Category Archives: Free

Pep Guardiola – LMA Manager of the Year award

On this day (24 May) in 2021 Pep Guardiola won the League Managers Association Manager of the Year Award. Here’s the origins. press release from Manchester City issued that day…

Pep Guardiola wins LMA Manager of the Year award
• Pep Guardiola has been named LMA Manager of the Year for the second time in four seasons
• Guardiola’s team has already completed a League and Cup double and now have their sights set on Saturday’s Champions League final
• The Catalan manager acknowledged the importance of sharing his award with the players and staff who have guided City to success this season
Pep Guardiola has been named Manager of the Year by the League Manager’s Association.


Adapting to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Guardiola guided Manchester City to a third Premier League title in four seasons and a fourth consecutive League Cup.


On Saturday, Guardiola and his players will compete in a first Champions League final in the Club’s history.


Voted for by fellow managers, it is the second time the City boss has been awarded the prize, having previously done so in recognition of the 2017/18 Centurions season.


Pep Guardiola: “I am delighted to win this award for the second time, but an award like this is only possible if a manager is surrounded by top professionals.


“My players have been fantastic – their dedication and professionalism never waver, even in a season that has been the most challenging we have ever faced.


“And my staff are also deserving of the highest praise. I am so lucky to have a team of people who give everything they have every single day to make sure Manchester City are the best we can be.


“This award is dedicated to and shared with them.”


Director of Football Txiki Begiristain added: “Pep deserves this award, absolutely. To win the Premier League and Carabao Cup, as well as reach the final Champions League final, in the most trying season we’ve ever seen, says everything about his quality as a manager.


“He has shown an outstanding ability to constantly innovate. With the challenges presented by COVID-19, he’s had to adapt to a new way of working. He’s done it brilliantly and our results say everything you need to know.

Four Titles in Five

On this day (22 May) in 2022 Manchester City beat Aston Villa 3-2 to win the Premier League in dramatic style. In 2012 whenCity won the League with that last day drama I thought ’ah, well we’ll never experience anything like that again. Next time it’ll feel different’ but then they did it again! As time goes by we tend to think of those incredible days as a great way to win the title but at the time it doesn’t feel like that! Here’s some of my film from that day:

Here’s a link to film of the game itself:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/manchester-city-3-2-aston-villa-extended-highlights-63788844

The 2021-22 season was an incredible season and we should always look back and remember that success (and all the others we’ve enjoyed). To win the Premier League you have to be the best, most consistent team that season. Winning the League – especially one that we are often told is the greatest in the League – is the mark of a truly great team.

Let’s not forget this success made it 4 titles in 5 seasons too! I know City ended up doing 4 in a row, but that is truly exceptional (and unique in England).

Years ago the great City coach Malcolm Allison told me that ‘it’s important to celebrate each success as if it’s your first because it could be your last.’ Never take anything for granted.

Women’s FA Cup

It’s the Women’s FA Cup final today (Chelsea v Manchester United). If you’re interested in reading content about women’s football then there are plenty of articles on my website that may be of interest. Listed below are links to all those tagged ‘women’s football’ including a piece on the original Man Utd women’s team.

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

The piece on United’s original women’s team:

Women’s FA Cup Final: The Original Manchester United Ladies

The FA Cup

Looking forward to this weekend’s men’s FA Cup final. Back in 2011 Manchester City won their first FA Cup since 1969. The success became the first major trophy win of the current City ownership. To reach the final in 2011 City defeated Manchester United in that season’s FA Cup semi final. A few years back I produced Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final and as we build up to this year’s FA Cup final it’s well worth reminding ourselves of this time when fans hoped for success. It’s a nice reminder of how significant the FA Cup has been to City’s modern success.

This special 1 hour audio recording looks at the years between City’s 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. 2011 was a crucial step in City’s journey since the 2008 takeover and I felt it was vital to do a special marking this.

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

West Ham 2 Manchester City 2

On this day (15 May) in 2022 City fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 to keep the Premier League title in their own hands. Jack Grealish made it 2-1 four minutes into the second half when his volley deflected off Craig Dawson and over Lukasz Fabianski. City’s second was an own goal by Vladimir Coufal, who headed Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick into his own net.

You can see the action from City’s 2-2 with West Ham United here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/west-ham-manchester-city-premier-league-extended-highlights-63788208

Everton 0 Manchester City 3

Today (14 May) in 2023 goals from Ilkay Gundogan (2) and Erling Haaland gave City a 3-0 win at Goodison Park and left Manchester’s Blues within one win of sealing a third consecutive Premier League title. This was Gundogan’s 300th appearance for City. It was also City’s 11th straight Premier League win. Highlights here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/everton-v-manchester-city-extended-highlights-63819677

Southampton 0 Manchester City 1

A dramatic added time winner by Gabriel Jesus lifted Premier League champions Manchester City to an incredible 100-point mark on this day (13 May) in 2018. The 1-0 win over Southampton was the perfect end to a perfect season for City. You can see highlights here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2018/may/southampton-v-city-extended-highlights

Brighton 1 Manchester City 4

Manchester City became Premier League champions on this day (12 May) in 2019 when they defeated Brighton 4-1 after going behind. It became a day of great celebration after a nervy opening when Brighton took a 27th minute lead. That goal had meant Liverpool were top of the table in the ‘live’ table on TV and websites. Fortunately 83 seconds later Aguero made it 1-1.

City’s other scorers were Laporte, Mahrez and Gundogan. Highlights can be seen here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2019/may/brighton-v-manchester-city-match-highlights-extended

Champions Again, City!

On this day in 2021 Manchester City became Premier League champions. They won the League after nearest rivals Manchester United lost 2-1 at home to Leicester City. One nice quirk of fate was that this was also the anniversary of City’s 1968 League title success.

The 2021 success was the Blues seventh League title with their first coming in 1937. Others have followed since of course!

It was an astonishing season with City already winning the League Cup that season, plus they also reached the Champions League final where they were defeated in Porto by Chelsea. Manchester’s Blues also appeared in the FA Cup semi-final season but sadly lost to Chelsea.

The League and League Cup double meant that City had won six major trophies in three seasons.

City’s trophy success in 2021 meant that domestically counting the League, FA Cup and League Cup only United, Liverpool and Arsenal have won more English major trophies. Similarly, only United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton havd won more League titles than Manchester’s Blues.

2020-21 was an odd season because of Covid (as was 2019-20) and no fans in the stadium (though some clubs, including those on Merseyside, were allowed a limited number of fans in earlier this season), but the football City played was breathtaking.

Apart from a difficult opening period and a few odd results along the way, City delivered week after week (or should that be weekend after midweek after weekend after midweek – it was a busy season!). They thoroughly deserved the title.

So, by the end of the 2020-21 season City had won the following major honours:

European Cup Winners’ Cup (1)

1970

League/Premier League (7)

1937, 1968, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019 & 2021

(runners up: 1904, 1921, 1977, 2013, 2015 & 2020)

FA Cup (6)

1904, 1934, 1956, 1969, 2011 & 2019 

(runners up: 1926, 1933, 1955, 1981 & 2013)

League Cup (8)

1970, 1976, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021

(runners up: 1974)

In 2019 the Blues became the first English men’s team to win a domestic treble. In 2020-21 City achieved a domestic double of the League Cup and the League (a feat they also achieved in 2014 & 2018). Back in 1970 they achieved a European and domestic cup double when they won the League Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

City’s trophy haul made them the fifth most successful English club of all time based on major domestic and European trophies won (United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are ahead of the Blues). In addition only Liverpool and Blackburn had a greater span between their first English trophy and their most recent.

Since 2020-21 so many other trophies have come of course, including in 2023 when City became the first team ever to win the FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup in a calendar year.

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Corinthians Book Praise

I’m absolutely delighted with this from Matt Williams, a longlist judge for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2025 award. He has posted the following video about the Manchester Corinthians book as his ‘What are we reading this week?’ post on social media. It really does please me and demonstrates why I’ve been so keen to get the Corinthians story out there.

My new book, Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History, is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of 356 pages.

It is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging). I’ll sign all copies ordered direct from me below.

If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.

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 ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History

The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.

£25.00