Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
Subscribers to my site download a PDF of my entire first book. It was published back in 1989. It’s not my best but if you subscribe why not have a look and see where it all began. Here are more details:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/06/22/a-complete-pdf-of-my-1st-book-to-download/
The book was published in April 1989 and I talk a little bit about it here:
The 200th Post – Joe Mercer
and here:
A Writing Flashback!
I’m absolutely delighted that the culmination of the project to gain recognition for the Manchester Corinthians has been shortlisted for a prestigious award. The This Is Manchester Awards have shortlisted our blue plaque appeal and unveiling for their Leading Live Event Award.
Only two days ago I posted about the anniversary of that remarkable day when we paid tribute to these wonderful women and the others involved with establishing and developing the Corinthians.
Thanks to the judges of the award for shortlisting us and all involved. It really is appreciated. More on the awards here:
For those wondering what all the fuss is about here’s the article I posted explaining it all:
It’s hard to believe but today marks a year since an amazing day when Manchester came together, along with a wonderful community of former footballers, to recognise the pioneering women’s team the Manchester Corinthians. It was an incredible day made possible with the support of so many individuals, groups and community leaders. So often we highlight issues, problems or moments where communities separate or fail but the long running campaign to bring recognition to the Corinthians has seen so many come together for something extremely positive.
Personally, I was touched by the support received for this campaign I’d established several years ago. The plaque unveiling was the biggest visible sign that it was succeeding with huge TV audiences tuning in. One news broadcast alone featuring the Corinthians’ plaque unveiling had 2.7 million live viewers. Add to that downloads and all the news features experienced on TV and radio that day and the number rockets significantly. There were also newspaper articles and more.
The aim, back in 2019 when I first raised the idea of erecting permanent tributes publicly in an article I wrote, had been to bring recognition and wider public awareness to the exploits of these remarkable footballers. The media coverage certainly did that and also other Corinthians came forward who had seen the coverage.
I’d particularly like to pay tribute to Jam Williams-Thomas from ITV Granada who promised me he’d ensure Granada Reports would have a camera crew there many, many months before the exact date had been finalised. That support was vital. In the end David Chisnall came from Granada Reports and did a wonderful feature on the plaque and recognising the Corinthians. Thanks to you, Jam and all at Granada Reports. It really helped (there are links to some of the TV coverage at the bottom of this article).
2019 was the year when the campaign received a lot of support. Back then I contacted many key Manchester and national institutions with the concept. Manchester City FC immediately supported the idea and that year several Corinthians, plus myself, were invited to City to attend a WSL game, where they met England international Karen Bardsley and England women manager Phil Neville. The Blues also included features in their match programme and on their website on the history of the Corinthians.
They’ve continued to support and promote the Corinthians’ story ever since. I don’t know how many millions read their website today but again, like the national news coverage, this level of readership is significant. I’m not daft enough to think everyone reading the stories or watching the news will want to know more about the Corinthians, but if just 1% do then that in itself is an incredible number of people who previously may not have known or understood how the Corinthians toured the globe promoting Manchester, football and female endeavour.
Simon Mullock at the Sunday Mirror helped with an excellent feature too back in the early days. That support from a national tabloid was so important in widening the news and soon, in general conversation, people were mentioning the Corinthians and their achievements. I loved that! We were getting somewhere and Simon, together with later features by renowned journalists focusing on women’s football in other newspapers, was a big part of that.
Another major supporter since the start has been the Manchester FA’s Colin Bridgford. Again in 2019 we met up to talk about what we could do to promote the Corinthians’ story and I wrote several articles for the Manchester FA’s website. That support was important and helped raise the profile of what we were trying to achieve. We also arranged a meeting with Manchester FA staff and several of the Corinthians, including Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd and Jan Lyons – three of the Corinthian stalwarts who have worked tirelessly to rightly highlight the story of their team. Plans were put in place to do other activities with the Manchester FA but sadly Covid hit and plans had to be abandoned. Colin and his team did, of course, support the plaque unveiling last October.
The FA have helped too. In fact they have not only helped promote the story but also provided significant funding to ensure permanent tributes could be made. My connection with Rachel Pavlou at The FA came via Caterina Loriggio. Cat led a major project in partnership with the Women’s Euros the other year and I acted as the Heritage Lead for Trafford Council. Via the UEFA & FA project a series of activities were established in each host city/borough and the Corinthians inevitably became part of that. I performed interviews with several Corinthians (borrowing some of their trophies and kit too for an exhibition) in Trafford and others were interviewed at Wigan & Leigh. These were filmed and are still available here:
When I discussed the idea of erecting permanent tributes with Rachel she immediately offered funds and other support to ensure the Corinthians were recognised. The FA and Cat also approved the wording for the plaque. For me this had to recognise all the Corinthians, not one person or individual moments (I knew we could pay appropriate tribute to all of that via the book I’ve been working on for several years, which will be published this summer).
The FA were not the only ones to get involved of course as the campaign brought together a wide range of people… as with every project like this there are many, unsung heroes who work tirelessly without seeking or receiving financial reward. In that category are the Friends of Fog Lane Park. They deserve immense praise, especially Pamela & Alice and the others who attended various meetings along the way and performed many tasks that made the unveiling day such a success.
I’d been introduced to the Friends by Manchester City Council, in particular Paul Hulme. Jan Lyons and I had met Paul at an early meeting we’d arranged. We’d hoped there would be support from the Council and sure enough Paul was interested, particularly when Jan told some of the Corinthians’ story. Her words and experiences brought it all to life and demonstrated perfectly why we needed to get this story out there. Paul immediately set up a meeting with the Friends of Fog Lane Park and other council officials and employees.
At that meeting in the Fog Lane Park Café me, Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd and Jan Lyons, explained about the Corinthians with the former players telling their stories while the Friends were enthralled. I put it all into context in terms of the wider football and Manchester stories, then explained about the attempts to raise public awareness and how we wanted to get a Blue Plaque erected. We agreed that the Blue Plaque appeal would be established in the name of the Friends of Fog Lane Park – they had a dedicated committee of passionate individuals and the opportunity to publicly recognise the Corinthians in the park that had been their home for over two decades was wonderful.
Those who donated to the appeal to erect permanent tributes to the Corinthians were: Pam Barnes, Dan Mooney, Adam Turgoose, ‘Ben’, ‘Jean J’, Jonathan Kaye, Megan Riley, Helena Byrne, Dawn Burrows, Clare Wilkins, Linda Foley, Debbie Enever, John Carrier, Jacqui McAssey, Michael Cottam, Karen Phanco, David Hoyle, Daniel Rubin, Heidi James, Gary James and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation. There were a couple of anonymous donations too. It was gratifying that many of those listed were not from Manchester but were connected with women’s football in other parts of the world. That was wonderful to see. It was also fantastic that via Gail Newsham the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation supported the campaign with a significant donation too, proving what a great community of women’s football enthusiasts and researchers we have.
The Friends of Fog Lane Park managed to get matching funds from Manchester City Council too and the Friends had some wonderful ideas to really improve the park and tributes further. As well as the hoped for plaque and a lectern providing a Corinthians’ timeline, the Friends organised for some of the funds raised via the appeal and The FA to be spent on two impressive murals painted by artist Gavin Renshaw and for a handout to be produced for park visitors on the Corinthians. Now everybody who visits the park gets to see wonderful artwork (on a former graffiti covered building), the plaque, a lectern, an information board inside the café and the leaflet. All of this is helping get the story out there again and, for those young girls and boys kicking a ball around the park, is inspiring.
In the weeks building up to the unveiling day the Friends spent considerable time and effort tidying up the park, arranging some of the logistics, erecting the plaque itself, overseeing the mural work, organising sandwiches, baking cakes and more. It was a real community effort and all deserve thanking again.
Various media companies helped promote the plaque appeal with myself, Friends of Fog Lane Park, Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd, Jan Lyons and other Corinthians being interviewed on a fairly regular basis. Contacts I had with various stations helped enormously (you know who you are – thanks for your support) and brought airtime we couldn’t have managed with cold calls.
When it came to the plaque itself another who helped was Mark Metcalf. Mark had instigated footballing plaques at various locations and I’d been fortunate to be involved with a couple. Mark provided contacts with plaque manufacturers and helped ensure we got a decent price too.
There was also a wonderful night in Hebden Bridge in December 2021 where several Corinthians were interviewed publicly and I gave a talk on the history of women’s football. At the end of that event I announced publicly for the first time the campaign to erect a blue plaque and that brought significant interest from the people of West Yorkshire. Local businessman Geoff Matthews had funded the talk and event and that support was wonderful too.
The plaque unveiling was supported on the day by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who spoke about the Corinthians as the suffragettes of football, and former England international Kerry Davis. She had actually played against many of the Corinthians in attendance that day too. Hundreds of people attended with strong support from fans of women’s football, including several key members of the Manchester City Women Supporters Club. Former City player Stacey Copeland was a key supporter that day (as she has been at other events, including the one at Hebden Bridge) and she has made efforts herself to promote the story and help the Corinthians frequently.
It really was quite remarkable the amount of interest demonstrated that day and how the story of the Corinthians has continued to receive attention.
I know this has been a lengthy piece but I think it’s both necessary and valuable to remember what a remarkable day the plaque unveiling was and to remember all those who contributed along the way. All of those involved, especially the Friends of Fog Lane Park, put considerable effort into that day and they quite rightly stood back to ensure the Corinthians’ achievements were recognised first and foremost. That day – and in the months leading up to it – a great community came together to ensure the Corinthians were thanked for all they had done for football and Manchester and the media support ensured that story was spread loud and clear.
I am really pleased and proud with the way it developed and how such a huge community has helped along the way.
This year events of the plaque unveiling and the campaign leading up to it will be included within the Authorised History I am writing. The book will detail every season of the Corinthians, plus their legacy, and will pay tribute to these remarkable players, their managers, coaches and supporting family and friends. Community again, working together. Dozens of players covering every single season from 1940s through to the club’s demise have been interviewed, while archives have been researched extensively to correct myths and add facts to the memories of those who were there.
Over the last five years or so contemporary articles and film of the Corinthians has been found and I’ve written for a variety of footballing and non-footballing national, regional & local publications and websites. Some have inspired others and some have helped re-unite former players.
I think, out of everything that has been achieved over the last five years or so it’s the re-uniting of players that is most satisfying, along with the support of a wide community of organisations, volunteers, footballers and more. Thanks.
Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History is available to order pre-publication:
Dr Gary James’ new book “Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History” is available to order pre-publication for £19.95. Everyone ordering before publication will get their name published in the book.
ITV’s national news coverage of the plaque unveiling can be seen here:
ITV Granada Reports coverage of the unveiling is here:
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-10-06/honour-for-one-of-the-oldest-womens-football-teams
There’s lots of other material on the Corinthians on this website. Feel free to search ‘Corinthians’ below or use links like this:
It’s hard to believe but today marks a year since an amazing day when Manchester came together, along with a wonderful community of former footballers, to recognise the pioneering women’s team the Manchester Corinthians. It was an incredible day made possible with the support of so many individuals, groups and community leaders. So often we highlight issues, problems or moments where communities separate or fail but the long running campaign to bring recognition to the Corinthians has seen so many come together for something extremely positive.
Personally, I was touched by the support received for this campaign I’d established several years ago. The plaque unveiling was the biggest visible sign that it was succeeding with huge TV audiences tuning in. One news broadcast alone featuring the Corinthians’ plaque unveiling had 2.7 million live viewers. Add to that downloads and all the news features experienced on TV and radio that day and the number rockets significantly. There were also newspaper articles and more.
The aim, back in 2019 when I first raised the idea of erecting permanent tributes publicly in an article I wrote, had been to bring recognition and wider public awareness to the exploits of these remarkable footballers. The media coverage certainly did that and also other Corinthians came forward who had seen the coverage.
I’d particularly like to pay tribute to Jam Williams-Thomas from ITV Granada who promised me he’d ensure Granada Reports would have a camera crew there many, many months before the exact date had been finalised. That support was vital. In the end David Chisnall came from Granada Reports and did a wonderful feature on the plaque and recognising the Corinthians. Thanks to you, Jam and all at Granada Reports. It really helped (there are links to some of the TV coverage at the bottom of this article).
2019 was the year when the campaign received a lot of support. Back then I contacted many key Manchester and national institutions with the concept. Manchester City FC immediately supported the idea and that year several Corinthians, plus myself, were invited to City to attend a WSL game, where they met England international Karen Bardsley and England women manager Phil Neville. The Blues also included features in their match programme and on their website on the history of the Corinthians.
They’ve continued to support and promote the Corinthians’ story ever since. I don’t know how many millions read their website today but again, like the national news coverage, this level of readership is significant. I’m not daft enough to think everyone reading the stories or watching the news will want to know more about the Corinthians, but if just 1% do then that in itself is an incredible number of people who previously may not have known or understood how the Corinthians toured the globe promoting Manchester, football and female endeavour.
Simon Mullock at the Sunday Mirror helped with an excellent feature too back in the early days. That support from a national tabloid was so important in widening the news and soon, in general conversation, people were mentioning the Corinthians and their achievements. I loved that! We were getting somewhere and Simon, together with later features by renowned journalists focusing on women’s football in other newspapers, was a big part of that.
Another major supporter since the start has been the Manchester FA’s Colin Bridgford. Again in 2019 we met up to talk about what we could do to promote the Corinthians’ story and I wrote several articles for the Manchester FA’s website. That support was important and helped raise the profile of what we were trying to achieve. We also arranged a meeting with Manchester FA staff and several of the Corinthians, including Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd and Jan Lyons – three of the Corinthian stalwarts who have worked tirelessly to rightly highlight the story of their team. Plans were put in place to do other activities with the Manchester FA but sadly Covid hit and plans had to be abandoned. Colin and his team did, of course, support the plaque unveiling last October.
The FA have helped too. In fact they have not only helped promote the story but also provided significant funding to ensure permanent tributes could be made. My connection with Rachel Pavlou at The FA came via Caterina Loriggio. Cat led a major project in partnership with the Women’s Euros the other year and I acted as the Heritage Lead for Trafford Council. Via the UEFA & FA project a series of activities were established in each host city/borough and the Corinthians inevitably became part of that. I performed interviews with several Corinthians (borrowing some of their trophies and kit too for an exhibition) in Trafford and others were interviewed at Wigan & Leigh. These were filmed and are still available here:
When I discussed the idea of erecting permanent tributes with Rachel she immediately offered funds and other support to ensure the Corinthians were recognised. The FA and Cat also approved the wording for the plaque. For me this had to recognise all the Corinthians, not one person or individual moments (I knew we could pay appropriate tribute to all of that via the book I’ve been working on for several years, which will be published this summer).
The FA were not the only ones to get involved of course as the campaign brought together a wide range of people… as with every project like this there are many, unsung heroes who work tirelessly without seeking or receiving financial reward. In that category are the Friends of Fog Lane Park. They deserve immense praise, especially Pamela & Alice and the others who attended various meetings along the way and performed many tasks that made the unveiling day such a success.
I’d been introduced to the Friends by Manchester City Council, in particular Paul Hulme. Jan Lyons and I had met Paul at an early meeting we’d arranged. We’d hoped there would be support from the Council and sure enough Paul was interested, particularly when Jan told some of the Corinthians’ story. Her words and experiences brought it all to life and demonstrated perfectly why we needed to get this story out there. Paul immediately set up a meeting with the Friends of Fog Lane Park and other council officials and employees.
At that meeting in the Fog Lane Park Café me, Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd and Jan Lyons, explained about the Corinthians with the former players telling their stories while the Friends were enthralled. I put it all into context in terms of the wider football and Manchester stories, then explained about the attempts to raise public awareness and how we wanted to get a Blue Plaque erected. We agreed that the Blue Plaque appeal would be established in the name of the Friends of Fog Lane Park – they had a dedicated committee of passionate individuals and the opportunity to publicly recognise the Corinthians in the park that had been their home for over two decades was wonderful.
Those who donated to the appeal to erect permanent tributes to the Corinthians were: Pam Barnes, Dan Mooney, Adam Turgoose, ‘Ben’, ‘Jean J’, Jonathan Kaye, Megan Riley, Helena Byrne, Dawn Burrows, Clare Wilkins, Linda Foley, Debbie Enever, John Carrier, Jacqui McAssey, Michael Cottam, Karen Phanco, David Hoyle, Daniel Rubin, Heidi James, Gary James and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation. There were a couple of anonymous donations too. It was gratifying that many of those listed were not from Manchester but were connected with women’s football in other parts of the world. That was wonderful to see. It was also fantastic that via Gail Newsham the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation supported the campaign with a significant donation too, proving what a great community of women’s football enthusiasts and researchers we have.
The Friends of Fog Lane Park managed to get matching funds from Manchester City Council too and the Friends had some wonderful ideas to really improve the park and tributes further. As well as the hoped for plaque and a lectern providing a Corinthians’ timeline, the Friends organised for some of the funds raised via the appeal and The FA to be spent on two impressive murals painted by artist Gavin Renshaw and for a handout to be produced for park visitors on the Corinthians. Now everybody who visits the park gets to see wonderful artwork (on a former graffiti covered building), the plaque, a lectern, an information board inside the café and the leaflet. All of this is helping get the story out there again and, for those young girls and boys kicking a ball around the park, is inspiring.
In the weeks building up to the unveiling day the Friends spent considerable time and effort tidying up the park, arranging some of the logistics, erecting the plaque itself, overseeing the mural work, organising sandwiches, baking cakes and more. It was a real community effort and all deserve thanking again.
Various media companies helped promote the plaque appeal with myself, Friends of Fog Lane Park, Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd, Jan Lyons and other Corinthians being interviewed on a fairly regular basis. Contacts I had with various stations helped enormously (you know who you are – thanks for your support) and brought airtime we couldn’t have managed with cold calls.
When it came to the plaque itself another who helped was Mark Metcalf. Mark had instigated footballing plaques at various locations and I’d been fortunate to be involved with a couple. Mark provided contacts with plaque manufacturers and helped ensure we got a decent price too.
There was also a wonderful night in Hebden Bridge in December 2021 where several Corinthians were interviewed publicly and I gave a talk on the history of women’s football. At the end of that event I announced publicly for the first time the campaign to erect a blue plaque and that brought significant interest from the people of West Yorkshire. Local businessman Geoff Matthews had funded the talk and event and that support was wonderful too.
The plaque unveiling was supported on the day by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who spoke about the Corinthians as the suffragettes of football, and former England international Kerry Davis. She had actually played against many of the Corinthians in attendance that day too. Hundreds of people attended with strong support from fans of women’s football, including several key members of the Manchester City Women Supporters Club. Former City player Stacey Copeland was a key supporter that day (as she has been at other events, including the one at Hebden Bridge) and she has made efforts herself to promote the story and help the Corinthians frequently.
It really was quite remarkable the amount of interest demonstrated that day and how the story of the Corinthians has continued to receive attention.
I know this has been a lengthy piece but I think it’s both necessary and valuable to remember what a remarkable day the plaque unveiling was and to remember all those who contributed along the way. All of those involved, especially the Friends of Fog Lane Park, put considerable effort into that day and they quite rightly stood back to ensure the Corinthians’ achievements were recognised first and foremost. That day – and in the months leading up to it – a great community came together to ensure the Corinthians were thanked for all they had done for football and Manchester and the media support ensured that story was spread loud and clear.
I am really pleased and proud with the way it developed and how such a huge community has helped along the way.
This year events of the plaque unveiling and the campaign leading up to it will be included within the Authorised History I am writing. The book will detail every season of the Corinthians, plus their legacy, and will pay tribute to these remarkable players, their managers, coaches and supporting family and friends. Community again, working together. Dozens of players covering every single season from 1940s through to the club’s demise have been interviewed, while archives have been researched extensively to correct myths and add facts to the memories of those who were there.
Over the last five years or so contemporary articles and film of the Corinthians has been found and I’ve written for a variety of footballing and non-footballing national, regional & local publications and websites. Some have inspired others and some have helped re-unite former players.
I think, out of everything that has been achieved over the last five years or so it’s the re-uniting of players that is most satisfying, along with the support of a wide community of organisations, volunteers, footballers and more. Thanks.
Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History is available to order pre-publication:
Dr Gary James’ new book “Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History” is available to order pre-publication for £19.95. Everyone ordering before publication will get their name published in the book.
ITV’s national news coverage of the plaque unveiling can be seen here:
ITV Granada Reports coverage of the unveiling is here:
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-10-06/honour-for-one-of-the-oldest-womens-football-teams
There’s lots of other material on the Corinthians on this website. Feel free to search ‘Corinthians’ below or use links like this:
On Wednesday there was a great gathering at Droylsden for the latest talk on the Manchester Corinthians. I’d like to thank everyone who came and it was so great to see a few former players & their families at the talk. I’ve been doing talks on the Corinthians since about 2017 and have always enjoyed the reaction from audiences. Sometimes I’ve talked in the UK about them and sometimes in North America but where ever I’ve discussed their story the interest has always been high. Thanks.
As well as revealing new information about the club (facts not fiction) I also gave some further information on the book. This has been delayed due to family events but will be out before the end of the year. There’s still chance to subscribe to the book. See:
Doing anything on Wednesday? Fancy coming along to Droylsden Library to hear me talk about the Manchester Corinthians? See image for details.
More on the Corinthians here:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/manchester-corinthians/
As it’s Manchester City v Arsenal here’s a flashback to March 1993 with a connection to both clubs. Back then I travelled to Arsenal’s old stadium, Highbury, to interview the Arsenal manager George Graham, not about the Gunners’ form that season or about a game with City but about his former boss – and Arsenal and Manchester City legend – Joe Mercer.
Joe was the Aston Villa manager who brought George to England many, many years before George had found fame as a footballer and Joe had taken Manchester City to their first European honour. Joe did win the League Cup as Aston Villa boss, but these were not great days for the former Everton and Arsenal playing legend, but he did always feel responsible for bringing George to England (and loved the success he brought Arsenal).
My interview with George had been arranged for Tuesday 30 March 1993 some time in advance but then Arsenal’s FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham was scheduled for the following Sunday at Wembley (a highly unusual occurrence at the time!). I expected to get a call cancelling the interview but instead George decided to go ahead with it.
On the day I parked up outside Highbury quite early but as I pulled up I saw George leave the stadium and jump into a car. I was early, so wasn’t too worried. Then I remembered the FA Cup semi-final and assumed that George would be busy with plans. I expected to be told when I entered the marble hall at Highbury that the meeting would be off.
When I spoke with the reception staff they told me to take a seat. They said that George had been called away and so could be a few minutes late (which he was). I was relieved because I’d been convinced he would cancel (it’s happened often with other busy managers).
I sat in reception thinking about the chat and then, a few minutes after we were due to meet, George walked in. He spoke with the receptionist and then came towards me, hand out, saying ‘I’m George Graham’ (I remember thinking ‘I know’ but I did love the fact that he introduced himself). He took me up to his impressive office at Highbury – no other offices at any ground I had been to at that time could match the quality and status of that room.
We then did the interview. It’s not my best – I think I was overawed by the situation – but I was appreciative of George’s time. During the interview Stewart Houston, his assistant, popped in to check something with George (I turned off my recorder) and George ushered him away, telling him that he was busy. Again, I loved this – other managers have sometimes disappeared and not come back but for George he’d set this time aside to see me and chat about Joe Mercer and that’s what he was doing.
Arsenal beat Spurs that weekend so, I suppose, George knew what he was doing but I do remember watching that game on TV thinking that if Arsenal lose I’d never be able to tell anyone that George had spent time being pestered about Joe Mercer when he should’ve been preparing for Tottenham!
If you subscribe to this site you can hear the interview below. I have been researching and writing for a long time and my Joe Mercer book was my third (first published in 1993). 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 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 1600 articles/posts including the entire Manchester A Football History book and audio interviews with Malcolm Allison and John Bond.
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.
Anyway, here’s the George Graham interview:
To listen please subscribe. Each subscriber gets full access to the 1600 articles posted so far and everything posted during your subscription..
An update hardback edition of my Joe Mercer biography can be bought here:
Shop
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:
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:
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateWith 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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateNext month it will be a year since our special day when the plans I’d been working on for five years came to fruition with the unveiling of the blue plaque to recognise the pioneering Manchester Corinthians. It all came together nicely. In terms of media coverage one of the highlights was the ITV national news who did an excellent feature. You can still watch it here if you missed it:
ITV had already featured the plaque unveiling on their Granada Reports show earlier that day:
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-10-06/honour-for-one-of-the-oldest-womens-football-teams
There was also coverage on BBC North West Tonight (sadly that’s no longer visible online) and various radio stations. There was also a Channel Five News feature too.
I’ve explained frequently how I’m writing the history of the Corinthians and the plaque unveiling was all part of the longstanding project I set up years ago to highlight the incredible work of these women (and other women’s clubs in Manchester).
You can find out more on the book which will be published later this year here:
There are lots of images from the unveiling on this site, along with stories about the Corinthians. You can find out more on the appeal and on their history here:
Gary James' Football Archive 