Good stuff! Chances are we were top on goal average, though, not games won. (39/25=1.56; 47/32=1.47.) Not sure when things changed from GA to GD, but it can't have been long into the 70s. [EDIT: I see the Ronster got there while I was typing all too slowly.]
Yeah you're right, the last five games winning to nil must be a record. I couldn't stop looking at the league table on Sunday morning.
Goal difference was first introduced as a tiebreaker in association football, at the 1970 FIFA World Cup, and was adopted by the Football League in England five years later.
The 1970-71 season has been fabled for too long by City, it wasn't all that. I want to beat 2008 & 2013. Its time we took the title.
I was thinking on Saturday about how often City - or indeed anyone - win 5 in a row with at least 2 goals in every game and not one conceded. I bet City haven't done it in 50 years (if ever), and I bet it only happens in the four top divisions once every two or three years.
One that came to mind was Chelsea in 09/10, but even they had a game with only a 1-0 win in the middle of a 5 game winning run with no goals conceded. But even they couldn't make it 6 (2-1 losses to Villa and Man City either side). Manchester United had a 6 game winning run to nil in 2012/13, but had a few games where they only won 1-0. United also had a 9 game winning run to nil in 08/09, but had 6 of those by only 1-0.
I wondered about Arsenal in 2001/02 and Reading in 1985/86, but no dice. Stockport had a phenomenal run in 2006/07, but still there were a few 1-0s getting in the way... Sat Jan 13 League 2 Boston United Home Won 2-0 Sat Jan 20 League 2 Peterborough United Away Won 3-0 Sat Jan 27 League 2 Wycombe Wanderers Home Won 2-0 Tue Jan 30 League 2 Wrexham Away Won 1-0 Sat Feb 3 League 2 Hereford United Away Won 2-0 Sat Feb 10 League 2 Mansfield Town Home Won 1-0 Sat Feb 17 League 2 Accrington Stanley Away Won 1-0 Tue Feb 20 League 2 Walsall Home Won 1-0 Sat Mar 3 League 2 Swindon Town Home Won 3-0
Man City came very close at the start of this season: 3-0 3-0 2-0 2-0 1-0 (v Palace) In fact, they did achieve five multi-goal, clean-sheet league wins in a row, as their last match of last season was a 2-0 win over Southampton!
i generally agree with that though it represented in effect the end of the great waggy and chillo era and contained some unforgettable matches. Given the ****e that was to follow it was hardly surprising that we clung on to that season as a beacon of hope. Our benchmark now is 2008/13 and I think our squad now is significantly stronger than either of those seasons and therefore like you I think there is no reason why we should not aspire to going up as champions.
Interestingly, G.A. played a significant role in preventing City getting promoted to the old First Division in their highest ever finish in their history prior t0 2008, when they finally made it in the playoffs. It was incredibly tight with 4 teams vying for 2 promotion spots. 1909-10 Second Division Final Table ......Team..........Pts.....GF....GA....GD....G.Av (=GF/GA) 1....Man City.....54......81.....40....+41.....2.025 2....Oldham......53......79.....39....+40.....2.026 3....Hull City....53......80.....46....+34.....1.739 4.....Derby........53......72.....47.....+25.....1.532 It's interesting to note the different impact of using Goal Difference as opposed to Goal Average in deciding final positions. IF Oldham had drawn one of the 8 games they did lose that season, on the Goal Difference basis, Man City would have remained champs. On the Goal Average basis, if that extra draw for Oldham had been any score draw (1-1, 2-2 etc etc), Man City would have remained champs. However, if that extra point gained by Oldham was from a 0-0 draw, Oldham would have ended up champs. Thank goodness for playoffs & Windass !
On the matter of Goal Difference: Current best in the league: +18 HULL CITY (top of Championship) +17 Man City (top of Premier) +14 Walsall (top of League One) +14 Plymouth (top of League Two)
The closest we came to Division One/PL before Windass.. 1909/10 finished 3rd (missed out on GA to Oldham) 1921/22 finished 5th 1949/50 finished 7th (The Raich Carter years) 1950/51 finished 10th 1970/71 finished 5th 1973/74 finished 9th 1974/75 finished 8th 1985/86 finished 6th 2007/08 finished 3rd WON Play-offs 2012/13 finished 2nd PROMOTED
