1958–59 Stoke City F.C. season

The 1958–59 season was Stoke City's 52nd season in the Football League and the 19th in the Second Division.

Stoke City
1958–59 season
ChairmanMr C. Salmon
ManagerFrank Taylor
StadiumVictoria Ground
Football League Second Division5th (49 Points)
FA CupFourth Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Dennis Wilshaw
(15)

All: Dennis Wilshaw
(18)
Highest home attendance30,083 vs Leyton Orient
(27 December 1958)
Lowest home attendance6,855 vs Grimsby Town
(25 April 1959)
Average home league attendance17,249

After failing to sign any new players in the summer of 1958, Stoke City manager Frank Taylor faced a difficult season ahead. His decision not to strengthen the squad was soon proven to be a mistake, as the team suffered a 6–1 defeat on the opening day of the season. Despite a difficult start to the season, Stoke City managed to turn their fortunes around with two solid unbeaten runs before the end of 1958. These strong performances put the team in contention for promotion, but they were unable to maintain their momentum in 1959. Six wins out of 23 matches left them 11 points behind second-placed Fulham. It was a disappointing end to a season that had shown some promise.[1]

Season review

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League

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During the summer of 1958, Stoke City completed the rebuilding of the main stand at the Victoria Ground, which cost £70,000. While the stand was an impressive addition to the ground, some fans worried that the cost would impact the team's ability to sign new players.[1] For the 1958–59 season, Stoke's lack of major signings and the absence of key players such as Bobby Howitt and Tony Allen put the team at a disadvantage. They were badly missed as Stoke were hammered 6–1 by an impressive Fulham side led by Johnny Haynes.[1] After a slow start to the season, Stoke went on a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, which helped them climb to third place in the table by December. The team's resurgence was a welcome turnaround after a disappointing start.[1] In the new year, Stoke's form declined, and they were unable to keep up with Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham at the top of the table. Stoke ultimately finished the season in 5th place, having fallen away from the top two positions. While it was a creditable finish, it was a disappointing end to a season that had promised so much.[1]

The 1958–59 season was a transitional one for Stoke City, with the departure of Neville Coleman and the aging of some key players. Coleman had scored 52 goals in 126 appearances for the club before moving on to Crewe Alexandra. Veterans Frank Bowyer, John McCue, and Harry Oscroft were nearing the end of their careers. Despite these changes, there were reasons for optimism as the team continued to develop.[1] Before the season was out, Oscroft was involved in a three-man swap, as he and Peter Ford move to Vale Park in exchange for John Cunliffe a left-winger who had a good career at Vale but failed to make an impression with Stoke.[1] John Sellars who missed the season due to an eye injury decided to retire and Stoke decided to end their season with a trip to Morocco.[1]

FA Cup

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In the third round, Dennis Wilshaw bagged a hat trick as Oldham Athletic were well beaten 5–1 before Ipswich Town came and frustrated Stoke and in the fourth round before nicking a 1–0 win.[1]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
3 Sheffield United 42 23 7 12 82 48 1.708 53
4 Liverpool 42 24 5 13 87 62 1.403 53
5 Stoke City 42 21 7 14 72 58 1.241 49
6 Bristol Rovers 42 18 12 12 80 64 1.250 48
7 Derby County 42 20 8 14 74 71 1.042 48
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Results

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Stoke's score comes first

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

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Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 23 August 1958 Fulham A 1–6 31,853 Oscroft
2 27 August 1958 Sheffield Wednesday H 3–0 24,126 King, Cairns (pen), Bullock
3 30 August 1958 Lincoln City H 1–0 20,359 Oscroft
4 30 August 1958 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–4 23,622 Oscroft
5 6 September 1958 Sunderland A 1–3 31,894 King (pen)
6 10 September 1958 Scunthorpe United H 4–3 17,824 King, Bullock, Wilshaw (2)
7 13 September 1958 Middlesbrough H 3–1 24,867 King, Oscroft, Ratcliffe
8 18 September 1958 Scunthorpe United A 1–1 14,232 Bullock
9 20 September 1958 Swansea Town H 3–0 20,196 King, Wilshaw (2)
10 27 September 1958 Ipswich Town A 2–0 17,569 King, Wilshaw
11 4 October 1958 Bristol Rovers H 2–2 19,763 Bowyer, Thomson
12 13 October 1958 Charlton Athletic A 2–1 17,959 King, Howitt
13 18 October 1958 Bristol City H 2–1 22,657 King (pen), Thomson
14 22 October 1958 Derby County H 2–1 20,456 Bowyer, Wilshaw
15 25 October 1958 Cardiff City A 1–2 20,351 King
16 1 November 1958 Liverpool H 0–2 26,919
17 8 November 1958 Barnsley A 1–2 12,080 Oscroft
18 15 November 1958 Rotherham United H 3–0 15,263 Oscroft, Howitt (2)
19 22 November 1958 Sheffield United A 1–2 18,636 Anderson
20 29 November 1958 Brighton & Hove Albion H 3–0 13,251 Wilshaw (2), Howitt
21 6 December 1958 Grimsby Town A 2–2 9,255 Howitt, Asprey
22 13 December 1958 Huddersfield Town H 5–1 12,761 Howitt, Wilshaw (2), Bowyer, Ward
23 20 December 1958 Fulham H 4–1 18,457 Howitt (2), Oscroft (2)
24 26 December 1958 Leyton Orient A 1–0 12,173 Ward
25 27 December 1958 Leyton Orient H 3–2 30,083 Asprey, Wilshaw (2)
26 3 January 1959 Lincoln City A 1–3 8,813 Bowyer
27 31 January 1959 Middlesbrough A 0–0 18,869
28 7 February 1959 Swansea Town A 0–1 11,123
29 16 February 1959 Ipswich Town H 1–0 11,230 King
30 21 February 1959 Bristol Rovers A 0–1 16,341
31 28 February 1959 Barnsley H 2–1 13,015 Asprey, Wilshaw
32 7 March 1959 Bristol City A 1–2 15,673 Howitt
33 14 March 1959 Cardiff City H 0–1 11,929
34 20 March 1959 Liverpool A 4–3 35,507 Asprey, Wilshaw (2), White (o.g.)
35 28 March 1959 Charlton Athletic H 2–1 14,115 Howitt, King
36 30 March 1959 Derby County A 0–3 24,342
37 4 April 1959 Rotherham United A 0–0 10,172
38 6 April 1959 Sunderland H 0–0 7,513
39 11 April 1959 Sheffield United H 1–2 10,439 Bullock
40 18 April 1959 Brighton & Hove Albion A 2–2 19,501 Bowyer, Bullock
41 22 April 1959 Huddersfield Town A 2–1 9,891 Bowyer, Ward
42 25 April 1959 Grimsby Town H 4–0 6,855 Ward, Asprey, King (2)

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R3 4 January 1959 Oldham Athletic H 5–1 22,035 Howitt, Asprey, Wilshaw (3)
R4 8 January 1959 Ipswich Town H 0–1 27,062

Friendlies

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Match Opponent Venue Result
1 Port Vale A 1–2
2 Port Vale A 4–0
3 Crewe Alexandra A 5–1
4 Bilston A 8–0
5 Airdrieonians H 3–1
6 First Vienna H 1–1
7 Macclesfield Town A 2–0
8 WAC Casablanca A 3–1
9 Royal Moroccan Army A 5–0

Squad statistics

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Pos. Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   Wilf Hall 11 0 2 0 13 0
GK   Bill Robertson 31 0 0 0 31 0
DF   Tony Allen 36 0 2 0 38 0
DF   Ron Andrew 2 0 0 0 2 0
DF   Peter Ford 7 0 0 0 7 0
DF   John McCue 42 0 2 0 44 0
DF   Ken Thomson 38 2 2 0 40 2
MF   Bill Asprey 42 5 2 1 44 6
MF   Bobby Cairns 29 1 2 0 31 1
FW   John Anderson 6 1 0 0 6 1
FW   Tony Bentley 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW   Frank Bowyer 24 6 2 0 26 6
FW   Peter Bullock 13 5 0 0 13 5
FW   Neville Coleman 8 0 0 0 8 0
FW   Bobby Howitt 27 10 2 1 29 11
FW   Johnny King 33 13 0 0 33 13
FW   Harry Oscroft 28 8 2 0 30 8
FW   Don Ratcliffe 31 1 0 0 31 1
FW   Jimmy Wallace 6 0 0 0 6 0
FW   Derrick Ward 15 4 2 0 17 4
FW   Dennis Wilshaw 31 15 2 3 33 18
Own goals 1 0 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.