffered as a consequence. While at Old Trafford, Law found the success that had not seemed possible at Maine Road.
In July 1973 after becoming a legend with the Reds – please go and read everything you can about his career at Old Trafford – he was given a free transfer. City manager Johnny Hart quickly made arrangements to sign the player, and on his second City debut he again scored (twice) as Birmingham were defeated 3-1. Of the City side he joined in 1973 only Alan Oakes remained from his final City game in 1961, and the Blues were in an entirely different position.
The late sixties and early seventies had seen City achieve phenomenal success and eclipse Law’s United side, and so rather than join a poor, struggling side, law was now with a team of entertainers capable of tremendous success. He had also joined a team renowned for its unpredictability!
Johnny Hart was replaced by disciplinarian Ron Saunders as manager, and the entire mood of the club changed. Saunders seemed to be at odds with many of the club’s more senior professionals and his handling of the stars was often attacked. For a while there were rumours of player power, especially when City started plummeting down the table. Inevitably, Saunders was sacked and his replacement, Tony Book, managed to change the approach. On the final day of the season, it was as a member of Book’s side that Law scored his final – and most memorable – League goal.
It was scored with his last kick in League football, and he often said it was the worst he had ever felt after scoring a goal. It wasn’t his last competitive goal in football or even for City – people often incorrectly claim it was but he played on into the 1974-75 season, scoring for City in a competitive game at the start of that season.
A page from Manchester A Football History by Gary James
City fans usually remember Denis Law more for that particular goal than for any other moment in his City career. That goal was widely held responsible at the time of ‘sending Manchester United into the Second Division’. In actual fact, the goal was irrelevant as United would have gone down in any case, but it has become a landmark goal and inevitably keeps the name of Law in the minds of Blues fans everywhere. Law’s City career deserves to be remembered for much more.
Less than two months earlier he made his final appearance at Wembley as a member of City’s League Cup final team. That game ended in a 2-1 defeat, but then it did take place during Ron Saunders’ period as manager. Had the atmosphere of the club changed prior to Wembley then it’s possible Law’s illustrious career would have ended with a League Cup winners’ medal.
1974 League Cup final Tommy Booth, Francis Lee, Frank Munro, Denis Law.
Denis Law only managed three seasons with City in total, but in each of those seasons he did enough to make the headlines and become a member of City’s hall of fame. During the mid 1970s The King’s Head pub at Crown Point, Denton became a shrine to football and its sign depicted “The King” Denis Law. Although the nickname was awarded to him at Old Trafford, the pub sign depicted him in a City shirt – the team that first brought him to Manchester. It should never be forgotten that Law is a hero to both Blues and Reds.
Continuing the series of features on the 1960s, here’s a subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1961-62 season. If you’d like to read this 1600 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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Continuing the series of features on the 1960s, here’s a subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1960-61 season. If you’d like to read this 1200 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below).
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A new series of features on the 1960s starts with this subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1959-60 season. If you’d like to read this 1200 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below).
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Now that Pep Guardiola has managed his 500th Manchester City game (yes, I know he’s been ill and missed games but he’s still the manager when they occurred) here’s a brief look at the only manager ahead of his record at the club, Les McDowall (note: Les missed some games on scouting missions, so similar to Pep’s missed games?). Enjoy!
Les McDowall
June 1950 – May 1963
Previously: Impressive wing-half for City during 40s.
Took Over From: Jock Thomson, who left in February 1950 as City headed towards relegation, but it is believed Wilf Wild with Fred Tilson filled the void between managers.
Inherited: Bert Trautmann, Roy Clarke, Joe Fagan & Johnny Hart.
Players Brought In Included: City’s talented forward Don Revie & inspirational captain Roy Paul. Also Alex Harley & Peter Dobing.
Best Buy: For his role in the Revie Plan and long term commitment to the City cause – Ken Barnes.
Youngsters He Gave Debuts To: Joe Hayes, Dave Wagstaffe, John Benson, Neil Young, Alan Oakes & Glyn Pardoe.
First Game: Preston North End 2 City 4 (City scorers George Smith 2, Roy Clarke and Dennis Westcott), 19 August 1950, attendance 36,294.
High Points: Winning promotion during his first season; FA Cup finalists in 1955 & FA Cup winners in 1956 (and finishing fourth that season).
Coaches: Thirties stars Fred Tilson & Laurie Barnett.
Tactics: Became noted for tactical innovations such as the Revie Plan (although people assume this to be Revie’s idea the name came from the fact he was the key player; it had previously operated in the Reserves with Johnny Williamson in the role). The Plan revolutionised City’s play and led to the mid-fifties success.
Last Game: West Ham United 6 City 1 (City scorer Alan Oakes), 18 May 1963, attendance 16,602.
Season By Season Record:
League
1950-51 P 42 W 19 D 14 L 9 GF 89 GA 61 Pts 52
1951-52 P 42 W 13 D 13 L 16 GF 58 GA 61 Pts 39
1952-53 P 42 W 14 D 7 L 21 GF 72 GA 87 Pts 35
1953-54 P 42 W 14 D 9 L 19 GF 62 GA 77 Pts 37
1954-55 P 42 W 18 D 10 L 14 GF 76 GA 69 Pts 46
1955-56 P 42 W 18 D 10 L 14 GF 82 GA 69 Pts 46
1956-57 P 42 W 13 D 9 L 20 GF 78 GA 88 Pts 35
1957-58 P 42 W 22 D 5 L 15 GF 104 GA 100 Pts 49
1958-59 P 42 W 11 D 9 L 22 GF 64 GA 95 Pts 31
1959-60 P 42 W 17 D 3 L 22 GF 78 GA 84 Pts 37
1960-61 P 42 W 13 D 11 L 18 GF 79 GA 90 Pts 37
1961-62 P 42 W 17 D 7 L 18 GF 78 GA 81 Pts 41
1962-63 P 42 W 10 D 11 L 21 GF 58 GA 102 Pts 31
2 points for a win
FA Cup
1950-51 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 0 GA 2 Reached 3rd round
1951-52 P 2 W 0 D 1 L 1 GF 3 GA 6 Reached 3rd round
1952-53 P 3 W 1 D 1 L 1 GF 9 GA 6 Reached 4th round
1953-54 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 5 GA 3 Reached 4th round
1954-55 P 6 W 5 D 0 L 1 GF 10 GA 4 Reached final
1955-56 P 7 W 6 D 1 L 0 GF 11 GA 4 FA Cup winners
1956-57 P 2 W 0 D 1 L 1 GF 5 GA 6 Reached 3rd round
1957-58 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 5 Reached 3rd round
1958-59 P 2 W 0 D 1 L 1 GF 3 GA 4 Reached 3rd round
1959-60 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 5 Reached 3rd round
1960-61 P 4 W 1 D 2 L 1 GF 4 GA 4 Reached 4th round
1961-62 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 2 Reached 4th round
1962-63 P 3 W 2 D 0 L 1 GF 3 GA 2 Reached 5th round
League Cup
1960-61 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 3 GA 2 Reached 3rd round
1961-62 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 2 GA 4 Reached 2nd round
1962-63 P 6 W 3 D 2 L 1 GF 10 GA 12 Reached 5th round
TOTAL (League & cup fixtures)
P591 W220 D127 L244 GF 1049 GA 1135
Trophies Won: FA Cup (1956)
Other Competitive Fixtures: 1 Charity Shield game
They Said: “Les McDowall was very much an old school manager – shirt & tie, office type. You rarely saw him but when you did it was usually when he was unveiling one of his new tactical plans. We had one where we played with 5 at the back and I had a number 7 shirt on. He would probably have excelled in today’s game because he was absolutely driven with tactical formations.” Defender Bobby Kennedy talking in 2005.
Followed By: George Poyser
After City: Became Oldham Athletic manager shortly after leaving City. Died in August 1991 at the age of 78.
I like this colour team photo of Manchester City which was taken as part of the build-up to the 1955 FA Cup final between the Blues and Newcastle United. City lost that final – and at the time of writing it remains the last major domestic trophy won by the Geordies.
At least two of the men here later had involvement in women’s football with the Manchester Corinthians. Bert Trautmann acted as an ambassador for the pioneering women’s team later in the 1950s while Dave Ewing coached the team when it used City’s Platt Lane facilities in the late 1970s/early 1980s. You can find out more about the Corinthians here:
Manchester City dominated the Manchester derby played on this day (19 September) in 1959. That day the Blues defeated the Reds 3-0 with an outstanding performance from Joe Hayes. Enjoy the match report here:
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On this day (2nd September) in 1959 Ian Barton, a key member of the Manchester City Supporters Club, attended his first game. I spoke with Ian years ago about this and here’s his story of that day all those years ago: ‘It may not be the most significant game in City’s history but for me it shines out like a beacon light. As a 5 year old – I’ve given my age away now! – it was my first ever game. I had looked forward to this more than anything I could remember, after all my Dad, cousins, uncles and everyone else in the family could go to Maine Road so it was natural for me to follow on.
‘I remember how huge the place looked. I’d never seen anything on such a scale and I’ll never forget the smell which was a combination of tobacco, wintergreen & Bovril which always seemed to permeate around the stadium. Then there were the floodlights. They created a fantastic effect for a young boy and to this day I always think night games have a dramatic feel to them.
‘Our team had the great Bert in goal, Joe Hayes up front, with Colin Barlow on the wing and Ken Barnes at wing half. Sadly the local hero Denis Law was injured so didn’t play. Fortunately his heal, which he put to such good use some 15 years later, was not harmed. Although he was soon to become a firm favourite of mine, it was short-lived. For some reason – and I’m sure all Blues agree on this one – Law seemed to disappear from the scene for most of his career only to have one glorious season before retiring in style.
‘Fulham had some names which were to become famous namely Bobby Robson, George Cohen, Alan Mullery & Jimmy Hill, but neither Hill nor Robson turned out that night. City turned on the style and won comfortably. I was hooked for life.
‘Since then like all City fans I have suffered the ups and downs the highs and lows which we accept as the norm. From Rotherham to Newcastle… from Wembley to Vienna… from Stoke to Blackburn via Wembley… it’s been a hell of a ride and I don’t regret one moment of it.
‘I look upon this game with Fulham as the day when my lifelong passion was born.’
The Fulham consolation goal was scored by debutant Alf Stokes, who joined Fulham for £10,000 in July 1959 from Tottenham, although it’s doubtful the young Ian would have cared about the opposition of course!
Statistics: Football League 2nd September 1959.
City 3 Fulham 1
Scorers – City: McAdams (2; the image at the top of this article is of McAdams), Colbridge
For post 73 of my Maine Rd 100 countdown I’ve posted this great newspaper cutting from a significant Manchester derby. The game was on 29th January in 1955 and goals from Joe Hayes and Don Revie gave Manchester City a 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the FAC in front of 74,723. I’ve posted it partly because of the game’s significance but mostly because I just love the way newspapers would try to explain everything via images and text like this.
If you’d like to know the story of the game and see some great footage of it too then please subscribe (see below).
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