Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive

The 1960s: Carlisle 1 Manchester City 2

On this day (26 February) in 1966 Manchester City won away at Carlisle United, watched by 13,510, in Division Two. City won 2-1 with goals from Glyn Pardoe (photographed here at the launch of Manchester The City Years in 2012 with Janice Monk and Steve Mackenzie) and Mike Summerbee. Subscribers can read more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season below. This was an important season in City’s development.

If you’d like to read this 4100 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.

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Colin Bell

To mark the anniversary of Colin Bell’s birth (26 February 1946) it’s well worth reminding ourselves of something he viewed as one of his greatest successes. It may surprise some fans… When I interviewed Colin quite a few years ago we talked about his many successes and triumphs as a player. He was as humble as ever. Then he told me something which surprised me a little and that was about Manchester City’s 1977-78 Central League title.

City’s reserve team played in the Central League back then and, due to his devastating injury, Colin played reserve games throughout that season as he pushed for full fitness. He started 22 of these games and scored five goals.

When I interviewed Colin he told me he was as pleased with this Central League success as he was with all his other medals. To him that season saw a return to competitive football and it was irrelevant whether it was a reserve league or the Football League. It mattered enormously.

Most posts on Colin won’t talk about the 1977-78 Central League title but, as he was so keen to ensure he mentioned it to me all those years ago, I feel it’s appropriate to give it a little focus.

His first Central League appearance of the 1977-78 season attracted almost 5,000 as many of us were determined to be there when he returned to action. For the record that game was v Huddersfield on 17th September 1977, attendance 4,921.

Colin was a wonderful player and man. Those of us who saw him play know what a great player he was; those of us who were privileged to meet him met a truly humble & wonderful human being. He was the King of our Kippax but was truly a legend of football at Bury, City and England. His name will always be remembered.

This image of my ledger for 1977-78 shows Colin in City’s Central League match records.

More on that season here of course:

The 1970s: 1977-1978 Bell’s Return

Manchester Corinthians Talk at Central Library for International Women’s Day

Next Wednesday (5 March) I’ll be doing a talk at Manchester Central Library as part of the events leading up to International Women’s Day. The talk is on the Manchester Corinthians women’s football team that toured the globe between 1948 and 1992 and is based on a decade of research into the team. It’s free to attend but tickets should be booked in advance here:

Celebrating the Manchester Corinthians

The talk takes place between 5.30pm and 7pm at Manchester Central Library and will focus on the history of the club, based on the 50+ interviews I have performed with former players, coaches and their families. I’ll also have copies of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History available at the discounted price of £20 (normally £25) for those who wish to buy the book that evening.

Why not come along and learn all about these remarkable women. In advance why not watch this 18 minute documentary put together by Imprint Films on the Corinthians? It includes brief interviews with a small group of the women I interviewed, plus I help to explain why they are so significant. The free Library talk will of course go into much more detail (as does the book):

If you can’t make it to the talk then watch out for others. You can also find out about the book here:

Manchester Corinthians

Thursday at Morley CC

On Thursday (27 February) evening I’ll be talking at the West Yorkshire branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club (8pm; Morley Cricket Club, Scatcherd Lane Morley, Leeds LS27 0JJ) about the Manchester Corinthians women’s team and, of course, I’ll also discuss Manchester City’s history too. I’ll have copies of the Manchester Corinthians book with me, as well as copies of my Peter Barnes biography if anybody wants one.

You can find out more on the Corinthians book here:

Manchester Corinthians

You can find out more on the Barnes book here:

The Peter Barnes Authorised Biography – Available Here!

Bobby Johnstone Double

On this day (25 February) in 1956 Bobby Johnstone scored twice as Manchester City defeated Preston 3-0. Joe Hayes scored the other goal.

I’m contemplating writing a series of features on the 1950s as this decade is beginning to slip from living memory. We’ve lost almost all the players who played during that decade for City and maybe it’s time to post some of the interviews I did with the likes of Fagan, Barnes, Clarke, Little? What do you think? I’m always keen to hear from readers/subscribers to the site.

Denis Law’s Anniversary

On this day (24 February) in 1940 Denis Law was born. Law who passed away in January, achieved major success in a glittering career for Huddersfield, Manchester City and Manchester United. He would have been 85 years old today.

There are plenty of articles mentioning Law on this site, here are those tagged with his name:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/denis-law/page/2/

Manchester City’s Record League Crowd

On this day (23 February) in 1935 Manchester City established a new Football League record crowd of 79,491. Here’s the story of that day and cuttings. Enjoy!

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Liverpool v Manchester City

It’s the latest City-Liverpool game this weekend. There are lots of articles on my site about games between these two, so why not have a look at these as preparation for the game? Here are a few links:

David White Double v Liverpool
Howard White and a Liverpool Controversial Game
Record Holder: Johnson’s 38th League Goal
Anelka Double and Peter The Great
Kiki Musampa’s Strike Against Liverpool
The 1970s: Power Cut City!
Second Tier Crowd to Rival Leaders Liverpool?
The 1980s: Corrigan Bottled as Liverpool Lose 3-1 to MCFC
Manchester v Liverpool
‘Play Fair’ Liverpool!
Manchester-Liverpool Rivalry
MCFC & LFC: Attendance Malarky
MCFC v LFC 1988

There are plenty of other mentions of Liverpool on this site so why not use the tabs or do a search.

Manchester-Liverpool Rivalry

It’s one of those weekends where the Blues and Reds of Manchester and Liverpool meet. Everton v United today and City v Liverpool tomorrow. In terms of football the two cities of Manchester and Liverpool were extremely close for decades but in business and everyday life they have been rivals (bitter at times) for over 150 years. People will talk about all sorts of factors with the main one discussed being about the trade issues Manchester faced because Liverpool basically controlled Manchester’s access to the sea. I don’t want to go on too much about it all but I do want to show these sections from American newspapers which give an indication of what the situation was from another nation’s point of view.

It’s interesting to note that at least one of these articles shows that Manchester tried to ensure the whole of England benefitted from the city’s growing prosperity, suggesting that previously Liverpool only benefitted from this kind of trade.

Crittenden Record, July 04, 1907
Americus Times, April 14, 1903,
The Morning News, July 23, 1894

There are lots of articles on my site about Manchester’s teams and those from Liverpool. Here are details of articles than are tagged ‘Liverpool’:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/liverpool/

Here are articles tagged ‘Everton’:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/everton/

The 1960s: Neil Young’s Fifth League Goal

On this day (21 February) in 1962 Neil Young scored his fifth League goal for Manchester City in only his 11th League game after making his debut earlier in the season. It came in a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion. The other scorers were Peter Dobing and Alan Oakes. Subscribers can read more on City’s 1961-62 season below. The Young photo here is from the start of the following decade of course! If you’d like to read the 1600 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.

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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.

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