Tonight (7 January 2026) Manchester City and Brighton meet in the Premier League. The first game between the two clubs came over 100 years ago in 1924. This game was a newsworthy FA Cup tie due to the return of a legend to the City team. In fact it was so newsworthy that a movie company sent their camera (you’ll see from the footage it never moved!) to Brighton’s Goldstone Ground to capture the return of a true Blue hero.
Here’s film of that game, though sadly we don’t see Meredith or the goal. City are the dark shirted team (actually the club’s ‘Lucky Scarlet’!):
Subscribers can also read an article about that day here:
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Now that Erling Haaland has joined an exclusive group of Manchester City players who have scored 100 League goals for the club I thought I’d post a table of all those players. I’ve also listed them in a goals per game format (I’d love to do goals per minutes but we simply don’t have that information for all players). Here goes…
The goals per game ratios for all Manchester City players who have scored 100 league goals or more…
Goals
First Name
Surname
Goals Per Game
Total League Appearances
100
Erling
Haaland
0.9009
111
184
Sergio
Aguero
0.6691
275
126
Billy
Gillespie
0.5780
218
120
Horace
Barnes
0.5530
217
122
Tommy
Browell
0.5495
222
116
Frank
Roberts
0.5370
216
158
Tommy
Johnson
0.4817
328
112
Francis
Lee
0.4498
249
110
Fred
Tilson
0.4472
246
142
Joe
Hayes
0.4290
331
107
Alec
Herd
0.4163
257
146
Billy
Meredith
0.3989
366
158
Eric
Brook
0.3511
450
117
Colin
Bell
0.2970
394
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On this day (4 October) in 1949 it was reported that Frank Swift went to Strangeways prison… to talk to inmates about football. He assumed he would be just talking to the male prisoners but there was so much interest from the female inmates that he spent some time with them first. He talked about his career; City and United and whether Billy Meredith or Stanley Matthews was the greatest all-time forward apparently.
As we’re building up to the Derby here’s the latest in the series of features on MCFC in the 1920s… The first Manchester Derby of the 1920s took place at Old Trafford on 20 November 1920. You can read background, statistics and a report on that game below:
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For more on this season why not read the following 2,350 word subscriber article. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?
Here’s the article:
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The new series on Manchester City in the 1920s continues today with a subscriber article on the 1924-25 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?
Here’s the article:
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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at £20 per year. Subscribers have access to the 1000s of articles, features, interviews etc. posted so far and all those posted during your subscription.
A new series on Manchester City in the 1920s begins today with a 1,000 word subscriber article on the 1921-22 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?
Here’s the article:
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Here’s an interesting cutting from the Official Programme of both Manchester City and Newton Heath in December 1898. Back then City’s and Newton Heath’s match programme was a joint affair, shared with a couple of rugby clubs too. Reading this gives an impression of how the rivalry was at the time – I’m sure City fans will find the line about referee Jack Lewis’s decision making interesting!
This game was actually played at City’s Hyde Road on Boxing Day 1898 and, as was typical of the period, both sets of fans were vocal and spread around the ground.
The opening paragraph described an infamous passageway that led to the Hyde Road ground and was often muddy. Also, worth noting that Billy Meredith was the biggest name in football and was a popular City player at this time.
On this day (1 December) in 1906 the first Manchester derby in Division One was played at City’s Hyde Road ground. This photo shows the crowd management scenes for what was described as Manchester’s biggest football day at the time. There had been derbies between City and Newton Heath in the Second Division, before City were promoted in 1899. There was no opportunity for the Blues and the Heathens to meet in the top flight. In 1902 financial difficulties at Newton Heath meant that club was being wound up. A new club called Manchester United was established in 1902 (as with (like Ardwick’s final days and the new club Manchester City, it’s more complicated than simply a name change) and they played in Division Two, until they earned promotion in 1906.
City won this derby 3-0 with goals from George Stewart (2) and Billy Lot Jones.
Crowd scenes on 1 December 1906 at Hyde Road. The first Manchester Derby in Division One (top flight)
If you want to know more about this season then here’s a 3900 word article telling the story of 1906-07 when the FA ban continued to affect Manchester’s Blues (you can read about that elsewhere on this site). This story continues to be one of skullduggery (by other teams too!) and powerful figures seeking to limit opposition.
All of this sound familiar? Well, get a brew and start reading below if you’re a subscriber. Maybe read the 1903-04, 1904-05 & 1905-06 features first?
If you’re not a subscriber then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?
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City v Newcastle is one of the most enduring fixtures in English football. There have been cup finals, title deciders, dramatic games, shared heroes and so much more. The two clubs first met in the League in October 1893 (Ardwick/MCFC’s 2nd season in the League) and City’s record is:
Competition
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
League
174
71
38
65
FA Cup
12
4
2
6
League Cup
6
3
1
2
European
0
0
0
0
Other
0
0
0
0
There have been lots of significant games in the League, FA Cup and League Cup. A League Cup final in 1976 saw them meet at Wembley when Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart both scoring for the Blues.
Most Blues of my age and above will remember where they were when our King returned to action on Boxing Day 1977. Here’s an interview I did with him a few years back when we talked about that special day:
There was a really odd thing a while back where a Newcastle paper claimed that their local team had first worn bar scarves at games. A few simple searches soon proved there were much earlier bar scarfs:
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.
150 years ago today on 30 July 1874 Billy Meredith was born. Billy was the captain when Manchester City brought Manchester their first major trophy, the FA Cup in 1904. He was also the goal scorer and a major hero to City fans. He later helped United achieve their first successes but returned to City for a final flourish.
His last game for City was 100 years ago this year! You can read about that and many other Meredith related stories across this website. Here’s a link to sone of them:
Gary James' Football Archive 