1937/38 Season - Review

NUFC Season 1937/38

Manager	T Mather
Lge Pos	D2 - 19th
FA Cup	3rd
Lge Cup
Euro
Attendance	20,625
Top Scorer	Imrie/Park [9]

This has gone down in the record books as United's worst ever season; but it could easily have been much much worse. They just survived relegation to the Third Division North by 1/10 of a goal but gained a significant bit of luck when the game against Stockport was abandoned because of bad light with only 13 minutes left and the score at 2-2.

When the game was replayed United won and that "additional" point meant that Barnsley were relegated along with bottom placed Stockport.

The season could not have started much worse as United won only one of their first eleven games and by the end of October were in 20th place. However that one victory - a 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United - would vitally shore up United's goal difference.

Slightly improved form saw them slowly but not so surely climb the table and by the beginning of March they'd reached the heady heights of tenth.

A significant factor in the turnaround was the arrival in November of Ray Bowden who cost £5,000 from Arsenal. However he was one of a number of players who spent a number of weeks on the treatment table and his absence during most of April almost proved crucial.

Just as important was the shock sale of centre-forward Jack Smith to Man United. His goals had been crucial to United over the last few seasons and Billy Cairns struggled to make up for his loss.

The Novacastrians ended the season disastrously with two wins, one draw and nine defeats. At the end Newcastle , Nottingham Forest and Barnsley all had 38 points but it was The Tykes who would go down .

The final game had seen United crushed 4-1 at Luton; it was an inauspicious day for a debut for a young lad from Wallsend called Albert Stubbins.

Not surprisingly there was a dramatic dip in the average attendance.

The club was at one of the many crossroads it has reached in it's history. Fans were deserting the club in alarming numbers, debts were spiralling and shareholders were rebelling.

Thankfully - as would happen again in 1992/93 - the club returned to a former player to turn them around. They approached Stan Seymour and after turning down the managers job he agreed to join the Board. It was to be the start of a remarkable transformation.