Category Archives: Manchester Derbies

Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Manchester City’s FA Cup semi final victory over Manchester United at Wembley (April 16 2011) I’ve produced Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final. This special 1 hour audio recording looks at the game and the years between the 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. The 2011 semi-final was a crucial step in City’s journey since the 2008 takeover and I felt it was vital to do a special marking this.

Following last night’s Champions League victory for City (May 4th – City beat PSG to reach the Champions League final) this will now be free to listen to until May 12th. After that date, as with audio recordings with John Bond, Malcolm Allison and George Graham (and hundreds of articles), it will only be available to subscribers to the site. So, if you don’t subscribe, have a listen now while you can.

So what’s in this special recording? Well, I’ve included exclusive material from interviews and recordings I’ve done over the years with Garry Cook, Brian Marwood, Roberto Mancini, Peter Barnes and Peter Swales.  Why Swales? Well, have a listen and you’ll hear why. Basically though I’m trying to set the tone for why the 2011 FA Cup semi final victory and overcoming Manchester United was so significant.

On Mancini… I include a few words from him recorded in 2011 and at one point he talks about the view that was then being expressed that City were ‘trying’ to buy success (now they say City ‘have’ bought success!). His words are a reminder that City have been having that particular criticism thrown at them for over a decade! Oh well, I wonder how long those criticisms were laid at other clubs who had seen major investment which propelled them forward?

Anyway, get yourself a brew and be prepared to be transported back in time. Here’s the recording:

If you enjoy the recording then please let me know, comment or subscribe to the site. If it’s of interest then, over the coming months and years, I’ll produce others like this highlighting key points in Manchester City – and Manchester’s – footballing history. It costs £20 a year to subscribe (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time to get full access for as long as you subscribe (you can always try it for a month). It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2010 Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 and all subscribers will be able to access all of that for as long as they are a subscriber (plus all the other stuff of course). You can subscribe below.

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Match Stats for the 2011 FA Cup Semi-final

City 1-0 United (HT 0-0)

Yaya Toure 52

City: 25 Hart 04 Kompany (yellow card), 05 Zabaleta (yellow card), 13 Kolarov, 19 Lescott, 11 Johnson (Wright-Phillips 79), 18 Barry, 21 Silva (Vieira 86), 34 De Jong (yellow card), 42 Y Toure, 45 Balotelli (yellow card). Substitutes 12 Taylor, 38 Boyata, 07 Milner, 08 Wright-Phillips, 24 Vieira, 10 Dzeko, 27 Jo

United: 01 Van der Sar, 03 Evra, 05 Ferdinand, 15 Vidic, 22 O’Shea (Fabio Da Silva 84), 13 Park Ji-Sung, 16 Carrick, 17 Nani, 18 Scholes (red card), 25 Valencia (Hernandez 65), 09 Berbatov (Anderson 74). Substitutes 29 Kuszczak, 12 Smalling, 20 Fabio Da Silva, 08 Anderson, 28 Gibson, 07 Owen, 14 Hernandez

Referee: Dean

Attendance: 86,549

Decisive Derbies MUFC v MCFC 27 March 1968

Score United 1 City 3, Attendance 63,004 Old Trafford

Rather than settling a relegation issue, this match was perceived more as a title decider.  Prior to the match United were 2 points clear of the Blues at the top of the table, and were favourites for the League title, but the City of Mercer & Allison wanted to challenge United’s stranglehold on local football.  If the Blues were to make a name for themselves they had to beat the Reds.  It was as simple as that. Here for subscribers is the story of that game…

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The 108th Manchester Derby in the League

On this day (22nd March) in 1986 Manchester United hosted Manchester City in the 108th League derby between the teams. The fixture was the first of two high profile games for the Blues in consecutive days with the other game coming on Sunday at Wembley (see: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/02/wembley-wembley-86-mcfc-v-chelsea/for details).

Here for subscribers are the match stats, background, match report, film and other details from that day. 

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Trevor Sinclair Interview

The first Manchester derby at Manchester City’s new stadium occurred on this date (14th March) in 2004. To mark this anniversary I’ve interviewed former City winger Trevor Sinclair. Trevor scored in that game, which the Blues won 4-1. Here he talks about being a City fan; signing for City; scoring the first competitive goal at the City Of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad); and the 4-1 derby. He also talks about the 3-1 victory over Manchester United in 2006 (again he scored); present day City and other memories. 

Here’s the audio from our chat (it lasts about 26 minutes so get yourself a brew and settle down to listen):

While you’re here I’d like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to visit my website. I have been researching and writing about Manchester football for a long time (no wonder I’m going grey!) with my first book published in 1989. I am not employed by anyone and no one pays me to do research or interviews like the one posted here. I do not have sponsorship either. I’ve set up this website to help share my 32 years plus writing and research.

From Wednesday, for subscribers I’ll be posting the entire hour long plus interview I did with Malcolm Allison about his first period at Manchester City. Here’s a brief clip from the interview (he’s talking about his relationship with Joe Mercer):

The intention is to develop the archive and to provide access to as much of my material as possible over the coming weeks, months & years. Subscribers can already access over 280 articles/posts including the entire Manchester A Football History book and an audio interview with former City boss John Bond I performed in 1995. My interview with Allison will also be available from Wednesday.

If you’d like to support my research and writing while benefitting from accessing all the content on here then it costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time (you get full access for as long as you subscribe).

If you enjoyed the interview posted here then please subscribe (see below) to access all the content and, over time, I’ll add other interviews too. Thanks for the support and interest in my work, Gary.

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Each subscriber gets full access to the 280+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming months.

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If you would like to read about other Manchester derbies then check out this:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/manchester-derbies/

Decisive Derbies MCFC v MUFC 13 March 1974

Score 0-0, Attendance 51,331 Maine Road

The Old Trafford derby of 1974 is usually quoted as a decisive derby, however the Maine Road match was viewed at the time as being vital to United’s survival.  In fact in the programme Red manager Tommy Docherty claimed:  “Tonight’s game is one which decides our fate.  City’s League Cup defeat is a big anti-climax for them and could help our fight for First Division survival.” Here for subscribers to this site is the story of that game – a highly controversial one that was almost abandoned due to player indiscipline!

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If you would like to read this and all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and the audio interview with John Bond) then please subscribe. 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 270+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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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/

On This Day – Derby Delight For City in 2006

United taken over by the Glazers… City, so often priced out of major transfers during the modern era… Evra scheduled to make his United debut in the all-Manchester clash… This was the derby match played on this day (14th January) in 2006. It was only 14 years ago but what a difference!

The story of this game 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. 

Here, exclusively for subscribers, is the story of that game as drafted to appear in the updated but aborted Pride Of Manchester. I’ve also included film of the game embedded within the article below (You will need to be a subscriber to read the full content). 

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Football Video Archive

Over time I’ll be developing an archive here of video content. This will be available to subscribers only. The collection starts now with film of the Manchester Derby stretching back over the last century.

If you would like to access this collection 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 140+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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Decisive Derbies: 1969-1970 – The first League Cup semi-finals between Manchester City and Manchester United

On Wednesday 6th January 2020 Manchester City and Manchester United will play yet another semi-final in the League Cup. Unlike the previous semi-finals however this one will be a one-leg affair (due to potential fixture congestion it was decided to take this approach).

The first ever League Cup semi final between the teams – indeed the first ever League Cup tie between them – came during the 1969-70 season. That was the first season when all 92 League clubs entered the competition.

Here is the background to each of the 1969-70 semi-final legs and a report on each game with lineups, attendance details etc.

LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL 1ST LEG

DERBY: League Cup

DATE 3rd December 1969 

COMPETITION League Cup S/F leg 1

VENUE Maine Road

ATTENDANCE 55,799

MANCHESTER CITY 2 (Bell, Lee pen)

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 (Charlton)

Manchester City: Joe CORRIGAN, Tony BOOK, Glyn PARDOE, Mike DOYLE, Tommy BOOTH, Alan OAKES, Mike SUMMERBEE, Colin BELL, Francis LEE, Neil YOUNG, Ian BOWYER. Unused substitute: Dave CONNOR. Manager: Joe MERCER 

Manchester United: Alex STEPNEY, Paul EDWARDS, Tony DUNNE, Francis BURNS, Ian URE, David SADLER, George BEST, Brian KIDD, Bobby CHARLTON, Nobby STILES, John ASTON. Unused Substitute: Jim RYAN. Manager: Wilf McGUINNESS

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Subscribing gives access to all the 100+ articles posted so far with Manchester A Football History being serialised from Saturday 9th January 2021 as well.

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Subscribing gives access to all the 100+ articles posted so far with Manchester A Football History being serialised from Saturday 9th January 2021 as well.

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