Category Archives: Manchester United

The 1970s: Attendance Flashback to 1978

The series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s continues with this brief post about average attendances. We hear so much baloney these days about which clubs are giants and so on but the truth is that in terms of success no team has ALWAYS been at the top and in terms of support most clubs have had highs and lows. There are some clubs that generation after generation have been popular with fans and this cutting from the Manchester City match programme of 1977-78 may interest some.

I’m not going to point to any club or anything but look at the numbers and make your own minds up. Manchester City, incidentally, tended to be the 3rd best supported club (no matter where they finished) behind United and Liverpool throughout the mid to late 70s and early 1980s. They occasionally dropped to 4th depending on whether Everton or Spurs had a good season and even in City’s 1982-83 relegation season Manchester’s Blues were the 4th best supported club. Not bad for a failing club!

This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s will run throughout January with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. There will be flashbacks to great games, players and more. Every day in January will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 5,200 word article is on the 1970-71 season and is available to subscribers below. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

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.

Subscribe

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.

Subscribe

If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Interview – History of Manchester Football

I was recently interviewed for the Christie Scanlon podcast and the video has now been posted. I talk about origins of both City and United, City’s badge consultation, chants and much more. It lasts about one hour and you can watch it on Christie’s channel here:

I enjoyed doing this and Christie’s a good interviewer and host. It looks like Christie’s used an automated captioning software that has made a few typos with names etc. – that’ll be because of my accent – but listen and watch. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

The 1970s: 1974-1975  Look At His Face

The series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s continues with a 1,600 word article on the entire 1974-75 season – a season which saw Denis Law score for City (he definitely had not retired following the previous season’s Manchester derby!) and Tony Book guide the club for his first full season as manager. You can read this below. This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. Every day in January will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 1,600 word article is on the 1974-75 season and is available to subscribers below. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

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.

Subscribe

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.

Subscribe

If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

The 1970s: 1973-1974 Wembley Return

The series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s continues with a 1,700 word article on the entire 1973-74 season – a season which included a Wembley final, multiple managerial changes and a controversial Manchester Derby at Old Trafford! You can read this below. This series of articles and features on Manchester City in the 1970s has been running throughout January with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. Every day in January will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything. If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? You could even subscribe for a month and see what you think. The following 1,700 word article is on the 1973-74 season and is available to subscribers below. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

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.

Subscribe

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.

Subscribe

If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Buying Success?

In recent years it has become fashionable to claim that football is all about money these days and that certain clubs have ‘bought success’. Well, that may or may not be true but what is an absolute fact is that this has been the situation throughout football history. Take a look at this article from October 1965 which talks about clubs ‘buying success’. It focuses on Everton & Tottenham – two clubs whose fans often criticise City & Chelsea for ‘buying success’.

What this shows is that there’s nothing new in football. If someone talks of football being ‘ruined’ by your clubs spending then remember that at some point in the past the game may have been ‘ruined’ by their clubs’ spending!

Enjoy the cuttings:

Oh, and if you think it’s a one-off about Everton, here’s an article from the Liverpool Daily Post (13 May 1963) congratulating the Toffees on their policy of spending. It basically says that clubs should be applauded for doing that! Interesting how it’s okay when it’s your local club but not when it’s one from a rival city.

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Happy 70th John Gidman

John Gidman was born 70 years ago today (10 January 1954). He was a hero to fans of many clubs including Manchester United and Manchester City. He immediately won over City fans when he joined from United by saying that City were the ONLY team he’d leave OT for (interpreted by Blues as ‘I’d walk out on Utd for City’ – but of course it was more involved than that). Happy 70th John. We loved you in the City shirt.

There are many articles on my site that reference John. Here’s a link to some of them:

Welcome to Gary James’ Football Archive

Fancy Christmas Day in an Armchair at United v City?

It’s Christmas Day 1902 and these were the ticket prices for the big Manchester Derby match played at Clayton (the present day BMX site next to the velodrome). The game ended in a 1-1 draw. It’s so strange to think today that many of us would have headed off to a ground on this special day in years gone by. Notice the seats that you could have at United – arm chairs! That’s right. It’s Christmas Day so I’ll hold off making any funny comments but imagine if Old Trafford advertised ‘arm chairs’.

Merry Christmas to all. I hope it’s a safe, comfortable and enjoyable day for you all wherever you are.

A Record Greater Manchester Club Attendance

On this day (11 December) in 2022 I was at the Etihad Stadium when a new record crowd for a women’s club game in Greater Manchester was established. 44,259 watched Manchester City’s women’s team draw 1-1 with Manchester United. The attendance best all home games by Greater Manchester’s clubs; WFA Cup finals played in the area and games played by Dick, Kerr Ladies and other prominent women’s clubs over the previous 140 years or so. For those wondering the top five highest club attendances as recorded in Greater Manchester by the end of December 2022 were:

  • 44,259 City v United, Etihad, December 2022
  • 43,615 United v City, Old Trafford, November 2023
  • 31,213 City V United, Etihad, September 2019
  • 31,000 (occasionally reported as 35,000) Dick, Kerr Ladies v Bath Ladies, Old Trafford, January 1921
  • 30,196 United V Aston Villa, Old Trafford, December 2022

You can read about the first competitive women’s Manchester Derby, which occurred in 1990, here:

The 1st and Latest Women’s Manchester Derby in the League

The 1980s: Grealish Won’t Commit

Continuing the series of articles covering Manchester City in the 1980s. Today is this brief cutting from today (7 December) in 1986 and concerns City midfielder Tony Grealish. The brief newspaper article talks of the player’s travel plans each day and says that he’s continuing to do this as his contract is only short term. The journey was around 90 miles each way.

Grealish joined City on 23 October 1986 from West Bromwich Albion and did only stay with the Blues until the following close season. He moved to Rotherham in August 1987. His City debut was against Manchester United on 26 October 1986 and ultimately played 11 League and 1 FA Cup game for City (plus 14 reserves and 5 other apps).

This was a time when manager Jimmy Frizzell brought in several experienced players, including John Gidman, to help City’s 1986 FA Youth Cup winning squad develop. If you want to know more about this season then there is a 2,500 word feature below available to subscribers. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

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.

Subscribe

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.

Subscribe

If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1987-88 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

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

The 1980s: Significant Praise from Stiles for ‘City Babes’

Continuing the series of articles covering Manchester City in the 1980s. Here’s a nice article from this day (5 December) in 1987. It was a piece praising Manchester city’s youth players with quotes from Nobby Stiles, the legendary Manchester United and England star. High praise indeed and these players deserved the focus.

Subscribers can find out more about the 1987-88 season by reading my 4,000 word feature on it below. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

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.

Subscribe

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.

Subscribe

If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

How To Subscribe

Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1988-89 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

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