As part of their All-Manchester FA Cup features the Athletic have asked their writers about the most important FA Cup final. Well, as it’s a City-Utd final then it makes sense to highlight the first ever FA Cup final featuring one of the teams. In 1904 Manchester found its first major trophy success and that led to Manchester being established as a footballing city. It’s part of the reason Manchester City retained a special place in the hearts and minds of Mancunians, even when the success faded.
The captain and goalscorer was the great Billy Meredith. The other year, following the purchase of the oldest surviving FA Cup by Sheikh Mansour (to loan to the National Football Museum) I helped Manchester City with the story of the cup and its significance to Manchester. They’ve produced a video telling the story and it can be viewed here:
My latest article on football for Manchester Confidential is now live. It’s about the All-Manchester FA Cup final. It also asks a simple trivia question: can you name all the previous Greater Manchester FA Cup finals? For the answer to that and the article see:
As we now build up to the first all-Manchester FA Cup final and at a time when Manchester will, regardless of who wins, sweep up all the major domestic trophies, I think it’s worth pausing to think about the city’s earliest clubs. I’ve done lots of research over the years on Manchester’s football origins and published both books and articles about it. Some of these are free to download. So why not take a look at the following article which briefly tells the story of Hulme Athenaeum – the earliest known association football club in Manchester (and Lancashire for that matter!):
The article also talks about other Manchester clubs, most significantly Manchester AFC who paved the way for City & United.
Worth noting the stuff about John Nall – the Hulme secretary and a founder of Manchester AFC. That man is often forgotten but he remained involved with football from Hulme’s formation through to his death in the late 1890s. He was present at several key moments in the formative years of Manchester City and was a key figure behind the Manchester FA. His story needs to be remembered.
Some have suggested that Hulme played rugby not football and it is fair to say that as the rules of football were developing there were many variations across the country. However, both Nall and others I’ve researched believed they were playing association football and his direct and active involvement with both the Manchester FA & the Lancashire FA proves he knew what ‘football’ was. Hulme played association football.
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.
Well, the Premier League is now over for another year and we know who the Champions are and who has qualified for Europe etc. so it’s time to look forward to the first ever all Manchester FA Cup final. There have been FA Cup finals between two teams from present day Greater Manchester before (the first one being City v Bolton in 1904) but this is the first to involve both Manchester clubs.
Prior to this year’s final, the closest Manchester City and Manchester United have got to playing each other in a Wembley FA Cup final were the FA Cup semi finals in 1926 and 2011. I wasn’t around in 1926 but I definitely was in 2011! So a couple of years ago I made this special audio recording talking about the years building up to the semi and the day itself from a Manchester City perspective. Many of you have listened to this already but if you haven’t then it tells the story of the 2011 FA Cup semi final and the years between 1976 and that moment in 2011 for City.
I include audio from interviews I did with a variety of people including Khaldoon, Peter Swales, Garry Cook, Brain Marwood and many others.
If you have heard it before then maybe you should listen again to remind yourself of how we all felt and why that game was so significant.
I include a few words from Roberto Mancini recorded in 2011 and at one point he talks about the view that was then being expressed that City were ‘trying’ to buy success (now they say City ‘have’ bought success!). His words are a reminder that City have been having that particular criticism thrown at them for over a decade! Oh well, I wonder how long those criticisms were laid at other clubs who had seen major investment which propelled them forward?
Anyway, get yourself a brew and be prepared to be transported back in time. Here’s the recording:
If you enjoy the recording then please let me know, comment or subscribe to the site. If you don’t fancy doing that then there’s also the option to make a welcome donation to keep this site going (see below). I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch too.
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.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year to subscribe (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time. Annual subscribers get full access for as long as you subscribe (you can always try it for a month). It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2010 Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 and all subscribers will be able to access all of that for as long as they are a subscriber (plus all the other stuff of course).
It costs £3 a month to subscribe a month at a time. Why not give it a try! Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 for as long as you subscribe.
I would like to thank all those who have been in touch this season about my articles in the Manchester City match programme. I truly am grateful for those words. I have been fortunate enough to have been writing for the programme for a few years and always enjoy trying to tell a different story, or use a different angle. There’s so much to say and do and my programme articles in this year’s programme focused on a history piece (which I always try to make relevant to today – but that’s easy when you have history making managers like Pep and record breaking players like Haaland) and a crowd/attendance feature.
I hope they’ve been of interest and, with the crowd feature in particular, I have heard from several fans who have enjoyed the myth-busting that has come from that. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to carry on writing for the programme over the coming years but if not, thanks to all those who read the piece. I’m driven by publishing the facts not the fiction and writing in an entertaining manner. I hope that comes across.
This season has also seen me write articles for the FA Cup semi-final and two for the upcoming FA Cup final. So there’s still at least 2 pieces coming this season in significant programmes.
Thanks again to all those who read my work and thanks to Reach for selecting me for the MCFC match programmes.
Bury Football Club was the first in the wider Manchester region to find major success. In 1900 they won the FA Cup, defeating Southampton 4-0 in the final and in 1903 they won the competition again by defeating Derby county by a record 6-0 scoreline (this was equalled by Manchester City’s FAC final victory over Watford in 2019).
Subscribers can read about Bury’s successes in this article:
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Today (7 May) marks the anniversary of the 1955 FA Cup final between Manchester City and Newcastle United. Here for subscribers is a 1200 word article on the final and highlights. Enjoy!
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Annual subscribers access every article, interview, video, talk and book posted to the site since it was created in December 2020. Monthly subscribers get access to everything since 1 October 2022. It costs £20 per year (works out about £1.67 a month).
This is an odd article for a few reasons from today (25 April) in 1955. Basically the Manchester City manager Les McDowall was getting inundated with requests for FA Cup final tickets from fans, friends, former players and others. Some were turning up at his house…. So what did the Manchester Evening News do? It included the name of the street McDowall lived on! Surely that would’ve added to his woes?
The FA Cup helped establish Manchester’s footballing identity – more on that in a minute. On this day in 1948 Manchester United appeared at Wembley for the first time to win the FA Cup. Manchester’s 1st FAC success came in 1904 (City). Before 1948 the Blues had appeared in 3 Wembley finals. Utd’s 1948 success meant 2 FA Cups each.
The closest Manchester City and Manchester United have got to playing each other in a Wembley FA Cup final were FA Cup semi finals in 1926 and 2011. I wasn’t around in 1926 but I definitely was in 2011. So a couple of years ago I made this special audio recording talking about the years building up to the semi and the day itself.
Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final is a special 1 hour audio recording looks at the game and the years between the 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. The 2011 semi-final was a crucial step in City’s journey since the 2008 takeover and I felt it was vital to do a special marking this.
So what’s in this special recording? Well, I’ve included exclusive material from interviews and recordings I’ve done over the years with Garry Cook, Brian Marwood, Roberto Mancini, Peter Barnes and Peter Swales. Why Swales? Well, have a listen and you’ll hear why. Basically though I’m trying to set the tone for why the 2011 FA Cup semi final victory and overcoming Manchester United was so significant.
On Mancini… I include a few words from him recorded in 2011 and at one point he talks about the view that was then being expressed that City were ‘trying’ to buy success (now they say City ‘have’ bought success!). His words are a reminder that City have been having that particular criticism thrown at them for over a decade! Oh well, I wonder how long those criticisms were laid at other clubs who had seen major investment which propelled them forward?
Anyway, get yourself a brew and be prepared to be transported back in time. Here’s the recording:
If you enjoy the recording then please let me know, comment or subscribe to the site. I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch.
Subscribe to get access – Annual
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year to subscribe (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time. Annual subscribers get full access for as long as you subscribe (you can always try it for a month). It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2010 Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 and all subscribers will be able to access all of that for as long as they are a subscriber (plus all the other stuff of course).
It costs £3 a month to subscribe a month at a time. Why not give it a try! Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 for as long as you subscribe.
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.
Gary James' Football Archive 