Category Archives: Manchester City

The 1990s: 1991-1992 Curle Signs

Remember the day Manchester City defeated eventual League Champions Leeds United 4-0 at Maine Road? It was a great day (4 April 1992) though Leeds’ title rival Alex Ferguson had incorrectly suggested City would take it easy that day and let Leeds win so that Utd wouldn’t get the title! How wrong (and disrespectful) was he?

Here’s the Manchester Evening News report of that game. Notice the Leeds team included Eric Cantona and former Red Gordon Strachan:

if you’d like to know more on the 1991-92 season when the Blues finished 5th for the second season running, have a read of this 2,100 word article on that season:

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This series of articles and features will run throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. There will be flashbacks to great games, players and more. Every day in March will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

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Cossack Allison

On this day (April 3) in 1965 Manchester City defeated Malcolm Allison’s Plymouth 2-1 before a pitiful Maine Road crowd of 10,929. This was a desperate Second Division season for the Blues but it was also a time when the Manchester press laughed at Allison.

Allison, wearing a Cossack hat for the match, had entertained Mancunians earlier in the season by outlining his footballing aims in the Football Pink. Some of these were viewed as ludicrous by local journalists at the time but little did they realise that within four months of this victory over Plymouth Allison would be helping to transform City.

Back in the 1990s I interviewed Malcolm about joining City and the transformation of the Blues. This hour+ interview has now been posted in its entirety to this site. You can access it here:

Malcolm Allison Audio Interview Part One

Hyde Road’s Last

On this day (2 April) in 1923 Hyde Road’s last victory saw Manchester City defeat Sunderland 1-0. It’s a great coincidence that Maine Road’s last victory was against the same club on 21/4/2003.

This was not the last match played at Hyde Road, that was a public practice match the following August.

Manchester City Nicknames

Ever wondered what nicknames have been used for the Blues through the generations? Well, here for subscribers to my site I cover the story of various names used by fans, the media and others for the club since they first entered the League.

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If you would like to read this and all 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) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Annual subscribers get full access everything posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming months. Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022.

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The 1990s: The Day Swales Said No to Chester!

The series of features covering Manchester City in the 1990s continues today with the story of Peter Swales saying ‘No’ to Chester! What did Chester want? Well, it’s a generally forgotten time when Third Division debt-ridden homeless club Chester needed to find another ground to play at. Meetings were held between Chester and Manchester City chairman Peter Swales which sadly resulted in the decision that the Cheshire club could not play at Maine Road. These cuttings are from today (31 March) in 1990 and explains the situation.

I love how they use a staged image of Swales on the phone – as if he’s Batman getting an urgent message to save the planet.

Ultimately, Chester played at Macclesfield for a couple of years but it does make you wonder what could have happened at Maine Road.

While you’re here why not read more on MCFC in the 1990s. The following article tells the story of the opening months of 1990 (see below). This series of articles and features has been running throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others.

Subscribers have access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? The following 1,300 word article on the end of the 1989-90 season is available to subscribers below. Enjoy!

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.

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The 1990s: The Super League!

The series of features covering Manchester City in the 1990s continues today with this reminder of the days when the creation of a Super League was leaked to the press. The Super League eventually became the Premier League and the key clubs behind the move were Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and Manchester United. Much of the coverage from this period in 1991 focused on these clubs wanting to exert greater control on football’s finances, i.e. to carve up the game’s riches for the biggest clubs of the era. These cuttings are all from the start of April 1991.

Back then the Football League had four divisions and voting rights were equal for all clubs in the top two divisions (the ‘full members’ of the League, hence the Full Members Cup). The bottom two divisions were classed as associate members and they still had voting rights which many in the top division objected to. They felt the clubs outside the top flight should not control the League’s finances and direction.

It wasn’t the first time the establishment of a Super League had been discussed (usually it involved the idea of bringing leading Scottish clubs into a British league system) but it does appear to be the first time the leading clubs in the top division wanted to limit the influence of the others.

You can see from these articles who the leading architects were and how fans reacted. This piece quotes Frank Horrocks from the MCFC Supporters Club. Many of his concerns have proved to be true in the 30+ years that have followed:

All these years on there have been multiple attempts by certain clubs to limit the opportunities for others and create an environment where they can prosper without necessarily investing. Many of the financial issues between the rich and the rest in football that people talk of today were created as a result of the greed of several clubs in the early 1990s.

For Manchester City the 1990-91 season saw a shock managerial departure could have disrupted the club but ultimately they finished 5th, 3 points ahead of Manchester United. Here’s a 2,700 word article on that season:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.

Subscribe

This series of articles and features will run throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. There will be flashbacks to great games, players and more. Every day in March will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

The 1990s: Crowd Records

Today’s feature in the series covering Manchester City in the 1990s is a reminder of crowd related activities in the 1998-99 season. It was City’s only ever season in the third tier and they were met with capacity crowds throughout the season. These newspaper cuttings are from today (29 March) in 1999 and follow City’s game at Reading on 27th.

The match made the front page of the local paper in Reading. There was no crowd trouble or anything but the remarkable scenes of a full house at Reading made the news. Have a read of these to remember those days when the loyalty of City’s support was often the story.

Here’s an actual report of the game too (from the Reading perspective):

While you’re here, why not read the following 8000 word article? It’s available to subscribers, so why not subscribe and relive this extraordinary season? As with all these 1990s subscriber features it contains material from interviews I’ve performed with key figures from that time.

Here’s the 4900 word article on that season:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.

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Subscribe to get access – Annual

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.

Subscribe

This series of articles and features will run throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. There will be flashbacks to great games, players and more. Every day in March will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

The 1990s: Empty Seats at Home!

Well I never! I think I’ve spotted who started all this ‘Empty seats’ malarky – Madonna! On this day (29 March) in 1990 the Manchester Evening News carried this article saying that Madonna was worried about playing at Maine Road because of the potential for empty seats! When I found this I just had to share. The actual phrase ’empty seats’ is in there too!

Obviously, Madonna herself probably had no knowledge of this although City chairman Peter Swales claimed he was actively pursuing the idea of her appearing at Maine Road. Lots of concerts did take place at Maine Road (you can find articles on them elsewhere on this site).

While you’re here why not read more on MCFC in the 1990s. The following article tells the story of the opening months of 1990 (see below). This series of articles and features has been running throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others.

Subscribers have access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? The following 1,300 word article on the end of the 1989-90 season is available to subscribers below. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.

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100 Years Ago Today: Meredith’s Last Competitive Game

Here are some images from Billy Meredith’s last competitive game on this day (29 March) in 1924. these are great images of the general scene. The match was a FA Cup semi final between Manchester City and Newcastle at Birmingham City.

Subscribers can read more and watch film of Meredith’s last game here:

Billy Meredith’s Last Game: 1924 FA Cup Semi

The 1990s: Fire in the North Stand

The series of features covering Manchester City in the 1990s continues today with this reminder of a day when fans had to be evacuated from Maine Road’s North Stand due to a fire. I remember the day well – I was sat at the opposite end – and it did seem a little worrying for a time. I remember seeing some smoke coming out of the stand. This cutting is from today (28 March) in 1997 and highlights the day of the fire (previous weekend).

The article claims the fire was started because a fan had pushed a cigarette into a cavity which set fire to materials behind the wall. I don’t think I ever knew this at the time (the rumour was that a chip fryer or burger stand had overheated in some way) but reading this all these years later is a little chilling. In 1985 the cause of the Bradford fire was believed to be a stray cigarette going through a whole and setting waste material under the stand on fire.

Unlike at Bradford the North Stand fire was soon extinguished and City’s game was delayed but played. Nevertheless, reading that brief report now does make you think of what could have happened.

This was not the first time a stand at Manchester City experienced a fire of course. Elsewhere on this site you can read about the Hyde Road fire.

While you’re here why not read a 4,900 word long article on the 1996-97 season? It’s available to subscribers, so why not subscribe and relive this season and an extraordinary decade? As with all these 1990s subscriber features it contains material from interviews I’ve performed with key figures from that time, including Phil Neal who talks about Steve Coppell’s shock resignation.

Here’s the 4900 word article on that season:

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.

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Subscribe to get access – Annual

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.

Subscribe

This series of articles and features will run throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. There will be flashbacks to great games, players and more. Every day in March will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe