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.

The 1980s: Kick Off Is Back!

Continuing the series of articles covering Manchester City in the 1980s. Here’s a reminder from the City match programme in December 1988 of the return of an old favourite – Granada TV’s Kick Off! The programme was essential viewing for football fans in Granadaland and the programme’s return was something many fans wanted. The show had ended in 1983 (it was all tied in with TV rights for games etc.).

The host when the show was at its peak was Gerald Sinstadt and Elton Welsby (above) joined him as a young co-host eventually. When the show returned in January 1989 Elton was the main host and former City boss John Bond was also to appear on the show (later this season he angered City fans with his view that the Blues young players were not ready to get promoted and that led to him receiving some abuse from travelling fans at Bradford on the final day of the 1988-89 season).

If you’d like to know more about what John Bond said and how things went for City throughout 1988-89 (or indeed any season) then why not subscribe to this site? Subscribers can read a 4,100 word feature on the 1988-89 season below. Enjoy!

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Tomorrow’s feature is the last on the 1980s as we tell the story of the 1989-90 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

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

The 1980s: Panto Time (Oh No It Isn’t!)

Continuing this series of features covering the 1980s for Manchester City… Today it’s back to December 1989 and this reminder of the Junior Blues pantomime ‘Brother Goose’. This City panto was a key annual event from the late 1960s through to the 2000s, having been established in the years before the Junior Blues. Once the Junior Blues was in existence though it seemed logical that the panto would become part and parcel of the junior supporters club.

‘Brother Goose’ of course referenced City’s sponsor of the time Brother.

As you can see from this programme feature on the 1989 panto City’s first team players and coaching staff were often involved and over the years some of the club’s biggest names appeared.

Did you attend a panto or were you one of the people working behind the scenes to make them a huge success? Feel free to post your memories here.

If you want to know more about the entire 1989-90 season then become a subscriber and read the following 8,000 word article on that season. Enjoy!

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Today’s feature was one of many on the 1980s. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

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

The 1980s: Why Did Bond Sit In The Directors’ Box?

It’s December 1980 and the City match programme’s letters page contained this letter about new City boss John Bond. Back then many managers would prefer to sit in the directors’ box at games as it would give them a good view and John Bond chose to do that for many games during his opening months as manager (often throughout his actual time at City to be fair). It wasn’t so unusual but this fan wanted to understand why and wrote to the City programme looking for an answer.

It’s actually the sort of question that would seem more appropriate today as few managers ever really spend time in the directors’ box. I certainly wouldn’t expect Pep to sit up there on a regular basis.

Just one of the many things that has changed over the decades. The letter writer claimed that Malcolm Allison never sat in the directors’ box – that’s not true. There are plenty of occasions in the 60s & 70s when Allison sat up there.

You can find out more on the 1980s, John Bond (including a fairly frank audio interview I did with him years ago) and City elsewhere on this website. Subscribers get access to a lot of extra content. To subscribe see the following:

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MCFC V Fluminense Tonight

At 6pm today Manchester City will take on Brazilian side Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup final. The connections between MCFC & Fluminense go back over a century. Did you know that City played a part in the early development of this mighty Brazilian club? One of City’s earliest goalkeepers, Charlie Williams, became regarded as Fluminense’s first true manager/coach. That’s a big deal and well worth remembering. 

A while ago Morten Olesen, a longstanding Danish Blue, wrote a lenghy guest blog on Williams and it’s still available free of charge here:

Charlie Williams – Morten Olesen Guest Blog

It’s well worth reading. At one point Olesen comments: ‘In 1911, almost 10 years after its founding, Fluminense was looking for their first coach. The choice had fallen on the now almost 40-year-old Charlie Williams, who was persuaded to take the job for a salary of £ 18 a month (well over £ 2000 in 2021 money) two return trips to England, as well as free board and lodging.’

If you use any of this material please ensure you credit Morten for his research.

Have a read of the article and then search the site for anything else you’re interested in. In fact why not subscribe? For details see:

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The 1980s: Redmond Double

Today’s 1980s flashback is to a game that ends 2-2 after Manchester City had twice gone behind to Coventry. It’s from this day (21 December) in 1986 and the goalscorer who twice saved City from possible defeat is defender Steve Redmond. Watch the highlights here on a video clip that contains no commentary (MCFC in red and black). I was at the game that day as this was my first trip to Coventry City and I am stood in the away section to the right of the screen in the open end (far right). Sadly, the away section is not visible but I remember this as a good away following.

My series on the 1980s highlights a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. You can read about this period in the following article – it is a 2,500 word feature on the 1986-87 season. Enjoy!

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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: Reeves Goal V Leeds

Continuing the series of articles covering the 1980s. Today’s is an on this day (20 December) from 1980 when Kevin Reeves scored a City goal at Maine Road against Leeds United. City are wearing their popular all blue (and white numbers etc.) kit. You can see Reeves’ goal here:

The game ended 1-0 and if you’d like to know more about that season then why not subscribe and read the following ten thousand word long read on the 1980-81 season. Enjoy!

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MCFC V Fluminense on Friday

At 6pm on Friday Manchester City will take on Brazilian side Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup final. Fluminense are a team that we never dreamed City would meet in a truly competitive game and it’s caused some to ask whether there’s any connection between the clubs. Well, yes, there is and it’s a major one. One of City’s earliest goalkeepers, Charlie Williams, became regarded as Fluminense’s first true manager/coach. That’s a big deal and well worth remembering. 

A while ago Morten Olesen, a longstanding Danish Blue, wrote a lenghy guest blog on Williams and it’s still available free of charge here:

Charlie Williams – Morten Olesen Guest Blog

It’s well worth reading. At one point Olesen comments: ‘In 1911, almost 10 years after its founding, Fluminense was looking for their first coach. The choice had fallen on the now almost 40-year-old Charlie Williams, who was persuaded to take the job for a salary of £ 18 a month (well over £ 2000 in 2021 money) two return trips to England, as well as free board and lodging.’

It’s interesting that over the last 24 hours or so there’s been an awful lot of traffic to Olesen’s guest blog, so it does show that people are desperate to find out about MCFC and Fluminense connections. If you use any of this material please ensure you credit Morten for his research.

Have a read of the article and then search the site for anything else you’re interested in. In fact why not subscribe? For details see:

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Manchester Corinthians Book Latest

The research and writing for the authorised history of the Manchester Corinthians is continuing. I’ve spent much of the last few months traveling the country continuing to interview former players and visiting archives. The book will be out next year and we’ll be announcing some further news on it soon, including the opportunity for people to subscribe to the book.

As well as the interviews and archive trips there’s been a concerted effort to compile as comprehensive list as possible on women who played for the club. There’s still some way to go but so far I’ve managed to compile a list of over 260 women who played for the club. Objects and trophies have also been rediscovered. This is the type of detailed research I enjoy. It’s time consuming, difficult and often frustrating but occasionally you find a little gem that adds significantly to our knowledge. There have been a few of those and hopefully more to come.

Obviously, I’m still keen to hear from any former player who can add their voices to the history of the club. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com with your name, rough dates you played and contact details.

The cover of the book will be worked on by the designer over the coming months but following feedback from former players the maroon has been replaced with a darker blue, more reminiscent of the colour most frequently worn by the Corinthians (based on the reports, programmes and other material found so far and the majority of comments from players). This may still change of course (‘The Authorised History’ will probably change colour too). The back will contain later images and wording.

If anyone is wondering about the size and scale of the book, it will be similar in style to the Manchester City Women book I produced a few years back.