Category Archives: Manchester City

Pre-match Activities

In recent years many night games played across football have seen light shows. Manchester City have established a few of these at the Etihad Stadium too. The spectacle has proved popular, particularly with young supporters who are perhaps experiencing a night match for the first time. For today’s subscriber piece I have written a 2000 word article on the history of pre-match entertainment at Manchester City. There are mentions of the St Joseph’s Industrial School and Beswick Prize Bands, various DJs, athletic challenges, Norman Wisdom, Frank Sidebottom & more. Enjoy:

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Incoming: Pep

On this day (1 February) in 2016 after increasing speculation from the media Manchester City announced that Pep Guardiola would succeed Manuel Pellegrini as their manager in the summer. The BBC’s Phil McNulty said at the time: “The combination of the charismatic Catalan’s coaching brilliance and the financial backing he will receive makes this a partnership the rest of football world could come to fear.”

Here’s the BBC Report from that day:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35461090

Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Today at 6pm

A reminder to all those who have signed up that today (Wednesday 1 February) at 6pm (UK time) I’ll be doing my presentation on the origins of Manchester City FC, focusing on St Mark’s & the club’s development prior to its re-birth as Ardwick AFC. This is a free event where I will explain how the club was born and developed. There are lots of myths out there, but I will be focusing on the facts and the latest research. 

A link will be sent to all those who have registered for the event beforehand. I added a final few places and so you may be able to join for this Zoom talk if you register asap via this link:

Register on Eventbrite

I will be presenting the facts and history of the birth of the club and its development in the West Gorton and Gorton areas of Manchester prior to 1887. Dispelling myths and revealing the latest research and evidence of what actually happened.

The link will be sent out shortly before the event is live to all those registered. Only those registered will be admitted into the video chat site. You must register here if you want to get involved.

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online on zoom, so you should be able to access it anywhere.

History Talk – MCFC Away Days Now Live For Subscribers

On Wednesday 18 January I held a discussion about Manchester City FC away games. Subscribers can now listen to a recording of that talk here (it costs £20 a year to access everything on the site or £3 per month). The talk lasts about 1 hour so get yourself a brew and listen to the story of traveling away.

We talk about the train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise and their coaches too (remember number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner?). Amongst the moments/subjects discussed were the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Oldham, QPR, Leeds & more.  Thanks to all who participated in this for your efforts, especially Graham Ward, Roger Reade and the guys from the Lad & Dad Away Days podcast who all brought up their own memories of games.

The next History Talk will take place later today 1/2/23 at 6pm-7pm UK time. This will be more of a presentation and will be about the origins of Manchester City. You can register for that and find out more here:

Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Register Now

Here’s the recording of the MCFC Away Days talk. This is for subscribers only:

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Jesus’ First

Today (1 February) in 2017 Gabriel Jesus scored his first Manchester City goal as the Blues defeated West Ham 4-0. The goals were from De Bruyne (17), David Silva (21), Jesus (39) and Toure (pen, 67) at the former London Olympic Stadium. Attendance 56,980. A few stats and reports from that day/the game here:

  • Gabriel Jesus became the first player to both score and assist a goal on their first Premier League start for Manchester City.
  • Jesus also became the second youngest Brazilian player to score his first Premier League goal (19yrs 304days), after Rafael for Manchester United in November 2008 (18yrs 122days).
  • David Silva scored his third away Premier League goal against West Ham – his highest tally of away goals against another opponent in the competition.
  • Yaya Toure has scored all 11 of his Premier League penalties – the best 100% record in the competition.
  • In his 50th Premier League game, Kevin de Bruyne recorded his 30th goal involvement in the competition (11 goals, 19 assists).
  • City have scored nine goals in two games in all competitions at London Stadium – just half the number West Ham have (18) in 17 games there.

Fifteen Points Clear

On this day (31 January) in 2018 Manchester City moved 15 points clear of their nearest rivals in the Premier League title race. You can watch highlights of the game with WBA (which City won 3-0) below:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2018/january/man-city-west-brom-video-highlights-extended

The scorers were Fernandinho, Aguero and De Bruyne. I was one of the 53,241 at the Etihad that day. Were you also at this match? If you were why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?

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Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Tomorrow

I’ve increased the number of tickets for tomorrow’s free online talk to the absolute maximum possible. The talk focuses on the origins of Manchester City FC, focusing on St Mark’s & the club’s development prior to its re-birth as Ardwick AFC. It takes place at Wednesday 1 February at 6pm (UK time) and these final few tickets can be booked below.

During the hour long presentation I will discuss the origins and will explain how the club was born and developed. There are lots of myths out there, so come and listen to the facts. This hour will include the opportunity to ask questions as I’m keen to hear your thoughts on the birth of the club.

The event will be live on Zoom on 1/2/23 at 6pm and a link will be sent to all those who have registered for the event beforehand (probably about 1 hour before we are due to start). To sign up for this online Zoom talk please register via this link:

Register on Eventbrite

You must register here if you want to get involved. If you’d like an example of what the talk will be like take a look at:

Video of my online talk on history of MCFC Support/Match Day at Maine Road

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online on zoom, so you should be able to access it anywhere.

This is the third and final time I have increased capacity. Tickets have continued to go quickly so please book today if you want to listen and watch the presentation.

You can see posts about other History Talks here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/history-talks/

Manchester City v Bradford Park Avenue: A Record Breaking Day!

On this day (30 January) in 1946 the second leg of the fourth round FA Cup tie with Bradford Park Avenue occurred. The competition largely followed the style of the War Cup with rounds played on a two legged basis.  In the third round City had defeated Barrow 8-4 on aggregate, and had managed to defeat Bradford 3-1 at Park Avenue in the first leg.  The two goal margin was believed to be enough for the Blues and the match programme included the line:  unless something extraordinary happens this afternoon City should be in the hat for the fifth round draw.

Something extraordinary did happen as Bradford cancelled out the Blues’ lead with goals in the 21st and 23rd minutes. Cardwell had regained the aggregate lead in the 36th minute but the second half saw Bradford in blistering form.  They made it 4-4 on aggregate three minutes after the break and then netted three times in nine minutes to make it 6-1 on the night.  The Blues pulled a goal back after 78 minutes but Bradford came back again netting a penalty five minutes from time and their eighth in the 87th minute.

The Blues had endured their record home defeat in the FA Cup.  Logically there was no reason why it should happen on that day.  The weather wasn’t great and Cardwell was injured during the match, but City’s team should have been more than capable of at least holding back Bradford.

Future England boss Ron Greenwood had played in both games.

True Blues – Lawrence Furniss

Lawrence Furniss was a key figure behind the development of Manchester City for 60 years and his achievements should never be forgotten.  His contribution to the City cause was total.  He was given (and thoroughly deserved) the accolade of being City’s first Life President. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below (there’s also some film of him at Maine Road in the 1920s:

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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.

Remember When City Scored Ten?

Manchester City have scored ten goals or more on a few occasions since formation, most famously in 1987 against Huddersfield Town when the Blues won 10-1. Today (29 January) is the anniversary of another 10-1 victory. This came in 1930 when the fourth FAC tie played by City in 18 days ended in a 10-1 victory over Swindon Town. Subscribers can read reports of the game below.

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