Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive

Farewell To Maine Road – Part Five

I’m sure most readers will understand that due to commitments surrounding Wembley last week and the Champions League final today I am unable to post the fifth part of Farewell To Maine Road as planned. Instead the next section will be published next Friday or Saturday depending on a few factors. Subscribers to my website are able to download PDFs of the first four sections of my Farewell To Maine Road book (which retailed at £25) here though. So if you’ve not yet had chance, take a look now as you prepare for the Champions League final. Enjoy!

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Next week I’ll be posting the fifth section of this 320 page, fully illustrated & detailed book for subscribers to enjoy.

You can see the contents pages to see what’s included in this book, published in 2003, and read the Introduction here:

Click to access ftmr-contents-free-sample.pdf

The book has been out of print since 2004 with every copy sold within about six months of publication. Since then I’ve been keen to bring it up to date with stories about the site and the Etihad but that’s not been possible as no publisher has been prepared to invest in the way that Polar Publishing did to ensure it was the right quality.

Copies occasionally appear in second hand book shops or at online retailers but these often sell for ridiculous sums of money. The last time I checked there was one for about £100 here:

When it was published in 2003 apparently, I commented (though I can’t remember saying this, mind you it was 20 years ago): ‘On 320 beautifully illustrated A4 size pages this book tells the story of Maine Road from conception, right through to its final days as a sporting venue. With excellent photographs – including rare illustrations of the stadium during construction never previously published and images from every era – this has been a very interesting book to research, write and compile. I’ve also tried to ensure the views of ordinary fans are included, and some of the most powerful Maine Road moments are captured by the fans who saw them happen.’

In a review, Hugh Ryden wrote in King of the Kippax: ‘The architecture, the moving memories, the reproduction of rare photos and memorabilia and its extensive quotations, make FTMR a must.’

Another King of the Kippax regular Steve Worthington wrote: ‘Following on in the winning formula of his epic “Manchester The Greatest City”, the highly acclaimed author and Manchester City Football Club Historian Gary James has rolled up his sleeves once more and has produced yet another fabulous football book for all to treasure and enjoy. “Farewell to Maine Road” is not only a must for all Manchester City supporters, it is also an essential for all football fans who possess a genuine interest and passion for the history of our great British past time. It catalogues the birth, evolution and ultimate decline of what was once England’s premier and revolutionary provincial football stadium; Maine Road, Moss Side, Manchester M14. Soon to be demolished into oblivion, Maine Road is vividly remembered in all its former glory in this classic portal to the past. Beautifully written with the knowledge and passion you would expect from a lifelong Moss Side Pilgrim, the book provides a definitive literate and graphic illustration of Maine Road’s long and varied history. It contains a rich tapestry of previously unpublished photographs, one of which, a unique atmospheric shot of the famous ‘Ballet on Ice’ (a famous Manchester City V Spurs clash in the late sixties), is arguably worth the cost of the book on it’s own. Having consumed and digested every morsel of information contained within, it is difficult for me to imagine how much painstaking work and dedication it must take to produce and compile a book of such quality. Whilst they continue to produce triumphs such as this, the marriage of Gary James and Polar Publishing is truly one made in a Sky Blue Heaven. This 320-page masterpiece has pushed the boundaries of football publications to a new and higher level and has already prompted tears of nostalgia in my eyes. But don’t take my word for it, sign up a copy and see for yourself, you’ll not be disappointed.’

The publicity blurb said: ‘The only officially approved history of Maine Road is the perfect book for any supporter of City; Maine Road attendee; or general football enthusiast. 

‘The book details the history of the stadium focussing on its development, and on the key games and events which have made Maine Road such a famous and important venue. Using first hand accounts, as told by supporters, players, administrators, and the media this book has been written and designed to the same high quality used in the highly acclaimed Manchester: The Greatest City. With special features on all the big City matches, international games, FA Cup semi-finals, League Cup finals, Rugby finals, concerts, religious meetings, and even on United’s use of the stadium during the forties and for European Cup games in the fifties. In addition both City’s former ground Hyde Road and future venue the City of Manchester Stadium have been covered to provide the complete history of City’s three homes. 

‘As with earlier works by Gary James & Polar Publishing this book is destined to be regarded as the definitive history of Maine Road & Manchester City’s other grounds.’

My publisher, Julian Baskcomb, commented: ‘Gary James is the appropriate man to write this work after a lifetime’s research on the club and its stadium. As a boy Gary was a regular in the Platt Lane Stand; then at the age of 16 he bought his own season ticket for the Kippax Stand and has been a season ticket holder ever since. He is also a respected journalist with articles for a wide range of publications including The Times and has recently managed the development of Manchester City’s new museum.’

Maine Road 100 – Day 24

It’s day 24 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. With many Manchester City fans currently in Istanbul getting ready for tonight’s final I thought I’d post another Maine Road image with a European theme. Today’s feature is on this image of City facing Juventus in 1976.

That night Brian Kidd scored the only goal in City’s 1-0 UEFA Cup victory, played on 15 September. But, look at the photo closely and you’ll see there are two balls! Why? Well, often in the days of black and white press photos newspapers wouldn’t quite get the shot they wanted. They’d sometime tippex on, or even cut and stick a ball on an action photo to create either a more dramatic image, or simply to ensure they could fit the image on the space available.

Modern technology has made it easier to ‘move’ the ball to a more convenient place, but it has also allowed photos to be taken quickly and in bursts. Also, once colour photography was used in national newspapers any cutting and pasting or tippexing seemed too obvious. Although this added ball definitely looks fake so I’m not certain any reader would have been fooled.

I’ve seen plenty of images like this over the years and I find them both fascinating and frustrating. I’d like the true image to be shown, but I also am intrigued as to how they felt they made the image better. For those wondering the City player is Dennis Tueart and the stand in the background is the Main Stand.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help. The roof shown is to the left of number 1 below – you can see the bit where it drops down to the next level. The tunnel is the one on the far left of the Main Stand below where the roof line changes. City were attacking the Platt Lane (stand is numbered 4 & 5) in the image.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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MCFC’s first European final: ECWC victory over Gornik Zabrze

Background

On 29 April 1970 Manchester City won the European Cup Winners’ Cup beating Gornik Zabrze from Poland 2-1 at the Prater Stadium in Vienna.  Here are a few comments and feelings from supporters, players, and others affected by the game. These were gathered as part of a project I organised to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the final. As we’ve now past the 51st anniversary they have become an even greater historical record.

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Maine Road 100 – Day 23

It’s day 23 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game and today’s feature is on the building of the North Stand. As Manchester City are about to appear in the 2023 Champions League final I thought I’d post images from a much earlier European game. This image of Neil Young comes from the 1971 ECWC semi-final v Chelsea. Notice Young is wearing City’s away colours. People often assume that City rarely wore away colours at Maine Road, but the truth is somewhat different.

Often when there was a clash of colours in a cup game City would wear their away strip. Games in the 1920s right through to 1970s saw the Blues don maroon, red/black and even scarlet at times at Maine Road.

The main image shows that North Stand being constructed in the background. You can see that the roof is not yet complete but that the terracing is in use for this ECWC semi final. The terracing was new concrete and the stand housed bars underneath. It was a terraced stand until summer 1972 when the decision was taken to make it a seated stand.

City chairman Eric Alexander was the main man responsible for the stand’s development and he was a passionate believer in giving fans the best facilities possible. He also had ambitious plans to redevelop the Kippax, however Peter Swales became the chairman soon after and he put Ian Niven in charge of ground developments. From then on, until 1993, the only major development was the erection of a new Main Stand roof in 1982. In the 1990s the club was forced to build – or condemn – the Platt Lane Stand.

Maine Road was a major ground for most of its existence and, even with little investment during from 1973 onwards, it was still selected as a cup semi-final venue. BUT I often wonder how spectacular the stadium would have been had Eric Alexander been left in charge of stadium developments. Instead of penny-pinching and devaluing the ground maybe it would have eclipsed Old Trafford as it had for the first 40 years of its existence?

People always focus on Swales as the cause of all the problems and it is true that he was the chairman and the man ultimately responsible, but he was not the major shareholder. In fact he often talked of how he only had a small number of shares until 1983 (when he made a major purchase following City’s relegation he often said). He was supported by directors who often held many more shares than he did. They could’ve ousted him, but instead supported him. Each director had responsibilities for different elements of the club – Swales often talked of this and the match programme frequently told us who was responsible and what they did – yet once Swales did stand down and Franny Lee took over some of those who had worked with Swales swapped sides and retained their positions. I know, from my own interviews with Swales, Alexander and others, that Swales felt let down and betrayed. Every issue was suddenly made to be ‘his’ fault. He accepted this, saying that he was the main man, but others needed to hold their hands up for the lack of investment in Maine Road etc.

1971 ECWC v Chelsea. Francis Lee. Photo by Alan Jubb

The above image shows Francis Lee at this same game and to the right you can see more of the North Stand under construction.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help. The North Stand can be seen with a completed roof on this image (number 10). This was later in 1971 and the stand is still a terraced one.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Fastest Manchester Derby Goal

I’ve been asked whether Gundogan’s goal in the FA Cup final was the fastest Manchester City goal of all time. Sadly, it’s impossible to prove as we do not have accurate times for the majority of goals scored throughout football history. Often in the past reports would say things like: ‘From the kick-off City rushed forward and scored.’ No time and even when this is said in reports highlights that have been found often show that this was not the case, so it’s impossible to say conclusively.

We know it’s the fastest FA Cup final goal of all time and, at 12 seconds, it’s also the fastest goal in a Manchester derby. Back in 1975 Dennis Tueart netted what was claimed to be the fastest derby goal at 35 seconds. I interviewed him about it a few years ago:

GJ: ‘You played in lots of significant derbies over the years, but there is one, above all others, that we should mention – the November 1975 League Cup tie at Maine Road.‘

DT: ‘I scored the first goal after about 35 seconds and that is the fastest goal in a Manchester derby.  It was a midweek game at Maine Road and I loved night matches, under the floodlights, packed stadium.  Incredible.  The lights meant that the stadium shone out amongst the dark streets – it was the whole focus.

Dennis Tueart scores after 35 seconds v United, 1975

‘We were 1-0 up and played great football.  3-0 up after 36 minutes when I got my second goal after Asa Hartford had got City’s second. Colin Bell was injured and stretchered off which was by far the worst moment of the evening and would impact us for the next few years. 

‘After the game we went to Cellar Vie in the city centre, and I walked in and I got a standing ovation from everyone in there.  Again it hit home how important the derby was to the city of Manchester.’

Now Gundogan holds the record but we should also mention Shaun Goater who in 2003 netted after only 9 seconds of coming on as substitute. You can read about that here:

Today in 2003: Goater’s 9 Second Old Trafford Goal

Gundogan’s goal is the fastest in a derby, while Goater’s goal was the fastest ever netted in a derby from a player’s arrival on the pitch, regardless of stage of the game.

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Manchester City’s “European Heritage” – Facts Not Fiction

With the 2023 Champions League final looming (and a possible treble for Manchester City!), most City fans know that the Blues possess a great history but in recent years some of the club’s rivals have tended to play down City’s European heritage suggesting the Blues are relative newcomers to the continent’s biggest competitions. So in this article I thought I’d take the opportunity to spell out a few of City’s earliest connections with European competition:

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Maine Road 100 – Day 22

For day 22 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I want to talk about the photographs of Iain SP Reid who captured this image of the burger sellers at Maine Road during the 1970s.

This photo and others in Iain’s collection were taken circa 1977. Iain believed that photography could improve lives. His work is full of joy. Sadly he died in 2000, leaving his fabulous archive of photographs filed away in boxes unseen until his family rediscovered them. He tried to capture images around Maine Road and at Old Trafford too, but he wasn’t interested particularly in match action. Instead he focused on the crowd, creating a wonderful collection.

“It was the way in which the football supporters of Manchester United and Manchester City used to dress and treat the whole match as if it were a carnival”
– Iain S. P. Reid

In August 1977 Iain was featured in a local newspaper and gave his views on what the project was. This makes interesting reading and for those who have seen any of his images it is worth pausing to have a read and a think about what he captured. This was for a Trafford based newspaper and so they focused on Old Trafford at times, but his comments about the Stretford End are as significant and would have been replicated by his thoughts on the Kippax etc.

If you appeared in this photo or in any of the others Iain took during this period then please get in touch with Paul Sorene and all involved at info@flashbak.com who are hoping to trace as many of the people on Iain’s photos as possible. You can look through this Facebook page of Iain’s work at:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=IainSPReidu0026amp;set=a.2606932862855473

I’m always passionate about the capturing and preservation of footballing images and stories. For me football simply isn’t about the players on the pitch but the thousands who dedicate significant time – and money – to supporting their club. If you’re a Blue or a Red who attended games around 1976-77 then take a look at Iain’s collection at

https://www.facebook.com/IainSPReid

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road the photo was taken from the street corner above and to the right of number two, looking towards the Development Association built into the external wall of the North Stand to the right of number 2.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One
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ITV Interviews

I’ve done a few interviews recently with ITV on a number of stories and the latest, which is about Manchester City and the Champions League final, is now live as part of a podcast. It’s well worth listening to and can be heard here (inevitably there are adverts in this because it’s ITV but stick with it when there’s a brief ad break):

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-02-24/what-you-need-to-know-the-itv-news-podcast-with-vital-information-and-analysis

ITV News Granada reporter Jahmal Williams-Thomas has produced the podcast. He also interviewed me earlier for a piece on Maine Road which can be viewed here:

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-05-12/remembering-manchester-citys-former-home-maine-road

Myself, Emily Brobyn and Ricky Hatton were interviewed for both of these features. Financial expert Kieran Maguire was interviewed for the Champions League podcast.

The Span of Success 2023: Updated

Congratulations to West Ham on your success in last night’s Europa Conference League. Great news for your club and for those clubs who wonder whether competitions like this are a drain or something to aim for. I’ve now updated the table showing the span of success – i.e. the number of years between a club’s first major success (FA Cup, League, League Cup, European trophy) and their most recent. West Ham have jumped some way up that list.

Okay, the span of success does not show how many trophies each club has won or how frequently that club has experienced great eras of success, but it does demonstrate how wrong those people are who believe certain clubs were unsuccessful until recent years, or those who think certain clubs have always been giants. The column on first major success helps to show when some clubs first became trophy-winning significant (often after transformational investment).

West Ham have proved that if you’re a club that hasn’t won a major trophy for a while putting your focus on achieving trophy success ahead of the odd Premier League position can bring significant reward. In future decades no one will remember who finished seventh, tenth or fifteenth but they will remember the trophies.

I know clubs focus on their financials but winning a trophy has longevity, gaining the odd Premier League place provides a bit of extra cash now but no long term kudos. Winning a trophy attracts new fans and brings money-spinning opportunities too.

If I was a supporter of Everton, Aston Villa or any of the other major clubs who have not found significant success in recent decades then I would absolutely want my team to go for whichever cup competition seems most likely to win. That’s what I always wanted from City before they were able to compete for the League again. Winning the FA Cup in 2011 helped everything that followed happen.

While you’re here… why not take a look at the free to read daily Maine Road features counting down to the old stadium’s 100th anniversary of its first game? Here are a sample couple of features (follow the Maine Road tag or search for more):

Maine Road 100 – Day 13

Maine Road 100 – Day 10
Maine Road 100 – Day 3

Maine Road 100 – Day 7

More Gundogan Records

For many, many years Dave Masey has been collecting stats and historical information on Manchester City. Like me he was a member of the Association of Football Statisticians and he has helped me often over the years. Following Saturday’s FA Cup final he got in touch with me to tell me about one of his spreadsheets which holds details of City scorers in trophy winning games.

His records capture those who have scored in major cup finals, but besides Cup Finals he also records other trophy-winning games. These include the deciding League games from 1937 onwards against Sheffield Wednesday (1937), Newcastle, QPR, West Ham, Brighton and Villa (2022), but nothing from three recent title successes where the Blues clinched the title when they were not playing. Got that? Good, now….

Dave tells me that Gundogan is now at the top of the list with 5 goals, overtaking Neil Young and Sergio Aguero. So he has scored more goals in trophy-winning games than any other Blue.

The list of scorers in trophy winning games reads:

1904Meredith
1934/7Tilson (3), Brook (2), Doherty
1956Hayes, Dyson, Johnstone
1968/70Young (4), Lee (2), Summerbee, Doyle, Pardoe
1976P Barnes, Tueart
2011-(former)Aguero (4), Y Toure (2), Nasri (2), Kompany (2), D Silva (2),Jesus (2), Sterling (2), Dzeko, Zabaleta, Navas, Fernandinho
2016-(current)Gundogan (5),  Laporte (2), Rodri (2), Mahrez, De Bruyne

Dave also tells me that in the three seasons where somebody else’s defeat clinched the title for City, the scorers in the club’s last game before the title confirmation were:

Gundogan (3), Sterling (2), Jesus, Haaland.

As Dave says, Ilkay gets a remarkable number of important goals, particularly for somebody who is ‘just’ a 1 goal in 5 games player (60 in 303 for City). Certainly this season he has played a true leader’s role and, looking at his place in this table, he is clearly a man for all trophy-winning seasons.

Thanks, as always to Dave, for this information.