Category Archives: Manchester City

Newcastle v Manchester City: The Story So Far

City v Newcastle is one of the most enduring fixtures in English football. There have been cup finals, title deciders, dramatic games, shared heroes and so much more. The two clubs first met in the League in October 1893 (Ardwick/MCFC’s 2nd season in the League) and City’s record is:

CompetitionPlayedWonDrawnLost
League174713865
FA Cup12426
League Cup6312
European0000
Other0000

There have been lots of significant games in the League, FA Cup and League Cup. A League Cup final in 1976 saw them meet at Wembley when Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart both scoring for the Blues.

MCFC 20TH CENTURY CHRONICLE SEASON 1975-76

Anyone remember being at Maine Road on the day City played away against Newcastle at Maine Road? That was in 1975. See:

Maine Road 100 – Day 87

101 years ago there was the last meeting at City’s famous old Hyde Road ground:

Maine Road 100 – Bonus Article!

In 2012 a Newcastle v City game was crucial in the Blues’ title charge:

The Title Race Moves To Newcastle

Elano’s wonder goal in 2007:

On This Day: Elano Wonder Goal

In 2021-22 there was a memorable City victory:

Newcastle 0 Manchester City 4

Most Blues of my age and above will remember where they were when our King returned to action on Boxing Day 1977. Here’s an interview I did with him a few years back when we talked about that special day:

IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – Colin Bell MBE (interviewed in January 2005)
On This Day in 1977: Colin Bell’s Emotional Return

When I was a teenager there was a second tier meeting that attracted a significant crowd for the period:

Manchester City v Newcastle United 1984

My Dad’s generation will remember the 1955 FA Cup final:

The 1955 FA Cup Final
IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – 1955 FAC Team (first published May 2005)

During 1956-57 there was a ‘game of the season’ in the FA Cup between the clubs:

Game of the Season 1956-1957: Manchester City V Newcastle United

My grandad’s generation would’ve remembered Billy Meredith’s last game:

Billy Meredith’s Last Game: 1924 FA Cup Semi

Who remembers the title decider at Newcastle? Details:

Manchester City Win The League

There was a really odd thing a while back where a Newcastle paper claimed that their local team had first worn bar scarves at games. A few simple searches soon proved there were much earlier bar scarfs:

Showing Your Colours

Some of the above are free to read and some are for subscribers only. Follow the link below if you want to find out more about subscribing:

How To Subscribe

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.

Donate

50 Years Ago Today: Rodney Marsh Overhead Goal V QPR

It’s incredible to think for those of us there that day (I was 6) but it’s fifty years today since a memorable overhead goal by Rodney Marsh. It was the match winner too! Below is a detailed article on the goal. This is available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).

Many goals over the years are described as the greatest ever by a City player.  Sometimes these become a talking point for a few days, sometimes for a few years but unless they happen to occur in a major trophy winning game goals tend to lose their significance as time moves on.  This is especially true for games prior to the 1990s when television coverage was limited to, at best, a handful of top flight games.

The idea of this piece today is to highlight this spectacular goal that many won’t have been able to see and one that wasn’t filmed. Rodney Marsh’s overhead kick from the City-QPR Division One game of 28 September 1974.  

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this article and access all other articles for as long as you subscribe – It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or you can sign up for a year for the discounted fee of £20 per year (works out about £1.67 a month).

Subscribe

Wondering whether it’s worth subscribing? See the following for more information:

How To Subscribe

Everton Defeated

Five years ago today (28 September 2019) Manchester City defeated Everton 3-1 before 39,222 at Goodison Park. The City scorers were Jesus, Mahrez and Sterling and you can see highlights of the game below:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2019/september/everton-man-city-extended-highlights-video-premier-league

Subscribe to get access

While you’re here why not subscribe to my website. It costs £20 per year (works out about £1.67 a month) and for that every subscriber gets access to a PDF of both Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men to Banana Citizens (both out of print) plus the hundreds of articles, interviews and videos already posted and a guaranteed 4 new exclusive articles per month (usually a lot more than that!). I am not employed to do any research and so subscribers help fund detailed research into football’s history. Thanks for supporting my work if you do already subscribe or buy my books.

Subscribe

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.

Donate

Horton’s City v Newcastle

As it’s Newcastle v Manchester City tomorrow I thought I’d post a flashback to a game from 30 years ago (yes, it really is that long ago!). Sit back and enjoy this read…

When high-flying Newcastle (they were third) arrived at Maine Road in April 1994 many expected the Geordies to embarrass City, particularly as the Blues were struggling at the other end of the table, but a determined performance brought City the points and the plaudits.

Maine Road’s second largest crowd of the season felt a little apprehensive in the opening period – especially when Newcastle’s £700,000 purchase Scot Sellars netted in the 19th minute.  The worry didn’t last however, and as the match progressed Brian Horton’s Blues began to excel.  After 33 minutes Paul Walsh scored a deserved equaliser, and then 3 minutes into the second half defender David Brightwell scored the winner.  This was the unlikely hero’s first goal for the club and pre-match bookmakers Ladbrookes had offered odds of 66-1 for him to score.   Immediately after netting he was mobbed by Paul Walsh, Peter Beagrie, and David Rocastle.

For the rest of the match City appeared confident and were certainly good value for money, matching Newcastle throughout.  An ecstatic crowd gave the Blues a tremendous ovation at the whistle with the talents of Beagrie, Walsh, and Rosler gaining particular praise.  Afterwards Kevin Keegan gave the Blues further praise – something he repeated two years later in an equally thrilling 3-3 draw between a Geordie side six points clear at the top, and a City side slipping towards relegation. 

The season ended with Newcastle in third place, and City in 16th position – 3 points above the relegation zone.

You can watch highlights here:

Stats:  Premier League 9th April 1994.

City 2 Newcastle United 1

Scorers – City: Walsh, Brightwell (D)

Newcastle: Sellers

City:  Dibble, Hill, Brightwell D., McMahon, Curle, Vonk, Rocastle, Karl (Lomas), Rosler, Walsh, Beagrie

Attendance: 33,774 

You can read much more on that season here:

Brian Horton Arrives

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.

Donate

North Stand Expansion

Yesterday’s release of the plans for the newly extended North Stand looked excellent. There’s a long way to go before anyone can sit or stand in the new extension of course, but it does look like it’s going to boost almost every area of support: New rail seating, an emphasis on under 21s, hospitality, families… interesting times. Looking at the images released it looks as though the new 3,000 rail seats will be at the back of the 2nd tier. If that’s the case any noise generated up there should bounce down off the roof and encourage others to join in.

You can read what City said about it all here:

https://www.mancity.com/news/club/configuration-of-the-etihad-stadium-s-north-stand-expansion-revealed-63862951?utm_source=x&utm_medium=organic+social&utm_content=organic
New North Stand extension at MCFC as released on 26 September 2024
New North Stand extension at MCFC as released on 26 September 2024

This is what was released in 2023:

Proposed North Stand extension at the Etihad, announced 28 February 2023

This is the stand (left of image) as it looked in 2022 before the building work began):

Manchester city women v Manchester United women 2022 (then a record crowd for women’s football at the Etihad)

While you’re here… have you thought about subscribing to this site? For details see:

How To Subscribe

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.

Donate

Alec Thurlow

On this day (26 September) in 1946 goalkeeper Alec Thurlow signed for Manchester City with the hope that the young ‘keeper would be a permanent replacement for Frank Swift.  Sadly, Alec was forced to retire from the game in 1950 through tuberculosis. He went on to have major surgery with seven ribs removed.  He also had a collapsed lung.  Alec died in a sanatorium at the age of 34 in 1956. You can read more on Thurlow here:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or you can sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 (about £1.67 a month) per year. You get full access to all the interviews, books and other material already posted to the site.

Subscribe

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.

Donate

Stan Horne Debut

Three days after making his Manchester City debut in a League Cup tie with Leicester (22 September 1965, 3-1 City win) Stan Horne made his League debut for Joe Mercer’s Blues. The game, played on this day (25th) in 1965 ended in a 1-0 City win over Derby County at Maine Road. The scorer was Jimmy Murray.

Horne had previously played for Mercer’s Aston Villa too.

Programme Flashback City V Stoke, 24 September 1975

On this day in 1975 Manchester City faced Stoke at Maine Road.

Here for subscribers is a flashback piece detailing what features were in the MCFC match programme that day and game information:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or sign up for a year at the discount price of £20 per year. Why not subscribe for a month and see what you think?

Subscribe

Bobby McDonald

If you read tomorrow night’s match programme you’ll see (if all goes to plan) my One Moment In Time feature which is an image of Bobby McDonald playing against Watford. So, for this feature I thought I’d republish an article I wrote in 2011 on McDonald. This was first published in the build up to the 2011 FA Cup final. I took a look at the eleven players who made the starting line-up for City’s FA Cup final in 1981.  Subscribers can read my feature on left-back Bobby McDonald below.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe

Where Were You?

Fairly early on in the game between Manchester City and Arsenal the fans of the London club started to sing the old ‘Where were you when you were…’ chant. You’d think they’d know because often City were attracting better crowds than Arsenal. Let’s look at 1982-83 when I experienced my first relegation as a City fan. Back then City were the 4th best supported club (26,789) and Arsenal were 6th (24,153) – see the average attendance table above. City finished in a relegation position and Arsenal were 10th.

The following season Arsenal did attract a better average than City but they were the 5th best supported club in the entire 4 divisions and City were the 6th. In terms of League position Arsenal were 6th and City were 4th in Division Two.

We could talk about the late 1990s but neither club had a ground that could satisfy the demand to see them, so a sell out Maine Road in 1998-99 for third tier City has to compare with a sell out Highbury for title challenging Arsenal.

Since then stadium size has dictated average support but if we go back to earlier decades and assume that Arsenal’s ‘Where were you when you were sh*t’ refers to City heading towards relegation or being out of the top flight then City’s record is impressive overall. In 1965-66 (the last 2nd division season before the 1980s) City averaged 27,739 (10th best in entire League) while First Division Arsenal were the 9th best supported club on 29,036.

We can jump back even further. In the 1920s Arsenal were perceived as a popular club and in 1925-26 they averaged 31,471 – the 3rd best in the League. Where were City? Oh, City who were relegated that season were the 2nd best supported team with an average of almost 32,000. Not much more than Arsenal but the Gunners were 2nd in the League and City were relegated!

The year after Second Division City were the 3rd best supported club and top flight Arsenal were 4th!

1926-27 Average attendances. Manchester City in Second Division

The year after that (1927-28) Second Division City were the best supported club in the entire League with 37,468. Where were top flight Arsenal? 7th best supported with 27,434.

1927-28 Average attendances. Manchester City were the best supported club despite being in Second Division

It’s all a nonsense but if Arsenal fans, or any other team, want to sing songs like this then it would help if they knew their own history of support.