I think we all anticipated it’d be Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle after their victory. Here’s the draw in full:
Preston v Burnley Aston Villa v Cardiff City Doncaster or Crystal Palace v Millwall Manchester United v Fulham Newcastle United v Brighton Bournemouth v Wolves Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle Exeter or Nottingham Forest v Ipswich
Ties to be played between 28 Feb – 3 March.
City and Plymouth have met before in key cup games of course such as:
On this day (27 January) in 1968 40,343 watched as Manchester City and Reading played out a goalless draw in the FA Cup at Maine Road. City had missed a penalty too! The Manchester Evening News reporter Peter Gardner was not impressed with City (see below report). A nice reminder that even the greatest of teams can have off days!
Peter Gardner’s summary of MCFC V Reading, FAC January 1968
The tie went to a replay and you can find out what happened next in the following 7,600 word article (yes, 7,600 words on one season!) on the 1967-68 season. This is available to subscribers, who also have access to all other articles on the site. As with most of the other features in my series on the 1960s it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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Here are a couple of interesting photos of Johnny Crossan’s goal in the game I mentioned earlier today (24 January 1966; City defeated Blackpool 3-1 in the FA Cup). The number 2 is Blackpool’s Jimmy Armfield who does remarkably well to get up so high during the time inbetween these two photos being taken, even though he’s not able to stop the goal. I’ve not yet found film of the game but Crossan’s goal looks somewhat impressive. Here are the two images in sequence:
First of two shots of Johnny Crossan Scoring v Blackpool 24/1/1966 Jimmy Armfield is Blackpool number two. Second of two shots of Johnny Crossan Scoring v Blackpool 24/1/1966 Jimmy Armfield is Blackpool number two.
1965-66 was an important season in MCFC history and you can read more on it in the following 4100 word article. This (plus all other articles on the site) is available to subscribers (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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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:
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In 1932 Manchester City and Arsenal faced each other in the FA Cup semi-final. It was the Blues’ third semi appearance in eight years and they would go on to better this stage in each of the following two seasons. This semi was controversial and it had major repercussions for City. You can read the full story (and watch highlights) below:
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With Manchester City facing Brentford today, here’s a nice bit of footage from 23 January 1932 of the two teams meeting at Maine Road. The 1930s was a good era for both clubs – in fact Brentford challenged City for the 1936-37 League title (as you’ll see if you read my programme feature in today’s match programme). The game shown here is a FA Cup tie at Maine Rd in front of 56,190.
The game is the second on this film and starts after about 1 minute 25 seconds. Watch out for some lads obviously playing up for the camera at the start of the City-Brentford clip. My favourite is the lad who larks around with his coat (below image).
There’s also a cracking City goal right at the end of the clip. Enjoy! You may need to copy the following address into your browser to get the clip to play:
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Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 9400 (yes that’s right!) word article telling the story of 1903-04 when Manchester won its first major trophy. If you’re a subscriber you’ll need to get a brew before reading this celebration of that season. If you’re not a subscriber then why not?
Ever wondered how Manchester found its first major trophy success or what the scandal that rocked City was all about? Then subscribe and read this series of articles.
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So far I’ve told you about the eleven players selected for my all-time best Manchester City FA Cup final winning team and today it’s the time for the manager.
I was asked to select an all-time City eleven and had two rules – they had to actually play in a winning final (so, unused substitutes were not allowed) and they could not be a member of the current playing squad. I also tried to focus on the fact that this eleven would also be facing an all time Manchester United eleven. Therefore victories over United in key games were always in the back of my mind.
For the manager I could select anyone who had managed the Blues in a FA Cup winning final. It was tough because of the wonderfully talented and inspirational leaders the club has had, starting with Tom Maley in 1904. In the end I went for:
Manager Pep Guardiola (since 2016)
Imagine this talented team being guided by this inspirational coach! A tactical innovator he would love the versatility of this team with attack-minded defenders, a hugely talented midfield and some of the best goalscorers the FA Cup has ever seen. Forward-thinking 1960s coach Malcolm Allison would be enthralled watching him in action.
I have no idea how many of you read the article in the FA Cup final but another writer picked the United all-time FAC eleven. When comparing the two I’m convinced my 11 would easily defeat United’s. Maybe I should post that and see what you all think?
So far I’ve told you about Bert Trautmann, Tony Book, Glyn Pardoe, Vincent Kompany, İlkay Gündoğan, David Silva, Billy Meredith, Colin Bell and Fred Tilson in my all-time best Manchester City FA Cup final winning team and today it’s the time for the final couple of names.
I was asked to select an all-time City eleven and had two rules – they had to actually play in a winning final (so, unused substitutes were not allowed) and they could not be a member of the current playing squad. I also tried to focus on the fact that this eleven would also be facing an all time Manchester United eleven. Therefore victories over United in key games were always in the back of my mind.
The final two players selected are heroes from the 1969 and 2011 finals:
Neil Young (1961-1972)
A Mancunian who scored the only goal of the 1969 final – a trademark left foot shot past Peter Shilton – and followed this with the opening goal in City’s first European trophy success the following season. The leading goalscorer during the 1967-68 title winning season, Young played in a variety of attacking roles, always contributing goals.
1971 ECWC v Chelsea North Stand being built but used for terracing. Neil Young. Photo by Alan Jubb.
There are lots of articles that mention Neil Young on this site. You can read some here:
Bustling, powerful and rampaging, the African Footballer of the Year was goal scorer in the 2011 FA Cup semi against United and that season’s final too. This versatile midfielder can play a holding role or play box-to-box, adding many options to this team. He is adept at turning any game.
Yaya Toure
You can read about the significance of 2011 and Yaya’s significant role in that in this feature here:
So far I’ve told you about Bert Trautmann, Tony Book, Glyn Pardoe, Vincent Kompany, İlkay Gündoğan, David Silva and Billy Meredith in my all-time best Manchester City FA Cup final winning team and today it’s the time for another couple of names.
I was asked to select an all-time City eleven and had two rules – they had to actually play in a winning final (so, unused substitutes were not allowed) and they could not be a member of the current playing squad. I also tried to focus on the fact that this eleven would also be facing an all time Manchester United eleven. Therefore victories over United in key games were always in the back of my mind.
The next two players selected are (and the first one will be no surprise but the second may be!):
Colin Bell (1966-1979)
The King and first name on this team sheet. 1969 FA Cup winner whose courage, stamina, speed, skill, enthusiasm and strength all combined to make him one of the game’s biggest legends. Bobby Charlton called him: ‘One of my great heroes… He was an outstanding player.’ Who would argue with that?
There are lots of articles on Colin Bell on this site. You can read some here:
This England international’s best performances often came in the Cup, scoring more goals (22) in the competition than any other City player. In 1934 he netted 9 goals in 8 games, including two at Wembley, meaning he edges Francis Lee for selection. This centre-forward was a key contributor when City won the 1937 League Championship too.
More on the all-time Manchester City FA Cup winning eleven tomorrow. It was a tough selection and over the next few days I’ll post the rest of the starting eleven.
You can read about the significance of 2011 in this feature here:
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