Yesterday’s release of the plans for the newly extended North Stand looked excellent. There’s a long way to go before anyone can sit or stand in the new extension of course, but it does look like it’s going to boost almost every area of support: New rail seating, an emphasis on under 21s, hospitality, families… interesting times. Looking at the images released it looks as though the new 3,000 rail seats will be at the back of the 2nd tier. If that’s the case any noise generated up there should bounce down off the roof and encourage others to join in.
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Three days after making his Manchester City debut in a League Cup tie with Leicester (22 September 1965, 3-1 City win) Stan Horne made his League debut for Joe Mercer’s Blues. The game, played on this day (25th) in 1965 ended in a 1-0 City win over Derby County at Maine Road. The scorer was Jimmy Murray.
Horne had previously played for Mercer’s Aston Villa too.
Fairly early on in the game between Manchester City and Arsenal the fans of the London club started to sing the old ‘Where were you when you were…’ chant. You’d think they’d know because often City were attracting better crowds than Arsenal. Let’s look at 1982-83 when I experienced my first relegation as a City fan. Back then City were the 4th best supported club (26,789) and Arsenal were 6th (24,153) – see the average attendance table above. City finished in a relegation position and Arsenal were 10th.
The following season Arsenal did attract a better average than City but they were the 5th best supported club in the entire 4 divisions and City were the 6th. In terms of League position Arsenal were 6th and City were 4th in Division Two.
We could talk about the late 1990s but neither club had a ground that could satisfy the demand to see them, so a sell out Maine Road in 1998-99 for third tier City has to compare with a sell out Highbury for title challenging Arsenal.
Since then stadium size has dictated average support but if we go back to earlier decades and assume that Arsenal’s ‘Where were you when you were sh*t’ refers to City heading towards relegation or being out of the top flight then City’s record is impressive overall. In 1965-66 (the last 2nd division season before the 1980s) City averaged 27,739 (10th best in entire League) while First Division Arsenal were the 9th best supported club on 29,036.
We can jump back even further. In the 1920s Arsenal were perceived as a popular club and in 1925-26 they averaged 31,471 – the 3rd best in the League. Where were City? Oh, City who were relegated that season were the 2nd best supported team with an average of almost 32,000. Not much more than Arsenal but the Gunners were 2nd in the League and City were relegated!
The year after Second Division City were the 3rd best supported club and top flight Arsenal were 4th!
1926-27 Average attendances. Manchester City in Second Division
The year after that (1927-28) Second Division City were the best supported club in the entire League with 37,468. Where were top flight Arsenal? 7th best supported with 27,434.
1927-28 Average attendances. Manchester City were the best supported club despite being in Second Division
It’s all a nonsense but if Arsenal fans, or any other team, want to sing songs like this then it would help if they knew their own history of support.
I thought I’d give this a mention again because this is likely to be something truly special. There’s a new documentary series going to be made on City and there are lots of City fans involved in the production. As part of the series the production team and MCFC are looking to find 4 generations of living Blues who can tell their stories of supporting City. They want to find fans who can be interviewed that have 4 (or more) generations of living City fans.
There are 4/5/6 generation families who have lost the earlier generations who have interesting stories I know, but the key here is that they need to be able to interview each generation. If you fit the bill and are interested then get in touch. There’s a bit more here:
You can email families@projectkippax.com if you do have 4 generations of living blues and want to be considered for the series.
They are also looking for film, video, cine camera, mobile phone footage from City over the decades. In some ways the older the better. They want to find stuff that hasn’t been seen before. Obviously, any footage must have your own copyright and not recordings from commercial media – for example, copied from YouTube or other media/social media outlets.
As I said earlier there are City fans involved in the production, some of whom have excellent reputations in the world of media production and have been dedicated match going Blues for decades. I’m also involved.
The first live televised match played between Manchester City and Wimbledon was the Wimbledon victory on Monday 20 September 1993 shown on Sky TV (not City’s first live TV game on Sky though, that was QPR in 1992). Robbie Earle netted the only goal in the 55th minute of the Premiership encounter.
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.
A year ago today (19 September 2023) the reigning European champions Manchester City started their defence of the Champions League at home with a 3-1 victory over Red Star Belgrade. It was one of those games that felt as if City would never score at times, despite immense pressure from Pep Guardiola’s team.
Summerbee brings in the Champions League trophy
In fact City went a goal behind with a goal those of us in the stadium were convinced was offside (so did the referee’s assistant, positioned in front of the East Stand) but VAR allowed it to stand. The goalscorer was Belgrade’s Osman Bukari, who fired home just before half-time.
When the second half commenced we were convinced the Blues would overcome the deficit and sure enough Julian Alvarez met an Erling Haaland throughball, rounded the keeper and prodded home the equaliser a mere 73 seconds into the second half. Many Blues missed the goal as they were still returning from the toilets and the bars!
Alvarez opening goal celebration, 19 September 2023 Champions League MCFC v Red Star Belgrade
Alvarez netted a second on the hour mark when his free-kick from the left evaded everyone and flew past ‘keeper Omri Glazer. Rodri did what Rodri does best when he sent a curling strike into the net after 73 minutes. It was another classic, just like the final in Istanbul.
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.
For those who haven’t seen Manchester City’s match programme yet this season I’d just like to take a few moments to talk about my article this season. This year I’m doing a two page feature called ‘One Moment in Time’ where I select an image from a game, usually connecting the two clubs playing that day, and provide some information or tell a story.
For Ipswich I selected a classic 1981 FA Cup semi final image of fans on the Holte End while for Brentford I dug out an old glass plate image of City at Brentford in 1937 when the two teams challenged for the title.
I’ve already selected the photos and written my articles for tonight’s game with Inter, as well as the Arsenal and Watford games. You’ll have to buy the programmes to see what they are but I’m sure most City fans could guess that the Inter Milan feature will come from a certain major game between the two clubs in recent seasons.
I’m looking for ideas for future games of course, so if there’s a memorable image that you are aware of from a game between City and their opponents throughout this season then get in touch and remind me. It may be an image I’ve forgotten about. I’m trying to ensure these are not always the standard images people have seen. Where possible I want to select photos that are either capturing a moment that typifies City’s long history and great players or is a rare incident that was caught on camera.
Read the City programme throughout the season to see if your favourite City images are there.
There’s a lot of furore this week about Manchester City’s decision to wear their new Oasis inspired kit instead of their home kit for their Champions League game with Inter Milan. Lots are talking about tradition, heritage and the like, so I thought I’d add a few words here that might have been overlooked or forgotten. So here goes…
Firstly, my position is clear that I’ve always been keen to see City wear home colours/blue for every fixture possible (whether home, away or at a neutral venue) but I’m a pragmatist and know that’s no longer likely. History and tradition does mean something but of course, when it comes to football, traditions change frequently. People may think City have only ever worn a particular colour at home or that the traditional away colours are red & black but these things are not true. Times change.
When it comes to wearing alternative kits at home it has been done more often than perhaps people realise. In fact the only decade when it hasn’t happened appears to be the 2010s – I say appeared because I haven’t got evidence of every home game in the 1890s and 1900s!
These last few days have caused some to recall the Middlesbrough game when David James went up front and the two Tottenham games at Maine Road in 80s/90s when the referee felt the kits were too close and City ended up changing. But there have been many other occasions. In fact it’s well over 100 years since City first chose to wear away colours/alternative strips at home when they didn’t need to!
The image above of Neil Young comes from the 1971 ECWC semi-final v Chelsea. Notice that Young is wearing City’s away colours.
Often when there was a clash of colours in a cup game City would wear their away strip. Games in the 1920s right through to 1970s saw the Blues don maroon, red/black and even scarlet at times at Maine Road.
Here’s another image from that Chelsea semi final:
1971 ECWC v Chelsea. Francis Lee. Photo by Alan Jubb
To the right you can see the North Stand under construction, as you can in the Young image.
Other games in living memory (not necessarily mine, but living memory for many older blues) include:
January 1971 – City v Wigan in FA Cup (red & black)
September 1970 – City v Bologna in Anglo-Italian Cup (red & black)
January 1968 – City v Reading in FA Cup (all maroon)
March 1966 – City v Everton in FA Cup (all maroon)
March 1966 – City v Leicester in FA Cup (all maroon)
March 1956 – City v Everton in FA Cup (maroon shirts, white shorts)
In earlier decades City often chose to wear an away shirt for cup ties where there was a clash. Prior to 1921 the FA rule was that home teams would have to change if there was a clash.
In March 1924 City chose to wear a kit they described as ‘Lucky scarlet’ for a FA Cup tie with Cardiff at Maine Road. So for well over 100 years City have often chosen to wear alternative kits at home instead of traditional blue when they didn’t need to.
Personally, I’d still prefer City to always wear blue no matter where they play, but that’s never going to happen anyway.
Incidentally, if you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
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.
Does your family contain four generations of Manchester City fans? Or do you have your own footage connected with the club? If the answer is yes to either question then get in touch with City. Follow the link for details:
With Manchester City and Inter Milan meeting this week it’s a great excuse to do a flashback to a memorable night in June 2023. That’s when City beat Inter to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time. So, settle down and enjoy this reminder of that special night (I wrote this in the days that followed)…
On Saturday June 10 2023 I attended the Champions League final in Istanbul. It was a wonderful experience and I’m absolutely delighted with City’s success. People will talk about this team and these players for ever.
It’s brilliant being at these history making moments and I cannot stress how much ‘us’ fans have enjoyed this journey (the wider journey, not the travel on the night – more of that later!).
I’ve decided to post here my story of the weekend and I hope you don’t mind this indulgence. I know every one of us who attended had a different experience but I hope this gives those who were unfortunately not able to be there a taste of what the trip was like. I know many Blues who would have loved to have been there but simply could not afford it, or take the time off work or were physically unable.
If you did attend and would like to talk about your experiences then please post them as comments to this piece. I’m contemplating doing a special history session on the journey and maybe would involve fan stories in that. Not certain yet but if I do I’ll mention it here soon.
Istanbul 2023 was always anticipated to be a historic moment in the history of Manchester City and, unlike, Porto two years earlier it felt the time was right. I shouldn’t care too much about opposition clubs but in truth playing Chelsea in 2021 did not have the glamour of Inter in 2023. Also, it always seemed to feel that when we played an English club in past seasons – LFC, Spurs and Chelsea – there was always going to be something fairly mundane and typically PL about it all. I always felt that when the day came for City to win another major European honour that they had to face a Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona or one of the Milan clubs to achieve it. This season City not only faced three of these giant clubs but, especially against Bayern and Real, they proved they were more than ready to be European champions.
When we qualified for the final I, like all fans, worried about cost, flights, hotels and, most significantly, match tickets. I didn’t know if I’d be able to buy tickets and held off for a while booking anything but then I decided to take the plunge and book flights etc. To keep costs down I booked flights from Heathrow airport for the Friday morning, with return flight on Sunday about 1pm. I managed to get a cheap Travelodge near Heathrow and I then searched for hotels in Istanbul.
Initially, I found hotels via Booking.com but after being let down once before when we arrived at a UK hotel to find the owner had ‘double booked’ us (this was just after things started opening up post Covid and we got it cheap, by the time we went there several weeks later he could command a higher price and I think some profiteering went on), I decided to book direct with the hotel we’d seen. It actually turned out cheaper to go direct.
In recent weeks I’ve heard lots of tales from Blues of Istanbul hotels being cancelled at the last minute by owners saying there were issues with bank cards etc.
Eventually I managed to buy tickets and was fortunate to buy the cheapest unobscured view. I was in block 327 (row 12) with a 70 Euros ticket. I just had to be there.
View towards the main stand from row 12 block 327
Somehow it seemed appropriate that this journey to the Champions League final was to take place in Istanbul – the city of City’s first away European Cup tie in 1968 when I was a few months old.
The journey down to Heathrow was disrupted with lots of traffic issues (the weekend had many more of those!) but after a decent sleep I was able to drop off my car at Heathrow and wait for the flight.
At the airport everything went smoothly and several other City fans were waiting for this flight too. As was the commentator Alastair Mann who I’ve known for many years and it was nice to have a few words with him.
The flight was fine and once we landed we made use of the free City fan bus to Taksim Square. We were actually staying near the Grand Bazaar across the river but we wanted to see the other side and felt this would be a good way to do it. So, we walked through Taksim and down the side streets with our cases. The number of City themed bars for the day was great and the mood was extremely positive. Every one was having a great time and each shop, restaurant or bar seemed to have some staff member wearing a City shirt, obviously trying to get our business but it was nice to experience.
We had something to eat and then we walked towards the river and on beyond the back streets to our hotel. It was great to see so many City fans in and around Istanbul, not just in one or two areas but everywhere. Inevitably there would have been as many Milan fans at the stadium but the day before the game it felt as if there was only one team in town.
We spent the night enjoying the city and taking in the sights.
On Saturday I couldn’t wait for the game and we wandered the bazaar, enjoying the banter with locals and rival fans. We went to the blue mosque area and other sites too. Everything was positive, good natured and wonderful.
With Inter fans
After lunch we went down to Yenikapı to see the Champions League festival stuff, but mostly to get our bus to the stadium. We boarded it about 14.45 and then the fun started! Lots of travel and UEFA chaos – I’ll post a separate piece on that. I don’t want to distract us from what an incredible night this was.
On the bus to the stadium before the driver got lost, tried reversing on a busy motorway, got lost again and before the breakdown!
At the stadium we were sat on row 12 behind the goal and got in as early as we could after the earlier UEFA issues. I saw quite a few Blues I know of course, including Simon Clegg from the West Yorkshire supporters club and Will McTaggart from the North West Film Archive. A couple of rows in front was ‘Badger’ – a 70+ year old Blue many will know who used to wear a scarf with lots of badges (not Pete the Badge). Sadly, he told me one of his usual travel companions to City games had died and another had medical issues, and so he was travelling on his own. He’d had all sorts of issues with logistics and so it was great to see that he had made it. It was nice to see several regular away Blues go and say ‘hi’ to him and to check in with him.
The prematch entertainment was, as always, not really for the fans in the stadium. I don’t think the sound system was set up for us to hear it and while I personally wasn’t that bothered – and most people wanted to chant our own City/Inter songs anyway – there will have been some in the stadium who did want to listen. It seems to be all geared around the global audience not the ones who have paid to be there.
UEFA fooled us by getting a pianist to play the Champions League anthem – I think we all expected the usual fanfare recording and those who wanted to show their displeasure at UEFA didn’t get their usual chance.
The match itself was quite tense. I don’t need to go into it all but I did feel much more nervous than I was pre-match. Kevin De Bruyne going off injured felt like a deja vu moment. Fortunately it wasn’t but things didn’t seem to click. Maybe the significance of the occasion affected the players and us fans? Whatever it was, it was one of those tense days where we just needed to see a goal to lift things. When it came it was delirium in 327 and all other City blocks around me.
The bloke who stood next to me was on his own and we hugged and celebrated as if we’d known each other for decades. It’s really odd but, for those of us who go to games regularly, there are often those people you stand or sit next to who become your best buddy for a couple of hours and then you don’t see them again. That’s how it was – sorry I didn’t get your name but you were sat in 327 row 12 seat 241, though you mostly stood at seat 242. Thanks for sharing this experience.
Things were tense even after the Rodri goal. Ederson’s knee and the bar kept us safe at times! At 85 minutes the bloke next to me said ‘ten minutes to go’. I said ‘5!” He said ‘and 5 minutes of added time. Keep with the script!’ Sure enough he was right.
After the whistle. 2023 Champions League Final Istanbul v Inter Milan
When the whistle went it was another marvellous celebration. The lads behind had been muttering about getting on the pitch for a celebratory pitch invasion but there was no way that was possible with the set up. In the end the players climbed over the adverts and photo positions to get as close to us as possible. That was certainly appreciated and it was wonderful to see them all get so giddy with the success.
Winning the Champions League is a major landmark. I remember a decade or so ago people were saying: ‘you may have won the League but you’ll only be considered a great team when you retain it.’ City retained it. Then it became: ‘you’ll only be considered a great team when you win three in a row.’ City managed that. Then it became: ‘you’ll only be considered a great team when you win the Champions League and the treble’. Well, this means that Manchester City are a truly great team then!
It finally happened!
The celebrations were superb and everyone left the stadium buzzing. What a night! Then it was chaos again (as I said earlier, more on that another day).
About 3am on the Champions League return buses. Sat on the floor
After the bus journey we arrived back at Yenikapi about 4am (we were out of the stadium about 12.35am). Walking back to our hotel I saw Noel Bayley, who I’ve known since the 80s when he first created the fanzine Blue Print. It seemed fitting in some way that I’d bump into someone who was there with us in the 80s demanding Swales Out on a night when we’d achieved our biggest success.
Just after 4am after City’s Champions League final win – Noel Bayley and Gary James
Hardly any sleep followed as we had to be on our way to the airport at 9.30. Our taxi was late – no surprise the way transport had been this weekend – and as we waited two lads who had clearly been out all night staggered into the hotel. Two match programmes were in one lad’s back pockets but they seemed somewhat lost. They weren’t. They were in the right hotel but they’d lost the key to their room and had no identification either for some reason, so we tried to help and they got a duplicate key. They’d certainly had a good night in Istanbul!
We shared our taxi with another fan who had heard there were problems with his flight, so. he was heading to the airport early.
At the airport everything seemed to go well. Both Shaun Wright-Phillips and Peter Crouch were on our flight, and by coincidence I was sat next to a City fan I know via twitter: https://twitter.com/BertiefulSouth
Getting home from Heathrow yesterday brought its own traffic issues but the knowledge that City had won the Champions League and the treble kept us positive throughout.
So City have won the trophy after 15 years of planning, building and development. This is a major achievement and lifts things considerably – and it stops Villa singing that song to us!
City’s first major European trophy came in 1970 before Liverpool, Juventus and Chelsea for example. Now, 53 years later they have added the Champions League to their impressive trophy haul. Only Liverpool have a longer span of success from their first major trophy to their most recent, proving that City have. a rich footballing history.
1970 ECWC
Finally, I know this has been a lengthy piece but I just wanted to throw a few thoughts, memories and comments down. If you’re one of the people who managed to get to Istanbul I hope you managed to stay safe and enjoy it. It was difficult for many to be there and so I am so grateful that I managed to get the chance to buy tickets and afford travel to attend this landmark moment in football history.
Thanks to all those involved in the journey over the years. This has been special and I’m glad I saw so many Blues from various phases of my life out there and I feel for those who couldn’t make it this time.
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.
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