1959–60 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1959–60 season was the 68th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, and was their sixth consecutive year in the Second Division.

Liverpool
1959–60 season
ManagerPhil Taylor (to 17 November 1959)
Bob Paisley (caretaker until 1 December 1959)
Bill Shankly (from 1 December 1959)
Second Division3rd
FA CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Roger Hunt (21)
All: Roger Hunt (23)
Highest home attendance56,736 (v Manchester United, FA Cup, 30 Jan)
Lowest home attendance19,411 (v Derby County, League, 6 Apr)
Average home league attendance31,859

Pre-season

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On 12 June, having spent three years at Liverpool and missing only six matches, 29-year-old goalkeeper Tommy Younger was allowed to leave to take on a player-manager role at Scottish Second Division side Falkirk. In exchange, Liverpool signed Falkirk's 23-year-old goalkeeper Bert Slater. Slater had made 134 appearances for Falkirk, winning a Scottish Cup winners medal in the process, before the club were relegated at the end of the 1958-59 season. Slater was small for a goalkeeper standing at just 5 ft 8+12 in (1.740 m) and was nicknamed 'Shorty' but he was immediately put into the Liverpool goal upon his arrival.

There were promotions to the first-team for local-born 22-year-old defender John Nicholson and 18-year-old inside forward Willie Carlin - the latter a promising youngster who had represented his country at schoolboy and youth levels; 19-year-old full back Alan Jones, a Welsh schoolboy international who had signed professional forms for Liverpool two years earlier; Wrexham-born forward Reginald Blore who had risen through the junior ranks at Anfield; 17-year-old midfielder Ian Callaghan from Toxteth, considered by Liverpool legend Billy Liddell to be his successor; and 20-year-old striker Roger Hunt, signed a year earlier by Phil Taylor when he was brought to his attention playing for Stockton Heath.

Season Summary

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The early stages of the campaign saw Liverpool struggle for consistency, putting manager Phil Taylor under increasing pressure after his previous three seasons in charge had all resulted in narrow failures to achieve promotion. The situation further deteriorated when Liverpool failed to win a single match in October, and while a victory over Aston Villa at the start of November gave hope that the club might have turned the corner, it was followed by a humiliating 4-2 loss to strugglers Lincoln City. This proved the end of the road for Taylor, who resigned three days later with the team stuck in 11th place. First team trainer Bob Paisley stepped in as caretaker manager for the next two matches, which saw a 4-3 win over Leyton Orient, and then a 1-0 loss to Huddersfield Town. As it turned out, it would be the Yorkshire side who would provide Liverpool with their next manager, as Bill Shankly accepted the offer to take over at Anfield shortly after the match.

Liverpool's form picked up under Shankly, leaving a promotion challenge suddenly looking feasible after all. In the end, their mediocre early-season form and then another poor spell of form around Easter would leave promotion out of their hands, though a third-place finish still represented an improvement of one place on the previous season.

Squad

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Goalkeepers

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Defenders

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Midfielders

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Forwards

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Squad statistics

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Appearances and goals

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No. Pos Nat Player Total Division 2 FA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MF   ENG Alan A'Court 44 8 42 8 2 0
FW   ENG Alan Arnell 1 0 1 0 0 0
FW   ENG Louis Bimpson 5 0 5 0 0 0
MF   WAL Reginald Blore 1 0 1 0 0 0
DF   ENG Gerry Byrne 5 0 5 0 0 0
MF   ENG Ian Callaghan 4 0 4 0 0 0
MF   ENG Bobby Campbell 13 1 13 1 0 0
FW   ENG Willie Carlin 1 0 1 0 0 0
MF   SCO Jimmy Harrower 28 5 26 5 2 0
FW   ENG Dave Hickson 29 21 27 21 2 0
FW   ENG Roger Hunt 38 23 36 21 2 2
DF   WAL Allan Jones 1 0 1 0 0 0
MF   SCO Tommy Leishman 17 0 15 0 2 0
MF   SCO Billy Liddell 17 5 17 5 0 0
FW   ENG Jimmy Melia 36 14 34 14 2 0
DF   ENG John Molyneux 40 1 38 1 2 0
DF   ENG Ronnie Moran 44 5 42 5 2 0
MF   ENG Fred Morris 7 2 7 2 0 0
MF   ENG Johnny Morrissey 9 1 9 1 0 0
DF   ENG John Nicholson 1 0 1 0 0 0
GK   RSA Doug Rudham 14 0 14 0 0 0
GK   SCO Bert Slater 30 0 28 0 2 0
DF   ENG Geoff Twentyman 11 0 11 0 0 0
FW   ENG Johnny Wheeler 31 3 29 2 2 1
DF   ENG Dick White 43 0 41 0 2 0
MF   ENG Barry Wilkinson 14 0 14 0 0 0

Results

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Second Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Aston Villa (C, P) 42 25 9 8 89 43 2.070 59 Promotion to the First Division
2 Cardiff City (P) 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
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted


Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
22-Aug-59 Cardiff City A 2–3 Own Goal   38', 42' 34,000 Report Report
26-Aug-59 Bristol City H 4–2 Liddell   4', 30' Melia   53 pen' A'Court   65' 33,071 Report Report
29-Aug-59 Hull City H 5–3 Harrower   52' Melia   58' Moran   65' A'Court   80' Liddell   85' 35,520 Report Report
01-Sep-59 Bristol City A 0–1 22,528 Report Report
05-Sep-59 Sheffield United A 1–2 Morrissey   62' 25,073 Report Report
09-Sep-59 Scunthorpe United H 2–0 Melia   25' Hunt   64' 31,713 Report Report
12-Sep-59 Middlesbrough H 1–2 Liddell   7' 39,000 Report Report
17-Sep-59 Scunthorpe United A 1–1 Melia   21' 18,851 Report Report
19-Sep-59 Derby County A 2–1 A'Court   30' Hunt   58' 11,822 Report Report
26-Sep-59 Plymouth Argyle H 4–1 Melia   12' A'Court   43' Hunt   56' Moran   78' 29,278 Report Report
03-Oct-59 Swansea Town A 4–5 Own Goal   8' Melia   pen 28' Hunt   32' Moran   70' 16,500 Report Report
10-Oct-59 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2–2 A'Court   20' Melia   39' 30,366 Report Report
17-Oct-59 Stoke City A 1–1 Harrower   53' 17,000 Report Report
24-Oct-59 Portsmouth H 1–1 Moran   5' 21,075 Report Report
31-Oct-59 Sunderland A 1–1 Hunt   80' 30,208 Report Report
07-Nov-59 Aston Villa H 2–1 Hickson   54', 82' 49,981 Report Report
14-Nov-59 Lincoln City A 2–4 Hickson   28' Hunt   84' 10,801 Report Report
21-Nov-59 Leyton Orient H 4–3 Morris   15', 81' Melia   32' Hickson   50' 34,321 Report Report
28-Nov-59 Huddersfield Town A 0–1 16,185 Report Report
05-Dec-59 Ipswich Town H 3–1 Hunt   33', 39' Hickson   44' 24,843 Report Report
12-Dec-59 Bristol Rovers A 2–0 Melia   9', 85' 15,615 Report Report
19-Dec-59 Cardiff City H 0–4 27,291 Report Report
26-Dec-59 Charlton Athletic A 0–3 15,491 Report Report
28-Dec-59 Charlton Athletic H 2–0 A'Court   58' Hunt   63' 25,658 Report Report
02-Jan-60 Hull City A 1–0 Melia   31' 18,681 Report Report
16-Jan-60 Sheffield United H 3–0 Melia   9' Hunt   15', 68' 33,297 Report Report
23-Jan-60 Middlesbrough A 3–3 Own goal   10' Hickson   35' Hunt   40' 28,550 Report Report
13-Feb-60 Plymouth Argyle A 1–1 Hickson   32' 16,996 Report Report
20-Feb-60 Swansea Town H 4–1 Hickson   11', 44' Hunt   58', 89' 31,663 Report Report
27-Feb-60 Brighton & Hove Albion A 2–1 Hickson   40', 60' 21,118 Report Report
05-Mar-60 Stoke City H 5–1 Hunt   14' Harrower   19', 58' Liddell   39' Hickson   51' 35,101 Report Report
12-Mar-60 Portsmouth A 1–2 Harrower   13' 14,622 Report Report
19-Mar-60 Huddersfield Town H 2–2 Hickson   13' Wheeler   16' 30,009 Report Report
30-Mar-60 Aston Villa A 4–4 Hunt   20' Hickson   25', 60' Molyneux   44' 27,000 Report Report
02-Apr-60 Lincoln City H 1–3 Moran   pen 30' 24,081 Report Report
06-Apr-60 Derby County H 4–1 Hunt   59' A'Court   63' Wheeler   68' Hickson   75' 19,411 Report Report
09-Apr-60 Leyton Orient A 0–2 13,007 Report Report
16-Apr-60 Bristol Rovers H 4–0 Melia   21' A'Court   56' Campbell   59' Hunt   67' 27,317 Report Report
18-Apr-60 Rotherham United H 3–0 Hunt   35' Hickson   65', 82' 26,776 Report Report
19-Apr-60 Rotherham United A 2–2 Hickson   51' Hunt   73' 10,123 Report Report
23-Apr-60 Ipswich Town A 1–0 Hickson   5' 12,048 Report Report
30-Apr-60 Sunderland H 3–0 Hickson   8' Hunt   47' Melia   85' 25,916 Report Report

FA Cup

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Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
09-Jan-60 Leyton Orient H 2–1 Hunt   1', 90' 40,343 Report Report
30-Jan-60 Manchester United H 1–3 Wheeler   36' 56,736 Report Report

References

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