Despite drawing 2-2 at Newcastle on this day (16 February) in 1977 and Ipswich heading the table, Norwich’s Ken Brown believed Manchester City were the most likely team to win the title. City were certainly the team with all the flair this season and perhaps deserved success but ultimately it was the grim, more negative football played by Liverpool that was to find trophy success.
You can read a 2,100 word article on the entire 1976-77 season – a season which saw City miss the title by a point – below. This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January & February with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others.
Subscribers can access everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 2,100 word article is on the 1976-77 season and 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.
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.
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.
The series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s continues with an article on Tony Book’s time as manager. Tony Book had arrived at Maine Road in 1966 and captained City to phenomenal success. When he arrived at City Book was 32: “I hoped I’d get a couple of years and I would have been very happy with two years at City, of course. Because of what happened and the way the success came in my second year, I felt I could go on again. Winning the League in 1968 was like a spark and I wanted to keep the flame going.”
Book lifted more trophies as captain than any other Blue, until the incredible success experienced during Vincent Kompany’s time. Back in 2015-16 as Kompany was nearing Book’s record, Book told me: “Next time he lifts a major trophy he’ll have matched my record as captain. I hope that success comes soon, and that he then goes on to pass my record this season.”
In 1973-74 Book became manager of City for the final month of the season – a spell that was noteworthy for the infamous Manchester derby when Denis Law netted against United in the Reds’ relegation match. In the years that followed, Book developed a squad of real talent, blending well-regarded internationals with enthusiastic youth to create a flamboyant and entertaining team.
Book’s second full season saw his team of entertainers annihilate United 4-0 in the 4th round of the League Cup – on a night remembered more for the devastating injury to Colin Bell – and progress to the competition’s final where they defeated Newcastle 2-1. The victory meant Book was the first man to win the trophy as a player and as a manager. He said at the time: “Two weeks ago I met Gordon Lee (Newcastle manager) and we agreed that whoever won, it was more important for us to provide a good final. I think we have done that. This was my greatest moment. It was a tremendous final and Tueart’s goal was something special… quite out of this world.”
Looking back on 1976 Book believes the key to the success lay in City’s preparation: “We wanted everything to be low key and travelled down early in the week. We did simple training and tried to build an environment around us that was positive. It worked well and by the day of the final we were ready.”
City were missing Kenny Clements, and Colin Bell was still out of action, causing Book to bring youngster Ged Keegan in. There had been media talk that Keegan and another youngster, Peter Barnes, would feel the pressure but Book felt differently: “I had total faith in my lads. Barnes scored the first – in a move that we’d worked on in training – and Keegan more than justified his place. I never had a doubt.”
Book managed City through one of the club’s most exciting periods: “As a manager I was proud that in five years we won the League Cup; finished runners up by a point to Liverpool; we were in Europe for three consecutive seasons; and we reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. I had some good players that came in – Dave Watson, Brian Kidd, Joe Royle, Asa Hartford – and did an excellent job for me.”
City fans loved what he had brought the club and at the 1976 League Cup homecoming they chanted ‘Tony, Tony’ repeatedly for some time. At various film shows over the last decade I’ve shown (together with Will McTaggart from the North West Film Archive) a rediscovered film of the homecoming parade which shows exactly what the success meant to the City boss: “I wanted to win the League Cup for them and I remember looking out over the crowd in Albert Square. They were celebrating and singing. Everything we did was for the fans. These fans have been so loyal over the years and they had made me so welcome when I arrived in 1966. Such a special club and wonderful fans. They deserved that success – and so many more for the way they stood by this club during the painful years that came later.”
Almost sixty years after he first arrived at City, Tony Book is still a regular and popular presence around the club: “I love this club and am grateful to all those who brought me here and involved me for so long. Whenever I’ve been given a job to do I’ve always tried to give my best.”
Book certainly represents all that is good about football and he is a powerful reminder of the successes Manchester City achieved during his captaincy and as manager.
This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. Every day in January & February offered something to enjoy.
Subscribers have access to everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 1,700 word article is on the 1973-74 season and 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.
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.
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.
Here’s another flashback to the 1970s. It’s video of Joe Royle scoring for Manchester City v Arsenal. It was the only goal of the game and you can watch it here:
This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January and February 2024 with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others.
Subscribers can access everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 1,200 word article is on the 1976-77 season and 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.
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.
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.
I can’t do a series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s without mentioning one of my greatest heroes – Dave Watson. Prior to Watson my heroes had been Rodney Marsh (my brother picked Colin Bell and we weren’t allowed to have the same hero!), then Dennis Tueart and then Dave Watson arrived in 1975 and, together with Dennis, he remained the hero forever more. Even a move away from City didn’t change my thoughts and for decades, probably until Vincent Kompany, City didn’t have a defender who could rival Watson for his consistency and determination.
I’ve been fortunate enough to meet Dave a few times over the years (I was lucky enough to sit next to him at the 2008 UEFA Cup final at MCFC – or at least my wife sat next to him; I was next to her) and I also interviewed him a few years back. In his presence he remained very much the hero and was a genuinely nice guy to chat to. Sometimes they say don’t meet your heroes but in Dave’s case he was everything I’d hoped him to be.
These two cuttings mark the beginning of his MCFC career and his end. Two simple newspaper articles that highlight transfers. That’s all. But as any City fan knows the years, games and moments in between were tremendous as Dave helped City find major success and also challenge in both the League and in Europe too.
You can find out more about Dave’s time at City by searching my website for his name or by following the links. The seasons Dave played for City are covered as part of my 1970s series. Subscribers get access to everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 5,320 word article is on the 1975-76 season and 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.
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.
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.
The series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s continues with a 2,100 word article on the entire 1976-77 season – a season which saw City come close to League success. You can read this below. This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. Every day in January has offered something to enjoy.
Subscribers can access everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 1,200 word article is on the 1976-77 season and 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.
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.
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.
Today (29 January) in 1977 Manchester City faced Newcastle United in the FA Cup 4th round at St James’ Park and the local newspaper in Newcastle published this information for fans about how to get tickets for a potential replay. Back then replays would be played midweek of the following week, often on Tuesdays in case further replays were required.
As you can see from this cutting a replay was scheduled for the following Tuesday (if needed) at 7.30pm. The cheapest tickets available were 70p for Kippax terracing with seats at various prices.
In the end a replay wasn’t needed as City defeated Newcastle 3-1 with goals from Gary Owen, Joe Royle and an own goal from Craig.
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.
It seems that some have a view that the giant clubs remain giant clubs forever and that there are some clubs who have only recently become prominent. Others believe that teams that were giants decades before some of today’s major trophy winners were never actually that prominent. I could spend hours challenging those who hold these views and pointing out that teams such as Everton, Newcastle & City won major trophies before many of these clubs and were perceived as giants years earlier too (decades before in some cases!), but it doesn’t feel like they’d listen. Ah well! Instead as part of my series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s I’d like to post a few attendance details that may interest some.
The following are a list of the top seven best supported top flight clubs for the ten seasons prior to City’s relegation in 1983. The Manchester clubs are in bold and the numbers in brackets show each club’s league position that season. In addition if any of the clubs won the European Cup, UEFA Cup, ECWC, FA Cup or League Cup that is also listed in brackets.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1973-74
42712 MUFC (21st); 42332 Liverpool (2nd & FA Cup winners); 38666 Leeds (1st); 33048 Birmingham (19th); 32861 Newcastle (15th); 30756 MCFC (14th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1974-75
45966 LFC (2nd); 40021 Everton (4th); 34822 Leeds (9th); 34614 Newcastle (15th); 32898 MCFC (8th); 30854 Birmingham (17th); 29872 West Ham (13th & FA Cup winners). Both Manchester United (48387) and Sunderland (29931) were in Division Two but had an average higher than some of those in the top seven top tier averages.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1975-76
54750 MUFC (3rd); 41623 Liverpool (1st & UEFA Cup winners); 38874 Aston Villa (16th); 34280 MCFC (8th & LC winners); 33060 Newcastle (15th); 31511 Leeds (5th); 28350 Derby (4th). Sunderland in Division Two had an average of 31250.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1976-77
53710 MUFC (6th & FA Cup winners); 47221 Liverpool (1st & European Cup winners); 40058 MCFC (2nd); 37903 Aston Villa (4th & LC winners); 33599 Newcastle (5th); 32743 Sunderland (20th), 32671 Arsenal (8th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1977-78
51860 MUFC (10th); 45546 Liverpool (2nd & European Cup winners); 41687 MCFC (4th); 39513 Everton (3rd); 35464 Aston Villa (8th); 35446 Arsenal (5th); 32501 Nottm Forest (1st & LC winners). Tottenham were in Division Two with an average of 33417.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1978-79
46430 MUFC (9th); 46407 Liverpool (1st); 36371 Arsenal (7th & FA Cup winners); 36203 MCFC (15th); 35456 Everton (4th); 34902 Tottenham (11th); 32838 Aston Villa (8th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1979-80
51608 MUFC (2nd); 44586 Liverpool (1st); 35272 MCFC (17th); 33596 Arsenal (4th); 32018 Tottenham (14th); 29794 Crystal Palace (13th); 28711 Everton (19th).
1979-80 League table and attendance detail up to 26/4/1980
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1980-81
45071 MUFC (8th); 37547 Liverpool (5th & LC winners); 34117 Aston Villa (1st); 33587 MCFC (12th); 32480 Arsenal (3rd); 30724 Tottenham (10th & FA Cup winners); 26477 Sunderland (17th). West Ham were in Division Two with an average of 27140.
Kippax Stand c.1980
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1981-82
44571 MUFC (3rd); 35100 Tottenham (4th & FA Cup winners); 35061 Liverpool (1st & LC winners); 34063 MCFC (10th); 26780 Aston Villa (11th & European Cup winners); 26585 West Ham (9th); 25589 Arsenal (5th).
1981 City v United Maine Road
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1982-83
41552 MUFC (3rd & FA Cup winners); 34758 Liverpool (1st & LC winners); 30581 Tottenham (4th); 26789 MCFC (20th); 24153 Arsenal (10th); 23748 Aston Villa (6th); 22822 West Ham (8th). Second Division Newcastle attracted an average of 24166.
Fans storming the main entrance in 1983. Mirrorpix photo
For those wondering Manchester City did drop a little in terms of position in the attendance chart during their Second Division days but they were still the 6th best supported club (of all clubs) in 1983-84 and 8th best in 1984-85. Back in Division One in 1985-86 the Blues were once again the 4th best supported team in the entire League.
This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. Every day in January will offer something to enjoy.
Subscribers will get access to everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 1,600 word article is on the 1974-75 season and 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.
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.
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.
Today (22 January) in 1977 the title race hotted up a little as Manchester City defeated Leicester 5-0 with goals from Mike Doyle and Brian Kidd (4). This was a great day to be a Blue and I know I was in the Platt Lane Stand behind the goal (right of camera). It’s great to see City fans in that stand celebrating again and it takes me right back to the excitement felt in my childhood. Back then we hoped City would win the title and they did come close (missing it by a point). You can watch the goals from the game here (listen for Barry Davies’ comment about foreigners watching the 3rd best team!):
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.
On this day (11 January) in 1977 Manchester City defeated West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in a FA Cup 3rd round replay. The original game had ended 1-1 with Kidd scoring for City at Maine Road. The goalscorer in the replay was Joe Royle. It’s well worth reading this report which highlights there was a bit of a conflict in the game too! Enjoy!
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.
Here’s a report and film of Manchester City beating Juventus in their first competitive meeting on this day (15 September) in 1976. That day Brian Kidd scored the only goal (a header) and you can see that goal here:
The match report expresses the disappointment City felt at only taking a 1-0 lead to Italy for the 2nd leg.
Here’s a photo from the game. Notice anything odd? Follow the link after the photo for the story.
Gary James' Football Archive 