Category Archives: Seasons

Consecutive Win Records – Facts or Fiction?

Manchester City’s victory over Swansea last night in the FA Cup (3-1 on 10th February 2021) caused a number of fans, media outlets and statisticians to question the record set by City in 2017. Between August 26 and December 3, 2017 Pep’s Blues managed a 20 game winning run that included a League Cup penalty shootout win over Wolves in in October 2017. 

In 2017 the International Football Association Board (IFAB) – the body that is the ultimate rule maker and sits above FIFA – stated that wins via penalty shootouts count in sequence records, hence City establishing the record at 20 consecutive wins. Some statisticians argue this point but IFAB are the rule makers while statisticians, fans, the media and historians are merely observers. We may have views but ultimately IFAB are the ones who set the rules regardless of whether we like them or not.

So where does this leave last night’s record? Well, to solve all future debates and arguments it’s fairly simple to me. Last night’s win means that City currently hold two records that no one can quibble with. These are:

Most Consecutive Wins (including penalty shootouts): 20, 2017.

Most Consecutive Wins (excluding penalty shootouts): 15, 2021.

Over the coming weeks hopefully the record established last night will increase and, who knows, it may even overtake the 2017 record but, for common-sense sake, it’s clear to me that regarding it as two records resolves the issue.

One point worth making though concerns Pep’s 200th win. This was regarded as last night’s game by many of the same organisations who do not count the 2017 record due to the penalty shootout. Well, we can’t have it both ways. If 2017 does not count at all because of the penalty shootout then Pep hasn’t yet reached 200 wins – that’s a nonsense of course. I’d love to see what happens when someone from the media, a rival club or a statistician tells him that his single game wins via shoot-outs don’t count. Anyone who thinks differently should have a chat with Pep and tell him what they think.

Incidentally, back in 2017 when City’s penalty shootout win v Wolves was counted as a win by IFAB there had also been a few precedents, for example concerning a consecutive away record Arsenal had (see https://www.arsenal.com/news/features/consecutive-away-wins for the details) and Sir Alex Ferguson’s own win records. These predated City’s 20 game record and remained classified as records. These are clearly precedents that were widely reported at the time.

There are anomalies – people widely point to two-legged ties that are ‘won’ on penalties or extra-time – and whenever people raise these they really should speak with IFAB and seek a definitive decision. Ultimately, as I said earlier, statisticians, media and fans are observers not rule makers.

Statistics hey? 

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Swansea and City

It’s Swansea v Manchester City tonight in the FA Cup and so I thought I’d put together 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. Here’s film of that game – see if you can spot the fan carrying two pints (presumably of Greenall’s or Grunhalle!) back to his seat (the days when we were allowed to drink in our seats or on the Kippax – well, not quite all of us. I was just 14 at the time!):

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

Prior to tonight’s game of course: In terms of all time record the two teams have met on 36 occasions:

Played 36; City won 25; Drawn 4; Swansea won 7.

Breakdown by competition is:

League P34; City won 23; Drawn 4; Swansea won 7

FAC P1; City won 1; Drawn 0; Swansea won 0

League Cup P1; City won 1; Drawn 0; Swansea won 0.

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

MCFC v LFC, October 1977

Liverpool had only lost one of their opening 12 games when they came to Maine Road in October 1977, while the Blues – who had opened the season undefeated in their opening 8 matches – were now struggling. This blog post focuses on what happened when the two clubs met in October 1977: 

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Ellie Roebuck signs new three – year deal with Manchester City

City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck has signed a new three year contract, committing herself to the Blues until the summer of 2024.

The 21 year old moved to the Academy Stadium in 2015 as a teenager, having previously been on the books at Sheffield United’s Centre of Excellence, and has already lifted a number of trophies with City.

The England international also scooped the inaugural Barclays FA Women’s Super League Golden Glove award in 2019/20 with ten clean sheets.

The 21 year old has become a key figure for City in recent seasons, figuring prominently throughout the 2019/20 campaign. Joining City in 2015 as a 15 year old, the shot stopper signed her first professional contract with the Blues in January 2018 having made her professional debut as a substitute against Birmingham City two years earlier.

Playing her part as the team won both the FA Continental Tyres League Cup and Women’s FA Cup in 2018/19, the 2019/20 campaign saw the young keeper make her mark as she conceded just nine league goals in 16 games and kept ten clean sheets in the process.

Roebuck also impressed as City retained the Women’s FA Cup in November 20 20 following the continuation of the competition from the previous season. Internationally, she has represented England on five occasions at senior level so far – making her senior debut against Austria in late 2018 – and was a training player in the Lionesses’ 2019 Women’s World Cup squad . One of the game’s most exciting young players, Roebuck has now signed a three – year deal that will see her remain at the Academy Stadium until the summer of 2024.

Speaking about her contract extension, Roebuck said: “I’m delighted to have signed a new deal. It’s really exciting to know that my future lies at City for the next three years – my time here so far has flown by and I can’t wait for what is to come.​

“Signing a three – year deal too is something that’s a massive boost – the Club have shown their faith in me, which is amazing. “City is th e place I want to be – it’s where I see myself developing as a player, so I’m very happy to have it all sorted.”

Manchester City Women: An Oral History (the history of City’s women’s team) is available here:

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Can You Help Find These MCFC Fans?

“It was the way in which the football supporters of Manchester United and Manchester City used to dress and treat the whole match as if it were a carnival”
– Iain S. P. Reid

A book is to be produced on Iain SP Reid’s photographs of City and United fans at Maine Road and Old Trafford. Paul Sorene (one of the people behind the book) has asked me to help track down anyone who appeared in these photos.

Images, like the one above of the hot dog sellers and fans on Maine Road, will be reproduced in the book with, where possible, the stories of those featured in the photos. Maybe, if circumstances allow, they’ll recreate some of the scenes within the book too.

So if you appeared in that photo or in any of the others Iain took during this period then please get in touch.

You can make contact with Paul Sorene and all involved at info@flashbak.com or through the Facebook page for Iain’s work at:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=IainSPReid&set=a.2606932862855473

These photos were taken circa 1977. Iain believed that photography could improve lives. His work is full of joy. Sadly he died in 2000, leaving his fabulous archive of photographs filed away in boxes unseen until his family rediscovered them.

The book will be crowdfunded and we’ll all be able to spread the word but, most importantly at the moment, the people behind the book really want to hear from those Iain captured in his work. The pictures alone would make a fantastic book, but including the stories of those capture will make it a truly brilliant project.

I’m always passionate about the capturing and preservation of footballing images and stories. For me football simply isn’t about the players on the pitch but the thousands who dedicate significant time – and money – to supporting their club. If you’re a Blue or a Red who attended games around 1976-77 then take a look at Iain’s collection at https://www.facebook.com/IainSPReid and see if you’re there – or if there’s someone you recognise. The more people can do this the better. Thanks

Cheltenham V MCFC: The Story So Far

I’ve seen it mentioned often in the build up to today’s FA Cup tie between Manchester City and Cheltenham Town that the two clubs have never met before. Well, that may be true for competitive fixtures but there has been a previous meeting.

On August 2nd 1994 the two teams met in a testimonial for Cheltenham midfielder Steve Brooks. City classed the game as a reserve team friendly and my own records show the following details:

I have the attendance as an estimated 300 but Cheltenham sources say 816 which has to be more like it (I’ll correct my records now!).

The City team was: Margetson, Kerr, Beech, Simpson, Foster (Smith 66), Harkin, Finney, Groenendijk, Mike (Brown 75), Griffiths (Thomas 46), Whitley (Sharpe 46). Unused sub: Nurse.

The goals were scored by Carl Griffiths (2) and Michael Brown for City; Jimmy Smith and Simon Cooper for Cheltenham.

Thanks to Martin Wilson for reminding me of this game.

On This Day in 2010 – A Manchester Derby Semi-Final

On this day (19th January) in 2010 Manchester City played Manchester United in the League Cup Semi-Final first leg. The story of that game and indeed the second leg was written up a couple of years ago for an update of my 1991 book The Pride Of Manchester (co-written with Steve Cawley).

Sadly, that book was never updated, though Steve and I put considerable effort into creating all the content. So, for subscribers to http://www.GJFootballArchive.com I have already posted the story of those games here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/05/the-2009-10-manchester-league-cup-semi-finals/

You will need to be a subscriber to read the full content. To subscribe follow that link. If you’d like to know more about this blog then please read the words I wrote for the 100th post:

The 100th Post – Why, What and When?

The blog was launched on last January 2021 and now contains over 160 posts, including (by mid February) the entire Manchester A Football History book. There are ‘free’ sample posts here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/free/

First MCFC Goal Using Goal Line Technology

On this day (18th January) in 2014 Edin Dzeko netted Manchester City’s 100th competitive goal of the 2013-14 season.  

The goal was City’s opener against Cardiff and was also the first Premier League goal to be awarded after the use of goal line technology.  The Blues became the fastest team in history to reach 100 goals.

Aguero’s 250th and 251st Goals

On this day (18 January) in 2020 Manchester City looked set to take all three points against Crystal Palace when Sergio Aguero netted twice in five minutes late in the game but then Fernandinho diverted a ball from Zaha into the net in the last minute to end the game 2-2.

The Blues had gone behind six minutes before half time.

Aguero’s first goal came in the 82nd minute when he sent home a Gabriel Jesus cross. This was the Argentinian’s 250th goal for the Blues and five minutes later he netted his 251st when he headed home from a Benjamin Mendy delivery.

The game was, on the whole, somewhat frustrating for those of us in the 54,439 Etihad crowd and this was exacerbated when after the break City appeared to have been awarded a deserved penalty. Referee Graham Scott had pointed to the spot for a Jairo Riedewald handball, but then the video assistant referee overruled the decision. It was decided that a replay of the incident showed the ball had came off the defender’s foot first as he blocked Joao Cancelo’s cross. Few City fans were convinced of course!

As well as Aguero reaching 250 goals, the match saw another landmark as David Silva made his 300th Premier League appearance for City.

Highlights here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2020/january/city-v-crystal-palace-extended-highlights

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On This Day – 1974 Manchester City’s Scintillating League Cup Quarter Final

On this day (16th January) in 1974 Denis Law scored again (after netting in the League game with Leicester four days earlier).

Law’s goal came as Manchester City defeated Coventry City 4-2 in the League Cup quarter-final replay.  That game was notable for lots of reasons, not least because it came in the middle of industrial action resulting in power cuts across the Country.  For this game to go ahead City had to bring in an Electricity generator, which was positioned outside the ground. I remember hearing a loud buzzing noise from the generator as I made my way towards the Platt Lane Stand with my dad and brother.

Like City’s 2-0 victory over Leicester in the League four days earlier, this was another scintillating display by Ron Saunders’ City team. 

Incredibly, City had been losing 2-1 as late as the 79th minute but then Francis Lee ‘exploded on to the scene with two goals in three minutes’ according to one report. One of Lee’s goals was a penalty awarded after a foul on Colin Bell by Willie Carr.

Watch highlights of the game here (watch the celebrations by Law & Lee after the last goal):

If you would like to read more pieces like this and the in-depth, longer articles on this site then please subscribe below. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to the 120+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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