Category Archives: Free

Companies House Register MCFC

Today (16 April) in 1894 Companies House formally registered Manchester City FC as a new company. If you look carefully at the original Memorandum of Association you can see the registration date on the right of the image (just to the right of the word ‘SHARES’) below.

MCFC Memorandum of association signed 13 April 1894

If you want to know the facts not the fiction, plus my own interpretation of the events then in March 2023 I performed a one hour talk on 1894 etc. Subscribers can view that here:

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Death: Struck by Ball

On this day (13 April) in 1894 the Manchester coroner heard the tragic story of John Nuttall who had been struck by a ball at a game on the Hyde Road football ground. Nuttall fell against the post and was knocked unconscious. He died that evening.

Nuttall had been at the ground selling sweets to the crowd and this was a terrible tragedy during the final days of the Ardwick AFC.

MCFC Documentation Signed

Today (13 April) in 1894 a Memorandum of Association was signed creating Manchester City FC.  The first aims of the Club were to promote football, cricket, lacrosse, lawn tennis, hockey, bicycle & tricycle riding, running, and jumping.

MCFC Memorandum of association signed 13 April 1894

If you want to know the facts not the fiction, plus my own interpretation of the events then in March 2023 I performed a one hour talk on 1894 etc. Subscribers can view that here:

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Annual subscribers can watch this and access everything else on the site. It costs £20 a year (about £1.67) and you’ll have full access to everything until your subscription ends. Alternatively there is a monthly offer below.

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Monthly subscribers can watch this and access everything posted since 1 October 2022. It costs £3 per month (cancel any time).

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MCFC Formation Meeting

A day after the Manchester FA had accepted Manchester City into their organisation, on condition of obtaining a ground, the new football club held its formation meeting. This was held on this day (12 April) in 1894. It’s worth noting that at that meeting City claimed they were going to lease the Hyde Road ground which, only the night before, Ardwick AFC claimed they still leased.

If you want to know the facts not the fiction, plus my own interpretation of the events then in March 2023 I performed a one hour talk on 1894 etc. Subscribers can view that here:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Annual subscribers can watch this and access everything else on the site. It costs £20 a year (about £1.67) and you’ll have full access to everything until your subscription ends. Alternatively there is a monthly offer below.

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Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscribers can watch this and access everything posted since 1 October 2022. It costs £3 per month (cancel any time).

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Temporary Cox

A 25th minute goal from Anelka helped City to their fourth successive draw under the temporary stewardship of Arthur Cox on this day (12 April) in 2004. Manager Kevin Keegan was absent due to instructions from his doctor to rest his bad back.  The game with Spurs ended 1-1 on Easter Monday.

Manchester FA Accept MCFC

On this day (11 April) in 1894 the Manchester FA agreed to accept the newly established Manchester City FC into the Manchester FA so long as the new club could secure a ground. This was an important point as Ardwick AFC had been against the local FA accepting MCFC at this time as they were hoping to retain use of the Hyde Road ground and continue playing. Much of this time is incorrectly reported with many incorrectly assuming Ardwick to MCFC was a simple name change.

If you want to know the facts not the fiction, plus my own interpretation of the events then in March 2023 I performed a one hour talk on 1894 etc. Subscribers can view that here:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Annual subscribers can watch this and access everything else on the site. It costs £20 a year (about £1.67) and you’ll have full access to everything until your subscription ends. Alternatively there is a monthly offer below.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscribers can watch this and access everything posted since 1 October 2022. It costs £3 per month (cancel any time).

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Neutral Venue

On this day (9 April) in 1975 Fulham and Birmingham City met at Maine Road in a FA Cup semi-final replay.  It was an evenly matched game until – with only around a minute of extra-time left – Fulham striker John Mitchell chased a hopeful ball into the Birmingham area.  The Birmingham ‘keeper Dave Latchford blocked a shot which then rebounded off John Mitchell’s leg and into the net to give Fulham a 1-0 victory.

The attendance for this midweek replay was 35,205 with over 20,000 coming from Birmingham (according to their local press!).  Although Maine Road was a regular and popular semi-final venue during most of its history, it does seem a rather strange choice for this tie considering the location of the sides taking part. 

   

Happy Birthday Joe Royle

Future Oldham Athletic manager, Manchester City player and manager Joe Royle was born at Norris Green, Liverpool on this day (8 April) in 1949 .  During his City career Royle won the League Cup as a player and back to back promotions as a manager. There are quite a few Royle articles on this site such as:

Royle Goal
On This Day 1977 – Manchester City and Joe Royle
99 Dreams
MCFC 1999-2000 LEAGUE and CUP REVIEW

Penalty Decides

When Manchester City and Fulham these sides met on this day (6 April) at Easter 1928 City were fighting for promotion out of Division Two, while Fulham were desperate to avoid relegation.  It was a Good Friday game and a crowd of 50,660 attended, though some reports claimed it was a 60,000 crowd (these were the days before Peter Swales though!).

The match was not as entertaining as other fixtures between the Blues and the Cottagers during this period, although the first few minutes suggested otherwise.  The Daily Dispatch reporter explained:  “Though they had a strong wind and sun against them, Manchester City opened the scoring in practically the first advance they made.  Marshall taking a pass by Sharp almost from the flag on the half-volley and crashing it into the net.”

After 30 minutes Fulham went further behind when their left-back Barrett handled a shot from Marshall.  Frank Roberts netted the resultant penalty.  Ten minutes later McNab scored a consolation goal for Fulham.  

In summary the Daily Dispatch claimed that the penalty – hotly disputed by Fulham – was the only significant difference between the sides (well it did end 2-1!). 

Trophy Success for Droylsden in Glasgow

This weekend Droylsden Town over 50s women’s walking football team won at the Glasgow Life tournament. In fact, in a highly competitive tournament that had teams from across Britain, Droylsden had entered two teams in the 6-a-side competition. The draw kept them apart during the group stages, but both teams managed to win their groups, which meant they also missed each other in the knock out stage.

Ultimately, they both won through to the final that meant that the Over 50s final, played close to Hampden Park at the Toryglen football centre, was an all Droylsden final.

A tense final saw the teams evenly matched, with the game ending 2-2. A penalty shootout was needed to determine the winners.

The trophy was presented by legendary Scottish footballer (and World Cup winner) Rose Reilly. Members of the two Droylsden teams have played competitive 11-a-side football at the highest levels possible earlier in their careers for a variety of prominent clubs including Manchester City, Manchester United, Manchester Corinthians, Doncaster Belles, Brontë, Cleveland Spartans and many more, including a Women’s FA Cup finalist.

Congratulations to Droylsden on your success and on bringing further honour to Manchester’s sporting life.

Here are a few of Droylsden’s goals from the competition. The first is a well worked team goal:

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This is the first equalising goal in the final for the eventual winners:

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Here’s a great goal from Lesley Wright:

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