Category Archives: Free

The Starting Eleven – Joe Corrigan

It’s the 40th anniversary of the 1981 FA Cup final on May 9 and ten years ago, as we looked forward to Manchester City appearing in the 2011 FA Cup final, I was asked by the Manchester Evening News to write profiles of the eleven players who started the 1981 final.

For the next eleven days I will post those profiles, one a day, free to read here. These will only be free to view until May 16, so please read them while you can. Thanks.

Here’s the first (appearing here as it was written in 2011)…

As we look forward to the 2011 FA Cup final, Gary James takes a look at the eleven players who made the starting line-up for City’s last FA Cup final in 1981.  Today, Joe Corrigan.

Heralded as the Man Of The Final for his performance over the two games, Joe Corrigan was one of the biggest Maine Road stars of the period.  The 32 year old England goalkeeper had already been a Wembley Cup Final winner twice with the Blues – the 1970 and 1976 League Cup final – and his appearances in the 1981 final; cemented his name and reputation as one of England’s best.  

During the final Corrigan played superbly, making several brilliant saves, most notably when Tottenham’s Roberts sent a downward header goal-bound and another time when he rushed from his line to check Crooks on the edge of the area. 

Ultimately, Corrigan was beaten but the goal was a freak own goal scored by Tommy Hutchison.  Despite his obvious disappointment one of the most memorable sights was when the City ‘keeper walked over to Hutchison, lifted him up and patted him on the back.  Corrigan:  “We’d been on top for most of the game.  I knew that what had happened to him could have happened to any one of us.  So I just told him to ‘get up, get on with it.  It’s only 1-1 and we are still going to win!’  He was devastated to be fair, but we did almost win it in the dying minutes.  Personally, I believe the game should have been played to a conclusion on that night.  The FA Cup is all about the Saturday and I know we would have won had it gone to a conclusion.  No question.”

With the final ending in a draw Corrigan missed an important opportunity.  England were playing Brazil the following Wednesday and it is widely accepted that the City ‘keeper was to appear.  With the FA Cup replay taking place the next night, Corrigan couldn’t play and the opportunity to gain the upper hand in the race to be England’s permanent ‘keeper went begging.

After the FA Cup final replay defeat Corrigan was presented with his Man Of The Final award by Spurs’ manager Keith Burkenshaw.  “It does mean a lot to me, but I’d rather have won the final” he later admitted.

Corrigan’s reputation as one of City’s greatest players developed with the final, and he remained a popular and significant member of John Bond’s side.  However, by the summer of 1982 the Club was changing.  Finance meant Bond’s squad building plans were brought to a swift end.  The signs were not good and players like Corrigan deserved better.

The ‘keeper realised City had changed:  “I think I should have left a little earlier.  I love City but it got to the stage where I knew I wasn’t really wanted here.  The fans were marvellous; the players were great; but maybe it wasn’t really my time any more.  When Seattle made their approach in 1983 I was told I could go.”

A spell at Brighton followed before Corrigan moved into coaching:  “Bert Trautmann and the other ‘keepers taught me more than other coaches could because they had been there.   I felt that I need to do the same.  I’ve coached all over the UK and, at one point, I was flying to Scotland, driving to Yorkshire and the north-east the next day… every day I was on the road.  Then I had ten very enjoyable years at Liverpool, and then Stockport and Chester as well.  It’s been great to put something back.”

In 2004 Corrigan was the first player inducted into the MEN sponsored Manchester City Hall Of Fame and his name will forever be bracketed with Swift & Trautmann as three of the game’s greatest goalkeepers.

My biography of Peter Barnes is now available to subscribe to. Order by May 15 and you will receive a copy signed by me & Peter, the book posted to your home address before it appears in any shop AND your name printed in the book. Order (and more details) here:

Peter Barnes Biography – Order Now

Peter Barnes Talking About His Biography

I managed to catch up with Peter a few weeks ago to talk about his biography. Here’s a brief recording of us discussing the book:

You can subscribe to this 350+ page authorised biography of Peter Barnes, which will be published in June. Subscribers will receive signed copies (signed by both Peter Barnes and myself) of the book posted out before it appears in any shop AND will get their names printed in the special subscriber section of the book.

This is the only way to guarantee your copy of the book.

The ONLY way to order your copy and get your name printed in the book is from this site by using the order button below. This subscriber offer will be available until May 15, 2021.

Here’s the order button (before publication those who have subscribed to the biography will be emailed to ask which name is to be printed in the book, so please make sure you include an email address, in addition to postage details, when asked at time of ordering):

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Outside the UK, EU, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and USA please contact for confirmation of postage costs.

Thanks,

Gary James

The Span of Success

Following Manchester City’s victory in the League Cup last Sunday (April 25 2021) I’ve updated the table showing the span of success (above) – i.e. the number of years between a club’s first major success (FA Cup, League, League Cup, European trophy) and their most recent.

Despite the win City remain third behind Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, though the gap with Blackburn is narrowing year on year at the moment.

Tottenham missed out on not only winning a major trophy last Sunday but also on leapfrogging City, Blackburn and Liverpool to take top spot! I doubt it would’ve made national headlines if they’d topped the span of success table though.

Okay, the span of success does not show how many trophies each club has won or how frequently that club has experienced great eras of success, but it does demonstrate how wrong those people are who believe certain clubs were unsuccessful until recent years, or those who think certain clubs have always been giants. The column on first major success helps to show when some first became significant (often after transformational investment).

While you’re here… You can now order my new book, Peter Barnes: The Authorised Biography, and get your name printed in it (if ordered before May 15 2021). All orders before May 15 will also have their copy signed by me & Peter Barnes. To order see:

Peter Barnes Biography – Order Now

Tommy Doyle – Wembley 2021 (and 1970!)

I know he didn’t manage to appear in the League Cup Final last night but it was great to see Tommy Doyle participate in Manchester City’s celebrations. Tommy is of course the grandson of City legends Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe, both of whom scored in the 1970 League Cup final for the club.

It’s an incredible link between the first City success in the competition and the most recent. I’ve not done the analysis but I can’t imagine there’s any other player in England who had both his grandfathers score in the same final for the same club as he now appears. If Tommy’s career develops like either of his grandfathers then he will truly have a glittering and remarkable career.

Here’s film of Tommy participating in yesterday’s celebrations (I’ll be posting more from yesterday’s final over the coming days):

https://gjfootballarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/tommy-doyle-2021-sd-480p.mov

Both Mike and Glyn appeared in the 1969 FA Cup final too and today (April 26) is the anniversary of that:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/04/26/the-1969-fa-cup-final/

You can read more about Glyn Pardoe here (an interview I did with him in 2004):

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/26/in-search-of-the-blues-glyn-pardoe/

There are plenty of articles on here that mention both Glyn and Mike. Search their names or use the tags below. Mike Doyle also captained City to the 1976 League Cup success which saw Peter Barnes score the opener for the Blues. You can subscribe to Peter Barnes’ authorised biography here (orders by May 15 get your name printed in the book and your copy signed by both me and Peter):

Peter Barnes Biography – Order Now

Wembley 2021

At Wembley for Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur. I was uncertain whether it would be worth the faff but in the end I couldn’t stay away. I got my negative lateral flow test last night (about 7pm Manchester city centre).

Here’s hoping it’s a great final. My last ‘live’ game was last year’s League Cup Final, so I feel like a proper glory hunter who only shows interest when there’s a trophy at stake! Let’s hope it’s not another 12 months before we get chance to attend another MCFC game.

Disappointed They’ve demolished part of Wembley Way though!

Maine Road’s last MCFC victory

During 2002-03 the focus for many Manchester City fans was Maine Road’s final season, especially the final month or so of the season. 

With every game at the stadium a sell-out – only the size of the away support varied – supporters were desperate for the final season to see the old venue at its best.  They also wanted a few memorable results in those final weeks.  

Ultimately, the best Maine Road match of the final weeks came on April 21 2003 when a goal from Robbie Fowler and two from Marc-Vivien Foe brought a 3-0 win over Sunderland.  The game became significant as it was to be the last City victory at the old stadium and Foe’s 80th minute goal was the last scored there by a City man. 

Pre-match Sunderland presented the Blues with a rose bowl commemorating their final visit to the stadium.  Significantly, the time span between their first appearance at Maine Road and their last was greater than any other visiting club. Co-incidentally City’s last victory at Hyde Road was also against Sunderland in April. You can read about that game here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/04/02/hyde-roads-last-city-victory/

21/4/2003 MCFC 3 Sunderland 0, Attendance 34,357

Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Manchester City’s FA Cup semi final victory over Manchester United at Wembley (April 16 2011) I’ve produced Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final. This 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.

Following last night’s Champions League victory for City (May 4th – City beat PSG to reach the Champions League final) this will now be free to listen to until May 12th. After that date, as with audio recordings with John Bond, Malcolm Allison and George Graham (and hundreds of articles), it will only be available to subscribers to the site. So, if you don’t subscribe, have a listen now while you can.

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. If it’s of interest then, over the coming months and years, I’ll produce others like this highlighting key points in Manchester City – and Manchester’s – footballing history. 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 to 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). You can subscribe below.

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Match Stats for the 2011 FA Cup Semi-final

City 1-0 United (HT 0-0)

Yaya Toure 52

City: 25 Hart 04 Kompany (yellow card), 05 Zabaleta (yellow card), 13 Kolarov, 19 Lescott, 11 Johnson (Wright-Phillips 79), 18 Barry, 21 Silva (Vieira 86), 34 De Jong (yellow card), 42 Y Toure, 45 Balotelli (yellow card). Substitutes 12 Taylor, 38 Boyata, 07 Milner, 08 Wright-Phillips, 24 Vieira, 10 Dzeko, 27 Jo

United: 01 Van der Sar, 03 Evra, 05 Ferdinand, 15 Vidic, 22 O’Shea (Fabio Da Silva 84), 13 Park Ji-Sung, 16 Carrick, 17 Nani, 18 Scholes (red card), 25 Valencia (Hernandez 65), 09 Berbatov (Anderson 74). Substitutes 29 Kuszczak, 12 Smalling, 20 Fabio Da Silva, 08 Anderson, 28 Gibson, 07 Owen, 14 Hernandez

Referee: Dean

Attendance: 86,549

Coming Tomorrow: Restored 2011

Free for all readers tomorrow… A one hour long special audio recording featuring interviews and audio recordings I have made over the years with Peter Swales, Garry Cook, Peter Barnes, Brian Marwood and Roberto Mancini.

Watch this space!

Two Years Ago Today: A MCFC Origins Event

How time flies? Two years ago today (April 11 2019) I staged an event at the Dancehouse in central Manchester to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Manchester City. We had a packed audience for the event and I intended to stage at least one event like this every year (then Covid happened!).

In 2019 I managed three special events at the Dancehouse connected with Manchester City’s history. In June there was the most recent showing of The Boys In Blue (my collaboration with the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University) which provided exclusive films of the club from 1905 through to the modern era.

In September there was the launch of Manchester City Women: An Oral History (you can buy that book here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/shop/ ). This was a celebration of the history of the women’s club with guests from every era of the club’s history including many founding players and also England international Karen Bardsley.

I had hoped to stage events in 2020 and 2021 but back in April 2019 there was the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the club’s birth as Manchester City. The talk of course went back further and discussed the 1870s and 1880s where I hoped to kill off a few myths (I’m still trying to kill off some of these myths. See: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/03/09/the-origins-of-manchester-city-facts-not-fiction/ for details!).

The presentation didn’t just dwell on the formative years of the club as I covered stories connected with Maine Road, fans and more. The following images are slides from that day and give an indication of what was covered.

Manchester City v Leeds United

It’s Manchester city v Leeds today (April 10 2021) so here are a few Manchester City-Leeds United posts on the site to read before the game:

On This Day – Outfield Player In Nets But MCFC Still Beat Leeds
Kidd’s Double
https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/03/15/denis-law-signs-for-manchester-city/
https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/02/26/re-using-match-tickets/

Also, here’s a profile of Denton’s Jimmy Armfield who went on to manage Leeds:

Jimmy Armfield – Blackpool and England Legend