Category Archives: Seasons

This Is Our City

This doesn’t feel that long ago but it’s 21 years (the article below is from 26 October 2005) since the This Is Our City campaign was doing the rounds on Manchester billboards. Back then phrases like ‘Real Manchester’ formed part of a campaign by City to make the club’s presence felt across the city. Some of these (like the one mentioned in the image) were attacked by rival fans, but overwhelmingly City’s own support felt positively about the campaign.

A few years later this campaign was part of the inspiration behind the ‘Welcome To Manchester’ poster that welcomed Carlos Tevez to City.

You can find our more on the 2000s across this website with articles for everyone plus some articles for subscribers. Here’s a 3,100 word article on the 2005-06 season (below) for anyone subscribing.

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City Crisis!

On this day (25 October) in 1985 the Daily Mirror covered the staggering news that Manchester City’s financial crisis meant that they were paying £1,000 a day in bank loan interest alone. City had gone from a profitable, major trophy challenging club, prior to Swales’ time as chairman to a debt-ridden club that seemed to be downsizing at every opportunity. There were frequent managerial changes and the ground was lacking the kind of investment it needed and, in many ways, the similarities with modern day United are clear. CIty fans regularly demonstrated against Swales and his supporting directors.

The media rarely supported fans in their demonstrations, often criticising them. The contrast with 2026 is clear – now City have an owner and board who have invested BUT some in the media want them to demonstrate against their owner. Where was the support in the media when City fans needed them?

The 1980s was a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club and you can find out more on this season (and why the club was in debt) by reading the following 2,500 word feature on 1985-86 (available to subscribers). Enjoy!

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City v Oldham Reserves

90 years ago today (24 October) Manchester City reserves defeated Oldham Athletic reserves 3-0 at Maine Road. Here’s the cover and team sheet page of the programme for this game. Look at the adverts too – any one fancy going to see George Robey and Jimmy James after the match?

My series on Manchester City in the 1930s continues with a 2,500 word subscriber article on the 1936-37 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you don’t subscribe then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

Here’s the article:

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The First Charity Shield Manchester Derby

Seventy years ago today (24 October 1956) the first Manchester Derby in the Charity Shield (now Community Shield) took place. Charity is much in evidence, as the Reds are allowed to replace ‘keeper Wood with their reserve David Gaskell when injury strikes. Attendance: 30,495; City 0 United 1.

The Champions beat the Cup holders under floodlights with a goal from local lad Dennis Violet.  United are the better side while City seem a little pedestrian.  

50 Years Old Today: The “Best Team in the Land and all the World” Chant

On this day (23 October) in 1976 Manchester City fans first did their ‘Viking Call’. The chant eventually evolved into ‘The best team in the land and all the world’ but for some time was basically City fans doing a C-iii-ttt-yy chant to the first part of the song. You can hear the song and find out its story in this talk I did in 2022 (if you don’t want to watch the full talk, jump to about 23mins 40 seconds for the Viking Call story):

https://wordpress.com/post/gjfootballarchive.com/5329

I’ve also posted an article on the Manchester City website here telling the story:

https://www.mancity.com/news/mens/the-birth-of-a-chant-63928339

The Origins of City In The Community

In 1979 Manchester City established a programme of community work called ‘The Manchester City Way’. It was so successful that academic studies were performed on it and it was then used to form ideas that led to the establishment of the PFA’s Football in the Community. In 1986 City became one of the clubs that pioneered the new ‘Football in the Community’ and today, forty years on ‘City In The Community’ remains a major contributor to Mancunian life. It’s also the inspiration for the City Football Group’s community initiatives around the globe.

People often forget, or overlook, the significance of ‘The Manchester City Way’ that proved so successful, so I’ve decided to post this article from October 1986 that talks about that and the establishment of Football in the Community. Notice Graham Stringer’s comments on the second page (some Blues will like this, coming from a United fan!). Enjoy!

Royal Blues

On this day (20 October 1934) King Charles III’s grandad attended Maine Road to watch Manchester City face Derby County in the League. The then Duke of York went on to become king of course a few years later. These images are from the Manchester City match programme highlighting the day. It wasn’t the first time a senior member of the royal family attended a City home game, nor was it the last time a future monarch or monarch attended Manchester City’s home.

Duke of York, later King George VI, attending Maine Road in October 1934

You can read about those visits here:

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My 1980s Banana

Well, well, well… I’ve just rediscovered in a box of my memorabilia my original 1980s inflatable banana. This went with me to various games, most memorably the 1988 match with Stoke at the Victoria Ground. I always felt I’d saved it but wasn’t entirely sure. It was hidden with various shirts and scarves from the 70s, 80s and 90s I used to wear.

Bananarama – The Inflatables Craze

Walter Smith Leaves… Then Scandal!

On this day (19 October) in 1920 longserving Manchester City goalkeeper Walter Smith left the Blues for Port Vale. He was a hugely popular figure at Hyde Road but in the days following he was arrested and a major scandal followed. Subscribers can read more on that moment and on the story of Walter Smith’s career here:

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City 2003: Another Attendance Record

On this day (18 October) in 2003 Manchester City scored 6 goals at their new home, the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad Stadium), for the first time. It was also the 6th consecutive record attendance for the new ground. There was also a sending off for Shaun Wright-Phillips. It was an odd day in some ways but you can read more below:

Although the game was 1-1 at half-time, City defeated Bolton 6-2 at the City of Manchester stadium.  The 6th was scored by Claudio Reyna in the 84th minute.The Bolton victory was notable from a stadium perspective as it also marked the sixth consecutive highest record breaking attendance for the venue.  Due to seating reconfigurations taking place throughout the early part of the season, a new record crowd for the stadium was set for the first five League games.  

The first competitive game (TNS, UEFA Cup) saw 34,103 – capacity had been restricted to about 35,000 due to safety legislation – followed by a record in every one of the following five League games staged – 46,287 (Portsmouth), 46,436 (Arsenal), 46,687 (Villa), 46,842 (Spurs) & 47,101 (Bolton).  Each of those matches was watched by a capacity attendance.  Over the following months further changes, such as reducing the size of the Directors’ Box, increased capacity further and the record crowd was broken again when Leeds United came on 22nd December (47,126) and then Liverpool (47,201) six days later.  Ultimately, the Chelsea game on 28th February became the season’s best with an attendance of 47,304.

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