Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
Today (5 October) in 1937 the Manchester City team visited the ship that had been named after them, following their title success earlier in the year. You can see more about this Scottish built ship here:
https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=2540
On this day (4 October) in 1981 Longserving Manchester City defender Tommy Booth moved to Preston North End. Tommy had made his City debut against Huddersfield Town (a) on 2 September 1968 in the League Cup with his League debut coming against Arsenal (h) on 9 October 1968. Joe Mercer once described the former Middleton Boys player as the ‘best footballing centre-half since Stan Cullis’ and Joe would know.
The image is of Tommy Booth scoring V Gornik in Copenhagen in 1971.
Manchester City defeated Newcastle United 6-1 eight years ago today (3 October 2015). It was a day when Sergio Aguero scored five and I remember being disappointed that he was substituted off – no City player has ever scored more than five in a competitive game that wasn’t abandoned! I had hoped that Sergio would become the first man to score six for the Blues (Yes, I know Denis Law scored 6 in a game but that was abandoned and wiped from the records). Anyone remember who scored the other City goal? See below for the answer.
You can see highlights of the Newcastle game here:
The other City scorer that day was Kevin De Bruyne.
After watching Manchester City reserves defeat Sheffield United reserves 2-0 on this day (2 October) in 1937 two City directors were involved in a crash. Lawrence Furniss and William Shaw were in a car that collided with a bus as it left Maine Road.
It was a highly memorable day for Manchester City fans as Pep Guardiola’s Blues defeated Manchester United 6-3 before 53,475 on this day (2 October) in 2022. You can watch highlights here:
The City scorers were Phil Foden (3) and Erling Haaland (3). What a great day to be a Blue!
On this day (1 October) in 2019 Manchester City defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in the Champions League group stage at the Etihad. Highlights here:
The City scorers were Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden.
Fancy winning a copy of the new book on Maine Road and the Etihad? The publisher, Reach, has offered to post out a copy of the book to the winner of a competition (Sadly, only UK postal addresses will be allowed). See below for details of how to enter…
The competition ends tonight (Sunday 1st October) at 9pm UK time and only one entry per person will be allowed. To enter simply send the answer to the following question, along with your name and location (not your address, just your nearest town/post town), via email to: comp@GJFootballArchive.com
The question is: Who was the architect of Maine Road when it was first built in 1923?
The answer does appear on my website in a variety of locations, so go search for it if you don’t know and then enter the competition. The winner will be selected at random from all the correct entries received on Monday 2nd October and will be informed later that day.
As for the book…
I’m delighted to say I’m one of the co-authors on the new book which focuses on Maine Road and the Etihad stadia (the two most recent permanent homes of Manchester City).
I’ve contributed the Introduction, the story of Maine Road’s first game and the 100 Maine Memories of Maine Road. I tried to make sure the 100 Maine Memories cover both the great and the unusual so, inevitably, Colin Bell is featured but so is the wonky North Stand scoreboard! If you attended Maine Road it will all make sense and if you didn’t it’ll give you a great feel for what life was like at the old place.
Please enter the competition and good luck with it.
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On this day (30 September) in 1989 Manchester City goalkeeper Paul Cooper saved the 56th penalty of his career in City’s 3-1 victory over Luton at Maine Road. Subscribers can see that penalty save and read a profile of him below:
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It’s Wolves v Manchester City today (30 September 2023) and there are dozens of stories referencing Wolves on this website. There have been major finals and significant league games. One of the away games I vividly remember going to came in October 1987 and is a great contrast with City’s modern day records:
Here’s a link to some of the other stories on here involving Wolves:
City’s record in these meetings (all competitions): Played 127 Won 54 Drawn 25 Lost 48.
On this day (29 September) Francis Lee’s views on leaving Bolton Wanderers were published in Soccer Star magazine. Hmm, I wonder where he ended up? Do a search on this website and you’ll find the answer. Surprisingly the editorial team didn’t spot the spelling mistake in Wanderers.
Gary James' Football Archive 