On this day (27 March) in 1926 the first FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Manchester United ended 3-0 to the Blues. The match was played at Bramall Lane. The Blues were managerless for this game – Assistant Chairman Albert Alexander senior took on most of the manager’s duties between November and April. Subscribers can read more about that game below:
Category Archives: Manchester United
Old Trafford’s Record
On this day in 1939 Old Trafford was packed like never before (or numbers wise since!) when Grimsby faced Wolves in the FA Cup semi final. It was the record crowd for the venue – I’m sure many people would expect United to have attracted the venue’s record crowd but that’s not true.
You can find out more and watch film from the game here:
gjfootballarchive.com/2021/03/25/old-traffords-record-crowd-wolves-v-grimsby/
True Blues – Billy Meredith
Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on Billy Meredith who was the captain and goalscorer for Manchester’s first major trophy success. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:
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There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.
El Rubio: Barnes, United & Betis
This week Manchester United play Real Betis in the Europa League. This immediately brings to mind the stories of the former England international winger Peter Barnes. Barnes, or El Rubio as he was known in Spain (it means the blond one).
Peter’s time at both clubs is covered in my authorised biography of him. There are some touching moments and some great stories too. The book was started before the Covid pandemic and then was delayed because of Covid. Despite the delays it was great to write this biography and Peter’s a wonderful person who has an interesting story. I’m sure fans of every club Peter was involved with and neutrals will enjoy reading the book.
You can buy the book below.
This 372 page, colour paperback book is £16.95 (including UK postage).
United Kingdom
The Peter Barnes Authorised Biography – UNITED KINGDOM
Order today for £16.95 (incl UK Postage and Packaging).
£16.95
To order please use the button above (UK postage included; outside UK contact me for additional postage costs). You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
Here are the contents pages:
This long awaited authorised biography, written by Gary James with the memories and stories of Peter’s career throughout, tells the story of Peter’s life from his childhood in Manchester and Wrexham through to the modern day. With particular focus on his footballing career with Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United, Real Betis, Coventry City, Manchester United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and, of course, England.
If you run a book shop and would like to know more about the book please email: accounts@manchesterfootball.org
The ISBN is 978-1-9168852-0-2.
You can listen to Peter in conversation with myself about the book here:
Thanks,
Gary James
On This Day 1963: The 1st FA Cup Tie
On this day (6 March) in 1963, due to an exceptionally snowy winter, both Manchester City’s and Manchester United’s first appearances in the FA Cup that season occurred. The games had been delayed until this date due to the poor weather.
For the record, the Blues won away at Walsall 1-0 in the 3rd round (Alex Harley scored). 7 days later they beat Bury (1-0 at Maine Road, 41,575 crowd) in the 4th round and then lose to Norwich (2-1 at Maine Road on 16 March) in round 5.
The Reds defeated Huddersfield 5-0 at Old Trafford (Law 3, Giles & Quixall) before 47,703. They also defeated Aston Villa (1-0 on 11 March at Old Trafford), Chelsea (2-1 on 16 March at Old Trafford), Coventry (3-1 on 30th March), Southampton (1-0 at Villa Park on 27th April) and Leicester City 3-1 in the final at Wembley on 25 May.
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Manchester’s Female Football Fans-100 Years Ago
This week 100 years ago in Cumbria (as it’s now known) a local newspaper talked of the support both Manchester City & United received from women. This article suggested it was a new phenomenon but I’ve lots of evidence of female support at Manchester’s clubs goes back many decades before 1923. In fact City we’re issuing specially discounted season tickets to women from formation as MCFC in 1894.
Incidentally the Corinthians it mentions at the end of the piece is the famous male amateur team of the era, not the famous women’s team of the 40s to 80s.
Allison’s Dismal Derby
On this day (10th February) in 1979…
Attendance: 46,151; City 0 United 3
Malcolm Allison’s bold prediction of how great City’s victory will be is ridiculed as the Blues are heavily defeated by a Steve Coppell inspired United. City are a well-beaten side while United win at a canter with Andy Ritchie comfortably netting the third twenty minutes from time.
50th Anniversary Derby
On this day (10 February) in 2008 a highly emotional Manchester derby paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash. After a minute’s silence was impeccably observed the game ended in a City win.
Here’s the BBC report of the game:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7223971.stm
Today in 2003: Goater’s 9 Second Old Trafford Goal
On this day (9 February) in 2003 Shaun Goater went down in history for a remarkable appearance as substitute. The Goat came on and scored for City a mere 9 seconds after coming on to the field. 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.
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Scandals, Investigations… We’ve Been Here Before!
‘The punishment was the largest ever inflicted, wiping out an entire team, its directors and one of the most charismatic managers of the period.’
‘The League met and representatives of each club voted in favour of the punishment meted out to us being enforced. And while their representatives were passing this pious resolution most of them had other representatives busy trying to persuade the “villains whose punishment had been so well deserved” to sign for them under conditions very much better in most cases than the ones we had been ruled by at Hyde Road.’
These quotes are connected with investigations into Manchester City over 100 years ago when the FA considered the Blues to be a ‘nouveau riche’ club despite incredible support etc. Back then certain clubs who were regarded as the aristocracy of football (that included Aston Villa and Everton back then) were somewhat dissatisfied that Manchester City had come from foundation as MCFC in 1894 to FA Cup winners and League runners up within a decade. Lots of investigations followed with some determined to kill off this challenger. This all sound familiar? Well 118 years ago the largest punishment ever inflicted, wiping out an entire team, its directors and one of the most charismatic managers of the period was imposed on the club.
Below for subscribers is a 4,500 word article written on the topic by me. This is an academic piece, focusing on the facts and was written for an academic publication, not something club specific. The article considers the investigation, the ban and its long terms impact on Manchester football, where Manchester City’s first golden era came to an end but Manchester United’s first golden era followed. A truly transformational period in Manchester’s football story and essential reading for anyone looking at precedents or wanting to understand how football in the city was shaped.
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Gary James' Football Archive 