by Paul Taylor and Martin Shaw
The
Stags preparations for the move into the new decade received a shock in
mid-August 1949 as manager Roy Goodall resigned. No reason was given,
but shortly afterwards he moved back to his former club, Huddersfield
Town, in a senior coaching capacity. In his place came former England
international forward Freddie Steele from Stoke City. Although aged 33
he came in as player/manager. Town
started the season in terrific form, not being defeated until their 11th
game. New manager Steele scoring on seven occasions during this run of 6
wins and 4 draws. This proved to be the high point of the season as from
then on in there was no real consistency, although a run of six straight
wins in March and April no doubt ensured the final eighth placing in the
table. Steel finished as leading scorer with 18 goals from the 22
matches he played in. Town were not so successful in the FA Cup this
time as old rivals Doncaster Rovers ended the run in Round Two. Walsall
were defeated in the first tie. An all time record high average
attendance of 12,128 was set for League matches this season, and unless
Field Mill is further redeveloped this record which has now stood for
over 50 years will not be broken. The season's best attendance of 19,466
for the League game with Doncaster is still the second best League
attendance of all time at Field Mill. Amongst
Town's older supporters the 1950/1 season is remembered as the Club's
best ever. It was certainly to that time the zenith of the Stags'
achievements since attaining Football League status some 20 years or so
before with major success in both league and cup. The season began with
a five match unbeaten run (3 wins, 2 draws) before the first defeat at
eventual champions Rotherham. There were only three more defeats
before Christmas and the New Year arrived with Town in fifth place. The
team held their own in January and February before winning seven out of
the eight matches played in March and moving into third place in the
table. There were now just nine matches till the end of the season, but
5 draws and four wins were not enough to topple Rotherham from the top,
Town had to settle for second place. Despite their best season to date,
with only one team promoted, it was the Yorkshiremen who went up the
leaving the Stags in the Third Division. Still, Town were unbeaten at
Field Mill all season (the first team to achieve this from a 23 match
home schedule). Perhaps surprisingly the average attendance dropped this
season to "only" 10,262, Rotherham being the most popular
visitors (in the League) attracting over 18,000 paying customers. There
was more excitement in the FA Cup where Town excelled themselves with
their best run since the heady days of 1929. Famous amateur club
Walthamstowe Avenue came to Field Mill in Round One and were beaten by
the only goal in a hard fought match. More non-league opposition were
dispatched in Round Two as Town won 4-1 at Chelmsford City. Second
Division Swansea Town came to Field Mill for Round Three and they too
bit the dust as Town turned in another exceptional display, winning by
two goals to nil. Town drew a 48,696 crowd to Bramall Lane in Round Four
and once again excelled themselves, bringing their Second Division
opponents back to Mansfield for a replay following a 0-0 draw. A new cup
record gate of 20,314 turned up at Field Mill the following Wednesday
afternoon to see the Stags triumph by the odd goal in three after
dropping a goal behind to the Blades. In the draw for Round Five the
Stags were drawn to play away again, this time at First Division
Blackpool, Stanley Matthews and all. This time, however, the Stags
disappointed and never really got going losing eventually by a 2-0 score
line, the match itself was not a classic. Blackpool eventually reach
Wembley that season but were not good enough in the final losing to
Newcastle United by two Jackie Milburn goals to nothing. Following
the euphoria of the previous season it was hoped that Town could go one
better in 1951/2 and attain second division status at last. In spite of
a reasonable start to the season (only three matches were lost before
the end of November), Town faded and never really challenged for honours
after that, finishing in 6th place. There was no Cup success this season
either as Town battled out a 1-1 draw with Stockton in the north east
and then lost the replay 0-2 at Field Mill to be dumped out in the First
Round.
There
was more fun and games off the pitch as Freddie Steele resigned as
manager a few days before Christmas to take up a similar position at
Port Vale. Sensationally Town's directors replaced Steele with George
Jobey, 66 year old former Derby County manager, a man who had been
suspended by the FA for making illegal payments to players a few years
before. Secretary Bert Mee had also resigned in November to be replaced
by WJ Warner. The
Stags started 1952/3 in reasonable form, there were only 5 defeats
before the Christmas period but over the festivities a run of 5
successive defeats put paid to any thought of success for the season. In
fact it was February before Town won again by which time the supporters
were looking at the bottom of the table rather than the top. The team
rallied towards the end of the season finishing in a very poor 18th
place in the table. There was some success in the cup as Town humiliated
Scarborough by eight clear goals to nil at their own stadium in the
first round. In Round Two another away game resulted in victory when the
Stags won 2-0 at Peel Park, the home of Accrington Stanley. Round Three
brought a home tie at last and visitors Nottingham Forest attracted an
all time record gate to Field Mill. 24,467 spectators witnessed a very
good game of football but unfortunately the visitors took the honours by
the only goal of the game. Once
again there were problems off the pitch. Secretary WJ Warner was sacked
in December and it was announced that the club's finances were being
investigated by the police. In fact by the time of the Club's AGM in the
following month the books weren't available as the police still held
them. It was stated at the meeting that the club was close to bankruptcy
and the meeting was adjourned. In February Chairman Bill Hornby and Vice
Chairman Merle Smith resigned from the board. At the end of the month
Mansfield Magistrates committed Warner for trial, charged with theft and
fraud to the tune of £2,344. The AGM was reconvened in March where it
was revealed that the club had only £44 to meet the wage bill of
£360. The AGM resumed again in April and JB Jenkins was elected
Chairman with 6 new directors, this time it was revealed that the
club had debts of around £4,000 and was close to folding. Nottingham Forest sent their
full strength team to play a friendly match to help raise funds, the
match brought in £360 1s 9d The
close season brought more fun and games as firstly in May George Jobey
was sacked from his position as manager
and then in July the trial of former secretary, Warner, began. He
was cleared of the fraud and theft charges but convicted of falsifying
the PAYE returns and fined £75. Warner's defence was that he was
covering up for, then manager, Freddie Steele's illegal payments to
players. Assistant Manager/Secretary Stan Mercer was offered and
accepted the Manager's job in August. Joe Eaton started his very long
term in the secretary's position at this time. The
1953/4 season started with the Stags in very indifferent form,
languishing in the lower half of the league. Things slowly improved,
there were two 6-0 wins in December, and eventually Town finished in a
very creditable 7th place. Hartlepool put paid to any thoughts of a
lucrative cup run winning a first round replay 3-0 at Field Mill. Off
the field the club's financial problems had eased somewhat. The appeal
fund started the previous April had raised over £4,000 and the sale of
Billy Coole to Notts County had raised a further £6,000. The
professional staff had been reduced from 33 to 24 reducing the running
costs by £50 per week. McGregor had arrived from Leicester City for a
fee of £25,000 but the Filberts had very generously allowed the fee to
be paid in instalments over a 12 month period. In October the 4th AGM of
the year revealed that the club's debts had been reduced to £6,149. In
December a joint FA/FL commission met at the Victoria Hotel in
Nottingham to discuss matters arising from the Warner trial. The outcome
was that several former officials and players of the club were fined
and/or suspended from football. The Club itself was fined £500 plus the
costs of the commission, which added to the clubs already precarious
financial position. In
spite of appointing the Club's first ever coach (Sam Weaver) in
September, Town were languishing in the lower reaches of the division by
January 1956, having managed only a handful of victories. After a 2-7
reverse at Stockport County and being asked to undertake more duties
with no rise increase in pay manager
Stan Mercer resigned. Town's directors reacted by appointing a 'big'
name to the post, when in February Charlie Mitten came to Field Mill as
player/manager. From this point on performances improved and in the end
Town were able to complete the season in 18th place. Only Round Two was
reached in the FA Cup, Stockport were the victims in Round One and York
City took the honours in Round Two. At the end of the season Uruguayan
side Rampala came to Field Mill to provide very attractive opposition
for a friendly match, the visitors won a very entertaining game by the
odd goal in seven. The
1956/7 season followed a very similar pattern to the previous campaign,
a late season rally giving the Stags a final league placing of 16th.
Workington cam to Field Mill for a first round FA Cup replay and won by
2-1, so there was nothing to write home about in the cup ties either.
Foreign opposition once again turned up at Field Mill for an end of
season friendly when German side Blauweiss were beaten 3-1. At the end
of the season the appearance of the Field Mill ground started to change
with the construction of the new North Stand at the railway end of the
ground. There
was much to play for during the 1957/8 season as the Football League
decided at the AGM that the regionalised third division would be
reconstituted at the end of the season with the top 12 clubs from each
section forming the new third division, the rest would make up division
four. The new season proved to be very entertaining for the fans, as
Charlie Mitten's side scored goals galore, hitting the net an incredible
100 times in League matches alone. This ensured that Town would be in
the newly created Division 3 for the next season. However the 92 goals
conceded contributed to a final 6th place in the table. Town were
defeated heavily 0-5 in the third Round of the FA Cup by Bristol Rovers.
Halifax Town and non league Wigan Athletic had been dispatched in the
earlier rounds of the competition. Once
again there were backroom changes when manager Charlie Mitten left the
club in June to become manager of Newcastle United. In a biography
written in 1996 Mitten stated: "The Mansfield job was the best I
ever had in football". He is also quoted as saying "The big
and pleasant surprise was the backing I got from the Supporter's Club.
Their amazing fund raising efforts allowed me to finance some astute
purchases". With
Sam Weaver now taking Mitten's place at the helm, Southampton were
Town's first opponents of the new 1958/9 season. The match, at Field
Mill, was an absolute disaster for Town as the visitors ran out easy 6-1
winners. Right back, Hogg and centre half, Billington made their only
appearances for the Stags in this match. Worse than this was the 3-8
debacle at Home Park Plymouth later in the season. The whole season was
a bit of a struggle and at the end
relegation was avoided, but only just as the club finished in
20th position. Bradford City ended any hope of cup tie success, winning
4-3 at Field Mill in Round One of the FA's competition. The
1950s were certainly times of turmoil both on and off the pitch, the
league and cup success of Freddie Steele's side being closely followed
by the near financial collapse caused by the 'Warner' case. But the club
had survived and were now, if only just, in the Third Division what
surprises would the 1960s hold? |