Today (26 October) is the anniversary of the first ever Manchester Derby shown live on television. The game was the 109th League derby between the teams and ended in a 1-1 draw (Frank Stapleton for United; Mick McCarthy for City). Subscribers can read a feature on the game, including a match report and background, below:
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On this day (25 October) last year a hard-fought draw with Dortmund ensured Manchester City were Group G winners, qualifying for the knockout stages of teh Champions League with a game to spare. A crowd of 81,000 watched this goalless game. Highlights below:
This is an interesting article. It’s an article written by a Manchester City official challenging the authority/interference of the FA and basically saying that the FA is antiquated and governs football poorly. This is well worth reading in its entirety. It was written in 1900 and I can’t help thinking that this may have added to the negativity in which City was viewed by FA officials at the time. In the years that followed, of course, the FA took every opportunity possible to challenge and investigate City even when other, FA favoured, clubs were guilty themselves.
I guess there are parallels with today. I won’t go into detail but have a read of it all and see what you think. This criticism was published in the MCFC match programme and therefore was the official word of the club at the time. No wonder the FA wanted to curb City’s development!
Here’s a team photo of Manchester City, taken at Hyde Road, in 1900. It’s a typical squad pose in front of the old Hyde Road main stand which was destroyed by fire twenty years later. Notice the way the wooden wall of the stand was painted in City blue and white. People often talk about Hyde Road as if it was this dull, dismal ground but the stand here had only been erected a few years earlier and Joshua Parlby, Lawrence Furniss and the others behind the club made sure it was frequently painted blue and white (plus green) wherever possible.
Over the following twenty years City continued to invest in the ground but the site restricted the club’s growth and 40,000 crowds could not be accommodated particularly well. Often gates would be closed some way off capacity under the orders of the local police who tried to keep crowds back. Bennett Street and even Hyde Road itself were often overcrowded with fans hoping to get in.
There’s lots more on here about Hyde Road and City’s other grounds. Do a few searches and see what you find. Some is only for subscribers but much is available freely. It takes a lot of time, effort and money to research Manchester’s football history so if you want to support this work and get something back then please subscribe. Thanks.
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A year ago today (22 October) lifelong City fan Bobby Ward was in touch with a video he’d caught during City’s home game v Brighton of fans chanting a new Erling Haaland chant. Here’s the video (look out for the actions):
What shall we do with a big Norwegian, What shall we do with a big Norwegian, Can’t stop him from scoring, Erling, Erling Haaland, Erling, Erling Haaland…
The game v Brighton on 22 October 2022 ended in a 3-1 City win with Haaland scoring twice.
I’m always keen on the development of football chants, so if you’re one of the guys who started this please get in touch with your story of the chant, the actions and so on. I’d be happy to say more about it here. You guys were certainly persistent.
Today marks a special day in the history of football. 100 years ago today (22 October 1923) a boy was born in Bremen, Germany who would go on to be a major footballing icon with a remarkable story. Bernhard Carl Trautmann was that boy. Here to mark the centenary of his birth is a feature on a crucial game in his career. No, it’s not the 1956 FA Cup final, it’s 6 years earlier…
The game I’m talking about is a League game with Fulham – in fact it’s a City defeat! Why was this so special? Subscribers can find out below. There’s also a special video interview with me about Trautmann here for subscribers to view:
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But City did not lose on this day (21 October) in 1987! Why was this remarkable? It was the first time Manchester City had won away from home in over a year. In fact the Blues had gone 34 away League games without victory.
I remember it well and was at Bradford that night when City won 4-2. At the time the buzz amongst those of us who travelled away was ‘will today be the day’ and it got that way that you felt you couldn’t miss an away game. I’m convinced numbers going to away games increased game after game as we were keen to be there on the day we finally found a win.
Throughout this long, long run without an away win the song ‘We never win at home and we never win away…’ seemed to become our anthem. It belted out game after game and, in some ways, was our release from the disappointment of another defeat or draw. The song had begun in the late 1970s (I’ve done quite a bit of research on this and should write it all up one day) but it was the 1980s, in particular the relegation season of 1986-87, when it became a regular chant, game after game. Usually reserved for when City conceded or were losing it was given more opportunities to be sung during that period than ever before.
It faded during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially when City finished fifth two seasons running, but reappeared later in the 90s when Alan Ball’s management (and everything that followed) brought misery City’s way.
We all got a bit nervy against Bradford, especially when our 2 goal lead disappeared, but we won 4-2 and you can see how giddy those of us behind the nets were in these highlights of the goals. We were stood behind the goals to the right of the camera (the commentator makes a couple of errors but the film should give you a feel for the night):
On this day (20 October 1934) King Charles III’s grandad attended Maine Road to watch Manchester City face Derby County in the League. 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. You can read about those visits here:
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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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On 18 October 1978 in the UEFA Cup 2nd round first leg Manchester City defeated Standard Liege 4-0. Three of those goals (one a penalty) came in the last 5 minutes, demonstrating that no one should ever leave early (unless there are significant reasons of course). No game is over until the final whistle and this game against Liege is one that should always be remembered. The reason I say this… My dad made us leave early as it was a school night (I’d celebrated my 10th birthday a week or so earlier). We left when it was 1-0 with about 6 minutes to go.
I remember us walking down the Platt Lane tunnel and getting to the exit gates and hearing the roar – an obvious goal! Then as we walked down the pink passage behind the Platt Lane there was another roar. A third roar was heard a little later and then a fourth just as we neared our car and that was that! We only knew the actual score when we got home because, back then, there was no radio in dad’s car. Throughout that journey back to Hyde me, my brother and my dad tried to guess what the final score would be. We knew we’d heard four roars and assumed we’d missed four goals but the first roar would’ve been for the penalty award and the second for the penalty itself.
Missing three goals at the age of ten is not great. Hmm!
Anyway, for those, like me, who missed it here are the match facts and a video of those goals:
Attendance: 27,487
City Goalscorers: Hartford, Kidd 2 (1 pen), Palmer
Asa Hartford scored in the 13th minute but, despite several attempts that was all that separated the clubs up to the 85th minute. A frantic late rally by the Blues saw three goals in four minutes to create a decisive and emphatic victory. All those who had left the stadium early (to get to their cars and buses) realised that no game is over until the final whistle.
The transformation was heralded as a high point in the career of Peter Barnes. Barnes demonstrated his skills superbly as he made Liege suffer with attack after attack. Peter Gardner: “Twisting, turning, tormenting and teasing the harassed Belgians, Barnes paved the way for that final three-goal fling with Kidd grabbing tow and Palmer the last. It was Barnes at his brilliant best although Hartford and Watson were also heroes on a night when City proved that patience always pays.”
My biography of Peter Barnes talks about this game of course and you can buy copies here:
Gary James' Football Archive 