Category Archives: Free

The Peter Barnes Authorised Biography – Available Here!

Tonight Peter & I will be talking about my new book on Peter’s life and career. At Reddish MCFC Supporters Club. If you can’t make it you can still order the book here:

United Kingdom

The Peter Barnes Authorised Biography – UNITED KINGDOM

Order today for £16.95 (incl UK Postage and Packaging).

£16.95

This 372 page, colour paperback book is £16.95 (including UK postage).

You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account. UK postage included; outside UK contact me for additional postage costs.

Here are the contents pages:

This is the life story of Peter Barnes who, at the age of 18, scored the opening goal in the 1976 League Cup final. Playing for the team he supported, Manchester City, Peter was idolised by fans and was awarded the 1976 PFA Young Player of the Year award. The following year he made his England debut and was described by one journalist as the ‘saviour of English football.’

These were the days when Manchester City won the League Cup; were runners up in the League (missing the title by a point); and were challenging in Europe but then Malcolm Allison returned as coach and within months Peter, and a whole host of international stars, were on their way out. Peter was sold for a record amount. City’s fortunes suffered while Peter carved out a new career at West Bromwich Albion (where he played for Ron Atkinson).

Another record breaking transfer to Leeds United followed, before spells at Real Betis, Coventry City, Manchester United (playing for both Ron Atkinson and his replacement Alex Ferguson) and Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Written by acclaimed author Dr Gary James, this book covers the highs and lows of Peter’s life with stories about his time playing for some of the game’s biggest clubs and most famous managers. It also discusses Peter’s ongoing involvement with the sport and the significance of his family.

Oh, and if you’re wondering where the cover came from… it’s based on the packaging and advertising for the cult toy from the late 1970s The Peter Barnes Football Trainer.

If you run a book shop and would like to know more about the book please email: accounts@manchesterfootball.org

If you’re a media company interested in interviewing Peter or Gary about the book then please contact author Gary James: gary@GJFootballArchive.com

The ISBN is 978-1-9168852-0-2 and stocks are now available for book shops.

You can listen to Peter in conversation with myself about the book here:

Thanks,

Gary James

Historic Name That Ground – Week 9 Answer

As usual, I asked on Monday: ‘Can you name the ground featured in the image above?’ I explained that at first glance this is a real challenge BUT there is one feature on this poor quality image that is still recognisable today. The answer is…

Everton’s Goodison Park in 1909 when the club were spending £12,000 on ground improvements, including the erection of new dressing rooms.

I had planned to run this feature during the close season as in previous years, but it’s proving of interest so I’ll keep it going for a little while yet. If you have an old image of a ground that you think it’d be worth including in this weekly quiz then please get in touch. They don’t have to be from the 1900s to 1960s – even ground images from the 70s and 80s may prove a challenge to identify these days.

Next ground is on Monday.

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

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Historic Name That Ground – Week 9

I had planned to run this during the close season as in previous years, but it’s proving of interest so I’ll keep it going for a little while yet. If you have an old image of a ground that you think it’d be worth including in this weekly quiz then please get in touch. They don’t have to be from the 1900s to 1960s – even ground images from the 70s and 80s may prove a challenge to identify these days.

So, if you’ve not seen this feature before… Each week for the next few weeks I’ll post an image of a football ground taken in the past and you can see if you can recognise the ground. Some will be easy (believe it or not there are some grounds that have not changed much in all those decades!), others not so. You’ll be able to post your view in comments at the bottom of each page.

The following Friday I’ll post the answer. So here goes….

Can you name the ground featured in the image above?

I think at first glance this is a real challenge BUT there is one feature on this poor quality image that is still recognisable today. I’d best not say anything else as I’d give it away. This image is pre-WW1.

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

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Historic Name That Ground – Week 8 Answer

On Monday I asked: ‘Can you name the ground featured in the image above? It looks tough but you can see that I’ve blocked out the club’s name from above the doorway. If you recognise that doorway (they also used to have the name written in a similar way above some turnstiles, certainly into the 1980s) then you’ll get it. The only other clue is that the ground is no longer standing. Leave your comments below.’ The answer is…

Leicester City’s old Filbert Street ground. The photo is from 1939.

Each Monday for the next few weeks I’ll post an image of a football ground taken in the past and you can see if you can recognise the ground. Some will be easy (believe it or not there are some grounds that have not changed much in all those decades!), others not so. You’ll be able to post your view in comments at the bottom of each page. The following Friday I’ll post the answer.

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe

Historic Name That Ground – Week 8

Each week for the next few weeks I’ll post an image of a football ground taken in the past and you can see if you can recognise the ground. Some will be easy (believe it or not there are some grounds that have not changed much in all those decades!), others not so. You’ll be able to post your view in comments at the bottom of each page.

The following Friday I’ll post the answer. So here goes….

Can you name the ground featured in the image above?

It looks tough but you can see that I’ve blocked out the club’s name from above the doorway. If you recognise that doorway (they also used to have the name written in a similar way above some turnstiles, certainly into the 1980s) then you’ll get it. The only other clue is that the ground is no longer standing. Leave your comments below.

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe

Historic Name That Ground – Week 7 Answer

On Sunday I asked ‘Can you name the ground featured in the image above? It’s a much more recent image than the others I have posted but this ground is no longer standing.’ The answer is:

Stoke City’s Victoria Ground. The image is from 1991 during an inspection by the Football Ground Safety Committee.

Each week for the next few weeks I’ll post an image of a football ground taken in the past and you can see if you can recognise the ground. Some will be easy (believe it or not there are some grounds that have not changed much in all those decades!), others not so. You’ll be able to post your view in comments at the bottom of each page.

The following Friday I’ll post the answer.

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe

40 Years Ago Today

On this day (2nd August) in 1981 the Sunday Mirror published an interview with Peter Barnes saying he would return to Manchester City if he could. The player was at WBA and, following Ron Atkinson’s move to Manchester United, it looked like Peter was to move from the Hawthorns.m

Both City and Leeds United seemed interested. This article from 1981 talked of Barnes’ final days at Maine Road two years earlier. Of course this time is extensively covered in my new book The Peter Barnes Authorised Biography which is now available direct from most bookshops. If yours doesn’t stock it then let them know they can get hold of it from their usual supplier or direct from me.

For those who use online retailers and prefer to use Amazon here’s their link:

Historic Name That Ground – Week 7

Each week for the next few weeks I’ll post an image of a football ground taken in the past and you can see if you can recognise the ground. Some will be easy (believe it or not there are some grounds that have not changed much in all those decades!), others not so. You’ll be able to post your view in comments at the bottom of each page.

The following Friday I’ll post the answer. So here goes….

Can you name the ground featured in the image above?

It’s a much more recent image than the others I have posted but this ground is no longer standing. Leave your comments below.

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe

Manchester City at Home but Away!

When the Champions League home game for Manchester City was played in Budapest on 16th March 2021 due to the Covid situation some asked ‘have City ever played a home match away before?’ Well, yes City have and the first time this happened in European competition was on this day (July 31) in 2008. Co-incidentally City take on Barnsley tonight (6pm, July 31 2021) at the Academy Stadium. I wonder how many there will even know about this oddity of City history in 2008. Here’s the story of the 2008 game…

The close season of 2008 saw several behind the scenes changes at Manchester City. One of these was the arrival of Garry Cook, who would eventually take on the title of CEO, and another was the appointment of former Manchester United star Mark Hughes as manager. Both seemed pleased with their welcome from fans but behind the scenes the two men were surprised at how the club acted at times.  The first surprise of the season was that City’s initial home UEFA Cup tie of the season had to be played away from Manchester.  The stadium, as was often the case during the close season, had staged a concert.  The Bon Jovi concert prevented the ground from recovering in time for the Streymur return and so the decision was taken to move the game to Barnsley.  Some supporters felt the game could have been staged in Greater Manchester or at least in Lancashire, and so the trip to Barnsley was not viewed particularly positively by fans.

This game made history as it was the first occasion the Blues had played a home European tie outside of Manchester.  Previously City had played home European games at Maine Road and at the City Of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad), but work following a concert by Bon Jovi prevented the club from staging the game at home.  The decision was taken to stage the match at Barnsley.  

Subscribers can read about the first leg here:

Subscribers can read about the first leg here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/09/manchester-city-in-europe-2008-09-v-eb-streymur-at-home-in-barnsley/

Incidentally, that first leg (played on July 17) meant that City had played a competitive game in every month of the year (not the same year obviously but the Blues had played in the usual football season August to May plus June 1947 and now July 2008). Covid also resulted in games during June and July in 2020 and 2021.

City comfortably won the second leg 2-0 with goals from Petrov three minutes into the second half and Vassell in the dying seconds, however there was some criticism in the media.  Graham Chase, writing for The Times, claimed:  “Another European win in July, but as with the first-leg victory over this amateur team from the Faroe Isles two weeks ago, Manchester City again looked very much a side working their way through pre-season as they overcame EB/Streymur at Oakwell last night through goals from Martin Petrov and Darius Vassell.

“This tie has only ever been an inconvenience to Mark Hughes and, while his team again failed to shine, the new manager is pleased to be in today’s draw for the UEFA Cup second qualifying round with no new injuries to concern him. 

“Not that opportunities were in short supply. City had 36 efforts on goal, but their finishing was poor and René Torgard, the EB goalkeeper and a garage mechanic, was in impressive form, making fine saves, particularly from Vassell and Daniel Sturridge. Even when Torgard was beaten, the woodwork denied Vedran Corluka and Petrov.” 

For some fans the game raised the concern that football seemed to play second fiddle to other activities.  It was understandable that financial considerations had played their part, but supporter Sean Riley was not impressed:  “This is why there is no other club like us.  What club can have a high profile owner and a new manager in Mark Hughes, and then his first game in charge at City is played at Barnsley because four rockers have messed the pitch up!  That can only ever happen at City as Noel Gallagher would say.  It was a total lack of professionalism and planning.  It suggested that other activities were more important than football at a club that liked to think of itself as a major club. 

“I know these things take organising, but we knew we’d be in the UEFA Cup in May and we’d hoped we’d be in it much earlier than that, so we should have thought about this.  Mark Hughes and Garry Cook must have thought, ‘what the bloody Hell have we come into here?’  I know the ground had to have UEFA accreditation or something so that would have limited options, but to be in that situation was poor.”

Looking back on 2008, it seems an alien world to today.

Match details: 

31st July 2008

Qualifying Round 1 Leg 2 (at Barnsley)

Attendance: 7,344

City 2-0 EB Streymur 

City Goalscorers: Petrov & Vassell 

City: Hart, Onuoha, Dunne, Richards, Ball, Fernandes (Hamann), Johnson, Elano, Petrov (Etuhu), Vassell, Sturridge (Evans)

Bert Whalley Plaque Reveal

Earlier this evening I attended the unveiling of a blue plaque commemorating the life and career of Bert Whalley at Stalybridge Celtic.

Whalley is one of Manchester & Tameside’s unsung footballing heroes. Bert passed away in Munich, a victim of the air crash in 1958. The unveiling was performed by former United captain Bryan Robson and Bert’s granddaughter Lindsay Vare.

Several former United players were there, including Tony Whelan who had given a one hour talk to United’s under 23s about Bert. It’s great to see clubs educating their current/future stars about the names from their past.

Special recognition to Mark Metcalf for his efforts ensuring the plaque happened.

For those interested the plaque is situated at Stalybridge’s Bower Fold ground and can be viewed on the exterior of the main stand.

To read about Bert’s life see:

Guest Blog – Mark Metcalf Writing About Bert Whalley