Dramatic Promotions & Near Misses: Bullock's Five-Year Plan Finally Comes Through
A series of momentous events in 1953 and 1954 dramatically impacted the British way of life.
The first televised coronation, on 2 June, 1953, saw the new Queen, Elizabeth II, crowned in front of an estimated 27M armchair spectators, while the release of ‘Rock Around the Clock’ by Bill Haley in April 1954 thrust the country into the rock‘n’roll era. The long road of recovery from the Second World War, meanwhile, came to its conclusion with the end of meat rationing on 4 July, 1954.
It was the start of a cultural revolution in Britain. A breath of fresh air. And that wind of change blew through Filbert Street too. Leicester City’s long exile – 15 years away from the glory and wealth of the top flight of English football – was finally coming to an end and it was to reach its conclusion in remarkable fashion.
While Britain was entering a new era, Leicester City manager Norman Bullock was keeping things unchanged for the 1953/54 season.
It was his fifth season in charge of City, and aside from the rise of Arthur Rowley, Bullock’s years at the Club had produced minimal progress.
The exhilarating cup run of 1949, which took City all the way to Wembley for the very first time, was a fading memory and while the league finishes improved, the Club were left with nothing concrete to show for it.
When the former Bury man took the helm at Leicester, he’d confidently stated he could take the Foxes back to the First Division within five years. He had one last season to deliver on his promise.
Yet, instead of making a flurry of close-season signings in a last bid for triumph, he kept faith with his existing side, hoping his initial ‘five-year plan’ would come to fruition naturally.
A draw at home to neighbours Derby County on the first day of the season, followed by a thumping 4-1 defeat in London to West Ham United, could hardly have raised fans’ hopes of a return to football’s top table, but City took the early woes in their stride.
Bullock roused his men and reminded them of their attacking prowess, convincing them they were the most feared side in the division.
Indeed, enquiries in September from high-flying Arsenal on the availability of Johnny Morris, Derek Hines and Arthur Rowley only boosted the players’ motivation.
With this newfound confidence, came wins and goals. City embarked on a 14-match unbeaten run - including a 5-0 thrashing of Leeds United – which stretched from the end of August through to the end of October. Rowley, who’d finished the previous season as the league’s top scorer, was once again in fine form.
It was the depth in the squad, however, that separated Leicester from the pack, allowing their forwards to score freely and to pick up important points consistently.
Morris, Hines and Peter Small provided the support that turned City into a team to be feared. Yes, Rowley stole the headlines season after season; but while he netted nine goals in that 14-game run, the three supporting men bagged a combined 19 between them.
A growing belief that Bullock might finally live up to his prophecy really took hold in a clash with Lincoln City in mid-November, which Leicester won 9-2.
Come the end of the year, City had won 13 games, drew seven and lost only four.
And yet despite their strength in attack, it wasn't plain sailing towards promotion. A startling reverse in fortunes in January saw that 5-0 win against Leeds earlier in the season flipped on its head, as City suffered a 7-1 defeat at Elland Road. Two further defeats to neighbours Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest left the players scratching their heads.
There would be no easy ride to the top. City would have to fight for the right to rub shoulders with the best, and, as the Club has learned the hard way throughout its history, the second tier of English football can be an unforgiving place.
And so, for the second time that season, the players had to prove their worth.
On the back of a dreary January came a buoyant February and dominant form deserving of a spot back in the top flight. Five successive league wins were coupled with an eight-game cup run that saw City make the quarter-finals for the first time in Bullock’s reign. Come April, and the final month of the season, it was clear that Leicester were serious in their bid for glory.
But it soon emerged that the Foxes weren’t the only team excelling and making a dash for the finish line: instead, they were part of a three-horse race for just two promotion spots – with Everton and Blackburn Rovers looking to shrug off their rivals. The three entered a game of cat and mouse, as each suffered blows to their campaigns that took a terrible toll on fans' fingernails.
It was the Easter Weekend, the penultimate curtain-call, that was perhaps the most dramatic and season-defining weekend of the lot.
Leicester were subject to a roller-coaster of results. A 3-0 loss away from home to Blackburn on Good Friday left City slightly behind the pace, and a 2-2 draw at home the following day looked to jeopardise the Club’s position completely. Then, just as the Foxes looked to be their own worst enemy, the boys in blue overcame Rovers 4-0 on Easter Monday.
And so, after a gruelling season of yoyo-ing at the top of the table, it all came down to the last day.
Leicester went into their match on 20 April a point ahead of Blackburn, and two points ahead of Everton - though the Liverpudlians had a game in hand.
A win against relegation-bound Brentford away from home was a must.
City went ahead early in the game with Small’s shot rebounding off a Brentford shirt and into the back of the net, before an equaliser in the second half put the Foxes on the back foot.
Ultimately, Leicester's class in attack proved too much for the West Londoners to keep at bay and a further two goals followed, from Mal Griffiths and Morris.
The 15-year hiatus from the First Division was over. City finished the season with a record tally of 97 league goals, with Rowley claiming 30. Bullock’s prophecy had finally become a reality.
But there was, however, one small issue to settle: who would finish as champions? It had been 17 years since Leicester City had needed to clear space in the trophy cabinet for some new silverware.
The feeling at Filbert Street and the city beyond was that it was long overdue.
But Everton had a game in hand, and their season would finish the following week. All City could do was sit tight and wait.
It would come down to the slightest of margins. Everton emphatically secured their promotion spot, shoving Blackburn into third place with a 4-0 hammering of Oldham Athletic.
The victory took them level with City on points gained. But that wasn’t enough to secure title-winning glory.
Before tables were fine-tuned on goal difference, league standings relied on goal average whenever clubs had the same number of points.
Goal average was calculated by the number of goals scored divided by the number conceded. Leicester City had finished with a final average of 1.62. The 4-0 victory over Oldham had taken Everton to a figure of 1.59. It meant City secured the title with a margin of only 0.03 of a goal. Remarkably, it would’ve taken just two more goals for Everton to have wrested the title from Leicester.
The 1953/54 Second Division prize was bought back to Filbert Street, and preparations for life in the top flight began. It remains, to this date, one of the closest title races in history.