Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive

European Span of Success 2025: Will Villa & Arsenal Move Up The Table?

Each year, following the end of the UEFA football season I update the UEFA European Span of Success table. What is this? It’s a list of those clubs who have won two or more (sorry Palace) major UEFA tournaments showing the span between their first UEFA success and their most recent. The list may surprise some who think that football is all about those perceived as European giants with ‘history’. This is how the table stands today (19 May 2026). Chelsea and Tottenham have moved up the table in recent seasons.

UEFA European Major Trophy Span of Success 2025

I can imagine a few Arsenal fans looking at this and saying ‘Why aren’t we on there?’ They won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and the ECWC in 1994 BUT the Fairs Cup wasn’t a UEFA tournament and had some odd entry rules over the years! For your benefit here’s a table including the Fairs Cup lower down on this page. The above table includes the four major UEFA tournaments: European Cup/Champions League; European Cup Winner’s Cup; UEFA Cup/Europa League & the Europa Conference League. It does not include non-UEFA tournaments such as the Mitropa Cup and Fairs Cup. Nor does it include the Intertoto Cup or similar.

So why are they excluded… I recognise that the Mitropa Cup had some significant clubs competing in it. However, it was predominantly an East European competition and participants were not spread over the entire continent.

With the Fairs Cup… It is true that this was later transformed into the UEFA Cup and I have included all UEFA Cup finals in my analysis. But the Fairs Cup had an odd series of entry rules at times. Cities, rather than clubs, often entered with Barcelona beating London in one final for example. It was set up as a friendly type of competition with cities that had staged trade fairs playing each other. As time wore on entry came via the League Cup or League position in England, which added significance to it. But two teams from the same city were not allowed to participate, which meant that teams finishing way down the table could be (and were) included if those above them were multiple clubs from the same city.

In 1970 Manchester City’s Mike Doyle joked that by winning the League Cup he was satisfying his aim of ‘keeping United out of Europe’ (he joked about creating car stickers with that slogan!) because it appeared at that time that United’s only chance of Europe had gone with City’s qualification for the Fairs Cup.

City went on to win the ECWC that season, meaning that Fairs Cup place was opened up to League position, but United had finished lower down the table anyway and qualified for the Watney Cup instead. Actually, the Watney Cup is one worth talking about, but I’ll save that for another day. In 1970 Fourth placed Derby County qualified for the Watney Cup, while 5th to 7th (Liverpool, Coventry and Newcastle) all got a Fairs Cup place, alongside 12th placed Arsenal (Fairs Cup winners). I’ve not investigated this fully but it does seem odd that the Watney Cup took precedence over the Fairs Cup.

Arsenal’s 1970 Fairs Cup success was their first European trophy but is not included in the span, neither are those Fairs Cup wins of Barcelona. However, as quite a few Arsenal fans seemed to get a bit upset when the table was posted the other year I’ve decided to include the Fairs Cup in the following version of the table. So this table is the winners of the main UEFA competitions I mentioned earlier plus the Fairs Cup with its odd rules:

ClubFirst Major European trophy wonSpanFirst Major European successMost Recent Major European trophy won
Real MadridEC 6819562024
TottenhamECWC6219632025
RomaFairs6119612022
West HamECWC5819652023
BarcelonaFairs5719582015
Atletico MadridECWC5619622018
ChelseaECWC5419712025
Bayern MunchenECWC5319672020
Manchester CityECWC5319702023
Manchester UnitedEC4919682017
LiverpoolUEFA4619732019
Inter MilanEC 4319642007
ValenciaFairs4219622004
Eintracht FrankfurtUEFA4219802022
AC MilanEC 4019632003
FeyernoordEC 3219702002
Real Zaragoza Fairs3119641995
Borussia DortmundECWC3119661997
Paris Saint-GermainECWC2919962025
ArsenalFairs2419701994
AjaxEC 2419711995
Porto EC 2419872011
JuventusUEFA1919771996
SevillaUEFA1720062023
Dynamo KyivECWC1119751986
PSV EindhovenUEFA1019781988
AnderlechtECWC719761983
ParmaECWC619931999
Borussia MoenchengladbachUEFA419751979
Leeds United (BOTH FAIRS CUP)Fairs319681971
BenficaEC 119611962
Nottingham ForestEC119791980

Obviously, neither table shows the number of major trophies won, but it does indicate trophy-winning longevity for those who obsess over ‘my cup’s bigger than yours’ and similar debates. Personally, I think we should all be proud of our club’s achievements and not worry about what a rival has won.

Hopefully, those Arsenal fans who were somewhat upset last year will now be happy. Note that both Roma and Barcelona have moved up the table. Both ‘Rome’ and ‘Barcelona’ won the Fairs Cup when it was city based and not club based, adding to the questionable nature of including the Fairs Cup. ‘London’ once competed in it!

Arsenal are now 20th in this combined table, behind their fellow English clubs Tottenham, West Ham, City, Chelsea, United and Liverpool. But they could move up, as could Aston Villa.

As an example of the odd qualification rules in place for the Fairs Cup at times it’s worth looking at the 1969 qualification via the English League system.

In 1969 champions Leeds entered the European Cup. The ECWC place went to FA Cup winners Manchester City and the Fairs Cup places went to: Arsenal (4th), Southampton (7th) and Newcastle (9th). Swindon had won the League Cup, beating Arsenal in the final, but the Fairs Cup organisers wouldn’t allow them to participate as they were not a top flight club! This adds to the reason the competition is usually excluded. It is certainly not a UEFA competition in any case.

Similarly, Everton (3rd), Chelsea (5th), Spurs (6th) and West Ham (8th) who all finished above Newcastle were denied because of the rule that only one club from each city be allowed. So Liverpool and Arsenal’s inclusion meant their rivals stood less chance of winning the trophy than Newcastle simply because there were multiple clubs in their cities.

That rule does make me wonder what would have happened if both Manchester clubs had qualified for the competition as City are within the city of Manchester boundaries and United are not. Would the two clubs have challenged any decision not to include one of them based on the age old argument of Manchester’s boundaries?

Maybe I’ll post more on the odd rules of football competitions and tell the story of some of those long forgotten competitions.

If you’re interested in the wider span of success for English clubs (listing those who have the longest span between their first trophy and most recent, not simply European trophies) then take a look at this I posted Sunday:

The Span of Success: Will This Change This Month?

You can find out the benefits of subscribing here:

How To Subscribe

Manchester City Women: The 1st WSL Goal and Win

A crowd of 829 attended Manchester City Women’s WSL game away against Arsenal on this day (18 May) in 2014. This was a historic day as City not only scored their first goal in the WSL but they also defeated Arsenal. The historic goal was scored by Toni Duggan in the 11th minute and the match ended 1-0. The photo is of Duggan (far right) with Neil Mather (the original manager of Manchester City’s women’s team when founded in 1988) and Debbie Darbyshire (who played in the club’s historic first game back in 1988).

If you’re interested in the history of women’s football then you may be interested in my Authorised History of the Manchester Corinthians. You can get your name in the second edition if you subscribe to it here. All subscribers will get a copy of the second edition book (posted out before it appears in the shops) and your name will be included in a special roll of honour published within the book if ordered before publication:

UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History (second edition)

The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is UK only at £19.95 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs. This revised and updated second edition will be a paperback edition and contain more pages than the first edition.

£19.95

Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate to ensure it’s published to the size and standard the women who played deserve exist. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and will consist of over 360 pages. It will be fully illustrated throughout and subscribers can order it now for £19.95 (including UK postage and packaging). All orders received before publication will have the purchaser’s name included within the special roll of honour at the back of the book. You can order the book for someone else – all details will be checked and confirmed before publication.

The book will be published this October (2026).

If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.

You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.

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).

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.

Subscribe
How To Subscribe

The Span of Success: Will This Change This Month?

Every year, once the domestic season ends I update the table showing the English clubs’ span of success – i.e. the number of years between a club’s first major success (FA Cup, League, League Cup, major European trophy) and their most recent. Here’s the table as it stands today (17 May 2026) after Manchester City’s success in the FA Cup. Obviously, there’s a chance for Arsenal (currently 11th), Aston Villa (7th but could be top if they win their European final) and Crystal Palace (just on the table following last year’s FAC success but could rise above those other ‘one major trophy’ clubs) to move up the table this month.

2026 Span of Success (as of 17/5/26, after FAC final)

Even if Arsenal do win the League or Champions League this year they’ll only rise to ninth as they didn’t win a major trophy until the 1930s.

For comparison purposes here’s the table after the 2023-24 season ended (see below). Notice the moves up the table of Spurs and Newcastle in recent seasons:

As I always say, the span of success does not show how many trophies each club has won nor does it show 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 too!).

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. Look at how winning the FA Cup has helped Palace this last year or so.

If I was a supporter of any of the 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 the most likely to win. That’s what I always wanted from Manchester City before they were able to compete for the League again. Winning the FA Cup in 2011 helped everything that followed happen – it gave confidence and a trophy winning mentality.

While you’re here why not take a look at the wide range of articles available on this site? Such as the 100 day series of features on Maine Road:

Maine Road 100 – Day 10
Maine Road 100 – Day 3
How To Subscribe
An Interview About Joe Mercer

FA Youth Cup Winners: City v United

Last night (14 May 2026) Manchester City found FA Youth Cup glory for the second time in three years with a 2-1 derby victory over Manchester United at the Joie Stadium.

Having taken over as the Under-18s Lead Coach in the summer of 2024, German coach Oliver Reiss oversaw back-to-back Youth Cup Finals with 2026 seeing the young Blues win 2-1 in the Manchester derby. In what was Club’s 14th appearance in the Final, the result meant City’s youngsters had won the famous trophy twice in the previous three years. 

This was the fifth time City had won the FA Youth Cup in total, following the successes in 2024, 2020, 2008 and 1986. 

Goals from Floyd Samba (40 mins) and Reigan Heskey (87 mins) helped secure the trophy at the Joie Stadium, in what was only the second all-Manchester FA Youth Cup Final. The United scorer was Godwill Kukonki (42nd minute).

This victory over Manchester United came just 12 days after the City youngsters were crowned as the Under-18 Premier League North title winners for a second successive season, with an Under-18 Premier League National Final still to come. 

Academy Director Thomas Kruecken said: ‘Winning the FA Youth Cup is always a key target for us at the start of each season, so to see the team lift the trophy is a momentous occasion and an achievement everyone in the Academy should be immensely proud of. Our results throughout the competition have shown how much the FA Youth Cup means to Oliver, his staff and the players. They have been superb. 

‘They have shown the importance of performing when it counts, in a final, in front of 8,000 people. We are incredibly proud of the players and staff for facing the challenge head on and we believe it will prove to be an important experience in our player’s journey to become a professional footballer one day. It is an unbelievable achievement to be in the final three times in a row. It shows a consistent high level of dedication, passion and a success that has been built over years of tireless hard work. 

‘It has been a pleasure to watch the team grow and play football that mirrors our ethos here at Manchester City – we aim to play the same style of football across every age group at this football club. 

‘But this moment would also not be possible without the hard work of everyone connected to the Club. So many people have worked closely with the squad throughout their progression up the age groups, providing the best environment possible for our players to develop not just into fantastic football players, but amazing people also. I am so proud to not only lead the Academy, but to work with so many talented people at City.’

First Team Manager Pep Guardiola, who was there watching, added: ‘I want to congratulate Oliver Reiss, his staff, the players and everyone working in our Academy on winning the FA Youth Cup. Success in this competition is another example of how good this Club is at creating a winning mentality and producing top young players. Every season I am so impressed by the talent that we produce here at the CFA – I see it when the young players train with us. I hope everyone in the Academy enjoys this achievement because it is a reward for all the hard work and commitment not just from this season, but years of hard work.’

You can read about the first all-Manchester final here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2023/06/01/the-first-all-manchester-fa-final/


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:

Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final

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.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe
How To Subscribe

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).

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.

Subscribe
How To Subscribe

66 Years Ago Today The Manchester Corinthians Start Their South American Tour

On this day (11 May) in 1960 the Manchester Corinthians women’s team landed in New York at the start of their three month tour of South America (they started in New York and then flew south). As part of the decade+ long project into the club I’ve managed to identify all 29 women who participated for the tour (see below). The stories of many of these appear in Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History and I’ve been privileged to into so many Corinthians from this era. Only yesterday I was with one of them (she’s almost 92) as we chatted again about her life.

The players who went to South America are (with the ones I interviewed for the first edition of the book in bold). If you went on the tour or a member of your family did then please let me know. I’m still keen to capture more stories and don’t want to miss anybody out:

Alice Sharples
Andrea Allen
Anne Grimes
Anne Keane
Barbara Bottoms
Brenda Ward
Doris Ashley
Freda Ashton
Gillian Holland
Jean Turner
Josephine Hilldrup
Josephine Hankinson
Lesley Howard
Margaret ‘Bunty’ Hilton
Margaret Whitworth
Margaret Griffiths
Margaret Turner
Margaret Wilde
Marion Matley
Marlene Goddard
Mary Bee
Mavis Cooke
Molly Edwards
Norma Dobson
Pauline Fairweather
Pauline Hulme
Sheila Isherwood
Sheila Smith
Susan Whittaker
Teresa Comer

The trip was wonderful for the Corinthians with lots of new experiences. A chapter in the book covers the stories of many of the women who attended. I’m currently revising/updating it and the second edition of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History will be published this year.

As with the first edition this book will be non-profit. Also, anyone ordering a copy now will get their name published in the book as a supporter of the project. Copies can be ordered now (see below). This promises to build further on the original book, viewed as a landmark publication. Income from the book will continue to be used to promote these remarkable women; stage events for them and capture their stories for posterity. Over fifty Corinthians were interviewed for the first edition and others have been found and interviewed for this updated version. This includes additional Corinthians from the 1940s, adding to the three founding Corinthians interviewed for the first edition. Their voices are so important to the story of this remarkable club.

I’m determined to ensure all Corinthians are remembered so please also get in touch if you’re a Corinthian who may have slipped through the net somehow.

Order before 1 July 2026 and you will get your name published within a special roll of honour within the book and it will be sent out to all subscribers on publication at the start of October 2026. This will be before it appears in any shop. Sadly, due to postage costs the book can only be posted to UK addresses. You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button below and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.

UK ONLY – one copy of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History 2nd edition (paperback)

The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is for one paperback book at £19.95 ()incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.

£19.95

Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate exist too. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities. For those wishing to order ten copies then a special panel will be included within the book thanking you for supporting the Corinthians’ project & book, plus you’ll get ten copies for the discounted total of £150 (including UK deliver).

UK ONLY – Ten copies of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History 2nd edition (paperback)

The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is for ten paperback books at £150 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.

£150.00

Note: the cover is currently being redesigned and is likely to be different to the ones shown here.

For more on the Corinthians see:

One Year On: The Manchester Corinthians Reunion

The 2010s: Champions League Qualification

Manchester City qualified for the Champions League for the first time when they defeated Tottenham 1-0 via an own goal from Peter Crouch on this day (10 May) in 2011. Crouch had deflected a James Milner cross past his own ‘keeper. This had been a rather tense game against a Spurs team desperate to get into a European place. They ended the day sixth, behind fifth place Liverpool. City were fourth, two points behind third placed Arsenal and seven ahead of fifth placed Liverpool with only two games remaining.The target remained third place, as this avoided a Champions League play off, and success in the FA Cup final. Finishing in the top four for the first time since the 1970s was an achievement in its own right, but winning the FA Cup would end 35 years without success at the highest levels of the game. The final was against Stoke at Wembley on 14 May.

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).

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.

Subscribe
How To Subscribe