1959–60 in English football
The1959–60 seasonwas the 80th season of competitive football in England.
Diary of the season
17 November 1959: Phil Taylor resigns as manager of lowlyLiverpool, languishing in the lower depths of the Second Division, after three years as manager, with all three of his seasons in charge ending with a narrow failure to win promotion to the First Division.
1 December 1959: Bill Shankly of Huddersfield Town accepts the offer to become Second Division club Liverpool’s new manager.[1]
15 March 1960 Second Division Manchester City pay Huddersfield Town a club record ₤55,000 transfer fee for Denis Law.[2]
7 May 1960: Wolverhampton Wanderers defeat Blackburn Rovers 3–0 in theFA Cupfinal at Wembley Stadium, with two goals from Norman Deeley and an own goal from Mick McGrath.
Honours
Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
---|---|---|
First Division | Burnley (2) | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Second Division | Aston Villa | Cardiff City |
Third Division | Southampton | Norwich City |
Fourth Division | Walsall | Notts County |
FA Cup | Wolverhampton Wanderers (4) | Blackburn Rovers |
Charity Shield | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Nottingham Forest |
Home Championship | England,Scotland&Walesshared |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
Awards
Football Writers’ Association
-
Footballer of the Year – Bill Slater (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Football League
First Division
Burnley failed to top the First Division all season, but pipped Wolves to top spot on the final day of the season to clinch the title. The runners-up, while missing out on a third successive league title and becoming the first team this century to win the elusive double, went on to win theFA Cupthis season. Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday completed the top five. Manchester United, last season’s runners-up, dipped to seventh in the league this season despite 32 goals from forward Dennis Viollet and the mid-season signing of half-back Maurice Setters. Luton Town, last season’s FA Cup finalists, went down in bottom place, and were joined in relegation by Leeds United.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Burnley | 42 | 24 | 7 | 11 | 85 | 61 | 1.393 | 55 | Qualified for theEuropean Cup |
2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 106 | 67 | 1.582 | 54 | |
3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 86 | 50 | 1.720 | 53 | |
4 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 83 | 57 | 1.456 | 49 | |
5 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 80 | 59 | 1.356 | 49 | |
6 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 59 | 51 | 1.157 | 48 | |
7 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 102 | 80 | 1.275 | 45 | |
8 | Newcastle United | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 82 | 78 | 1.051 | 44 | |
9 | Preston North End | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 79 | 76 | 1.039 | 44 | |
10 | Fulham | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 73 | 80 | 0.913 | 44 | |
11 | Blackpool | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 59 | 71 | 0.831 | 40 | |
12 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 66 | 75 | 0.880 | 39 | |
13 | Arsenal | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 68 | 80 | 0.850 | 39 | |
14 | West Ham United | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 75 | 91 | 0.824 | 38 | |
15 | Everton | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 73 | 78 | 0.936 | 37 | |
16 | Manchester City | 42 | 17 | 3 | 22 | 78 | 84 | 0.929 | 37 | |
17 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 60 | 70 | 0.857 | 37 | |
18 | Chelsea | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 76 | 91 | 0.835 | 37 | |
19 | Birmingham City | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 63 | 80 | 0.788 | 36 | |
20 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 50 | 74 | 0.676 | 35 | |
21 | Leeds United | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 65 | 92 | 0.707 | 34 | Relegated to the Second Division |
22 | Luton Town | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 50 | 73 | 0.685 | 30 |
Second Division
Aston Villa earned an immediate return to the First Division as Second Division champions, and were joined in promotion by runners-up Cardiff City. Liverpool’s change of manager from Phil Taylor to Bill Shankly was not enough to earn them promotion, as they finished in third place, eight points adrift of promotion. Huddersfield Town could only finish sixth in the Second Division despite the goals of brilliant young forward Denis Law, who was sold to Manchester City towards the end of the season for a national record fee.
Hull City and Bristol City went down to the Third Division.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aston Villa | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 89 | 43 | 2.070 | 59 | Promoted to the First Division |
2 | Cardiff City | 42 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 90 | 62 | 1.452 | 58 | |
3 | Liverpool | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 90 | 66 | 1.364 | 50 | |
4 | Sheffield United | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 68 | 51 | 1.333 | 50 | |
5 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 90 | 64 | 1.406 | 48 | |
6 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 73 | 52 | 1.404 | 47 | |
7 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 90 | 87 | 1.034 | 47 | |
8 | Rotherham United | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 61 | 60 | 1.017 | 47 | |
9 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 72 | 78 | 0.923 | 47 | |
10 | Leyton Orient | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 76 | 61 | 1.246 | 44 | |
11 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 78 | 68 | 1.147 | 44 | |
12 | Swansea Town | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 82 | 84 | 0.976 | 40 | |
13 | Lincoln City | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 75 | 78 | 0.962 | 39 | |
14 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 67 | 76 | 0.882 | 38 | |
15 | Scunthorpe United | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 57 | 71 | 0.803 | 36 | |
16 | Sunderland | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 52 | 65 | 0.800 | 36 | |
17 | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 66 | 83 | 0.795 | 35 | |
18 | Derby County | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 61 | 77 | 0.792 | 35 | |
19 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 61 | 89 | 0.685 | 35 | |
20 | Portsmouth | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 59 | 77 | 0.766 | 32 | |
21 | Hull City | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 48 | 76 | 0.632 | 30 | Relegated to the Third Division |
22 | Bristol City | 42 | 11 | 5 | 26 | 60 | 97 | 0.619 | 27 |
Third Division
The Third Division promotion race was very much a two-horse race for much of the season, ending with Southampton going up as champions and Norwich City as runners-up.
Accrington Stanley, Wrexham, York City and Mansfield Town went down to the Fourth Division.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southampton | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 106 | 75 | 1.413 | 61 | Promoted to the Second Division |
2 | Norwich City | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 82 | 54 | 1.519 | 59 | |
3 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 97 | 75 | 1.293 | 52 | |
4 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 87 | 70 | 1.243 | 52 | |
5 | Coventry City | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 78 | 63 | 1.238 | 52 | |
6 | Brentford | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 78 | 61 | 1.279 | 51 | |
7 | Bury | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 64 | 51 | 1.255 | 51 | |
8 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 73 | 54 | 1.352 | 49 | |
9 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 83 | 74 | 1.122 | 47 | |
10 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 72 | 72 | 1.000 | 47 | |
11 | Reading | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 84 | 77 | 1.091 | 46 | |
12 | Southend United | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 76 | 74 | 1.027 | 46 | |
13 | Newport County | 46 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 80 | 79 | 1.013 | 46 | |
14 | Port Vale | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 80 | 79 | 1.013 | 46 | |
15 | Halifax Town | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 70 | 72 | 0.972 | 46 | |
16 | Swindon Town | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 69 | 78 | 0.885 | 46 | |
17 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 65 | 66 | 0.985 | 44 | |
18 | Chesterfield | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 71 | 84 | 0.845 | 43 | |
19 | Bradford City | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 66 | 74 | 0.892 | 42 | |
20 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 72 | 75 | 0.960 | 41 | |
21 | York City | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 57 | 73 | 0.781 | 38 | Relegated to the Fourth Division |
22 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 81 | 112 | 0.723 | 36 | |
23 | Wrexham | 46 | 14 | 8 | 24 | 68 | 101 | 0.673 | 36 | |
24 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 11 | 5 | 30 | 57 | 123 | 0.463 | 27 |
Fourth Division
Walsall sealed the Fourth Division title and with it a place in the Third Division. They were joined in the higher division by Notts County, Torquay United and Watford.
Gateshead were voted out of the Football League and replaced by ambitious Southern League side Peterborough United, who boasted a 30,000-capacity stadium.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walsall | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 102 | 60 | 1.700 | 65 | Promoted to the Third Division |
2 | Notts County | 46 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 107 | 69 | 1.551 | 60 | |
3 | Torquay United | 46 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 84 | 58 | 1.448 | 60 | |
4 | Watford | 46 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 92 | 67 | 1.373 | 57 | |
5 | Millwall | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 84 | 61 | 1.377 | 53 | |
6 | Northampton Town | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 85 | 63 | 1.349 | 53 | |
7 | Gillingham | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 74 | 69 | 1.072 | 52 | |
8 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 84 | 64 | 1.313 | 50 | |
9 | Exeter City | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 80 | 70 | 1.143 | 49 | |
10 | Stockport County | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 58 | 54 | 1.074 | 49 | |
11 | Bradford Park Avenue | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 70 | 68 | 1.029 | 49 | |
12 | Rochdale | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 65 | 60 | 1.083 | 46 | |
13 | Aldershot | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 77 | 74 | 1.041 | 45 | |
14 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 79 | 88 | 0.898 | 45 | |
15 | Darlington | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 63 | 73 | 0.863 | 43 | |
16 | Workington | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 68 | 60 | 1.133 | 42 | |
17 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 69 | 76 | 0.908 | 42 | |
18 | Barrow | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 77 | 87 | 0.885 | 41 | |
19 | Carlisle United | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 51 | 66 | 0.773 | 41 | |
20 | Chester | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 59 | 77 | 0.766 | 40 | |
21 | Southport | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 48 | 92 | 0.522 | 34 | Re-elected |
22 | Gateshead | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 58 | 86 | 0.674 | 33 | Not re-elected |
23 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 41 | 83 | 0.494 | 28 | Re-elected |
24 | Hartlepools United | 46 | 10 | 7 | 29 | 59 | 109 | 0.541 | 27 |
Top goalscorers
First Division
-
Dennis Viollet (Manchester United) – 32 goals[3]
Second Division
-
Brian Clough (Middlesbrough) – 39 goals[3]
Third Division
-
Derek Reeves (Southampton) – 39 goals[4]
Fourth Division
-
Cliff Holton (Watford) – 42 goals[4]