Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
On this day (24 February) in 1940 Denis Law was born. Law who passed away in January, achieved major success in a glittering career for Huddersfield, Manchester City and Manchester United. He would have been 85 years old today.
There are plenty of articles mentioning Law on this site, here are those tagged with his name:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/denis-law/page/2/
I’ve just heard the sad news that yet another legendary footballer has passed away. Denis Law, who achieved major success in a glittering career for Huddersfield, Manchester City and Manchester United, has died aged 84.
I’ll post more on him over the coming days but, once again, following Bobby Kennedy and Tony Book this is yet another sad day for Manchester football.
There are plenty of articles mentioning Law on this site, here are those tagged with his name:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/denis-law/page/2/
My thoughts are with Denis’s family and close friends.
Today (24 November) in 1973 new Manchester City chairman Peter Swales appointed Ron Saunders as the club’s new manager. He didn’t last the season! You can read about both the appointment and the sacking in this 1,700 word article on the 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. Enjoy!
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DonateOn this day (10 September) in 1974 the great Manchester City star Colin Bell scored three goals as his City team defeated Scunthorpe 6-0 in the League Cup. The Blues had been League Cup finalists the previous season.
Subscribers to this site can read 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.
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.
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.
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DonateIt seems that some have a view that the giant clubs remain giant clubs forever and that there are some clubs who have only recently become prominent. Others believe that teams that were giants decades before some of today’s major trophy winners were never actually that prominent. I could spend hours challenging those who hold these views and pointing out that teams such as Everton, Newcastle & City won major trophies before many of these clubs and were perceived as giants years earlier too (decades before in some cases!), but it doesn’t feel like they’d listen. Ah well! Instead as part of my series of features/articles covering Manchester City in the 1970s I’d like to post a few attendance details that may interest some.
The following are a list of the top seven best supported top flight clubs for the ten seasons prior to City’s relegation in 1983. The Manchester clubs are in bold and the numbers in brackets show each club’s league position that season. In addition if any of the clubs won the European Cup, UEFA Cup, ECWC, FA Cup or League Cup that is also listed in brackets.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1973-74
42712 MUFC (21st); 42332 Liverpool (2nd & FA Cup winners); 38666 Leeds (1st); 33048 Birmingham (19th); 32861 Newcastle (15th); 30756 MCFC (14th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1974-75
45966 LFC (2nd); 40021 Everton (4th); 34822 Leeds (9th); 34614 Newcastle (15th); 32898 MCFC (8th); 30854 Birmingham (17th); 29872 West Ham (13th & FA Cup winners). Both Manchester United (48387) and Sunderland (29931) were in Division Two but had an average higher than some of those in the top seven top tier averages.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1975-76
54750 MUFC (3rd); 41623 Liverpool (1st & UEFA Cup winners); 38874 Aston Villa (16th); 34280 MCFC (8th & LC winners); 33060 Newcastle (15th); 31511 Leeds (5th); 28350 Derby (4th). Sunderland in Division Two had an average of 31250.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1976-77
53710 MUFC (6th & FA Cup winners); 47221 Liverpool (1st & European Cup winners); 40058 MCFC (2nd); 37903 Aston Villa (4th & LC winners); 33599 Newcastle (5th); 32743 Sunderland (20th), 32671 Arsenal (8th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1977-78
51860 MUFC (10th); 45546 Liverpool (2nd & European Cup winners); 41687 MCFC (4th); 39513 Everton (3rd); 35464 Aston Villa (8th); 35446 Arsenal (5th); 32501 Nottm Forest (1st & LC winners). Tottenham were in Division Two with an average of 33417.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1978-79
46430 MUFC (9th); 46407 Liverpool (1st); 36371 Arsenal (7th & FA Cup winners); 36203 MCFC (15th); 35456 Everton (4th); 34902 Tottenham (11th); 32838 Aston Villa (8th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1979-80
51608 MUFC (2nd); 44586 Liverpool (1st); 35272 MCFC (17th); 33596 Arsenal (4th); 32018 Tottenham (14th); 29794 Crystal Palace (13th); 28711 Everton (19th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1980-81
45071 MUFC (8th); 37547 Liverpool (5th & LC winners); 34117 Aston Villa (1st); 33587 MCFC (12th); 32480 Arsenal (3rd); 30724 Tottenham (10th & FA Cup winners); 26477 Sunderland (17th). West Ham were in Division Two with an average of 27140.
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1981-82
44571 MUFC (3rd); 35100 Tottenham (4th & FA Cup winners); 35061 Liverpool (1st & LC winners); 34063 MCFC (10th); 26780 Aston Villa (11th & European Cup winners); 26585 West Ham (9th); 25589 Arsenal (5th).
AVERAGE ATTENDANCES – Top Tier 1982-83
41552 MUFC (3rd & FA Cup winners); 34758 Liverpool (1st & LC winners); 30581 Tottenham (4th); 26789 MCFC (20th); 24153 Arsenal (10th); 23748 Aston Villa (6th); 22822 West Ham (8th). Second Division Newcastle attracted an average of 24166.
For those wondering Manchester City did drop a little in terms of position in the attendance chart during their Second Division days but they were still the 6th best supported club (of all clubs) in 1983-84 and 8th best in 1984-85. Back in Division One in 1985-86 the Blues were once again the 4th best supported team in the entire League.
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!
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.
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.
If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateThe 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!
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.
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.
If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateThe 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!
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.
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.
If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateOn this day (27 August) in 1960 the only Manchester Derby to be abandoned (and the game replayed) took place. It was abandoned at 2-2 with heavy rain at Maine Road.
Strictly speaking another derby (the one at Old Trafford in 1974) was also abandoned but the result for that game was allowed to stand.
It’s post 71 of my Maine Rd 100 countdown. Today I want to show this programme cover for what was perceived as a decisive Manchester derby. Of course the derby that followed this one was more decisive but it’s worth pausing to reflect on the significance and drama of this Maine Rd derby.
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 then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) above or £3 per month to subscribe on a monthly basis (here, cancel anytime). Each monthly subscriber gets full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.
On this day (27 April) in 1974 Manchester United hosted Manchester City at Old Trafford for a high profile derby match. A lot has been said about the game over the years with lots of myths and twisting of stories but if you want to know the true story of the day take a look at this:
Gary James' Football Archive 