On this day (29 November) in 2011 Manchester City defeated Arsenal 1-0 with an 83rd minute goal from Sergio Aguero. You can watch highlights below:
Category Archives: 2011-12
Manchester City 3 Newcastle United 1
On this day (19 November) in 2011 League leaders Manchester City defeated Newcastle 3-1 with goals from Mario Balotelli (penalty 41 minutes; photographed), Micah Richards (44th minute) & Sergio Aguero (penalty 72 minutes). Newcastle’s goal came from Dan Gosling in the 88th minute. You can watch highlights below:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2011/november/city-v-newcastle-extended-highlights
QPR 2 Manchester City 3
On this day (5 November) in 2011 Manchester City defeated Neil Warnock’s Queen’s Park Rangers 3-2 with goals from Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Yaya Toure. The game is often overlooked in the history of games between the two clubs mainly due to the fact that the second game of the season between these teams was such an important occasion. But this match also had its twists and turns, with the three points of course proving vital at the season’s end. People inevitably focus on the final day, title winning matches but in a season where a title is decided on goal difference then every game and goal is important.
QPR opened the scoring in the 28th minute (a header from Jay Bothroyd) with man of the match Edin Dzeko equalising two minutes before half time. David Silva (photographed) made it 2-1 seven minutes into the second half but Heidar Helguson equalised in the 69th minute. The game was won with a 74th minute headed effort from Yaya Toure.
After the match manager Roberto Mancini rightly commented: ‘It was important we beat QPR. I knew that we could have a problem. The win was very important because we’ve played 6 very, very hard games and we’ve won, it was important because of the international break.’
Villareal 0 Manchester City 3
On this day (2 November) in 2011 Manchester City defeated Villareal with goals from Yaya Toure (2) and Mario Balotelli (penalty; photograph) You can watch highlights below:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2011/november/villarreal-v-city-60-sec-highlights
Swansea and City
It’s Swansea v Manchester City tonight in the League Cup and so Here’s a few historical facts and stats about games between the two clubs.
Game One: The first competitive meeting between the two teams came in Division Two on 25 September 1926. The Blues had been relegated the previous May and the historic first meeting with Swansea Town (Swansea was not a city at this point) ended in a 3-1 City victory at Maine Road, before 24,314 fans. George Hicks, Tommy Johnson & Frank Roberts netted for the Blues.
The return game also ended in a 3-1 win on 12 February 1927. Hicks and Johnson both scored again, with Johnson netting twice. A Swansea crowd of 20,345 watched on.
The first top flight game between the sides didn’t come until 21 November 1981 (following Swansea’s promotion) and saw two each from Kevin Reeves and Dennis Tueart (the first a penalty 4 minutes before half time) help City to a 4-0 win.
The first Premier League meeting came on 15 August 2011 – another 4-0 City win. This time Dzeko, Aguero (2) and David Silva each scored at the Etihad before 46,802. Film of that game here:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2011/august/city-v-swansea-60-seconds
Incredibly the first FA Cup meeting didn’t come until 16 March 2019 and this saw City win 3-2 at Swansea (OG from Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Bernardo Silva & Sergio Aguero). City had been losing 2-0 (a penalty from Matt Grimes in 20th minute and Bersant Celina netted the other in 29th minute) up until Silva’s 69th minute goal. The action from this game can be viewed here:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2019/march/swansea-v-city-highlights-extended
The first League Cup tie was a 2-1 City win at Swansea in 2016:
https://bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/History/Matches/Match.aspx?id=5300
The highest scoring game between the teams came in August 1927 when City beat Swansea Town 7-4 in Division Two. 34,316 watched a hat trick from Tommy Johnson and other goals from Peter Bell, Charlie Broadhurst, George Hicks and Frank Roberts.
Here’s hoping tonight’s game brings as much entertainment as that one did.
While you’re here, it’s worth taking a look at something else already posted on http://www.GJFootballArchive.com. It’s a profile of Tommy Hutchison who was a cult hero at MCFC and also spent time with Swansea City:
THE STARTING ELEVEN – Tommy Hutchison
The 2010s: Blackburn 0 Manchester City 4
On this day (1 October) in 2011 Manchester City faced Blackburn in the Premier at Ewood Park. Here’s a few words I wrote on that game a few years ago:
At Blackburn on 1st October the home side tried to stifle Mancini’s men for some time. In fact City sat back and took stock of the situation throughout the first half as a negative Blackburn team seemed happy to kill the game at every opportunity. In the second half, as often the case during the opening months of the season, the Blues had total control and ten minutes after the interval Johnson made it 1-0.
Balotelli sent Nasri’s cross home three minutes later, before Nasri added a third and Savić headed City’s fourth. City fans, who had sung Roberto Mancini’s name at various points before and during the match, were in full voice at the end while the Blackburn supporters chanted for the dismissal of their boss Steve Kean. Post match Mancini’s assistant David Platt faced the press: ‘It was the result we were looking for to put Bayern Munich to bed.’
City had lost 2-0 at Munich in their previous game. Here are highlights of the Blackburn match:
Ricky Hatton
Appropriately Saturday saw some further tributes to Ricky Hatton at the Etihad with a couple of banners, plus the Hatton silhouette on the blue moon video pre match (seeing that was quite emotional). These have prompted me to dig out this main image from October in 2011 when I went with City Academy players & staff, Tony Faulkner, Patrick Vieira and Brian Marwood to Ricky’s gym in Hyde. That year I had been performing a series of ‘history’ sessions with City’s Academy and this day with Ricky was a day when Ricky & I were to do an interview about what it’s like being a supporter.
The whole day was wonderful and it was a somewhat surreal experience to do a presentation/talk on the history of MCFC support and then follow that up with an interview with Ricky in the boxing ring itself at Ricky’s gym. It was great for the Academy players to be in the presence of such an iconic sportsman and Ricky was on good form that day. He talked openly and honestly about being a Blue and, as a fellow lad from Hattersley, it was good to share similar experiences about going to Maine Road as kids, catching the 211 bus then the 53 from Belle Vue to the ground.
Ricky spent considerably more time with the Academy players than planned and was welcoming throughout. He demonstrated some of his training techniques and got us all to pose for this photo (I can’t remember quite what we were supposed to be doing but it seemed appropriate and funny at the time).
I’m a few years older than Ricky and it feels so sad when someone dies when still a young man. I remember seeing Ricky as a boy at his dad’s pub the New Inn (my first regular pub when I was a teenager). I used to go there with another City fan, Paul Alexander, who has also passed away in recent years.
The tributes to Ricky are well deserved and he was such an iconic figure, not just in Hattersley, Hyde or Manchester but around the globe.
6-1 Manchester Derby
On this day (23 October) in 2011 Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City defeated Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United 6-1 in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford. The City goals came from Mario Balotelli 22, 60; Sergio Aguero 69; Edin Dzeko 90, 90+3; and David Silva 90+1. United’s was scored by Darren Fletcher 81.
MCFC have highlights of the game here:
The City win equalled the record score in a Manchester derby – also set by City and also in a League derby at Old Trafford (in a season City also got relegated!). You can read about that one here:
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DonateNewcastle 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:
| Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 174 | 71 | 38 | 65 |
| FA Cup | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| League Cup | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| European | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.
Anyone remember being at Maine Road on the day City played away against Newcastle at Maine Road? That was in 1975. See:
101 years ago there was the last meeting at City’s famous old Hyde Road ground:
In 2012 a Newcastle v City game was crucial in the Blues’ title charge:
Elano’s wonder goal in 2007:
In 2021-22 there was a memorable City victory:
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:
When I was a teenager there was a second tier meeting that attracted a significant crowd for the period:
My Dad’s generation will remember the 1955 FA Cup final:
During 1956-57 there was a ‘game of the season’ in the FA Cup between the clubs:
My grandad’s generation would’ve remembered Billy Meredith’s last game:
Who remembers the title decider at Newcastle? Details:
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:
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:
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.
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DonateTALKING CITY: Sven-Göran Eriksson
It has taken a few days to find but back in October 2011 I interviewed Sven-Göran Eriksson for a feature I did back then called ‘Talking City with Gary James’ – it was a feature I did for the Manchester City match programme. To mark Sven’s passing here are the words from the full piece as originally published. I always feel it’s best, where possible, to highlight an individual’s views on their career when they die rather than something less personal.
Here goes:
Earlier this season (2011-12) Gary caught up with former City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as he prepared for a Championship game with his present side Leicester City. Sven moved into coaching in 1975 after a knee injury had brought a premature end to his playing career. By the time he was 40 he had found UEFA Cup success and won domestic honours in Sweden, Italy & Portugal. In 1999 he guided Lazio to ECWC success (with Roberto Mancini in his side) and later managed England to the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals.
A year after guiding England to the World Cup quarter-finals you decided to return to club management. Your record suggests you could have gone anywhere and there were certainly various other clubs rumoured to be interested, but you chose City. What were the specific reasons for joining the Blues?
It is a huge job and a huge club. With new owners in place and the club in the Premier League, I felt that they were prepared to match my ambition and invest in new players. I never for one moment regretted taking on the role.
Was the Club what you expected when you arrived?
Yes, definitely. It was and still is a good club, with great people.
Many fans felt the Club had stagnated for a while, so when you came it lifted spirits enormously. Supporters loved your time at the Club and your presence boosted everything from atmosphere around the place to fans’ self esteem. That was very important. Could you feel that at the time?
Of course, Gary. I felt it, yes. We hit the ground running with some excellent football, entertaining the supporters and winning games. I had a very good feeling around that time, and I sensed that the fans shared that feeling.
They did absolutely. How did the fans treat you when you arrived?
They were first-class as they always are. Recently, when I came back to the stadium with Leicester City for the FA Cup 3rd round replay (2010-11), they were great to me then and they will always mean a lot to me.
Your arrival brought immediate results. You started the League season (2007-08) with three straight victories (West Ham 2-0, Derby County 1-0 & Manchester United 1-0) and topped the table. What are your memories of these games?
We had six or seven players who had just signed for us and started very well, playing good, entertaining and attacking football. I remember the Manchester United home game, when Geovanni scored. We may have been a little fortunate, but it was a great result.
You made some excellent signings during your time at City, which player impressed you most and why?
There were many players we brought in who I thought had a great impact on the team, but I would have to say Elano and Martin Petrov – they were first-class.
I think their immediate impact was the most impressive part. It all seemed to fit together nicely at that time, and the fans certainly appreciated the immediate transformation. There were also several quality players already at City when you arrived. Which of these impressed you the most?
A collection of players did very well and impressed me. I would probably pick out Michael Johnson, who was a great talent and I am very pleased to have him on loan at Leicester, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Richard Dunne and Joe Hart. I also felt that Stephen Ireland was incredible in training, he had such ability.
You mentioned earlier that City had new owners. This was, of course, the early days following the takeover of Thaksin Shinawatra. What did you make of him?
At the time he was very good for the club, no doubt about that. The previous season they were struggling and then he could be seen, perhaps, as the transition between that period and what is going on at the club now (following the takeover by Sheikh Mansour).
Is there anything you would like to ask Thaksin if you met him now?
I hope that one day he may actually explain to me why I was sacked, as he never did at the time.
City had some great results, including the Old Trafford victory over United to complete a double, what did you feel was the best game during your time and why?
Yes, that (United match) was definitely the game for me. It was a very memorable match. The club were a little concerned about the fact that it was on the anniversary of the Munich Disaster, but no one needed to worry as the City fans observed the silence perfectly. It was such a silence I seem to remember that I actually felt it, if you know what I mean?
Yes, I do. I was in the away section and had been a little annoyed that in the build-up to the match people had assumed City fans would disrupt the silence, but most genuine fans knew the truth. I wrote several articles in the build-up to the anniversary explaining what it really meant to fans. Post match City’s support were rightly acclaimed for their impeccable behaviour. Thinking about the end of the season, can you explain why the final match at Middlesbrough ended in a 8-1 defeat?
Mentally we were not right at all that afternoon and obviously the scoreline reflected that. It was a bad day, one that everyone wanted to forget and no one wanted to be a part of.
After the season ended you went on the Club’s tour to Thailand, was that a surreal experience and how did it feel knowing how the future was likely to go for you?
It was very strange I have to say. A lot of people didn’t really want to go, but I urged people to go as we needed to show our professionalism. In the end, I think the staff enjoyed the trip and the time out there was probably welcome given how things had gone at the end of the season.
How did your dismissal come about? There were lots of rumours of you being dismissed before the Middlesbrough match. Would you have stayed if asked?
I was told in Thailand, definitively that my time at the club was over. Given the choice, of course I would have wanted to stay. We were keen to build on what we had done in the first season and improve in the second season. I had another year on my contract, so for me it was very disappointing the way it all ended.
Now that your former player Roberto Mancini is at City and found success, how do you feel the Club will develop?
I am certain that City will be one of the most important clubs in world football, I have no hesitation in saying that. They have invested in quality players and also in improvements off the field. They will be in the elite group of teams with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
That’s nice to hear and I hope it’s true. Remembering your time in Manchester, what was the highlight and why?
I liked the job, the place and I loved the people too, but the weather I could do without. It was too short a time to be there, but a time I look back fondly upon.
I think most fans share those views, although we have got used to the weather a little. Apart from Manchester’s rain, what was the biggest disappointment and why?
The sacking of course, nothing else comes close.
Any final thoughts you’d like to share with fans?
Yes, Gary. I want to wish Roberto, the club and the supporters all the best of luck. Manchester City is a great club, one of the best and I hope that next season we will be able to join you in the Premier League.
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