Category Archives: Free

Trevor Sinclair Interview

The first Manchester derby at Manchester City’s new stadium occurred on this date (14th March) in 2004. To mark this anniversary I’ve interviewed former City winger Trevor Sinclair. Trevor scored in that game, which the Blues won 4-1. Here he talks about being a City fan; signing for City; scoring the first competitive goal at the City Of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad); and the 4-1 derby. He also talks about the 3-1 victory over Manchester United in 2006 (again he scored); present day City and other memories. 

Here’s the audio from our chat (it lasts about 26 minutes so get yourself a brew and settle down to listen):

While you’re here I’d like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to visit my website. I have been researching and writing about Manchester football for a long time (no wonder I’m going grey!) with my first book published in 1989. I am not employed by anyone and no one pays me to do research or interviews like the one posted here. I do not have sponsorship either. I’ve set up this website to help share my 32 years plus writing and research.

From Wednesday, for subscribers I’ll be posting the entire hour long plus interview I did with Malcolm Allison about his first period at Manchester City. Here’s a brief clip from the interview (he’s talking about his relationship with Joe Mercer):

The intention is to develop the archive and to provide access to as much of my material as possible over the coming weeks, months & years. Subscribers can already access over 280 articles/posts including the entire Manchester A Football History book and an audio interview with former City boss John Bond I performed in 1995. My interview with Allison will also be available from Wednesday.

If you’d like to support my research and writing while benefitting from accessing all the content on here then it costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time (you get full access for as long as you subscribe).

If you enjoyed the interview posted here then please subscribe (see below) to access all the content and, over time, I’ll add other interviews too. Thanks for the support and interest in my work, Gary.

Subscribe here for £20 per year or £3 per month

Each subscriber gets full access to the 280+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming months.

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If you would like to read about other Manchester derbies then check out this:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/manchester-derbies/

Coming Soon: My 1991 Malcolm Allison Interview

Thirty years ago, while researching for my biography of Joe Mercer, I interviewed Malcolm Allison in his flat at Yarm. Starting on Wednesday 17th March I will be serialising the interview over five days for subscribers to this site.

In the interview Malcolm talks about meeting Joe Mercer for the first time; joining Manchester City; the relationship with Joe; the signing the players; the major successes; the set-up of Manchester City at the time and much more.

Here’s a brief section of audio from our chat:

Obviously, this was recorded on an old cassette recorder so, at times, the quality is not the best, but I’m sure you’ll agree that this exclusive interview is worth listening to. To hear the entire interview please subscribe and from Wednesday the interview will be posted a section at a time over five days (it’s over 1 hour in total).

While you’re here I’d like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to visit my website. I have been researching and writing about Manchester football for a long time (no wonder I’m going grey!) with my first book published in 1989. I am not employed by anyone and I do not have sponsorship either and so I’ve set up this website to help share my 32 years plus writing and research. The intention is to develop the archive and to provide access to as much of my material as possible over the coming weeks, months & years. Subscribers can already access over 280 articles/posts including the entire Manchester A Football History book and an audio interview with former City boss John Bond I performed in 1995. 

It costs £20 a year (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 (see below). Thanks for the support, Gary.

Subscribe to get access to the entire site

£20 per year or £3 per month

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80 Years Ago Today The Bombing of Old Trafford

On  this day (11th March) in 1941 Old Trafford was hit by bombs dropped by the German Luftwaffe.  The highly industrialised Trafford Park had been the target and by daybreak the news of damage to Old Trafford was circulating around Manchester, although the Manchester Guardian and other newspapers did not mention the ground by name.  Due to the wartime situation the newspaper did not want to give away too much information and reported:  “Slight damage was done to dwelling-houses in one or two working class districts and slight outbreaks of fire were reported from a football ground and a training institute.”

The ‘slight damage’ saw a bomb hit United’s Main Stand.  The stand was almost completely wrecked, while the pitch was scorched by the blast.  Manchester City contacted United and offered the use of Maine Road immediately and the first home United match to be staged at City’s ground was the 5th April meeting with Blackpool in the North Regional League.  The Seasiders’ won 3-2 before a crowd of around 2,000. 

Further wartime matches followed over the course of the next four years with United paying the Blues an annual rent of £5,000 plus a share of the gate receipts.  Initially City were to use United’s training ground, The Cliff, for reserve fixtures, but both sides also used Old Trafford at times.

After the war United were granted £4,800 to help cover the costs of tidying up the venue, and then a further £17,478 was given to help rebuild the Main Stand and damaged terracing.  This allowed the redevelopment of Old Trafford to commence and between 1945 and 1949 the Main Stand was rebuilt as was the terracing at the Popular Side (United Road).

This was a brief section from Manchester A Football History. The entire book (including images) is now free to download for subscribers to this site. See: https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/manchester-a-football-history/page/4/ or subscribe below.

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This is a sample of the in-depth material available on this site on Manchester’s clubs, players & grounds. If you would like to read all the in-depth articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to the 270+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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Ron Phoenix – 30/06/1929-09/03/2021

I have been informed by Matthew Phoenix that his father, Ron Phoenix died on 9th March from vascular dementia. Ron was on the books of both Manchester City and Manchester United, as well as Rochdale, Altrincham and Hyde. My thoughts are with Matthew and the rest of Ron’s family and friends. Here’s a brief summary of Ron’s career:

Ron Phoenix came from a footballing family. One brother, Eric, played for Knutsford, Hastings United, Gillingham and Exeter, while another brother, Jack, was a pre-WW2 amateur with Manchester United.

Prior to joining Manchester City in 1949 Ron had been a member of Matt Busby’s youth set up at Manchester United. The approach United took back then set the groundwork for youth systems in the decade that followed.

Ron made his City reserve debut as an amateur on Boxing Day 1949 at home to Huddersfield and he signed as a professional on 11th March 1950. At the time of his League debut (26th January 1952) he was playing as an inside-forward and he scored in the 2-2 draw at Arsenal. He kept his place for a prestigious friendly against River Plate FC from South America, this time at wing-half, and the following programme congratulated the youngster on two great displays against strong opposition.

Ron broke a leg against Newcastle in February 1953 having scored one of City’s goals in a 2-1 victory, and this injury sidelined him until the following season when he played mainly in the A team.

Despite the injury and other setbacks he did remain with the Blues until 1960, his most successful run of first team appearances as a wing-half coming in the latter half of the 1958-59 season. Sadly, family tragedy struck when in 1959 he tragically lost two children through illness.

Ron later moved on to Rochdale where he made 64 League appearances. At City he had made 52 League appearances (2 goals) & 2 FA Cup appearances. He’d also played 190 appearances in the reserves, scoring 15 goals.

My thoughts are with Ron’s family and friends.

City Voices – Memories of the 1920s-50s

Previously I’ve posted about the City Voices project capturing the stories and memories of Manchester City fans (if you’ve missed the story take a look at: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/02/06/city-voices-project/ ). The idea is to capture the experiences of Blues from all over the globe regardless of age, gender, ethnicity etc. Basically, if you’re a City fan I’d love to hear from you.

I’ve been capturing the stories of City fans since the early 1990s and always love hearing individual’s memories and stories. Back in 2002 I interviewed a female supporter called Fran Parker. At the time she was in her early 80s and she was able to talk to me about attending Maine Road in the 1920s to 1950s plus a few memories from the 1990s (for example, she talked about the sadness she felt when Paul Lake swallowed his tongue and how she feared for his life). I loved the fact that she was still attending games and still felt as enthusiastic in 2002 as she had in 1932.

For me it’s the experience of football that needs capturing. The media capture the games and the key moments but supporter views are often ignored or misunderstood. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about here’s a brief trailer of the interview I did with Fran. She does talk about goals, but it’s details like how she felt when Eric Brook scored in the 84,569 game; her umbrella and Dave Ewing stories that are different.

Anyway, have a listen:

If you would like to complete the City Voices questionnaire then please download it here and email it to me at gary@GJFootballArchive-com

https://gjfootballarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/city-voices-modelconsent.docx

One important point to note is that I am keen to hear from fans of all ages based in Manchester, the United Kingdom and around the world. The greater the number that respond the better the archive of fans’ stories will become.

As for Fran Parker’s interview… Over the coming months http://www.GJFootballArchive.com will develop to include some of my interviews (my John Bond interview from 1995 has already been posted). IF you would like to subscribe then see below:

Subscribe to get access to all the content on http://www.GJFootballArchive.com

If you would like to read all the in-depth articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and the audio interview with John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to the 270+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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International Women’s Day – Manchester Football

Today (8th March 2021) is International Women’s Day and so I thought I’d post a few links to great content about pioneering women connected to Manchester football on this website.

My intention over the coming months and years is to make http://www.GJFootballArchive.com an archive of my past writing and new material on all aspects of football in the Manchester region (and material on activity beyond Manchester or involving national figures connected with the region). To subscriber to my site then please see the details below.

This includes material on the women’s teams of Manchester, such as the pioneering Wythenshawe/Manchester Ladies of the 1940s & 1950s; the Manchester Corinthians (globe trotting pioneering team of the 1940s to 1980s); Manchester City; Manchester United and the other clubs, such as FC Redstar, that have existed in our region. It also includes profiles and interviews with footballers; those working in football and the media; footballers’ partners; supporters and more.

All of this is based on my detailed research and writing on football in the region. I attended my first women’s game in 1988 (home team was F.C. Redstar) and was a regular at their games and Manchester City Ladies (now Women) during their formative years, including brief details on their first ever game in my first book published in 1989. Since then I’ve also written Manchester City Women: An Oral History (see https://gjfootballarchive.com/shop/ to order copies) and am researching for a detailed history on women and football in Manchester at the moment.

Listed here are a few links to articles connected with women, football and Manchester that may be of interest:

I did an interview with Premier League World on Manchester City Women. It’s episode 38 and can be viewed here (if you have Amazon Prime): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Premier-League-World/dp/B08HDGSNZN Or it can be viewed on the following channels:

BT Sport 1                                      Monday              12pm

BT Sport 1                                      Tuesday              12:30am

Sky Sports Premier League         Thursday            5pm

Sky Sports Premier League         Friday                  3pm

Sky Sports Premier League         Saturday             8am

The feature is the last one shown in the programme, so please keep watching to the end. The piece starts after about 18 minutes.

Here’s a story about Jan Lyons, a Mancunian who went to play for Juventus in the 1970s: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2020/12/26/the-italian-job-a-manchester-corinthians-journey/

Here’s a piece I’ve written on the Manchester Corinthians: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/02/14/pioneering-mancunian-women/

A piece on games between Manchester City and Manchester United: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/02/11/manchester-city-v-manchester-united/

The story of Manchester City’s relaunch: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/24/manchester-citys-womens-team-the-relaunch/

The earliest film of Manchester City Ladies/Women: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/22/manchester-city-ladies-the-earliest-film/

An academic article on my Manchester City Women project: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/07/establishing-women-in-sports-history-manchester-city-football-club/

Here’s Steve Bolton’s guest blog on Manchester Ladies from 1940s/50s. Part One: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/02/26/guest-blog-steve-bolton-the-pioneering-manchester-ladies-part-one/

Part Two: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/03/05/guest-blog-steve-bolton-the-pioneering-manchester-ladies-part-two/

To access all of the above and everything else on this site please subscribe:

Subscribe to get access

If you would like to read all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and the audio interview with John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to the 270+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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The Manchester Derby

It’s the Manchester Derby today (7th March 2021) at the Etihad Stadium. As Martin Tyler always says ‘and it’s liiiive’ on SKY TV at 4.30pm. While you’re waiting for the game why not have a read of all the Manchester derby articles already posted on this site? 

There are articles about the first derbies, the first competitive derby, the first League derby, League Cup semi finals in the 60s/70s and 2010s, rare film of derbies and so much more. Here’s a quick link to some of the material: 

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/manchester-derbies/

Guest Blog – Steve Bolton: The Pioneering Manchester Ladies Part Two

Today’s guest blog follows on from last week’s guest blog in which Steve Bolton talked of the Manchester Ladies (who also went under the name Wythenshawe Ladies, City of Manchester Ladies, Manchester City Ladies the 1940s & 1950s) and their early years. Today is part two of Steve’s research into this pioneering women’s club (part one can be viewed here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/?p=1863 ).

Click to access part2_mancladies_2021feb20.pdf

Over the last few years much has been written about pioneering women’s football teams and Steve’s research is certainly adding to that. I’m sure anyone reading this already knows about my book on Manchester City Women (available here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/shop/ ) and about the other articles on this blog discussing other leading women’s clubs, including the Manchester Corinthians (see: https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/womens-football-2/ ). 

If you played for a women’s team in the Manchester region during the 1940s to 1960s then please get in touch. I’m writing a detailed history of the Manchester Corinthians to be published in 2024 and your information may help both mine and Steve Bolton’s research. For more on the Corinthians book see:

Order: Manchester Corinthians Book

If you played an active part in developing women’s football prior to the FA ban then please get in touch by emailing gary@GJFootballArchive.com or follow me on twitter: @garyjameswriter or facebook.com/garyjames4 

Premier League World – International Women’s Day

To commemorate International Women’s Day I’ve been involved with a couple of things. One is Steve Bolton’s Guest Blog on a Manchester women’s team from the 1940s & 1950s – part two is available on Friday; part one is available here:

Guest Blog – Steve Bolton: The Pioneering Manchester Ladies Part One

The other item is an episode of the TV show Premier League World. If you have access to the Premier League World then the current episode (broadcast in UK on 3rd March at 11pm) includes the piece. Episode 38 focuses on women and football.

I helped the programme with a feature on the Manchester City Women’s team. This is a positive piece on the history of the club and includes interviews with myself, Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze and Gareth Taylor.

If you’ve got Amazon Prime then you can also download it now. It’s episode 38 and the piece starts after 18 minutes:

Premier League World is available around the globe so please check your own TV listings. Here in the UK the show will appear on Amazon Prime, Sky Sports and BT Sport with the following times for Sky & BT:

BT Sport 3                                      Thursday            10:30pm

BT Sport 1                                      Friday                  3pm

BT Sport 1                                      Sunday               8:30am

BT Sport 1                                      Monday              12pm

BT Sport 1                                      Tuesday              12:30am

Sky Sports Premier League          Today                  11pm

Sky Sports Mix                              Today                  11pm

Sky Sports Premier League         Thursday            5pm

Sky Sports Premier League         Friday                  3pm

Sky Sports Premier League         Saturday             8am

The feature is the last one shown in the programme, so please keep watching to the end. The piece starts after about 18 minutes).

The book that we flick through is my book on the team: Manchester City Women: An Oral History. It tells the story of the club from its birth and can be bought here:

Shop

To find out more about the history of City Women have a look at:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/24/manchester-citys-womens-team-the-relaunch/

And:

Establishing women in sports history: Manchester City Football Club

Check out other material on women’s football here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/womens-football-2/

On This Day in 1974

On this day (2nd March) in 1974 Manchester City faced Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup final at Wembley. It was City’s second League Cup final in four years and saw the Blues, managed by Ron Saunders, lose 2-1. Colin Bell scored for City. For the story of the game, including quotes from interviews I’ve performed with Bell, Swales, Wagstaffe etc., see:

The 1974 League Cup Final – Wolves v Manchester City