blueball.gif (262 bytes) Tues 30th Jan 2001 - City going for the record
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City are on the verge of a moment of history. Never before have City won 10 straight league games in a row. Twice they have won 9 games, in 1922/23 and in 1951/52.

This Friday against Rochdale, City have a chance again to go for the perfect 10. The last 9 games have been exhilarating and full credit to the players and Alan Cork for making Ninian Park the only place to be on matchdays. We are now second in the table and a win over Rochdale would create a 7 point gap above the play off zone. A strong position indeed.

The full details of the previous "nine match runs" are courtesy of a bleary eyed John Heyda who has been ploughing through the history books.

City's current run of nine straight league wins at Ninian Park matches
the club's all-time record for consecutive wins in the league at home.
This year's side shares the mark with the Bluebirds of 1922-23 and
1951-52.  On two other occasions, City's run home league win streaks
to eight -- in 1946-47 and in 1998-99. 


Here's some info on the 1922-23 and 1951-52 streaks:

The 1922-23 side began its run with a 2-1 win over relegation-bound
Stoke City at Ninian Park on December 2.  A 3-1 win over Manchester
City came next, on December 16.  City then beat West Bromwich 3-0 on
December 26, and Bolton 1-0 on January 6.  The highlight of the run
came next, with City belting Blackburn 5-0 on January 27 and Newcastle
by the same 5-0 margin on February 10. One month later, on March 10,
the Bluebirds clobbered Chelsea 6-1 to run their streak to seven,
matching the then club record established just the year before.
Middlesbrough fell 2-0 at Ninian Park on March 17 and Preston 1-0 on
March 31 to bring the run to nine.  Two days later, on April 2,
Burnley put an end to the streak, managing a 2-2 draw.  City finished
ninth in Division One that year, thanks largely to a smart home mark
of 15 wins, two draws, and four defeats.  The Bluebirds were held
back, however, by unimpressive away form, winning but three times away
from Ninian, while drawing five and losing 13.

The 1951-52 streak of nine straight league wins at home began in late
September and lasted until St. David's Day.  Following a 1-1 home draw
with Sheffield United on September 17, City toppled nine straight
opponents at Ninian before West Ham managed a 1-1 draw in Cardiff on
March 1, 1952.  The Bluebirds got things rolling with a 4-1 win over
eventual Division Two champs Sheffield Wednesday on September 29.
Next to fall were relegation-bound Coventry, 4-1 on October 6; Hull,
1-0 on November 3; and relegation-bound QPR, 3-1 on November 17.  City
hit their stride against their next three home league foes, winning
all by three-goal margins.  On December 1, City blasted Luton 3-0.
December 22 saw City dispatch Nottingham Forest 4-1.  On December 26,
Swansea fell 3-0 at Ninian.  City claimed their eighth straight on
January 5, with a 2-1 win over Doncaster, then matched the club mark
of nine with a 1-0 triumph over Southampton on January 26.  The
1951-52 side went on to win promotion to Division One, finishing
second by edging third-place Birmingham on goal difference, this
despite a woeful away mark of two wins, nine draws, and 10 losses.  A
fine home record of 18 wins, two draws, and but one loss got them to
51 points and the runnersup spot. 

 
John Heyda
in Middletown, Ohio USA

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Copyright Michael Morris 2000.