Category Archives: Manchester United

FA Youth Cup Winners: City v United

Last night (14 May 2026) Manchester City found FA Youth Cup glory for the second time in three years with a 2-1 derby victory over Manchester United at the Joie Stadium.

Having taken over as the Under-18s Lead Coach in the summer of 2024, German coach Oliver Reiss oversaw back-to-back Youth Cup Finals with 2026 seeing the young Blues win 2-1 in the Manchester derby. In what was Club’s 14th appearance in the Final, the result meant City’s youngsters had won the famous trophy twice in the previous three years. 

This was the fifth time City had won the FA Youth Cup in total, following the successes in 2024, 2020, 2008 and 1986. 

Goals from Floyd Samba (40 mins) and Reigan Heskey (87 mins) helped secure the trophy at the Joie Stadium, in what was only the second all-Manchester FA Youth Cup Final. The United scorer was Godwill Kukonki (42nd minute).

This victory over Manchester United came just 12 days after the City youngsters were crowned as the Under-18 Premier League North title winners for a second successive season, with an Under-18 Premier League National Final still to come. 

Academy Director Thomas Kruecken said: ‘Winning the FA Youth Cup is always a key target for us at the start of each season, so to see the team lift the trophy is a momentous occasion and an achievement everyone in the Academy should be immensely proud of. Our results throughout the competition have shown how much the FA Youth Cup means to Oliver, his staff and the players. They have been superb. 

‘They have shown the importance of performing when it counts, in a final, in front of 8,000 people. We are incredibly proud of the players and staff for facing the challenge head on and we believe it will prove to be an important experience in our player’s journey to become a professional footballer one day. It is an unbelievable achievement to be in the final three times in a row. It shows a consistent high level of dedication, passion and a success that has been built over years of tireless hard work. 

‘It has been a pleasure to watch the team grow and play football that mirrors our ethos here at Manchester City – we aim to play the same style of football across every age group at this football club. 

‘But this moment would also not be possible without the hard work of everyone connected to the Club. So many people have worked closely with the squad throughout their progression up the age groups, providing the best environment possible for our players to develop not just into fantastic football players, but amazing people also. I am so proud to not only lead the Academy, but to work with so many talented people at City.’

First Team Manager Pep Guardiola, who was there watching, added: ‘I want to congratulate Oliver Reiss, his staff, the players and everyone working in our Academy on winning the FA Youth Cup. Success in this competition is another example of how good this Club is at creating a winning mentality and producing top young players. Every season I am so impressed by the talent that we produce here at the CFA – I see it when the young players train with us. I hope everyone in the Academy enjoys this achievement because it is a reward for all the hard work and commitment not just from this season, but years of hard work.’

You can read about the first all-Manchester final here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2023/06/01/the-first-all-manchester-fa-final/


Fifteen Years On: 2011 FA Cup

Today (14 May 2026) marks the 15th anniversary of Manchester City’s 2011 FA Cup final success over Stoke. There are so many angles to that first major success of the modern era for Manchester City and it is impossible to cover them all here. Elsewhere on this website I talk about the 2011 FA Cup run, especially that semi-final win over Manchester United. If you’ve not heard it have a listen to this:

Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final

Today I’ll focus on the final itself with a lengthy article on the final below. This is a subscriber article. It costs £3 a month to subscribe OR take out an annual subscription at £20 (works out about £1.67 a month). All subscribers get full access to everything throughout their subscription.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe
How To Subscribe

The 1950s: The 1956 FA Cup Final

70 years ago today (5 May 1956) Manchester City defeated Birmingham City 3-1 in the FA Cup final with goals from Bobby Johnstone, Jack Dyson and Joe Hayes. The final became known for Bert Trautmann’s exploits and during the night I was on Talksport about 2am talking with Paul Ross about Bert’s life. I also, briefly, mentioned Bert’s role with the Manchester Corinthians. You can listen here (my part starts around 1 hour 17 minutes into the show):

https://talksport.com/play/talksport/catchup/20260505-24517

Subscribers can read more on the 1955-56 season below…

Here for subscribers is a 3,900 word article on the 1955-56 season when City won the FA Cup final (nowadays known as the Trautmann Final) and Bert Trautmann was FWA Footballer of the Year (presented in the days before the final). Enjoy!

You can read the article by subscribing below.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.

Subscribe

A 2nd Successive Manchester League Derby At United Ends early!

On 4 May 1976 and for the second consecutive League derby at Old Trafford, a meeting between United and City was cut short when thousands stormed the pitch before its natural conclusion. Home fans invaded the pitch before the 90th minute with United leading 2-0. Afterwards it was reported that the police had signalled to the referee to blow the whistle while fans were on the pitch. Referee Roy Capey told reporters: ‘My only concern was for the linesman who had to run from the far side of the ground. But he got into the dressing room safely.’

Screenshot

Derek Wallis, writing for the Daily Mirror, explained that United fans had raced on to the pitch: ‘ahead of time last night – nearly three minutes by my watch – and diplomatically referee Roy Capey promptly blew for time.’

A few days earlier United had been defeated by Second Division Southampton in the FA Cup final and United reporter David Meek started his Manchester Evening News report of the derby with this interesting line (his emphasis): ‘”WE’D RATHER win the derby than the Cup,” sang the Stretford enders as Manchester United sailed to a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford last night.’

The Corinthians at United-City

A year ago today (4 May 2025) we managed to take a small group of Manchester Corinthians to the WSL Manchester Derby at Old Trafford as guests of United. They were taken pitchside and also had seats in the Directors Box. Players from the 50s to 90s were there, such as Linda Hallam, who scored the only goal against Juventus when the team won a major tournament in 1970. Margaret Whitworth, who participated in the tour of South America was also one of our party. Others, like Wendy Crossland, had been significant players during the club’s first league successes – back when the Corinthians became champions of the highest league available to them. Here are a few photos from the day, plus images of the match programme article I wrote for United. It talks about the full history of the club of course and mentions Maureen Charlton, one of three original players in 1948 (yes, 1948 not 1949 as is often claimed), who I interviewed for the book:

You can discover more on the Corinthians’ history (the facts not the fiction!) in my new book. Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History. It is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of over 350 pages. It is illustrated throughout and you can find out more here:

Manchester Corinthians The Authorised History Revised and Updated: Subscribe Now

Law’s Last League Game

On this day (April 27) in 1974 Denis law played his last League game on a day that saw Manchester United relegated. Law was in his second spell at Manchester City and, over the years, many myths have developed about his final game and the weeks that followed.

United fans like to say that this game had no bearing on relegation (though pre match United were not relegated and still had a chance of survival) while City fans like to boast that Law’s goal relegated United (mathematically it did not). Many in the media claim Law’s goal was his last in first team football (it wasn’t) and that he retired immediately afterwards (he didn’t). There are other myths about the pitch invasions (there were two not one) and the actions of the ref, so here for the benefit of subscribers is the true story of that day, including quotes from interviews I have performed over the years. Those quoted are Dennis Tueart, Tommy Docherty, Denis law and Willie Donachie.

So get yourself a brew and enjoy this long read on that infamous day:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content and access everything else on this site when you subscribe today. £20 per year (£1.67 a month) or £3 a month at a time.

Subscribe

1969 Manchester City’s Fourth FA Cup

On this day (26 April) in 1969 Manchester City defeated Leicester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final. City’s scorer was Neil Young. If you’d like to know more about that success or the 1968-69 season then have a read of this subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1968-69 season.
If you’d like to read this 6,000 word article , plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access all the articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

Subscribe
How To Subscribe

15 Years Ago: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final

On 16 April 2011 Manchester City faced Manchester United in the FA Cup semi final. Five years ago I produced Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final and I think it’s well worth listening to today to get a feel for how significant this game actually was. This special 1 hour audio recording looked at the game and the years between City’s 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.

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.

Subscribe to get access to the full site

£3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up at the discounted price of £20 per year to access everything

Subscribe

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

The 1940s: Manchester City 4 Manchester United 1

On this day (10 April) in 1944 the North Regional League (a wartime league) Manchester derby ended in a 4-1 City victory over United. The City scorers were Les McDowall (3) and Les Bardsley. The United scorer was Billy Bryant and the game was watched by an official crowd of 18,990 at Maine Road (a City home game). The image shows that days results in the war leagues.

You can read more on MCFC in the 1943-44 season below. The story of George Smith is included within this. George was the victim of friendly fire and his story is remarkable.

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

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.

Subscribe

Mayhem in Manchester

On this day (April 7) in 1992 a Keith Curle penalty, in front of an Old Trafford crowd of 46,781, helped Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in a controversial Manchester derby.  The game was viewed as being highly significant in the title race as only four days earlier the Blues had beaten title-hopefuls Leeds 4-0 at Maine Road. Here’s the story of that game including quotes from an interview I performed with Neil Pointon, who gives his views on a controversial incident that was pivotal to this derby…

Subscribe to get access to this and everything on the site – Annual

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (about £1.67 a month) and you get full access to all posts, audio interviews, history talks, the entire Manchester A Football History book and a PDF of my first book (From Maine Men to Banana Citizens), plus everything posted throughout your subscription. There’s also a monthly option (see below).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access to this and everything since 1 Oct 2022 – Monthly

It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) if you want to sign up a month at a time. You’ll get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 plus everything posted throughout your subscription. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

Subscribe