My series on Manchester City in the 1930s continues today with a 1,400 word subscriber article on the 1939-40 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you don’t subscribe 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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I’ve heard the sad news that the former Manchester City and Stockport County player Barney Daniels has died. He also played for Manchester United (though not in the first team), Chester City, Ashton United and Hyde United.
He joined City on 30 March 1973 and made his first team debut against Derby County on 6 Feb 1974 (report below). In total he played 3 games in 1973-74 (debut v Derby 1-0 win; 9/2/74 at Chelsea & came on as sub at Liverpool on 16/4/74).
Screenshot
The following season (1974-75) he made ten appearances and the first of those was against Leicester on 23/11/74 when he scored 2 goals and made the headlines as he helped City go to the top of the top flight (see following report):
Daniels moved to Chester City on 9 July 1975 (Chester’s record signing at the time) and went on to join Stockport County (July 1976), Ashton United (1978-82), Hyde United 1982 and back to Ashton United (1982-84).
At City he was a consistent performer for the reserves.
John Maddocks (City’s former statistician/historian in the 80s/90s) gave these notes he’d written on Barney in the late 1990s which are worth posting here: ‘Most enjoyable it was watching Barney Daniels in action in the Reserves in the 1970’s. He scored an average of almost a goal a game in 1973-74 including several hat-tricks and he deserved his first team chance when it came. He had had trials with Blackpool, scoring three goals in four reserve games, but was not taken on, and in his first season with Ashton United he scored 27 goals. City bought him for £1,000 and also played a friendly at Ashton.
‘Barney was top reserve team marksman in consecutive seasons from 1973-75, scoring 44 times.’
John’s stats showed that Barney made the following City appearances:
On 13 June 1975 Mike Summerbee signed for Burnley from Manchester City. That day also saw Burnley sign Manchester United’s Willie Morgan too. These were sad departures from both City and United as far as Manchester fans were concerned. Here’s a report including quotes from the 14 June 1975:
It’s the Women’s FA Cup final today (Chelsea v Manchester United). If you’re interested in reading content about women’s football then there are plenty of articles on my website that may be of interest. Listed below are links to all those tagged ‘women’s football’ including a piece on the original Man Utd women’s team.
Looking forward to this weekend’s men’s FA Cup final. Back in 2011 Manchester City won their first FA Cup since 1969. The success became the first major trophy win of the current City ownership. To reach the final in 2011 City defeated Manchester United in that season’s FA Cup semi final. A few years back I produced Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final and as we build up to this year’s FA Cup final it’s well worth reminding ourselves of this time when fans hoped for success. It’s a nice reminder of how significant the FA Cup has been to City’s modern success.
This special 1 hour audio recording looks at the years between City’s 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. 2011 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.
A small group of Manchester Corinthians were invited to attend the WSL Manchester Derby today at Old Trafford. They were taken pitchside and also had seats in the Directors Box. Players from the 50s to 90s were there, such as Margaret Whitworth, who participated in major trophy winning successes for the club in Venezuela and France. 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:
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 356 pages.
It is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging). I’ll sign all copies ordered direct from me below.
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of 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.
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£25.00
Some photos from when a group of Corinthians visited LFC’s Melwood a few days ago:
If you’re attending the WSL Manchester Derby today at Old Trafford watch out for a few representatives of the Manchester Corinthians. United will be taking them pitchside for a few photographs nears the dugout about 10.50 so watch out for them and give them a cheer if you can. In addition, the match programme will contain a five page feature on the team, explaining their significance and experiences. This really is appreciated. Thanks United! Some photographs from the visit will appear here over the coming days.
If you’re wondering why the Corinthians are so important to football’s history watch this free 18 minute film (including interviews with some of those at United today) now. You won’t be disappointed:
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 356 pages.
It is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging). I’ll sign all copies ordered direct from me below.
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of 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.
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£25.00
Some photos from when a group of Corinthians visited LFC’s Melwood a few days ago:
This is the cover of the wartime Manchester derby match programme for today (27 April) in 1940. The game was actually a League War Cup tie second leg and ended in a 2-0 United victory at Maine Road. The first leg had ended 1-0 to City. Wartime crowds were restricted by the Government and accurate attendance figures are often difficult to find but I do know that this Maine Road game attracted a restricted crowd of 21,596. You can read more on this wartime season below. It’s a 1,400 word article on Manchester City’s 1939-40 season. The season started as any other but then world events intervened!
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
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A week after winning 3-2 at Football League North league leaders Sheffield United, Manchester’s Blues do it again on this day (27 April) in 1946. This time they beat the Blades 2-1 before 19,241 at Maine Road (although this report from the MEN suggested there were only about 15,000 there when the game started). The City scorers were Maurice Dunkley and George Smith. The image shows a Manchester Evening News report published that evening.
Although this game was played in peacetime the regional war leagues were still being played, with the Football League returning the following season.
There was FA Cup action though and you can read about that in the following feature on the 1945-46 season.
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
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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.
Tomorrow brings the 2025 FA Cup semi final between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest at Wembley – I’m always pleased that my team has reached Wembley but I do wish FA Cup semi finals were played at neutral League grounds instead! For many fans the timing and cost of a Wembley semi final are simply too much. Sadly, I don’t think they’ll ever change that now. Reaching the semi does give opportunity to remember past Wembley trips. A few years back I made this special audio recording talking about the years building up to the 2011 FA Cup semi and the day itself from a Manchester City perspective. Many of you have listened to this already but if you haven’t then it tells the story of the 2011 FA Cup semi final and the years between 1976 and that moment in 2011 for City.
I included audio from interviews I did with a variety of people including Khaldoon, Peter Swales, Garry Cook, Brain Marwood and many others.
If you have heard it before then maybe you should listen again to remind yourself of how we all felt and why that game was so significant.
I included a few words from Roberto Mancini 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 well 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 you don’t fancy doing that then there’s also the option to make a welcome donation to keep this site going (see below). I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch too.
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.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. 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. Annual subscribers 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).
It costs £3 a month to subscribe a month at a time. Why not give it a try! Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 for as long as you subscribe.
Gary James' Football Archive 