1967–68 Manchester City F.C. season

The 1967–68 season was Manchester City F.C.'s seventy-sixth season of league football, and second consecutive season in the Football League First Division. In the third full season under the management of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, Manchester City were unfancied at the start of the season following a mid-table finish in 1966–67 Following the signing of forward Francis Lee, the club embarked on an unbeaten run that saw the club challenge at the top of the table. A televised victory against Tottenham Hotspur in snowy conditions proved particularly notable, becoming known as the Ballet on Ice.

Manchester City F.C.

1967–68 season
Manager	Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison
Football League First Division	1st0000000000000000
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Neil Young (19 goals) All: Neil Young (21 goals)
Highest home attendance	62,942 vs Manchester United (30 September 1967)
Lowest home attendance	22,002 vs Southampton (30 August 1967)
Home colours

Going into the final match of the season, Manchester City led the table. A 4–3 win at Newcastle United clinched the club's second league title, winning the First Division by two clear points over club rivals Manchester United. The league championship was the first trophy of the most successful period in Manchester City's history. Under Mercer and Allison, the club won a further three trophies in the following two seasons.

Background and pre-season

The 1966–67 season had been Manchester City's first in the top flight after winning promotion from the Second Division in 1966. A fifteenth-place finish consolidated the club's place in the division. Club captain Johnny Crossan struggled with injuries in 1966–67, and was sold to Middlesbrough for £34,500 in the close season.[1] Tony Book succeeded him as captain. The club made no major signings before the start of the season, though Tony Coleman, a winger with a wild off-field reputation, had arrived from Doncaster Rovers at the tail-end of the 1966–67 season.[2] Mercer had reservations about signing Coleman, but Allison convinced Mercer that he could pacify a man he once described as "the nightmare of a delirious probation officer".[3] City also attempted to sign England international goalkeeper Gordon Banks, but were outbid by Stoke City.[4]

The team travelled to Europe in pre-season, playing friendlies against Eintracht Braunschweig and Standard Liège.[5] After returning to England they played Portsmouth at Fratton Park, winning 2–0, and finished their preparations with a resounding home win against Borussia Dortmund.[5] Between matches, the players followed a fitness plan created by former athlete Joe Lancaster, under instruction from Malcolm Allison.[6] The training regime was initially unpopular with the players; the severity of the first session caused some players to vomit.[6]

Football League First Division

City's season opened with a 0–0 draw at home to Liverpool. City were awarded a penalty, but new captain Tony Book hit it wide.[7] Two defeats followed, at Southampton and Stoke. The Stoke defeat led to a tactical switch. Mike Summerbee, who played wide on the right at the start of the season, was moved to centre-forward.[8] The change reaped immediate dividends, with Summerbee playing a leading role in a 4–2 win against Southampton.[7] This was the first in a run of five straight wins, after which Manchester City had caught up with the league leaders.[9] During this run of wins young winger Stan Bowles made his league debut, scoring twice in a 5–2 win against Sheffield United.[10]

Manchester City's first transfer business of the season brought goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn to the club from Stockport County on 21 September, a deal that involved City's back-up goalkeeper Alan Ogley moving in the opposite direction.[11] Harry Dowd kept goal in the next match, a 1–0 defeat at Arsenal,[12] but then dislocated a finger, prompting a debut for Mulhearn in the season's first Manchester derby.[11] Mulhearn was reputedly so nervous before the match that Allison locked him in the medical room until he calmed down.[11] Colin Bell scored the opener after five minutes, but two Bobby Charlton goals meant a win for Manchester United. In the second half of the match, Bowles exchanged punches with Brian Kidd, though neither man was sent off, largely thanks to the intervention of their respective captains.[13] The derby loss was followed by a third consecutive defeat, at Sunderland.

A couple of days after the Roker Park defeat, Manchester City completed the signing of centre-forward Francis Lee from Bolton Wanderers for a club record £60,000.[14] During negotiations Mercer stated to Lee that "we feel we've got the start of a good side. We are just one player short, and we think you are that player."[15] Lee made his debut in a 2–0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the start of an 11 match unbeaten run,[16] including a 6–0 win against Leicester City.[17]

Ballet on Ice

Midway through their unbeaten run, City faced Tottenham Hotspur at home in snowy conditions, in a match televised on Match of the Day. As the teams came out onto the frozen pitch, commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme called the Manchester City team as "the most exciting team in England".[18] Aided by a modification to the studs on their boots suggested by Tony Book,[19] City produced one of their best footballing performances in their history. One Spurs player was quoted as saying, "It was extraordinary. City moved like Olympic speed skaters while we were falling around like clowns on a skid patch."[18] Tottenham took an early lead through Jimmy Greaves, but Bell equalised before half-time, and in the second half City besieged Tottenham, scoring three more times to win 4–1. After the match City trailed the league leaders by only a single point.[20]

The match was named as Match of the Day's "Match of the Season",[20] and as the only match at Maine Road that season to be recorded for television,[21] is the foremost recorded example of the 1967–68 team in action.

The unbeaten run came to an end at Christmas, with back-to-back defeats in matches against West Bromwich Albion causing the club to fall to fourth place.[22] The team commenced 1968 with a seven match unbeaten run, starting with consecutive 3–0 wins at Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, and culminating in a 5–1 defeat of Fulham to go top of the table.[23] The run came to an end with a defeat at Don Revie's Leeds United, which also meant City were overtaken at the top of the table by local rivals Manchester United. A visit to United's Old Trafford ground then followed. United took an early lead, but City rallied to win 3–1.[24]

In late April, after City won 1–0 against Sheffield Wednesday and title rivals Manchester United lost to West Bromwich Albion, City were in a position where winning their final three games would all but guarantee the championship.[25] In the first of the three, a home match against Everton, City won 2–0 in a match featuring Tony Book's first league goal for the club.[26] Next was Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. City took a 3–0 lead before half time, eventually winning 3–1.[26]

Title decider at Newcastle

Going into the final match, City were level on points with neighbours Manchester United, with City holding the advantage in goal average – the first decider if teams finished level on points – but needing to win to be sure of staying above their cross-city rivals. Liverpool were three points behind, but had a game in hand, so could still win the title if both City and United faltered.[27] City faced tenth-placed Newcastle United at St James' Park; United were at home to bottom-half Sunderland. Bookmakers made United slight favourites for the title.[28]

Mike Summerbee opened the scoring on 13 minutes, but Newcastle soon equalised.[29] Neil Young made it 2–1, but again Newcastle equalised. A second strike by Young was disallowed for offside, and at half-time the score was 2–2. Straight after half-time Young scored again, and Francis Lee scored a fourth on 63 minutes.[30] A late Newcastle goal set up a nervy finish, but City held on to win 4–3 and secure the title.[30] The win was compounded by a 2–1 victory by Sunderland over Manchester United, giving City the title. Liverpool won one of their remaining games but lost the other, missing their chance to leapfrog United into second by one point.

Matches

Date	Opponents	H / A	Venue	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
19 August 1967	Liverpool	H	Maine Road	0–0		49,531
23 August 1967	Southampton	A	The Dell	2–3	Bell, Coleman	23,675
26 August 1967	Stoke City	A	Victoria Ground	0–3		22,426
30 August 1967	Southampton	H	Maine Road	4–2	Bell (2), Young (2)	22,002
2 September 1967	Nottingham Forest	H	Maine Road	2–0	Coleman, Summerbee	29,547
6 September 1967	Newcastle United	H	Maine Road	2–0	Hince, Young	29,978
9 September 1967	Coventry City	A	Highfield Road	3–0	Bell, Hince, Summerbee	34,578
16 September 1967	Sheffield United	H	Maine Road	5–2	Bowles (2), Bell, Summerbee, Young	31,922
23 September 1967	Arsenal	A	Highbury	0–1		41,567
30 September 1967	Manchester United	H	Maine Road	1–2	Bell	62,942
7 October 1967	Sunderland	A	Roker Park	0–1		27,885
14 October 1967	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	Maine Road	2–0	Doyle, Young	36,476
21 October 1967	Fulham	A	Craven Cottage	4–2	Summerbee (2), Lee, Young	22,108
28 October 1967	Leeds United	H	Maine Road	1–0	Bell	39,713
4 November 1967	Everton	A	Goodison Park	1–1	Connor	47,144
11 November 1967	Leicester City	H	Maine Road	6–0	Lee (2), Young (2), Doyle, Oakes	29,039
18 November 1967	West Ham United	A	Upton Park	3–2	Lee (2), Summerbee	25,495
25 November 1967	Burnley	H	Maine Road	4–2	Coleman (2), Summerbee, Young	37,098
2 December 1967	Sheffield Wednesday	A	Hillsborough	1–1	Oakes	38,207
9 December 1967	Tottenham Hotspur	H	Maine Road	4–1	Bell, Coleman, Summerbee, Young	35,792
16 December 1967	Liverpool	A	Anfield	1–1	Lee	53,268
23 December 1967	Stoke City	H	Maine Road	4–2	Lee (2), Coleman, Young	40,121
18 December 1967	West Bromwich Albion	A	The Hawthorns	2–3	Lee, Summerbee	44,897
30 December 1967	West Bromwich Albion	H	Maine Road	0–2		45,754
6 January 1968	Nottingham Forest	A	City Ground	3–0	Coleman, Summerbee, Young	39,581
20 January 1968	Sheffield United	A	Bramall Lane	3–0	Bell, Doyle, Lee	32,142
3 February 1968	Arsenal	H	Maine Road	1–1	Lee	42,392
24 February 1968	Sunderland	H	Maine Road	1–0	Lee	28,642
2 March 1968	Burnley	A	Turf Moor	1–0	Lee	23,486
9 March 1968	Coventry City	H	Maine Road	3–1	Bell, Summerbee, Young	33,310
16 March 1968	Fulham	H	Maine Road	5–1	Young (2), Bell, Lee, Summerbee	30,773
23 March 1968	Leeds United	A	Elland Road	0–2		51,818
27 March 1968	Manchester United	A	Old Trafford	3–1	Bell, Heslop, Lee	63,004
6 April 1968	Leicester City	A	Filbert Street	0–1		24,925
12 April 1968	Chelsea	H	Maine Road	1–0	Doyle	47,132
13 April 1968	West Ham United	H	Maine Road	3–0	Young (2), Doyle	38,755
16 April 1968	Chelsea	A	Stamford Bridge	0–1		36,466
20 April 1968	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	Molineux	0–0		39,632
25 April 1968	Sheffield Wednesday	H	Maine Road	1–0	Own goal	32,999
29 April 1968	Everton	H	Maine Road	2–0	Book, Coleman	37,786
4 May 1968	Tottenham Hotspur	A	White Hart Lane	3–1	Bell (2), Summerbee	51,242
11 May 1968	Newcastle United	A	St James' Park	4–3	Young (2), Lee, Summerbee	46,492

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Manchester City (C)	42	26	6	10	86	43	2.000	58	1968–69 European Cup
2	Manchester United	42	24	8	10	89	55	1.618	56
3	Liverpool	42	22	11	9	71	40	1.775	55	1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
4	Leeds United	42	22	9	11	71	41	1.732	53
5	Everton	42	23	6	13	67	40	1.675	52

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
42	26	6	10	86	43	2	58	17	2	2	52	17	36	9	4	8	34	26	22

Source: rsssf.com

FA Cup

As a top-flight side, Manchester City entered the FA Cup in the third round, and were drawn at home to Reading of the Third Division. With City unusually wearing their maroon change kit, the match finished goalless, with Tony Coleman missing a penalty.[31] The replay at Elm Park was a one-sided affair. City won 7–0, Mike Summerbee scoring a hat-trick. In the fourth round, another home tie finished 0–0, this time against Leicester City. In the replay Manchester City squandered a 2–0 lead and lost 4–3.[32]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Venue	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
27 January 1968	Third round	Reading	H	Maine Road	0–0		40,343
31 January 1968	Third round replay	Reading	A	Elm Park	7–0	Summerbee (3), Young, Coleman, Heslop, Bell	25,659
17 February 1968	Fourth round	Leicester City	H	Maine Road	0–0		51,009
19 February 1968	Fourth round replay	Leicester City	A	Filbert Street	3–4	Summerbee, Bell, Lee	39,112

League Cup

Manchester City's League Cup run saw two notable debuts for young players. In the Second round against Leicester City, Stan Bowles scored twice in a 4–0 win.[33] In the next round against Blackpool, Joe Corrigan made the first of his 605 appearances for the club.[34] City progressed after a replay. Fulham were the opponents in the Fourth round, meaning City visited Craven Cottage for the second time in as many weeks. However, they could not replicate their league win, and lost 3–2.[35]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Venue	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
13 September 1967	Second round	Leicester City	H	Maine Road	4–0	Bowles (2), Book, Young	25,653
11 October 1967	Third round	Blackpool	H	Maine Road	1–1	Summerbee	27,633
18 October 1967	Third round replay	Blackpool	A	Bloomfield Road	2–0	Summerbee, Craven (o.g.)	23,405
1 November 1967	Fourth round	Fulham	A	Craven Cottage	2–3	Oakes, Bell	11,732

Squad statistics

Squad

Appearances for competitive matches only
Source:[36]

Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
		League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
GK	Joe Corrigan	00 (0)	0	0	0	2	0	02 (0)	0
GK	Harry Dowd	07 (0)	0	0	0	2	0	09 (0)	0
GK	Ken Mulhearn	33 (0)	0	4	0	0	0	37 (0)	0
GK	Alan Ogley	02 (0)	0	0	0	0	0	02 (0)	0
DF	Tony Book	42 (0)	1	4	0	4	1	50 (0)	2
DF	Mike Doyle	37 (1)	5	4	0	3	0	44 (1)	5
DF	George Heslop	41 (0)	1	4	1	4	0	43 (0)	0
DF	Glyn Pardoe	41 (0)	0	4	0	4	0	49 (0)	0
MF	Colin Bell	35 (0)	14	4	2	4	1	43 (0)	17
MF	Roy Cheetham	02 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	02 (1)	0
MF	John Clay	01 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	01 (1)	0
MF	David Connor	10 (3)	1	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	12 (5)	1
MF	Stan Horne	04 (1)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	05 (2)	0
MF	Bobby Kennedy	04 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	04 (2)	0
MF	Alan Oakes	41 (0)	2	4	0	4	1	49 (0)	3
FW	Stan Bowles	04 (0)	2	0	0	0 (1)	0	04 (1)	4
FW	Tony Coleman	38 (0)	8	4	1	4	0	46 (0)	8
FW	Paul Hince	06 (0)	2	0	0	4	0	10 (0)	2
FW	Francis Lee	31 (0)	16	4	1	0	0	35 (0)	17
FW	Chris Jones	02 (0)	0	0	0	0	0	02 (0)	0
FW	Mike Summerbee	41 (0)	14	4	4	4	2	49 (0)	20
FW	Neil Young	40 (0)	19	4	1	4	1	48 (0)	21

Transfers

In Date Pos. Name From Fee September 1967 GK Ken Mulhearn Stockport County October 1967 FW Francis Lee Bolton Wanderers £60,000

Out Date Pos. Name To Fee August 1967 FW Johnny Crossan Middlesbrough £34,500 1967 FW Ralph Brand Sunderland September 1967 GK Alan Ogley Stockport County Part exchange

Legacy

The league championship was Manchester City's first trophy since the 1956 FA Cup. The triumph was the first of the most successful period in the club's history. Under Mercer and Allison the club went on to win the FA Cup in 1969, and the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970. The Mercer-Allison partnership changed in October 1971, with Allison taking the manager's role, and came to an end in June 1972 when Mercer left to take charge of Coventry City.[16]

As a result of the title win, Manchester City entered European competition for the first time. However, Malcolm Allison's prediction that the club would "terrify Europe" proved inaccurate, with the club losing to Fenerbahçe in the first round of the European Cup.[37]

See also

• Manchester City F.C. seasons

References

1. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 37.
2. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 33.
3. Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 59.
4. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 127.
5. Goldstone & Saffer, Manchester City Champions 1967/68, p. 11.
6. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 133
7. Goldstone & Saffer, Manchester City Champions 1967/68, p. 13.
8. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 137.
9. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 138.
10. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 39
11. James, The Big Book of City, pp. 124–5.
12. Goldstone & Saffer, Manchester City Champions 1967/68, p. 33.
13. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 40
14. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 178.
15. James, The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame, p. 52.
16. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 53.
17. Summerbee, Mike Summerbee – The Autobiography, p. 103.
18. "Manchester City 4–1 Tottenham". mirrorfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
19. Book, Maine Man, p. 76.
20. Goldstone & Saffer, Manchester City Champions 1967/68, p. 58.
21. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 148.
22. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 45.
23. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 149.
24. Tossell, Big Mal, p. 150.
25. Summerbee, Mike Summerbee – The Autobiography, p. 107.
26. Book, Maine Man, p. 78.
27. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, pp. 125–6.
28. Summerbee, Mike Summerbee – The Autobiography, p. 108.
29. James, The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame, p. 130.
30. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 126.
31. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 45
32. Goldstone & Saffer, Manchester City Champions 1967/68, p. 74.
33. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 39.
34. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 156.
35. Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p. 42.
36. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, pp. 402–3.
37. James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 55.

Bibliography

• Book, Tony; Clayton, David (2004). Maine Man. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-812-X.
• Goldstone, Phil; Saffer, David (2005). Manchester City Champions 1967/68. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3611-2.
• James, Gary (2005). The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61282-1.
• James, Gary (2006). Manchester City – The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
• James, Gary (2009). The Big Book of City. Halifax: James Ward. ISBN 978-0-9558127-2-9.
• Penney, Ian (2008). Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 978-1-85983-608-8.
• Summerbee, Mike; Holden, Jim (2008). Mike Summerbee – The Autobiography. Century. ISBN 978-1-84605-493-8.
• Tossell, David (2008). Big Mal: The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-478-8.
• Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 0-907969-05-4.
• Kay, Steve (2009). "mcfcstats.com". Retrieved 10 August 2010.

External links

• Extensive Manchester City statistics site