The Blues had ended the 2008-09 season tenth under manager Mark Hughes.
Manager
Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as manager midway through the season in December 2009.
League Overview
The season commenced with four straight League victories over Blackburn (2-0), Wolves (1-0), Portsmouth (1-0) and Arsenal (4-2). Of these the Arsenal match brought most headlines. It had been viewed as the first true test of Mark Hughes’ new look City, although both Tevez and Robinho were injured.
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On this day (27th February) in 1993 Manchester City defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the City Ground in the Premier League. The scorers were David White and Garry Flitcroft. The win in this first Premier League season was important to City of course but this game was also the last time Brian Clough managed a side against City.
Look carefully at the above photo – clearly that’s David White, but look at the Forest player to the left of the image. Yes, it’s Roy Keane.
I did the last recorded interview with Peter Swales back in 1995-96 and I asked him about Brian Clough and the England job. Swales had been the boss of the FA Selection Committee for many years and Clough never seemed to be given the chance to manage England. Swales responded to my question about Clough by saying words to the effect of ‘We could’ve had Cloughie at England – and at City – bit he’d have wanted to run the whole thing. And that was my job.’
In the interview Swales explained that Clough had wanted the City job in 1983 (when Billy McNeill was appointed).
Today (26th February) reminds me of how football clubs would often do anything to save a few quid or to avoid spending money they didn’t need to. The reason? Because on this day in 1977 Manchester City’s League game with Sunderland was postponed.
The game was postponed because the Blues were drawn to face Leeds United in the fifth round of the FA Cup that day and so the original League fixture was rescheduled. Tickets had already been sold for the Sunderland League game and, rather than issue new tickets, the club simply announced the original tickets would be used for the new game. It made common sense and this was something that happened often when cup games meant League games had to be postponed. Now, in the days when entry for home fans is mostly by card (though some tickets are issued of course), it seems an unusual occurrence.
The re-arranged game saw City beat Sunderland 1-0 on 9th March with a goal from Dennis Tueart. As for the FA Cup tie – that ended in a 1-0 defeat before 47,731 at Elland Road.
On this day (26th February) in 1946 Colin Bell was born. Sadly Colin, recognised by most Manchester City fans as the greatest ever player for the club, passed away in January 2021.
The above photo comes from Peter Barnes’ collection and was taken at Champneys where City were staying prior to the League Cup final in 1976. It was, of course, Colin’s 30th birthday.
My thoughts and best wishes are with Colin’s family today.
I’ve interviewed Colin and written a lot about him over the years. A few posts are available (free to read) here for anyone who wants to learn more about Colin or remember some of his incredible achievements:
Under shrewd Scottish secretary-manager Tom Maley the Blues had been Champions of Division Two the previosu season. Most managers would have settled for a season of consolidation, not Maley. He was more interested in turning City into a highly successful, attacking team and spent the summer recruiting players of the right calibre and attitude. One such player was George Livingstone who must be unique in that, during a career spanning 3 decades, he appeared for both Manchester clubs and bothe Celtic and Rangers. He also played for Liverpool, but never quite made it to Everton to complete the treble.
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Sixty years ago today (February 21 1962) John Benson made his Manchester City League debut. He had joined the Blues at the age of 15 in July 1958 and went on to make 52 League and Cup appearances before being transferred to Torquay in 1964. Spells at Bournemouth, Exeter and Norwich followed, before John moved into coaching. In 1980 he returned to Manchester as assistant to manager John Bond.
Sadly, John died on October 30 2010 at the age of 67.
On Saturday March 5 at 3pm (UK time) I will be doing a talk/presentation on the history of Manchester City’s support. If you want to watch/listen you’ll need to register. Details of how to do that below…
The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online, so you should able to access it anywhere. It will cover the history of Manchester City’s support with particular reference to:
•Match day ritual at Maine Road
•The Viking Call
•The ‘Boys Stand’
•Record crowds
•Songs & chants
•Fancy dress, bananas & bells
•Fanzines
•The Supporters Club
This presentation and talk is based on my popular 2019 talk at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester (if you attended that you will already have seen it!). I go into detail about the history of City’s support and celebrate some of the unique aspects of over 125 years of Manchester City FC.
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. Book here:
City hadn’t had a manager since November and were struggling in the League when the Blues played a FA Cup fifth round tie against Crystal Palace on this day (20th February) in 1926. The tie, played at Maine Road turned out to be a fifteen goal thriller with City in rampant form.
By half-time the score was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again.
By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper Callendar shoulder high. Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. Browell had been ill for most of the week and had been unable to train.
With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances.
Remarkably, film of the game has survived and can be viewed here:
On Monday I asked you to name this ground. Did you recognise this ground? I said at the time: ‘This is a 1940s photo of this ground during a game. The ground still exists but it is no longer a Football League venue.’
The answer is Stockport County’s Edgeley Park. The game was a Stockport Boys v Salford Boys game which ended 1-0 to Salford. The Salford keeper in this photo is Evans and the Stockport number 11 is Kane..
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On this day (18th February) in 1984 Manchester City attracted a crowd of 41,767 in the Second Division for the visit of Newcastle United. The attendance was the biggest of the day (see image above to compare with Arsenal for example). It was also City’s and the division’s second biggest crowd of the season (the division’s highest was 41,862 for City v Sheffield Wednesday). It’s worth stating that the highest average League crowd of the season was 42,534 (Manchester United) and the next best was Liverpool with 31,974.
City’s average was the sixth highest in the entire League at 25,604 while fellow Second Division side Newcastle were the third best supported team that season with 29,811.
The Blues had been relegated the previous May (it was a shock relegation!) but with three automatic promotion places available City felt certain they could achieve an immediate return. Unfortunately, they did not account for the role Kevin Keegan would play in Newcastle’s fortunes. Newcastle had been struggling to make an impact since relegation in 1978, but then Keegan returned as a player and the whole place seemed revitalised (part of the reason Newcastle’s crowds were their best for six seasons), indeed he had helped the Geordies achieve a 5-0 thrashing of City in October.
City boss Billy McNeill later admitted: “There are few players that I have greater respect for than Keegan and this time, I’m referring only to his ability on the pitch, he was the heart and soul of Newcastle. It’s a terrible thing to admit, but every time I read that Kevin had an injury I hoped it would keep him out of the Newcastle side for a game or two. Usually it didn’t and I was glad in the end because I have such a high regard for him. He was certainly the difference between City and Newcastle. They had Keegan’s inspirational qualities and we didn’t.”
By 11th February City and Newcastle were level on points with the Blues in third place, and Newcastle fourth with a game in hand. Above them lay Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday. The four sides were termed the ‘Big Four’ by the media who regularly chose to feature games from the Second above those in the First. As always Liverpool seemed destined to win the Championship and so much attention turned to the glamour clubs of the Second, especially Newcastle with the charismatic Keegan.
On 18th February came the vital Maine Road clash between the ‘Jocks’ and the Geordies. A win would put City six points ahead of Newcastle, yet defeat would put the two sides level with Keegan’s men also having a game in hand. The crowd saw Steve Kinsey score but fine goals from Beardsley and Keegan gave Newcastle a 2-1 victory. It also gave the Geordies the advantage.
Here’s film of the game (poor quality but well worth watching for Steve Kinsey’s lobbed City goal):
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