Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive

GOLDEN GOALS: 1974 Rodney Marsh Overhead Goal V QPR

Many goals over the years are described as the greatest ever.  Sometimes these become a talking point for a few days, sometimes for a few years but unless they happen to occur in a major trophy winning game goals tend to lose their significance as time moves on.  This is especially true for games prior to the 1990s when television coverage was limited to, at best, a handful of top flight games.

This is part of a feature on ‘GOLDEN GOALS’. The idea is to remember a significant or spectacular Manchester City goal from yesteryear.  My hope is that supporters who were not around back then will learn more about these goals while those who were here will hopefully be reminded of them.  If you would like to nominate a goal for possible use in a future feature then please comment at the end of this piece or email me with details of game, goal scorer and date.

The one being featured is Rodney Marsh’s overhead kick from the Manchester City-QPR Division One game of September 1974.

This article is available for subscribers to the website. It costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 per month) and you get full access to all articles posted, including PDFs of the out of print Manchester A Football History and my first ever book about Manchester City. There are also audio interviews & more. Do a few searches on past content to see what’s available.      

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Sven’s First Manchester Derby Was A Great Win

On this day (19 August) in 2007 Sven’s Manchester City defeated Fergie’s United 1-0 in Sven’s first derby since joining City that summer. His City career ended with him having a 100% win record in the derby. Here’s a video of Geovanni’s goal:

GOLDEN GOALS – 1996 Georgiou Kinkladze Goal V Southampton

One of the best goals of Maine Road’s final couple of decades saw the brilliant Georgiou Kinkladze at his best.  Kinkladze was a major star – some would say Manchester City’s biggest during the mid 1990s – and livened up many dull days for City fans.  This goal was obviously popular with Maine Road regulars but, thanks to television and the game’s appearance on Match of the Day, many neutrals recognised the quality of this Golden Goal.

The idea of this ‘GOLDEN GOALS’ feature is to remember a significant or spectacular Manchester City goal from yesteryear.  My hope is that supporters who were not around back then will learn more about these goals while those who were here will hopefully be reminded of them.  If you would like to nominate a goal for possible use in a future feature then please comment at the end of this piece or email me with details of game, goal scorer and date.

This article, covering Kinkladze’s goal is available for subscribers to the website below. It costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 per month) and you get full access to all articles posted, including PDFs of the out of print Manchester A Football History and my first ever book about Manchester City. There are also audio interviews & more. Do a few searches on past content to see what’s available.     

 

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Manchester 1840-1919 (Part Three)

Every Monday I’m posting a section from my book ‘The Emergence of Footballing Cultures: Manchester 1840-1919’. It tells the story of the origins of men’s football in Manchester and discusses the birth of both City and United plus the clubs that predated them such as Hulme Athenaeum, Manchester AFC, Birch etc. Today’s section is the second chapter of the book (another 5,000 word section). This focuses mainly on the early to mid 1800s and talks of the development of Manchester and the sporting growth occurring at that time, including forms of football as well as cricket and horse racing etc..

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Quinn Header v Coventry

On this day (17 August) in 1991 Manchester City’s season started with a 1-0 victory at Coventry. City wore their traditional away colours of maroon too! You can see Niall Quinn’s headed goal and the celebrations by City fans here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5haQrZKx9uY

GOLDEN GOALS – 1934 Eric Brook V Stoke City

It has virtually slipped out of living memory but this goal is possibly the greatest ever scored at Maine Road.  It is also the goal that was viewed by the largest paying audience of all time at the old stadium.

The goalscorer Eric Brook remains one of City’s biggest stars and he was idolised by thousands of Mancunians throughout his career.  This goal was obviously popular with Maine Road regulars at the time but it has to be stressed that it was also highly significant in the Blues’ quest to re-establish themselves as a major force.

The idea of this ‘GOLDEN GOALS’ feature is to remember a significant or spectacular Manchester City goal from yesteryear.  My hope is that supporters who were not around back then will learn more about these goals while those who were here will hopefully be reminded of them.  If you would like to nominate a goal for possible use in a future feature then please comment at the end of this piece or email me with details of game, goal scorer and date.

This article, covering Brook’s goal is available for subscribers to the website below. It costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 per month) and you get full access to all articles posted, including PDFs of the out of print Manchester A Football History and my first ever book about Manchester City. There are also audio interviews & more. Do a few searches on past content to see what’s available.      

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

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Latest Finish

15 August 2020 was the latest date a football season had ended for Manchester City. Sadly, the Blues were defeated 3-1 in the Champions League quarter final v Olympique Lyonnais. There are some highlights here if you want to see them:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/city-lyon-match-highlights-63733124

Stadium Opener

On this day (14 August) in 2003 the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad Stadium) staged its first competitive game as City defeated TNS 5-0 in the UEFA Cup. Relive that night (and Granada TV!) with this video of the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnjvVF99Fnk

The report above talks of the UEFA Cup draw with TNS.

130,000 Capacity Stadium for Manchester City

This is an interesting cutting from 1935 talking about the possibility of increasing Maine Road to cope with the huge crowds that wanted to watch Manchester City play. It may seem crazy today but wasn’t such an odd idea in the 1930s. You can find out more on the story here:

Maine Road 100 – Day 57

A Corinthians Original on TV in the States

This video clip is well worth watching. It’s 92 year old Flo, who was one of over fifty Manchester Corinthians I interviewed for the Authorised History. I absolutely loved seeing this and I’m sure you will too. She’s a true star and pioneer of women’s football, working hard to promote the stories of the Corinthians herself. She’s now living in the States and made the news over there for her dedication to football and for being one of the original Manchester Corinthians. My wife & I have kept in touch with Flo for the last few years since we first chatted. I interviewed her about her time at the club a couple of years ago. She’s one of three originals interviewed for the first edition of the book. Others claimed that no one before about 1953 was around, but there are quite a few sprightly 90+ year olds interviewed for the book who can talk about playing football in the 1940s and early 1950s. Anyway, you can see for yourselves that Flo’s passion for football remains (as does her Manchester accent). She’s an inspiration. Here’s the video:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/att.bqldzbzvmopsxtyylezhef3acn6nlqqkubgfl982ykw.mp4

Flo’s story is one of over fifty included within the book and this October an updated second edition will be available. If you order before the end of August you can get your name printed in it. For details see:

Manchester Corinthians