A European Cup First

On this day (18 September) in 1968 Manchester City’s first European Cup fixture against Fenerbahce ended goalless at Maine Road.  This was the first time two British clubs from the same city had competed in the European Cup. Here’s a match report of the City game:

Francis Lee (left) and Mike Summberbee (right) threaten the Fenerbahce goal in City’s first European Cup tie in 1968.

Subscribers can read a feature about that game here:

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Manchester City 4 WBA 1

On this day (5 September) in 1970 Manchester City defeated West Bromwich Albion 4-1 with goals from Colin Bell (2), Francis Lee & Mike Summerbee. You can read more on the entire 1970-71 season below. This is a 5,200 word article for subscribers.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 5,200 word article is on the 1970-71 season and is available to subscribers below. Enjoy!

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Ralph Brand

On this day (30 July) in 1965 it was reported that new Manchester City manager Joe Mercer was trying to sign Scottish international Ralph Brand. Brand was to be one Joe’s first signing at City (people often incorrectly claim Mike Summerbee was his first signing).

Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Manchester City 0 Southampton 0

On this day (18 May) in 1966 Second Division Champions Manchester City and second placed Southampton played out a goalless draw to end the season at Maine Road in front of 34,653. The Second Division trophy was presented that day.

Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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Fifteen Years On: 2011 FA Cup

Today (14 May 2026) marks the 15th anniversary of Manchester City’s 2011 FA Cup final success over Stoke. There are so many angles to that first major success of the modern era for Manchester City and it is impossible to cover them all here. Elsewhere on this website I talk about the 2011 FA Cup run, especially that semi-final win over Manchester United. If you’ve not heard it have a listen to this:

Today I’ll focus on the final itself with a lengthy article on the final below. This is a subscriber article. It costs £3 a month to subscribe OR take out an annual subscription at £20 (works out about £1.67 a month). All subscribers get full access to everything throughout their subscription.

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Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Charlton 2 Manchester City 3

On this day (13 May) in 1966 Manchester City defeated Charlton 3-2 as they won the Second Division title. City’s scorers were Dave Connor, Johnny Crossan and Alan Oakes. The trophy would be presented at the final game of the season at home to Southampton.

Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

Were You There 60 Years Ago? Leyton Orient 2 Manchester City 2

7 May 1966 was the day when Manchester City effectively won the Second Division title. City’s scorers were Bell and Sorrell (an own goal) as City drew 2-2 at Orient. The point was enough for the media to claim them as champions (Southampton could potentially have overtaken them but it would have meant them scoring a significant number of goals). There were only two games left after this match in the Second Division with the next game being away at Charlton. The trophy would be presented at the final game of the season at home to Southampton.

Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments. Here’s some match reports from the Leyton Orient game:

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

Former Blue Matt Busby Congratulates Manchester City

60 years ago today (5 May 1966) Matt Busby formally congratulated Manchester City on their return to football’s top flight. The previous day City had won 1-0 at Rotherham to earn promotion. Colin Bell was the scorer. If you missed this yesterday, here are some contemporary match reports and photos from that day.

Here for subscribers are match reports and details of that day:

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Sixty Years Ago Today: “We Went To Rotherham, We Won 1-0….” Manchester City’s Promotion

60 years ago today (4 May 1966) Manchester City won 1-0 at Rotherham to earn promotion back to football’s top flight. Colin Bell was the scorer and the win became immortalised in a song. Here are some contemporary match reports and photos from that day:

Here for subscribers are match reports and details of that day:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up at a discounted £20 per year. Every subscriber gets access to the 1000s of articles already posted and those posted throughout your subscription. This includes the full Manchester A Football History and my first City book published in 1989

Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Manchester City 3 Birmingham City 1

Today (30 April) in 1966 Manchester City were almost back in the top flight after a 3-1 victory at home to Birmingham City. There were only four games left after this match in the Second Division with the next game being away at Rotherham the following Wednesday – fans wondered could this be the night (and if it is would a song eventually be created that would be sung for at least the next three decades remembering the night? No they didn’t wonder that but that is what happened).

Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments. Here’s some match reports from the Birmingham game:

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.