1928/29 SEASON REVIEW
Newly promoted City put there faith in the players who gained them promotion back into Division One, with no notable additions to the squad and unfortunately it brought a bad start to the season as they were beaten 4-1 at Birmingham on the opening day of the season and then drew 2-2 at home to Manchester United and then lost again, 1-0 at Portsmouth. The first win of the season came at home to Huddersfield City winning 3-2. An early break from League football saw a game against Queens Park in a friendly with proceeds going to The Manchester Evening News White Heather Fund, City winning 4-1. Back in the league and City were starting to turn on the style beating Everton 6-2 at Goodison Park, and Arsenal 4-1 at Maine Road and then drawing 2-2 at Blackburn, the early table saw City on 8 points, 4 points behind leaders Burnley. Two further wins at Maine Road, 2-1 against Portsmouth and 5-3 against Sunderland saw The Blues move into third place just one point behind leaders Derby. City couldn’t keep up the performances however and drew 1-1 at Derby and then lost 4-1 at Leeds. Outside left, George Hicks then left Maine Road to join Birmingham, the fee was undisclosed but was believed to be the Brummys’ record signing at the time. The Blues’ losing streak continued as they lost 3-2 at home to Leicester, 3-0 at West Ham and then they lost again at Maine Road, 4-2 to Newcastle. City dropped down to 13th in Division 1 just three points above the relegation zone. The Citizens up and down form continued, they won 3-2 at Burnley drew 1-1 at home to Cardiff then beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane as we entered December. City’s next two games were postponed, both due to icey fog, at home to Bury and away at Aston Villa. The game at Villa managed to be played three days later, Aston Villa winning 5-1. The Blues lost again, 3-2 at home to Liverpool they had now slipped to 17th in the league as they entered the crucial Festive period. Christmas was not a happy time for City as they lost 4-0 against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Christmas Day, then on Boxing Day Sheffield Wednesday drew 2-2 at Maine Road, before City failed to win at home at the sixth time of asking, losing 3-2 against Birmingham in their last game of 1928. January saw the Blues unbeaten in the league starting with a victory over neighbours Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford. City were knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle beaten 3-1 at Birmingham in the 3rd Round. Back in the league they drew 2-2 at Huddersfield then scored 11 goals in two games, beating Everton 5-1 and Bury 6-4, both games at Maine Road. February was the opposite of January as City failed to win any league games, drawing 0-0 at Arsenal then losing 2-1 at home to Blackburn, 3-1 at Sunderland and 3-2 to Derby at Maine Road. City’s faltering form saw manager Peter Hodge persuade the board to lay out £3,500 to bring in right winger Ernie Toseland from Coventry City. March brought a 3-0 win over Leeds at Maine Road and then a 3-2 defeat at Leicester. Full back Billy Felton then joined City from Sheffield Wednesday. City then beat West Ham 4-2 at Maine Road, lost 4-0 at Newcastle then improved to mid-table with a 5-1 win over Bolton and a 4-1 win over Burnley, both games at Maine Road. April started with a quick return fixture against Bolton at Burnden Park which produced a 1-1 draw. The rest of April saw four consecutive wins for Hodge’s side, 3-1 at Cardiff, 3-1 at home to Sheffield United, 2-1 at Bury and 3-0 against Aston Villa at Maine Road. The last game of the season saw a 1-1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool. City finished in 8th place with 45 points. After playing just five games for City Arthur Bacon joined Reading at the end of May.