On this day (8 November) in 1996 Manchester City manager Steve Coppell resigned after only 33 days in the job. This contemporary article explains that he was suffering with stress:
So much different from the start of his reign:
Coppell: 33 Days
Category Archives: Managers
John Bond Becomes MCFC Manager
On this day (17 October) in 1980 John Bond officially became the Manchester City manager. Back in November 1995 I interviewed the former Manchester City manager. At the time I was researching my in-depth history of the club called Manchester The Greatest City (later updated as Manchester The City Years).
I met John at his home and spent a good few hours with him chatting about the Blues and his career. I loved doing this interview and was always grateful for the time he gave me. He was quite frank, open and honest – which delighted me because he was a great talker. He was also happy for me to quote everything he said in the interview. I did end up quoting him extensively in the book (and in others I’ve produced) but none of the interview has ever been heard by the wider public.
You can hear the interview I did that day. In this first section he talks about the steps taken by City to appoint him; the interview (and the directors involved in that notorious filmed job interview for the City documentary in 1980-81); the signing of Tommy Hutchison, Bobby McDonald and Gerry Gow. As I said earlier, he is quite frank in his comments and that may surprise a few.
This audio recording of the first 17 minutes of the interview is available to subscribers of my blog whether annual or monthly. If you want to hear it then please subscribe below.
Of course as this interview was recorded on my old cassette recorder the quality isn’t the best but I’m sure you’ll appreciate the exclusive nature of this.
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If you would like to listen to this frank interview and read the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year; here) or £3 a month (see below). Annual subscribers access everything posted since December 2020.
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If you would like to listen to this frank interview and read the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe. A monthly subscription is £3 a month (cancel anytime) if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time (here). Monthly subscribers access everything posted since 1 October 2022. Why not join up for a month and see what you think?
The other parts of the interview are available here:
I’ve also posted an obituary I wrote to John here:
The Sacking of Ron Saunders
On this day (April 11) in 1974, despite bold statements from new Manchester City Chairman Peter Swales at the time of his appointment, manager Ron Saunders was dismissed after less than five months in the role. In March Saunders’ City had been defeated 2-1 in the League Cup final against Wolves.
Here for subscribers are Peter Swales’ comments (from an interview I did with him shortly before he died) on the dismissal:
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Happy Birthday Joe Royle
Future Oldham Athletic manager, Manchester City player and manager Joe Royle was born at Norris Green, Liverpool on this day (8 April) in 1949 . During his City career Royle won the League Cup as a player and back to back promotions as a manager. There are quite a few Royle articles on this site such as:
Pearce’s Blues
On this day (19 March) in 2005 Stuart Pearce managed Manchester City for the first time following the resignation of Kevin Keegan. The game with Spurs ended in a 2-1 defeat with Reyna scoring for City at White Hart Lane. Pearce’s side went unbeaten for the rest of the season after this match.
History Video: Joshua Parlby and the Launch of MCFC
As promised, here for subscribers is my presentation on Joshua Parlby and the launch of Manchester City FC. It lasts about 58 minutes and was recorded on 1 March 2023. There are lots of myths out there, but I focused on the facts and my latest research.
The presentation is all about the visionary who promoted a new club to represent Manchester, Manchester City and about the steps taken in 1894. This talk is now only available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).
Subscribers can also see the previous history talk on St Mark’s and City’s development in the Gorton area during the 1870s and 1880s below.
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Annual subscribers get access to everything posted since December 2020 (interviews, history talks, articles, PDFs of books etc.) and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 a year (about 5p a day).
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Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £3 a month (cancel any time).
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
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Kevin Keegan Resigns; Stuart Pearce Becomes Manchester City Manager
Manchester City suffered a 1-0 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers on this day (7 March) in 2005 and this game ultimately led to a significant change to the then 12th placed Blues. Years later, in an interview I did with him the City chairman John Wardle told me that Kevin Keegan, the City manager, took him to one side: “There were nine games left and Kevin said ‘John, I can’t do any more for you’. I didn’t believe him. I thought it was a joke at first but with Kevin you knew when he was being serious. He said ‘I know when I’m done and it’s only right that you put somebody else in’. I sat there shell-shocked. He said that if I wanted him to recommend someone he would. He then recommended Stuart Pearce.
“Stuart had already left Carrington and we had to call him back. I spoke with him, then Kevin talked with him. It was like a handover. Kevin packed his bags and left. We never saw him again at the training ground. That’s Kevin. Once he makes a decision to move on, he moves on. Obviously, it stunned me on the day but I have to stress that I cannot speak highly enough about Kevin Keegan. He’s a real football person and he also cares about people.”
Keegan was hugely popular with fans and they recognised that he had been responsible for the second stage in City’s redevelopment following the disastrous mid-nineties. They also felt that the departure of Nicolas Anelka in January was a sign that financial issues were having a severe impact on the Club. The player was sold for a reported £7m to Fenerbahce. At the time this was City’s record sale.
It is fair to say that Keegan’s time brought a great deal of pride back to the Club. Director Dennis Tueart felt that bringing Keegan in during 2002 was absolutely the right move for the Club. He told me: “I knew he wouldn’t stay for years and years because I knew him. He said to me in 1975 that he would never stay anywhere longer than about five years. People told us he wouldn’t stay but I said if he can have control for a couple of years and get us out of this division then that’s fine. That’s what we needed. Let’s manage first things first and get out of this division. If we can’t do that then what hope? So it was no surprise to me when he eventually left us.”
Former City and England captain Stuart Pearce guided the Blues through the final nine games of 2004-05, taking over on this day (11th March) in 2005. Apart from a 2-1 defeat in his first game, the Blues were unbeaten until the end of the season. This run included victories over Liverpool (1-0), Birmingham (3-0), Portsmouth (2-0) and Villa (2-1). As a result Stuart Pearce was named the Barclays Premiership Manager of the Month for April. The Club announced he was the first City manager to win the award since the birth of the Premier League. That was not true – Alan Ball had, of course, previously won the award in 1995-96.
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This is a sample of the in-depth material available on this site. If you would like to read all the in-depth articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and listen to a frank interview from John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to all the articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming months..
True Blues – Tom Maley
Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on the first manager to bring major trophy success to Manchester – Tom Maley. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:
Subscribe to get access – Annual
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since December 2020 for an annual subscription of £20 (works out about £1.67 per month). There’s also a monthly subscription (see below).
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Monthly subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since 1 October 2022 for a monthly subscription of £3 (cancel any time).
There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.
The full series of True Blue profiles will feature:
Lawrence Furniss, John Allison, Joshua Parlby, Walter Chew, William Sumner, Tom Maley, St Mark’s community leaders, Billy Meredith, John Chapman, William Beastow and James Moores.
History Talk Video: Joshua Parlby and the Launch of MCFC
Here’s my presentation on Joshua Parlby and the launch of Manchester City FC. It lasts about 58 minutes and was recorded on 1 March 2023. There are lots of myths out there, but I focused on the facts and my latest research.
The presentation is all about the visionary who promoted a new club to represent Manchester, Manchester City and about the steps taken in 1894. This talk was free to download until this morning (9 March). Now it is available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).
Subscribers can also see the previous history talk on St Mark’s and City’s development in the Gorton area during the 1870s and 1880s below.
Subscribe to get access – Annual
Annual subscribers get access to everything posted since December 2020 (interviews, history talks, articles, PDFs of books etc.) and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 a year (about 5p a day).
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £3 a month (cancel any time).
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Choose an amount
£2.50
£5.00
£7.50
Or enter a custom amount
£
Your contribution is appreciated.
True Blues – Walter Chew
Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on Walter Chew, a man associated with the first known season of St Mark’s (though there are serious doubts on whether the 16 year old played in the earliest known game). Chew went on to be a key figure in the club’s formative years but there are some myths out there about him and that time. Please note: My MCFC v AVFC programme article earlier this season included a typo which said he was 15 at the time of St Mark’s earliest known game. That should’ve read 16 (his obituary above is from August 1948 which says he was 84 at the time of his death, meaning he’d have been 16 in November 1880). You can find out more about Chew and the latest research below:
Subscribe to get access – Annual
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since December 2020 for an annual subscription of £20 (works out about £1.67 per month). There’s also a monthly subscription (see below).
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Monthly subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since 1 October 2022 for a monthly subscription of £3 (cancel any time).
There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.
The full series of True Blue profiles will feature:
Lawrence Furniss, John Allison, Joshua Parlby, Walter Chew, William Sumner, Tom Maley, St Mark’s community leaders, Billy Meredith, John Chapman, William Beastow and James Moores.
Gary James' Football Archive 