Hollywood loves this kind of story. Sports team, so close to oblivion turns things around to win against all the odds.
This is the story of a club who nearly dropped out of the league and went onto win two promotions in the next three years to reach the Second Division for the one and only time in their history.
Mansfield Town was formed in 1897, turning into a professional outfit four years later. They didn’t compete in the Football League until the season before football was stopped due to the Second World War.
Back then clubs had to apply for election to the league. Not just for those looking for promotion into the league but also those who may have been relegated. The first season after the War they finished bottom and only survived through a sympathy vote.
The third tier of the league was split into north and south, and that’s where the club remained until a top six finish the season before a Fourth Division was created, put them into the Third. It didn’t last as the following season they finished bottom and spent the next three years in Division Four.
In 1963 they won promotion only to drop back down nine years later. By this time they were managed by Danny Williams, who went on to guide Swindon Town to a League Cup victory at Wembley over Arsenal in 1969.
By April 1974 they were 17th and too close to the relegation zone, the board at Field Mill decided they’d had enough, a change was required. To replace Williams was Dave Smith. Smith was coach at Newcastle United when they won their last piece of silver, the UEFA Fairs Cup in 1969. Mansfield was his first managerial appointment. A huge gamble.
They lost just one of their final seven games of the season and were comfortably safe. Smith then set about the summer break making the improvements he considered necessary to turn the team into contenders.
Terry Eccles had scored 20 goals in his first season at the club, but he shouldered the scoring responsibility on his own. He needed a partner.
Smith decided that partner would be Ray Clarke.
Clarke was a prolific goalscorer in Spurs’ youth team at the end of the 1960’s. He was part of the side which won the 1970 Youth Cup, playing alongside Graeme Souness and Steve Perryman. But he couldn’t get past Gilzean and Chivers to find a way into the first team. Bill Nicholson sold him to Swindon Town for £8,000 in 1973.
Again Clarke struggled to make an impression so Smith swooped for him. Mansfield paid what Swindon had for him, which was a decent sum for a Fourth Division club to spend. Smith obviously felt Clarke would benefit from learning his trade at a lower level as his professional career had seen him score just twice in 15 appearances.
He also signed Doug O’Connor from Barnsley. Another forward who could add some bite in attack.
The manager encouraged Gordon Hodgson to move with him from Newcastle United. Hodgson was in the squad which lost the FA Cup Final to Liverpool, and within weeks Smith had managed to persuade him to drop three divisions to Mansfield.
The season started with a bang. They won their first four matches with Clarke, Eccles and O’Connor finding the net. Their first defeat came at Stockport County in their sixth game of the season. They wouldn’t lose again for another nine games, winning six of them.
The match immediately following the Stockport loss saw Hodgson score his first for his new club and things were back on track.
By the third week of October they were three points clear at the top. Clarke had scored 11 by that time. He scored his 12th when they suffered just their second defeat of the season on a trip to Hartlepool. Defeats to Stockport and Hartlepool were odd seeing as both clubs were in the bottom four.
Eccles had been missing through injury for seven matches but crowned his return to the side with a goal in a 3-0 win at home to Mansfield.
Clarke was also on target, for the third game running. He would score in the next three too. Nine goals in six matches. His hat-trick (first of his professional career) in a 5-2 win against Doncaster took his tally to 18 for the season.
Their form after the Hartlepool defeat was stunning. Six straight wins, 19 goals scored and just five conceded.
Smith had a settled defence to rely on. Goalkeeper, Rod Arnold, had joined the club permanently from Wolves in 1973 after a loan spell a couple of years earlier.
Full-backs were Sandy Pate and Barry Foster. Stirlingshire-born Pate was in his sixth season at the club. He was the only survivor from the side which beat West Ham United 3-0 to reach the FA Cup Sixth Round for the only time in their history. It was a famous moment in the club’s existence against a side containing Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Billy Bonds, Martin Peters, Harry Redknapp and Trevor Brooking. Foster had come through the youth system at the club.
Kevin Bird and Colin Foster (no relation to Barry) had formed a strong central defensive partnership over the previous couple of seasons. But Bird was injured after the opening game and wouldn’t be seen again till the beginning of November.
Once Bird returned, the back five played together for the next 23 matches. As Stags’ fans will know, Arnold (440 Matches), Bird (272 Matches), Colin Foster (206 Matches) and Barry Foster (287 Matches) are some of the most experienced players the club has ever known.
Before November was out Mansfield were in FA Cup action. They were drawn at home to Wrexham, who were mid-table in Division Three at the time. A brace from Eccles helped the Stags ease to a 3-1 win against a side a division above them.
December
The beginning of December was to prove an important test. The Stags were two points clear at the top with Shrewsbury and Rotherham their nearest challengers, and also their first two opponents of the month.
Shrewsbury took to the pitch at Field Mill in front of easily the biggest crowd of the season. Mansfield had started with crowds of around 4,000 early in the season. This had raised to above 5,000 for the last four home matches. When the Shrews turned up they doubled the gate.
Against a side managed by player-manager Alan Durban, they included future league club managers, Graham Turner, Chic Bates and Ian Atkins. Durban was in Brian Clough’s Derby team which won the league in 1972, and like Smith at Mansfield, this was his first managerial role. John Lathan put the home side in front only to see Bates level before the break. But a second from Lathan in the second half and one from Eccles gave Mansfield a crucial victory.
The gap between the two clubs was now four points and given there were only two points for a win in those days, that was significant. Perhaps more important was the gap to Lincoln in fifth, which was now up to 10 points. Lincoln were managed by 30-year old Graham Taylor, who’d become the youngest league manager when he took over the club two years before.
With the second placed side negotiated, the third placed side were up next. But all thoughts of that had to take a back seat as the FA Cup reached the Second Round. The Stags were drawn away to Wigan Athletic. Wigan were yet to taste league football and were sitting at the top of the Northern Premier League, the division immediately below Mansfield in the pyramid.
The club were consistently one of the best in non-league football for many years, yet failed to gain election to the Football League. Ironically, they put out Shrewsbury in the FA Cup First Round in front of a bigger crowd than had packed into Field Mill when the same opponents visited. Yet they were still considered unsuitable for league football.
True to form, over 15,500 made it into Springfield Road to watch the game, one of the biggest crowds the Mansfield players would play in front of all season.
They needed Eccles to earn a replay. Two days later Field Mill had its highest attendance of the season thus far, 11,209, to see the Fourth Division club go through 3-1. Eccles was missing from the replay, but his replacement, O’Connor, took advantage with two goals.
Back in the league Rotherham weren’t considered as big a draw with 8,500 turning up and this possibly reflected the fact they were on a bad run, no win in their last three.
Alan Crawford, who’d spent a short time on loan at Mansfield, put the visitors in front but Hodgson equalised to gain a point.
With Shrewsbury held at home by Exeter, the Stags’ lead at the top was maintained.
The Christmas period saw them register comfortable wins over Crewe and Newport without conceding a goal.
1974 ended with the Stags four points clear of Shrewsbury at the top. There was a six-point gap to Chester City in third with Lincoln a further point adrift. Only three would go up so the 11-point advantage they had over Lincoln meant promotion was looking very possible.
Smith’s acquisition of Clarke had certainly been vindicated as the former Spurs player had hit 17 for the season. Eccles now had seven with the other new-boy, Hodgson chipping in with six.
Stags’ fans were going into the new year with increasing excitement for what could be.
1975
The traditional curtain-raiser for the new year was the FA Cup Third Round. For the first time in the season, Mansfield were up against a side from their division. Cambridge United were mid-table, 19 points in arrears of Mansfield. The two had played out a 2-2 draw at the Abbey Stadium back in September.
O’Connor was back on the bench, but Clarke scored his first FA Cup goal of his career and in front of nearly 10,500 it proved to be the only goal.
With the Third Round safely navigated Mansfield were able to reflect on other clubs not fairing so well. Peter Taylor’s Brighton lost to non-league Leatherhead. Taylor was in sole charge at the Goldstone Ground after Clough left in the previous July.
Tottenham were held to a draw by Second Division Nottingham Forest. Two days later Brian Clough arrived at the City Ground and his first game was the replay at White Hart Lane. Forest won 1-0.
Everton also struggled against non-league opposition when they were held at home by Altrincham. Manchester United were held at home by Walsall, although this was the season United spent as a Second Division side so the gap between the two clubs wasn’t as great as it’s been for most of their existence. To emphasise this, Walsall won the replay 3-2.
There was further non-league success when Stafford won at Rotherham, 2-0. Arsenal needed a hat-trick from Brian Kidd in a replay to get past York City, after being held at home.
Mansfield’s prize for the Fourth Round was a tie at Third Division Bury.
Vagaries of the fixture schedule had Shrewsbury at their next opponents in the league, just a month after the first meeting. Jim McCaffrey’s fourth of the season proved to be the difference between the two teams, and Mansfield now had completed the double over their nearest rivals.
Town now had a five-point lead at the top with a game in hand. The gap to the non-promotion places was now up to 13 points. They were riding on the crest of a wave.
Clarke and Eccles (2) were back on target when they swept past Torquay a week later, before FA Cup action again. Their partnership was now up to 29 in all competitions, 27 in the league. Arnold and his defence had now kept four successive clean-sheets in the league and hadn’t conceded more than one goal in a match since mid-November (seven matches).
The team’s home form was incredible, unbeaten all season winning all but one of their last eight matches. But now four successive away wins, and seven wins in their last eight away matches was making it increasingly difficult for the rest of the league to stay with them.
January ended with a trip to Gigg Lane to take on Bury. They were 16th at the time in the Third Division. Mansfield were in far better spirits and it showed. McCaffrey and Clarke scored either side of half-time to put Mansfield into the Fifth Round again.
Leatherhead’s fairy tale ended at Leicester but not until after they were 2-0 up at the break. Stafford too, finally succumbed at home to Peterborough. Leeds, having dispensed with Clough’s services after the last round, were held at home by non-league Wimbledon.
Fulham and Nottingham Forest played out a titanic tussle. No such thing as penalties in FA Cup matches back then, the two sides needed four matches to separate them. Fulham, containing Bobby Moore and Alan Mullery, won the third replay, 2-1.
Mansfield were then drawn out of the hat to entertain Carlisle United at home in the Fifth Round. United were competing in the First Division for the first time in their history, but they were in the relegation zone and Stags’ fans were hopeful their boys were in better shape.
January ended with Mansfield still five points clear, but now had two games in hand on Shrewsbury who had only won one of their four league matches during the month. The Stags were 12 points ahead of Newport County, who were now fifth. 19 games to go.
February
Brentford put an end to the winning run by holding Mansfield to a 1-1 draw at Field Mill. Eccles taking his league tally into double figures.
Meanwhile Shrewsbury and Doncaster played out a crazy 11 goal thriller, nine of them coming in the second half. Top scorer, Ray Haywood hit a hat-trick as the Shrews won 7-4.
Mansfield were then held to a draw at Bradford City and it was the first time since September they had gone two matches without a win.
Disappointment over the draw was tempered when they heard Shrewsbury had lost at Lincoln
Cup fever had the town gripped. The biggest crowd of the season (18,293) packed into Field Mill. Stags’ fans were buoyant with their team unbeaten in their last 18 matches in all competitions.
Carlisle United were finding their new life in the First Division hard going, losing five of their last six and languishing in the drop zone, five points from safety. United had never reached the Quarter-Finals stage of the FA Cup before, and with Mansfield only ever having achieved that once before (1968-69) both sets of fans were very excited.
Alan Ross was in fine form in the visitors’ goal, repelling all Town could throw at him. Bill Green made a couple of clearances off the line. Bobby Owen gave United a first half lead and they held on to win. It was possibly the first real disappointment Stags’ fans had experienced all season. The Stags had acquitted themselves well, and certainly weren’t outplayed. Smith cracked open the champagne at the end of the game. He’d been carrying it around in the boot of his car. Carlisle manager, Alan Ashman applauded their opponents;
“They deserve the champagne. Mansfield are a very good side, and I am pleased to get away with a win this afternoon.”
It was the first time the team had failed to score in any match since the end of September. But it was the end of the cup run. It was also the end of their unbeaten home record, which had stretched as far as 23 matches.
For Carlisle they would only go one more round as they lost to eventual finalists, Fulham. The Cottagers were having a cup run to remember. In the Fifth Round they won at Goodison Park. They were a Second Division club, with Everton sitting just a point behind leaders Stoke City in the First Division.
With Everton gone Ipswich and West Ham became the favourites for the competition. West Ham it was who eventually won it beating Fulham in the Final.
Mansfield’s lead at the top in the league was cut to three points but their cup exploits meant they had three games in hand on Shrewsbury.
Lincoln had emerged as challengers for promotion. They were fourth with games in hand. But still 10 points off Mansfield.
Back in the league they travelled to Doncaster Rovers. The two teams were produced seven goals in their first meeting when Town ran out 5-2 winners. They were 2-1 up at the break in this one with Colin Foster and Eccles on target. What happened next no one saw coming. Eccles scored again but Donny came back with two goals from Michael Kitchen and one from Tony Curran. Mansfield went down 3-4, and they were now winless for four matches. Clarke hadn’t scored for a month. Shrewsbury reduced the gap to just a point, but they’d played three games more. Chester and Lincoln both won behind them to add to the pressure. Was this a mini-crisis?
The Stags then travelled to Graham Taylor’s Lincoln in midweek and came away with a goalless draw. What was happening?
Shrewsbury were also held to a goalless draw, so Town were still top by a point.
Join us for part two where we cover the conclusion of the 1974-75 season.
All photos courtesy of stagsnet
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