Category Archives: Seasons

An Arsenal Appreciation

In September 1924 the Manchester City match programme referred back to City’s welcome at Arsenal (Arsenal game was played on 1 September 1924). Apparently in the Arsenal programme City were described: ‘The Citizens have established an unfading popularity in London, and for more years than we care to recall they have upheld the best traditions of the highest class of football.’

It’s great to read how City were viewed back then, especially as in the last decade or so some connected with the London club have tried to imply City have ‘no history’ or little connection to the period before Arsenal won a major trophy (Arsenal’s first major trophy came in 1930; City’s first was in 1904). Views change over time of course.

Notice the use of the word ‘Citizens’ too. Often clubs, including City, used that nickname for the Blues.

If you’d like to know more about Manchester City in the 1920s then have a read of this subscriber article on the 1924-25 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

Here’s the article:

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City v Wolves: A Manchester City Goal After 14 Seconds!

It’s Wolves x Manchester City this weekend. There are plenty of features on games between the two clubs on my site such as this one… On 22 March) in 1958 City pulled off a surprise draw at eventual champions Wolves. The odds had been against City getting a point with the football world of the time assuming Champions-elect Wolves would easily defeat City. Amazingly, City took the lead after a mere 14 seconds. Here’s a description of the goal (it was an own goal! Is this the earliest own goal ever?):

Here’s the rest of the match report:

To find out more on this period in football then why not read my series on Manchester City in the 1950s. Here’s a 2,200 word article on the 1957-58 season. Enjoy!

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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Rico Lewis’s Joy

I noticed on Twitter/X that this video of mine of Rico Lewis celebrating Manchester City’s 2023 Premier League success has been retweeted hundreds of times in only a few minutes. As I’m travelling today I didn’t know why but soon investigated and found the news that he may be leaving City.

I don’t know anything more but hope he stays. Regardless of what happens it is a nice reminder of the joy Rico demonstrated on the day of City’s Premier League success.

Stadium of Light: First Penalty

Georgi Kinkladze scored the first penalty at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light when he equalised in the 75th minute of Manchester City’s 3-1 defeat on Friday 15 August 1997.  Earlier that night former Blue Niall Quinn scored the stadium’s historic first League goal.

While you’re here, why not subscribe and read an indepth article on the 1997-98 season? The article is almost 9,500 words long – there’s so much to say! Some people write entire football club histories that are shorter than that. It’s available to subscribers, so why not subscribe and relive this season and an extraordinary decade? As with many other subscriber features it contains material from interviews I’ve performed with key figures from that time.

Here’s the 9500 word article on that season:

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130,000 Capacity Stadium for Manchester City

This is an interesting cutting from 1935 talking about the possibility of increasing Maine Road to cope with the huge crowds that wanted to watch Manchester City play. It may seem crazy today but wasn’t such an odd idea in the 1930s. You can find out more on the story here:

Maine Road 100 – Day 57

Post-Match Press Conference 1980s Style

When Billy McNeill joined Manchester City in 1983 he commented on how surprised he was at the number of post-match media reporters there were at games. Apparently, the volume was much higher than he’d expected and similar comments were expressed three years later when Alex Ferguson experienced his first press conferences at Old Trafford. Back in the 70s and 80s no matter what division the Manchester clubs were in (City were second tier in 1983) there was considerable media interest. Back then there was a strong Manchester newspaper scene with northern issues of most national newspapers produced in the city, often filling their sports pages with the latest from City and United.

This photo shows Billy in the centre of a post match press conference. I wonder how today’s managers would react to this style of meeting with the journalists. Nowadays similar press conferences appear to be organised more formally. Anybody recognise the journalists?

You can read more from Billy McNeill’s early days at City in the following 2,500 article on the 1983-84. It’s called ‘Fish Supper’ because manager Billy McNeill said City were so skint at the time that they could hardly buy a fish supper! Sadly, the purchases were often funded out of the money City had received for their talented young defender Tommy Caton who joined Arsenal.

Subscribers can read a 2,500 word feature on the 1983-84 season below. Enjoy!

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If you missed the season features on the 1980s then start here:

The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald

Home in Barnsley

On this day (31 July) in 2008 Manchester City played a home game at Barnsley. This game made history as it was the first occasion the Blues had played a home European tie outside of Manchester.  Previously City had played home European games at Maine Road and at the City Of Manchester Stadium, but work at Eastlands following a concert by Bon Jovi prevented the Club from staging the game at home.  The decision was taken to stage the match at Barnsley.  Subscribers can read about both legs of the European tie here:

MANCHESTER CITY IN EUROPE – 2008-09 v EB Streymur (at home in Barnsley!)

1983: Jack Charlton & Brian Clough Tipped For MCFC Management Role

On 8 June 1983 it was reported that both Jack Charlton and Brian Clough were possible for the vacant manager’s position at Manchester City. The Blues had been relegated the previous month, leading to the dismissal of caretaker John Benson. Benson had been appointed following the departure of John Bond in January and Benson was a reluctant manager – basically he’d been told that he either took the job or he’d be sacked from his assistant manager position!

Ultimately, Billy McNeill became the City boss. Notice the comment from Swales about resigning – as I’ve often said it was down to his supporting directors that he remained in charge for as long as he did!

You can read all about the 1982-83 season for City in this 3,500 word subscriber feature. Enjoy (well, if you know the outcome of this season you can enjoy this memory refresh while reflecting on the modern day successes of the Blues!).

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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.

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Subscribe to get access – Annual

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.

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Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1983-84 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald

Opening of the Gilford, County Down MCFC Supporters Club

Here’s a cutting from 23 June 1978 reporting on the official opening of the Gilford branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club by Ken Barnes and Ian Niven. From my notes I understand the branch is now the oldest affiliated MCFC supporters club branch in Northern Ireland but I’m happy to be corrected if that’s not the case. Is there anybody mentioned in the article or on the photograph still involved with the supporters club? Feel free to let me know.

Action Shots of Blackburn v Manchester City From Over 100 Years Ago

The quality isn’t great but here are some images from Manchester City’s 2-1 win at Blackburn on 21 February 1914. City’s scorers were Howard and Joe Cartwright.