1957–58 in English football

The 1957-58 season was the 78th season of competitive football in England.

Overview

In this season, Sunderland was relegated for the first time in their history.This was the last season in which Division 3 was split, North and South. Teams finishing between 2nd and 12th were placed in Division 3 the following season, the remainder in Division 4

Events

February 6: Munich Air Disaster: Following a European Cup quarter-final tie in Belgrade against Red Star Belgrade, Matt Busby's Manchester United stop over in Munich for refueling. Two attempts to take off from the Munich-Riem airport are aborted, with a third attempted at 3:04pm on Flight BE609, a British European Airways "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador charter aircraft G-ALZU 'Lord Burghley'. On take off, the aeroplane, carrying players and backroom staff of Manchester United F.C., plus a number of British journalists and supporters, crashed in a blizzard. Twenty-three of the 43 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster, including eight Manchester United players, of whom seven died instantly, including the team's captain Roger Byrne. Centre-half Duncan Edwards succumbed to his injuries three weeks later. Two other players were forced to retire from professional football as a result of their injuries. Manager Busby was left fighting for his life, and was given the Last Rites twice, before eventually returning to Manchester in time for the start of the following season.

February 19: A makeshift eleven from the reserve and youth teams of the club appear in the first match played by Manchester United after the Munich Air Disaster, an emotional FA Cup fifth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday. United win 3-0 and eventually advanced to the final of the competition, where they lost 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers.

Awards

Football Writers' Association
* Footballer of the Year - Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham Hotspur)Top goalscorer
* Bobby Smith (Tottenham Hotspur), 36

Honours

=Third Division North=

=Third Division South=

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points