Yesterday I posted the goalkeeper of my all-time best Manchester City FA Cup final winning team and so today it’s the time for another couple of names.
I was asked to select an all-time City eleven and had two rules – they had to actually play in a winning final (so, unused substitutes were not allowed) and they could not be a member of the current playing squad. I also tried to focus on the fact that this eleven would also be facing an all time Manchester United eleven. Therefore victories over United in key games were always in the back of my mind.
The next two players selected are:
Tony Book (1966-1974)
As FWA Player of the Year in 1969 Book captained City to FA Cup success and led the Blues through a glorious era when derby games tended to end in a City victory. Still revered, this humble legend was also a trophy winning manager and coached City to FA Youth Cup success over United in 1986.
Glyn Pardoe (1962-1976)
A versatile right footer who typically played on the left, City’s youngest ever debutant was exceptionally good in the air. A vital and dependable member of the 1968 League championship and the 1969 FA Cup winning teams, Pardoe’s instincts, passing ability and tackling expertise made him a cultured defender.
Janice Monk (former City Store), Glyn Pardoe and Steve Mackenzie at the launch of Manchester The City Years in 2012
Both Book and Pardoe played in the 1969 FA Cup final. You can read all about that here:
More on the all-time Manchester City FA Cup winning eleven tomorrow. It was a tough selection and over the next few days I’ll post the rest of the starting eleven.
For the 2024 FA Cup final match programme I was asked to select my all-time best Manchester City FA Cup final team. I set two rules – they had to actually play in a winning final (so, unused substitutes were not allowed) and they could not be a member of the current playing squad. I also tried to focus on the fact that this eleven would also be facing an all time Manchester United eleven. Therefore victories over United in key games were always in the back of my mind.
It was a tough job and so over the next few days I’ll post the names of the starting eleven I chose with some basic information why. I’ll start with the obvious one – the goalkeeper (although those who attended finals prior to 1956 may disagree!):
Bert Trautmann (1949-1964)
As far as FA Cup goalkeepers go 1956 FWA Player of the Year Trautmann is the ultimate selection. The ‘keeper who played on with a broken neck in the 1956 FA Cup final! Starting attacks with a long throw, he also starred throughout the 1955 cup run which included City’s 2-0 defeat of the Busby Babes.
I’ve written a lot about Trautmann over the years and was lucky to chat with him often over the decades. I was also the Manchester football historical consultant for the film The Keeper, about his life. Here’s a brief video of me talking about Trautmann for Dutch TV a while ago:
More on the all-time Manchester City FA Cup winning eleven tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History. Research and interviews have been continuing for the book, which will be published later this year. I’ll keep subscribers posted with details over the coming month.
I can state with real accuracy that I have captured voices from every season of the club’s history from 1948-49 through to its final game. I’m really pleased with that and, together with the deepest research ever into the club’s history, this promises to be a fairly definitive story of the club. I say ‘fairly’ because it’s impossible for anything to be definitive but this will contain more information than any other source.
Thanks to all those who have subscribed to the book – it helps enormously as the book and the years of research that have gone into this is all self-funded.
For those who haven’t subscribed or would like to know more on what the book will entail, here’s the latest information:
The book will tell the story via the voices of those involved from beginning to end (and beyond!), backed up with detailed archival research.
Myths, including some connected with the formation of the club, persist and still get promoted. For the first time, this Authorised History will highlight the key steps and people involved with the formation of the club, dispelling myths and properly acknowledging those who ensured the team had a life.
Hundreds of games have been identified with official – and unofficial – match reports adding flavour and supporting the words of the women who played.
Rare objects, cuttings, match programmes, trophies and more have been located for this book, with many of the players lending their collections to help ensure this is a wonderful record of the club’s full life.
The Manchester Corinthians’ tours across the globe will be featured extensively within the book, while the key managers (especially the club’s manager and guiding figure from 1948-49 until his death in 1967, Percy Ashley) and other personalities will be profiled.
Dozens of interviews have been performed for the book and include women who played in the club’s first ever game in 1948-49 and others who played in the last ever game, decades later. It’s a wonderful period of football history.
Voices from every season of the club’s existence have been captured. There are some truly remarkable stories gathered in interviews performed across the country. These wonderful women have provided their memories of every period of the club’s development. Every season is covered.
Over 300 players have been identified as playing for the Corinthians to date. These women come from every era of the club’s existence (but the search continues for other names – please get in touch: Gary@GJFootballArchive.com). Every player identified will be listed within the book.
Every person ordering the book before publication will not only have the book posted to them before it appears in any shop, but they will also have their name (or another name of their choosing) published within a special roll of honour at the back of the book.
The book will consist of over 320 pages and will include hundreds of images from every era of the Corinthians, alongside the story of the club and its players.
As with Gary’s book on Manchester City Women this book is destined to be a landmark history on a true Manchester institution and pioneering football club. In some ways this new Corinthians’ history will be a prequel to the City Women book.
This book is being self funded by Gary and so every pre-publication order helps the research enormously. Thanks for your support. It is appreciated.
UK readers can subscribe to the book here (If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs):
Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there
£19.95
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.
Here’s one of the TV reports that covered our plaque unveiling back in October. This is from ITV National News:
Here are a few words from a review of the Manchester City Women book the Corinthians will be based on (this is from a review by Fiona Cosson, for the Oral History Society):
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Manchester football historian Dr Gary James has been researching and writing about football for around forty years, with his first book published in 1989. By that time Gary was a regular at women’s football games in the region and already knew several Corinthians featured in the Corinthians’ book. His connections with the team go way back, in fact his sister was taught PE in the 1980s by a prominent player with the club, while his mum once told him about an older girl being brought to the front in her school assembly during the 1950s to talk about travelling abroad as a Manchester Corinthian.
Gary was on the steering committee for the National Football Museum project Unlocking the Hidden History of Women’s Football and was the Trafford lead for the UEFA/FA project on the history of women’s football for the Women’s Euros in 2022. He has performed various talks and written many significant articles on the Manchester Corinthians throughout the last six years. He established the campaign to create a blue plaque and other tributes for the women who played for the club, working tirelessly to ensure the Corinthians’ receive the accolades they so richly deserve.
Gary’s research and writing is recognised for his quality and depth, and he has written several landmark publications on Manchester football (both men’s and women’s), as well as being historical consultant with films, such as The Keeper, and TV (including researching and producing a 6 part TV series). Gary is the founder of the International Football History Conference and in 2023 was appointed Visiting Research Professor at New York University. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at De Montfort University.
You can watch a one hour talk Gary did at the National Football Museum on the history of women’s football in the Manchester region here:
The cover is still in development but the two cover images are draft proposals which will be worked up further. If you’d like to purchase Gary James’ earlier book on Manchester City Women’s team then a limited number of copies, signed by me, are still available. You can order here:
Well, the Premier League is now over for another year and we know who the Champions (4-in-a-row) are and who has qualified for Europe etc. so it’s time to look forward to the second all Manchester FA Cup final. The first was of course last season and started off wonderfully for Manchester’s Blues with that record-making Gundogan opener.
Prior to this last year’s final, the closest Manchester City and Manchester United got to playing each other in a Wembley FA Cup final were the FA Cup semi finals in 1926 and 2011. I wasn’t around in 1926 but I definitely was in 2011! A few years back I made this special audio recording talking about the years building up to the semi and the day itself from a Manchester City perspective. Many of you have listened to this already but if you haven’t then it tells the story of the 2011 FA Cup semi final and the years between 1976 and that moment in 2011 for City.
I included audio from interviews I did with a variety of people including Khaldoon, Peter Swales, Garry Cook, Brain Marwood and many others.
If you have heard it before then maybe you should listen again to remind yourself of how we all felt and why that game was so significant.
I included a few words from Roberto Mancini 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 you don’t fancy doing that then there’s also the option to make a welcome donation to keep this site going (see below). I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch too.
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.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. 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. Annual subscribers 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).
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The latest International Football History Conference will be staged in two weeks time at Cardiff City’s stadium. Delegates from around the world will meet up to discuss football (of all codes). It’s always a great conference and it’s a great opportunity to meet other historians, writers, researchers and enthusiasts. The details are:
International Football History Conference 2024 (#Footycon24)
7 & 8 June 2024 at Cardiff City Football Club
Guest speaker: Professor Florence Ayisi (film maker of Zanzibar Soccer Queens & others)
The 2024 annual International Football History Conference will take place at Cardiff City F.C. and will be held over two days (7 & 8 June 2024). There will be a fantastic collection of papers being presented with contributions from leading academics from across the globe including many leaders in their field, as well as early career researchers and others with a passion for football (of all codes) research.
The conference organisers are: Max Portman, University of Chichester, Professor Wray Vamplew, University of Edinburgh and Dr. Gary James, Visiting Research Professor at New York University & Honorary Research Fellow at De Montfort University.
Gary James: ‘The inaugural International Football History Conference was staged in 2017 and proved popular with leading academics, early career researchers, football historians and students. That was followed in 2018 & 2019 by further enjoyable conferences. Covid meant we had to cancel our 2020 & 2021 conferences but, in 2022 we returned with another great conference. In 2023 we took the conference to Glasgow and the historic Hampden Park Stadium, which added further to its status. This year we’re taking it to Wales for the first time and are delighted to be staging it at Cardiff City’s home. This year’s event promises to be another significant conference with world leading research presented, while also providing networking opportunities, as well as the potential for collaborations.’
**** THE TITLES OF PRESENTATIONS ARE DOCUMENTED BELOW ****
The conference will run from Friday morning c.08.30 and end on Saturday about 18.00. There is anticipated to be social gatherings on both Thursday 6 June for those arriving the day before the conference and one on the evening of Friday 7 June.
COST OF ATTENDANCE £139 (delegates in employment) and £129 (students/unwaged/retired delegates). Held at Cardiff City FC 08:30 to 18:00 on both days. You can book here:
In 2022 & 2023 we added a special day rate for those who can only attend on one day and we’re doing that again this year for those who can only attend on one day. The day rate is £76 (delegates in employment) and £67.50 (students/unwaged/retired delegates).
Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding accommodation & travel for the conference. We hope to have a social gathering on Friday evening in central Cardiff. If you would like some advice on where to stay please contact the organisers via footycon@outlook.com
As with previous years there will be awards in connection with papers presented. Routledge will be providing these for a daily Best Paper Award and for a new inclusivity award.
Here is a draft list of presenters and topics (the timings and specific details will folllow):
On this day (17 May) in 2023 Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 4-0 (5-1 on aggregate) in the UEFA Champions League semi final. It was one of the most incredible games of football I have ever seen. For me, it was City’s best European performance at the Etihad and, from what I can remember, no European game at Maine Roadbettered it (older Blues may talk about the ECWC semi in 1970 – I was only a baby – but surely the Madrid victory bettered that too?). I’d go further and say that in terms of overall performance, atmosphere and style, considering who City were playing, that that was the greatest City game of all time – yes, that is debatable I know!
Pre match MCFC V Real Madrid waiting for the team
Obviously, we had the high drama of Agueroooooooo in 2012 but most of that game had been a frustrating mess of a match. The Madrid game was brilliant, breathtaking and wonderful from the moment it started through to leaving the stadium many, many minutes after the final whistle. The game was incredible – I don’t normally do superlatives so when I do I genuinely mean it.
There’s a certain amount of ‘completing the circle’ in City’s European journey – Alan Oakes captained City’s first European Cup game against Istanbul’s Fenerbahce in 1968, so the entire continental journey started there and in 2023 the Blues won the CL final in that city. It also felt appropriate that the man we’ve been singing about when we’ve sung our going to Istanbul chant these last few years was the man who scored twice against Real Madrid. Ber-nar-do!
Players pre match MCFC V Real Madrid
I know City had been to a Champions League final before but last year was significantly different. City have suffered at the hands of English clubs Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea over the years in Europe and it never quite felt right. Playing continental royalty like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and then Inter Milan took it to a different level. As did the final of course!
2023 Champions League Final Istanbul v Inter Milan
Many Blues had waited a long time for European glory. I was a toddler when City had previously won a major European trophy and I always dreamed of seeing City match or eclipse what Mercer’s men did in 1970. From Marsh’s debut to Pleat’s jig; ‘Look at his face’ to Tueart’s overhead; Beating AC Milan to Hutchison’s own goal; FA Youth Cup winners to Ball’s ‘hold the ball in the corner’; Bournemouth 3-3 to Morley’s Bradford goal; Reeves’ wonderful FAC goal to York away; 5-1 to 6-1; Bananas at Stoke to relegation at Stoke; FMC Final to Dickov’s rescue; Swales Out to Thaksin’s Albert Square singing; Kippax Last Stand to Etihad’s safe standing; Foe’s last goal at Maine Road to Aguerooooooooooo; Pearce’s good luck beanie to Bernardo’s cup; the invisible man to Emptyhad; James up front to Walker in nets… it had been a long time coming!
The young Gary
So this CL semi final thrashing of Real Madrid was so important and led to a wonderful final in Istanbul (let’s not mention the post match issues today!).
Rival fans may not agree unless they’ve experienced it themselves but multiple relegations are character building and make moments like Real Madrid, the the final, even more incredible. You don’t need to experience a relegation to enjoy success, but if you’ve suffered relegations (I’ve been through five) and those dismal, dismal days then reaching points like 2023 are heightened.
Final moments MCFC V Real Madrid 2023
In 2023 there were the usual negative voices about money. Show me a truly successful club who hasn’t spent! Not only that but City beat Bayern and Real in 2023’s European campaign (plus in the PL the usual collection of clubs that had been spending big for decades)… hardly poor relations. Hardly clubs with no history of success. These are European giants. Real Madrid have won more Champions League/European Cups than all English clubs put together. They are European aristocracy. Beating them – and the entire campaign – was a massive achievement for City, overcoming major obstacles and competing in a Premier League that in the previous 12 years or so had seen more of the top clubs challenge and tighter points totals between 1st and 2nd than in previous decades.
Malcolm Allison once said to me: ‘Celebrate every success as if it’s your first, because it could be your last.’ As a man who had been to the top and helped City win a European trophy I guess we should always remember his words. 2023 was a year like no other and it should always be celebrated.
After the whistle. 2023 Champions League Final Istanbul v Inter Milan Champions League Porto 2021Champions League trophy at Istanbul 2023
Lots of tosh has been spoken recently about teams dominating English league football with some claiming that there’s ‘never’ been a time when a team has dominated as much as Manchester City do today. Ignoring the fact that the League campaign is not over yet and will go to the final day (so that’s a nonsense for a start) I decided to pull together a few facts that may be useful. They’re certainly relevant.
So, first of all, the question of whether Manchester City is the first to dominate in a way no other has before (again the season isn’t over and it could go either way yet, so ‘dominate’ is not something I believe anyway!)… City have currently won 3 League titles in a row. A feat that has been done several times before, most recently (before City) by Manchester United in 2006-09.
Ah, but City have won 5 out of 6 titles they say… Yes, but United won 7 out of the first 9 Premier Leagues and were runners up in the other 2. Liverpool achieved the same 7 out of 9 League titles in the 1970s and early 80s. We can’t predict the future of course but City have never managed seven titles in 9 seasons. In fact if City do win the League the stats will show it’s 7 in 11 seasons and at present it’s 7 titles in 12 seasons. So that means two other clubs have had longer spells as ‘dominant’ clubs using the language and phraseology that those criticising the reigning Champions usually use.
One of the other criticisms that’s thrown City’s way is about the Premier League being ‘boring’ because it’s a ‘foregone conclusion’ and ‘other teams have to be perfect’ to finish above City. Well, to be the best you have to beat the best but in terms of the League being ‘boring’ and a ‘foregone conclusion’ then the stats in terms of points gaps say otherwise.
Sure, City’s incredible 2017-18 season when they amassed 100 points was one in which the Blues ran away with the title, but it was also a rarity. City won the League by bettering second place by an astounding 19 points but, wait a minute, that amazing gap is only 1 point more than the (18 point) gap between 2020 champions Liverpool and second placed City (at a time when City are supposed to be the dominant team!). Not only that but United had an 18 point gap between them and second placed Arsenal in 2000.
Worth noting too that in the 31 season history of the Premier League 14 runners-up teams bettered 2nd placed United’s points tally in 2017-18 when City achieved their 100 points. Surely, no title winning team can be blamed if the runners-up have worse results than in more than 45% of the competition’s seasonal history?
What about the ‘foregone conclusion’ and ‘boring’ line? Well, I suppose it can be argued it’s boring if the League is won many, many weeks before the end of the season. Using that logic it should also be ‘not boring’ if it goes down to the last game (like this season) or the last week (could be 2 or 3 games depending on fixture congestion). So I’ve had a look at how many seasons have finished with 3 points or less separating the top two teams. This shows that there have been 9 seasons when this has been the case. Guess what? 4 of those were seasons when City have won the Premier League (2 United, 1 Arsenal, Blackburn & Chelsea).
This means that 57% of all City’s Premier League title wins have been by less than 3 points! For United (13 PL titles) the figure is 15%; Arsenal (3 PL) it’s 33% and Chelsea (5 PL) is 20%. Four of United’s PL titles have been won by 10 points or more.
Of course, title races can be exciting when teams win the League by ten points or more, but the argument many put across is that it’s boring when one team walks away with it. Surely there’s less chance of that happening when a team wins the title by less than 3 points?
There are lots of statistics that could be posted and, to be frank, they never actually tell the story of a season. How many times do we see possession stats that are in one club’s favour but the other team is actually winning? Nevertheless, when people try to suggest a season is boring because a club (any club) is running away with it then the stats can help show that something is not true. Similarly, when it comes to dominant football clubs – yes, there are eras of dominance by certain clubs and Manchester City certainly are a dominant club at the moment – we must not be fooled into thinking that a situation has NEVER happened before when it so obviously has (and other clubs may actually have been more dominant!).
Ah well! Football, hey? If only people actually looked at history more before jumping to conclusions.
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.
My research into women’s football in Manchester has highlighted the stories of many players and clubs over the years. I think people tend to think my research is only about City and the Corinthians but it aims to cover all teams. This includes Manchester United, whose history as a women’s team, I’ve been researching for many years. They have a fascinating story and were pioneers in many ways.
The original Manchester United Ladies team was established via the United Supporters’ Club and played its first game in October 1977, against a team from Ireland. In 1986, while looking back on this period, manager Anne Smith joked: ‘Our standard of football was not very high. It couldn’t have been as I was playing!’
Over the course of the next two years, the club played a number of friendlies until, in 1979, the team joined the long-established Three Counties League and the Women’s Football Association (FA). Anne Smith was one of the leading figures within the club, and became manager around this time. Anne was a driving force behind the club for many years and deserves to be recognised as a pioneer of women’s football, helping to establish competitions in the 1970s and 1980s.
Publicity in the men’s United match programme during the late 1970s encouraged other women to join United and in their first season of league football they finished sixth. The Three Counties League covered a large geographic area and travel to games was difficult, so Anne and the United committee worked with others to create a local league. The Women’s FA gave permission to establish the Greater Manchester Women’s Football League with its first season of operation being 1982-83 (if you have information and seasonal records of the Three Counties League then please get in touch as this will help some of my current projects – Gary@GJFootballArchive.com Thanks).
United Ladies won the competition in its first three seasons and the club remained a leading team in the region for many years. Jane Morley, who is currently the secretary of Stockport County Ladies, was a player for many years:
‘As a United men’s supporter it was great to play for the original women’s team. Wearing the red of United and training at the Cliff was really great and we were a strong team too. We were very successful in the Greater Manchester Women’s League. The two strongest clubs were ourselves and Wythenshawe and games between the two were real tests. Wythenshawe were our main rivals.’
During her time with the team Jane remembers playing at the Old Trafford stadium once: ‘There was a men’s testimonial game and we were asked to play on the pitch as part of the day’s events. That was something special for us all.’
The club continued to develop during the 1980s and 1990s, officially forming part of Manchester United by 2001. However, the club disbanded in 2005, not long after the Glazers takeover of the Reds.
In 2018, a new Manchester United women’s team was established and this team went on to win the Championship in 2019. United women have been a formidable challenger in the FA Women’s Super League ever since and reached the Women’s FA Cup final in 2023 for the first time. They’re in the final again today against Tottenham. Will this be their first major trophy success since the resurrection of the team?
Many former United players also played for the Manchester Corinthians during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s (if you did then please get in touch). The influence of that club, established in 1949, played its part in the development of Manchester’s footballing life. This year to mark the Corinthians 75th anniversary I’m self funding a book on the club: Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History will be published late summer and tells the story of the club via the voices of women who played from its first ever game in 1949 right the way through until its final game over 40 years later. Players from every season have been interviewed and anyone ordering the book pre-publication will be able to have their name printed in a special roll of honour at the back.
The Corinthians’ legacy is still felt strongly and their influence on both United’s and City’s women’s teams remain. You can find out more on the book here:
As for Jane Morley… she stayed with the original Manchester United women’s team for six successful years. In 1985, together with other United players, she established FC Redstar and took the team into the North West Women’s Regional Football League where they achieved promotion in 1987 to the top division – at the time the highest league competition available. Playing in Stretford, FC Redstar impressed but player recruitment issues brought a premature end to the club in 1990.
Once her playing days were over Jane coached and managed at various levels with Manchester City Ladies for many years. Always keen to promote football to young girls Jane enjoyed developing an array of talent with the club. She also brought success to the club and managed the first team for a spell when they were based in Urmston, Trafford.
After leaving City Jane continued to develop opportunities for girls and young women within both Greater Manchester and in Cheshire and is secretary of Stockport County’s women’s team, dedicating her adult life to promoting football for women and girls.
You can watch a brief interview, captured as part of a project I did for the Women’s Euros, with Jane here:
I’ve been asked to select an all time Manchester City FA Cup final team to be published later this month. I’ll explain more nearer the FA Cup final but the idea is that I pick 11 City players to make up a team plus a manager. The rules I’ve set myself are that the players must have appeared in FA Cup winning City teams AND none of the current squad can be selected. So…
City chairman John Chapman used City’s success as part of his political campaign.
By Friday morning I’m looking for suggestions of who should be in. Remember it’s a standard 11 so competition for places is high. Post your thoughts below. As it’s an all-time FAC winning team then we’ve got from The first success in 1904 onwards to consider.
It’s a tough job so any suggestions welcome. Thanks.
I’ve heard the news that Ian Mellor has passed away at the age of 74 and so I wanted to pay tribute by publishing an interview I did with him several years ago and also provide a few biographical details too. As always, I think it’s best in these moments to remember the player by using their own comments and thoughts, so I’ll start with that.
In December 2003 I interviewed Ian for a feature in the Manchester City match programme. Here is the interview as it was written and published back then:
IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – IAN MELLOR
Ian Mellor made his debut in March 1971 and went on to make a total of 48 League and Cup appearances for the Blues. In 1973 he moved on to Norwich. Gary James, author of Farewell To Maine Road, caught up with Ian last week.
Let’s start with your role today, you’re still very much involved in football. Can you explain your role and how it came about?
I’m the Commercial Executive to the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). I suppose it started when I first finished playing. I was 34 and unemployed for about four months. I needed to find something new and like any former player it can be difficult at first, but I got myself on to an intensive sales course and really tried to push myself in that direction.
I was in the Sheffield area – I’d been a player with Wednesday and so that helped to some extent – but it was a very tough time to be selling there. The industry had been decimated.
Eventually the athlete Derek Ibbotson – who had been involved with fitness training at City when I was a player – brought me in to work for Puma and my involvement with sports commercial activities really started then. One of my main activities was to persuade key League players to wear Puma goods.
Did your playing career help?
Yes, of course. The fact that I’d played did help, but it wasn’t too difficult. Paul Gascoigne was signed up and, like with any major sports company today, it’s great if a major star wears your products. From that I went on to work for Gola and I’d also spent some time talking with the PFA about providing sportswear for their various initiatives. One thing led to another and, through Mickey Burns, Gordon Taylor asked me to join the PFA as its first Commercial Manager about ten years ago.
As a player did you feel the PFA was important?
Like many unions you don’t appreciate what they do until you need them. As an ex-player the game took its toll on my body and I’ve had to have 2 new hip joints replaced and without the support of the PFA I would have been a cripple. I’m just one of thousands of members of the PFA who have received vital assistance when needed. As a player I didn’t really think about it at the time, but now I have come to realise how much the union helps present and former players, and is involved in so many areas such as community programmes, anti racism campaigns and supporters’ organisations. As you get older you also start to understand how football’s developed and what the union has achieved. The PFA has a major role in football and it puts so much back into the game that we all love.
Going back to your early career, did your elevation to the first team come easily?
I was certainly worried – I’d been sent to Altrincham on loan and was paid something like £2 a week. I played two games and started to wonder what was going on. When that happens you can’t help but feel your career is not going to be in the first team. Then Ken Barnes started working closely with the City youngsters and he started to look at me. That got things moving.
Your debut came against Coventry in March 1971. Do you feel you performed well?
It was a lot to handle really. I was nervous, very nervous. I knew I’d be facing Wilf Smith who I think was the most expensive fullback in the game at the time. I became a nervous wreck, and in the first half I think that was obvious. I just wasn’t right. Malcolm Allison had a real go at me at half time and warned: “If you don’t pull your finger out, you’ll be off!” So that got me playing! The second half I really worked hard and played my normal game. I tried not to worry. I just got on and did it.
You must have performed well enough because you kept your place.
Well the Coventry draw was on 20th March and four days later I played in the second leg of the European Cup Winners’ Cup and managed to score, so it was a great start really. I still wasn’t a regular, but I played in another five league games and even scored against United in the derby match on the last day of the season. As a City fan the derby meant an awful lot and scoring your first League goal in a derby is something special, especially for a local lad.
Was that your biggest moment?
I suppose my biggest moment came when I actually signed professional forms. Johnny Hart took me into a little room hidden away under the Main Stand at Maine Road and I signed the forms. All the time I was thinking where’s the press? Where’s Granada? Instead of the hype you always imagine surrounds these things there were Johnny and I in a damp, cold corner of the ground. Johnny though said something which has stuck with me ever since, he said: “I wish you all that you wish yourself”. Which is a great comment because in football… and in life for that matter… you have to have aims and dreams. You need to want to be a player to be a player.
Who would you say was the biggest influence in your playing career?
Well, we were very fortunate at City to have Johnny Hart, Ken Barnes, and Dave Ewing in the coaching set up. They were very knowledgeable and men of real quality. They knew what they were talking about and they also cared passionately about the game and the Club. They’d all had great careers and as a young player you listened and learned.
At times they could be very hard. They pushed you because they knew you had to be hard to survive in football, and they certainly made you work. They gave me the right sort of grounding.
The biggest coaching influence though has to be Malcolm Allison. In those days he was the best as a coach and motivator and I learnt so much from him. Again he could be tough, but you listened because he had already delivered so much by the time I got into the first team.
As players did you socialise as a group?
There were quite a few of us who came up the ranks together so people like Donachie, Carrodus, Gibbons, McBeth, and Jeffries were the ones I went out with. I suppose there were two age groups. The older players were married and had also come through the Sixties team together, and then there were the younger single guys. Naturally, as in any environment, you stick in your peer groups, but obviously on the pitch you’re one team and work hard for each other.
Willie Donachie was probably the closest to me. Our wives went to the same school and he was the Best Man at my wedding, and we get on really well.
Was it one of the players who gave you the nickname ‘Spider’?
Ah yes. Spider’s been my nickname since those early days at City. It was Ken Mulhearn who gave it to me, although he probably doesn’t realise that now. On a Saturday morning if we were at an away match and sat in the hotel, we’d usually watch a bit of television and it always seemed to be that Spiderman was on. Ken shouted “look it’s Ian Mellor” and the name Spider then stuck because of my long legs and the comparison with Spiderman!
The funny thing is there are many, many of my business contacts who don’t really know my proper name. It’s always Spider. I always get introduced as Spider, and so if I ever give my name as Ian Mellor when I’m calling someone I deal with they get confused. It’s amazing how these things stick, but it’s great.
How did the fans treat you?
Always well. It was a great side to join, and as long as you put the effort in the fans loved you. I never received any stick and the fans have always loved to see players who attack. Once I’d made my first appearance I started to get recognised. Being tall and thin helps you get noticed, and I enjoyed the support they gave.
The team was great as well. There was tremendous camaraderie and the success must have helped to create that spirit.
Clearly, there must have been a downside. What was your biggest regret?
Leaving! I should never have gone to Norwich. I went from a top five side to a bottom five side overnight and it was such an alien environment. Norwich is a nice place, and a good club, but at that time the move was totally the wrong move to make. Because they were struggling there was no confidence. The contrast with City was unbelievable.
At City everything was so positive, and as a Blue I shouldn’t have gone.
You come from a family of Blues, don’t you?
Yes. We were season ticket holders and I used to stand on the Kippax.
Naturally, I have to ask how you felt when your son Neil played for Liverpool against City in the FA Cup last season?
It was great to see him play at Maine Road, and I felt very proud. It was a very strange feeling really though because he was playing against the family’s team. We’re all Blues and the best result would have been for him to score but for City to win. It didn’t go that way of course, but it was great to see him play in that match. A great feeling.
I hope that gave a sense of the man and now here’s a brief career overview:
Ian Mellor Career Detail
Ian was with Manchester City between July 1968 and March 1973. He also played for Norwich City (joined 7 Mar 1973), Brighton & Hove Albion (6 May 1974), Chester City (24 Feb 1978), Sheffield Wednesday (11 June 1979), Bradford City (24 June 1982), Hong Kong (Jan 1984) and Worksop Town. and here is a brief profile of him:
Known affectionately as Spider, Ian Mellor was recognised for his speed and dedication. He signed for City first as an amateur (July 1968) then as a professional (16 Dec 1969), making his Reserve debut in October 1970 away at Aston Villa. A former Cheshire Boys player, he won an England youth cap with City.
In March 1971 there was an injury crisis at Maine Road and Spider was given his debut against Coventry City (h) on 20 March. City drew 1-1 with Franny Lee scoring.
Ian scored his first League goal in the last match of the 1970-71 season against United. He was virtually an ever-present for the first half of the following season until replaced by Tony Towers.
You can see a goal he scored at Arsenal in 1971 here:
In 1972-73 his appearances were limited and then came a controversial transfer to Norwich City in March for £70,000. This transfer was often cited as the cause of the resignation of Malcolm Allison who felt that the player had been sold behind his back. Spider’s last City appearance was against Wolves on 3 March 1973.
Later Ian was employed by a sportswear company and also for the PFA in Manchester.
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