Tag Archives: Bradford City

Goal Crazy

On this day (7 May) in 1927 Manchester City went goal crazy and defeated Bradford City 8-0 in their bid for promotion from Division Two.  In the end the Blues missed promotion by the narrowest goal average margin ever.  City’s stood at 1.7705 while promoted Portsmouth’s was 1.7755.  Portsmouth had achieved the better goal average after a 5-1 defeat of Preston, in a game that kicked off fifteen minutes after City’s.  At both Maine Road and Fratton Park the fans celebrated with City not realising their failure until the directors were informed via ticker-tape of events on the south coast.  Portsmouth’s four goal hero, Willie Haines, left the Fratton Park pitch to celebratory chants of “Farmer’s Boy”.

Amazingly, Bradford’s ‘keeper Leonard Boot – playing the last of only 7 appearances for the club – was acclaimed man of the match after pulling off a string of fine saves.  The 8-0 defeat didn’t do Bradford much good as it relegated them to Division Three (North) for the first time.

A City Captain’s Death

On this day (8 December) in 1989 the captain of Manchester City’s 1936-37 League title success died. The captain was defender Sam Barkas, who had been born in December 1909. Here’s a profile of this legendary figure who also played for Bradford City and Workington.

SAMUEL BARKAS (1934-47)

Defender, 5ft 9in, 13st. 7lbs, b. Wardley, 29 December 1909, d. Shipley, W.Yorks, 8 December 1989

Signed from Bradford City, 20 April 1934 (£5,000)

Transferred: Workington player-manager, May 1947

Career: Middle Dock, Thorndale, Barnes Rovers, Bradford City, City, Workington Town

Debut v Liverpool, 2 May1934

Appearances: League: 175 apps. 1 gl; FA Cup: 20 apps. 0 gls; Charity: 1 apps, 0 gls Wartime (League & Cup): 75 apps. 3 gls;  Total:  271 apps, 4 gls.

Captain of the great 1936-37 Championship winning side, Barkas was a stylish left back who joined the Blues for £5,000 from Bradford City in April 1934 shortly before the FA Cup final.  Naturally, he was unable to play at Wembley but did manage to play in the final two League games that season.  In fact Barkas was to miss only one of the first 68 League games played after his arrival as he quickly proved his value with many outstanding performances. 

One of the first players to create positive play from defensive positions, Barkas became renowned for always trying to create attacking opportunities and even managed to score a goal himself – to bring a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the 1934-5 season at West Bromwich Albion.  

As the decade progressed Barkas became an England international and a major figure in Manchester.  Sadly, the war interrupted his career as he was in his prime – he was 29 when war broke out – and when football returned on a professional, national basis Barkas was almost 37.  Nevertheless he managed to guide the side to the Second Division title and appeared in 33 League matches during 1946-7.  His last appearance came on 14th June 1947 (City’s latest ever finish) when the Blues defeated Newport County 5-1 with all goes coming from George Smith.

He later became Workington Town manager and also had a spell on City’s scouting staff.

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We Never Win Away

On this day (21 October) in 1987 Manchester City’s incredible run of 34 league games away from home without a win finally came to an end with a 4-2 win at Bradford (the first of two consecutive significant results at Bradford for the Blues). Those of us there that night will never forget the feelings of finally winning away from home.

For months we’d been hoping for a win and our travelling support seemed to increase game after game as we waited for that victory. You just had to be there and, fortunately for me, I was there on this Wednesday night in October. 

It was however a tense night… Subscribers can read the story below, along with contemporary match reports.

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Game One For Manchester City v Bradford City

The first League game between Manchester City and Bradford City was a no score draw on this day (12 September) in 1908 at a newly improved Valley Parade – the Bantams had spent almost £10,000 on improving the ground including the construction of the Main Stand (later destroyed in the 1985 fire).  The City match was Bradford’s first home game in Division One, following promotion as Division Two champions the previous season.

The return match ended 4-3 in City’s favour at Hyde Road.  Tom Holford scored a hat-trick for City that day.

The 1900s: 1908-1909 Inconsistency

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s an article on the 1908-09 season. If you’re a subscriber you can read this below.

If you’re not a subscriber then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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We Never Win At Home & We Never Win Away, We Lost Last Week….

But City did not lose on this day (21 October) in 1987! Why was this remarkable? It was the first time Manchester City had won away from home in over a year. In fact the Blues had gone 34 away League games without victory.

I remember it well and was at Bradford that night when City won 4-2. At the time the buzz amongst those of us who travelled away was ‘will today be the day’ and it got that way that you felt you couldn’t miss an away game. I’m convinced numbers going to away games increased game after game as we were keen to be there on the day we finally found a win.

Throughout this long, long run without an away win the song ‘We never win at home and we never win away…’ seemed to become our anthem. It belted out game after game and, in some ways, was our release from the disappointment of another defeat or draw. The song had begun in the late 1970s (I’ve done quite a bit of research on this and should write it all up one day) but it was the 1980s, in particular the relegation season of 1986-87, when it became a regular chant, game after game. Usually reserved for when City conceded or were losing it was given more opportunities to be sung during that period than ever before.

It faded during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially when City finished fifth two seasons running, but reappeared later in the 90s when Alan Ball’s management (and everything that followed) brought misery City’s way.

We all got a bit nervy against Bradford, especially when our 2 goal lead disappeared, but we won 4-2 and you can see how giddy those of us behind the nets were in these highlights of the goals. We were stood behind the goals to the right of the camera (the commentator makes a couple of errors but the film should give you a feel for the night):

History Talk – MCFC Away Days Now Live For Subscribers

On Wednesday 18 January I held a discussion about Manchester City FC away games. Subscribers can now listen to a recording of that talk here (it costs £20 a year to access everything on the site or £3 per month). The talk lasts about 1 hour so get yourself a brew and listen to the story of traveling away.

We talk about the train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise and their coaches too (remember number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner?). Amongst the moments/subjects discussed were the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Oldham, QPR, Leeds & more.  Thanks to all who participated in this for your efforts, especially Graham Ward, Roger Reade and the guys from the Lad & Dad Away Days podcast who all brought up their own memories of games.

The next History Talk will take place later today 1/2/23 at 6pm-7pm UK time. This will be more of a presentation and will be about the origins of Manchester City. You can register for that and find out more here:

Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Register Now

Here’s the recording of the MCFC Away Days talk. This is for subscribers only:

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If you would like to access it here and support my writing & research while also reading all the great content (including PDFs of Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men To Banana Citizens) then please subscribe. It costs £20 a year (access everything) or £3 per month (see below).

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History Talk – MCFC Away Days Now Live

On Wednesday 18 January I held a discussion about Manchester City FC away games. You can now listen to a recording of that talk here. It lasts about 1 hour so get yourself a brew and listen to the story of traveling away.

There’s a link further down this page to the recording. We talk about the train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise and their coaches too (remember number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner?). Amongst the moments/subjects discussed were the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Oldham, QPR, Leeds & more.  Thanks to all who participated in this for your efforts, especially Graham Ward, Roger Reade and the guys from the Lad & Dad Away Days podcast who all brought up their own memories of games.

The next History Talk will take place on 1/2/23 at 6pm-7pm UK time. This will be more of a presentation and will be about the origins of Manchester City. You can register for that and find out more here:

Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Register Now

Here’s the recording of the MCFC Away Days talk. This was freely available until 31 January and now it is for subscribers only:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

If you would like to access it here and support my writing & research while also reading all the great content (including PDFs of Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men To Banana Citizens) then please subscribe. It costs £20 a year (access everything) or £3 per month (see below).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Subscribe monthly here at £3 per month (cancel anytime) or annually at £20 above.

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Free Online Discussion on MCFC Away Days This Wednesday – Register Now

On Wednesday 18 January at 6pm (UK time) come and join me for one hour of discussion about Manchester City FC away games (don’t worry I don’t intend to mention the most recent one!). Sign up to listen to and participate in this free event where we will share memories of watching Manchester City away. This hour will be interactive as I’m keen to hear your memories of your first away game and of other away matches. The aim is to celebrate and share knowledge of great away moments, matches and following.

The event will be live on Zoom on 18/1/23 at 6pm and a link will be sent to all those who have registered for the event beforehand (probably the day before the event). To sign up for this online Zoom talk please register via this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/manchester-city-memories-of-away-days-tickets-510637800407

Register now to join this online zoom discussion. The plan is to open up the chat so that we can share our memories of our first away games or of experiences watching City away. Maybe we can remind each other of some great (and not so great) moments supporting City on their travels?

Do you remember traveling on the Train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise? Or were you on one of the official coaches, maybe number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner? 

Amongst the moments/subjects being discussed will be the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Crystal Palace, Manchester United etc. & much more. 

The link will be sent out shortly before the event is live to all those registered. Only those registered will be admitted into the video chat site. You must register here if you want to get involved.

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online on zoom, so you should be able to access it anywhere. This is a free event but there are a limited number of tickets. These must be ordered in advance.

There is a limited capacity so please book early if you want to participate.

Free Online Discussion on MCFC Away Days – Register Now

On Wednesday 18 January at 6pm (UK time) come and join me for one hour of discussion about Manchester City FC away games. Sign up to listen to and participate in this free event where we will share memories of watching Manchester City away. This hour will be interactive as I’m keen to hear your memories of your first away game and of other away matches. The aim is to celebrate and share knowledge of great away moments, matches and following.

Do you remember traveling on the Train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise? Or were you on one of the official coaches, maybe number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner? 

Amongst the moments/subjects being discussed will be the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Crystal Palace, Manchester United etc. & much more. 

Register now to join this online zoom discussion. The plan is to open up the chat so that we can share our memories of our first away games or of experiences watching City away. Maybe we can remind each other of some great (and not so great) moments supporting City on their travels?

The link will be sent out shortly before the event is live to all those registered. Only those registered will be admitted into the video chat site. You must register here if you want to get involved.

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online on zoom, so you should be able to access it anywhere. This is a free event but there are a limited number of tickets. These must be ordered in advance.

There is a limited capacity so please book early if you want to participate.

The event will be live on Zoom on 18/1/23 at 6pm and a link will be sent to all those who have registered for the event beforehand (probably the day before the event). To sign up for this online Zoom talk please register via this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/manchester-city-memories-of-away-days-tickets-510637800407