Middle row (l-r);
Front row (l-r);
By Jim Brown
The 1953-54 season, City’s second following relegation from Division Two, was a tumultuous one for the club. The team had a poor start with too few goals being scored. The first four home games were won but conversely the opening five away games were lost. In the autumn three successive 0-0 home draws put pressure on manager Harry Storer, however it was still a major shock in November when it was announced that he had resigned. A bitter Storer was quick to point out that he had been sacked, was the scapegoat for the general mis-management of the club and he had been hamstrung by a lack of financial support. Club president Erle Shanks and a big supporter of Storer, resigned in protest at Storer’s treatment and later, at a stormy AGM in April 1954 the five-man board resigned. Soon after a new board was elected with Shanks becoming chairman again, replacing Jones and one of the two new directors was a 36-year old concrete garage manufacturer by the name of Derrick Robins.
In January Storer’s successor, Jack Fairbrother, was appointed. Jack, a former Newcastle goalkeeper who played in their 1951 FA Cup winning team, had been very successful in his first managerial job with non-league Peterborough United. Tragedy struck within weeks of his arrival in the city when his wife, Belle, died after falling down the stairs at home and fracturing her skull, leaving Jack a widower with two young children.
Fairbrother could do little to turn the tide and although a three-win run in February lifted them briefly into the top half, the final position of 14th was a major achievement. By the season’s end apathy amongst supporters was rife. Gates, which had struggled to get above 10,000 since Christmas, dropped even lower and for the visit of QPR in April there were only 4,785 present, the lowest home crowd since 1928. The season’s average was 10,505, down almost 3,000 from the previous season and this was reflected in the fall in home gate receipts from £39,000 to £29,000 in the club’s accounts published that month. The only bright spots being the goalscoring form of Eddie Brown – 20 goals in 33 games – and the form of several home-grown youngsters. Wingers Gordon Nutt and Jimmy Hill showed a lot of promise for their youth whilst in defence 20-year old Frank Austin was a regular and goalkeeper Reg Matthews continued to develop into an exceptional talent.
In October 1953 the club unveiled their first floodlight system and for their first floodlit game City played out a 1-1 draw with Scottish club Queen of the South. Soon afterwards Wolves, then arguably the top side in the country, and East Fife, a top Scottish team at the time, played floodlit friendlies at Highfield Road. The Wolves game, which City won 1-0, was attended by over 18,000, the highest gate of the season.
