Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
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
30 June – 1 July 2023
***CFP Deadline 3 April***
The 2023 annual International Football History Conference will take place at Hampden Park, Glasgow, G42 9BA and will be held over two days (30 June and 1 July 2023).
This is a call for papers to be presented at the conference. There will be an opportunity to present on any topic relating to the history of football of all codes.
Abstracts for the following presentation styles are welcomed:
Short Form (7 minutes) – 20 slides (plus a title slide) with a maximum of 20 seconds per slide. Ideal for a summary of research; to present early findings; Image related research etc.
Twenty Minutes – Those choosing a 20 minute slot will be able to split that time between presentation and questions as they feel appropriate (for example 15 minutes of presentation and 5 minutes of questions or 20 minutes presentation and no audience questions).
Panel – One hour twenty minutes: three presenters and a moderator on a related theme with specific time for individual presentations within the session agreed by the moderator including allowance for questions at the end to the group.
To apply to present please send a 100 to 150 word proposal to footycon@outlook.com by Monday 3rd April 2023. Selection of presentations will take place by the committee by 30th April. We will ensure confirmation is as soon as possible.
COST OF ATTENDANCE
The conference is self-funding and all delegates whether presenting or not will need to book their place before attending. It is anticipated that the cost of attendance for full-time delegates will be £139 and for students/unwagedl/retired delegates: £129
Special Day Rate: £75 (employed) & £65 (unwaged)
Tickets will be on sale soon.
Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding travel & accommodation for the conference. It is suggested delegates stay in city centre hotels but further information will be available by the end of April.
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.
If you would like to view this article then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year, here) or £3 a month (see below) Annual subscribers get full access to all the articles, interviews, talks & books posted so far and those scheduled to be posted during your subscription.
If you would like to view this article then please subscribe. Monthly subscriptions cost £3 a month (here; cancel any time). Monthly subscribers get full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and those scheduled to be posted during your subscription.
Here’s my presentation on the origins of Manchester City FC, focusing on St Mark’s & the club’s development prior to its re-birth as Ardwick AFC for you to enjoy. It lasts about 1 hour and was recorded on 1 February 2023. There are lots of myths out there, but I focused on the facts and my latest research.
Discover the role William Chew (that’s right William!) played in the birth of the club and the story of Belle Vue Rangers, an often overlooked part of Manchester City history.
The presentation is all about the origins prior to 1887. This talk is now available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).
Annual subscribers get access to everything posted since December 2020 (interviews, history talks, articles, PDFs of books etc.) and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 a year (about 5p a day).
Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £3 a month (cancel any time).
The next free history talk will take place on 1 March at 6pm. Subscribers can now book tickets to that via this link:
Book your place on the talk and read more of this website when you subscribe today.
Book your place on the talk and read more of this website when you subscribe today.
On this day (8th February) in 1964 Manchester City and Bury drew 1-1. It hardly sounds a remarkable game but it was for two reasons – this was Colin Bell’s Bury debut (and he scored!) AND City’s goalkeeper Harry Dowd scored the Blues equaliser.
This was City’s first point of 1964. The Blues were losing 1-0 to a debut goal from Bury youngster and future Blue Colin Bell at Maine Road when Dowd suffered a broken finger in the 54th minute. He was unable to continue in nets but stayed on the field and reverted to centre-forward – a role he’d often played as a youngster.
Scottish forward Matt Gray replaced Dowd in nets and the game continued with the regular ‘keeper keen to impress in attack: “I was restless enough to give it all I’d got. I felt just like a colt on its feet for the first time, pushing and shoving my way through and going for the every ball – many of which I hadn’t a hope of getting. But the moment of glory wasn’t far away, and it seemed the fans were loving every minute of the action.”
“I got the chance to slip the ball to Derek Kevan, his shot hit the bar, and as it bounced down I went lunging in to turn home the equaliser. The newspapers said some very kind things the next day.”
With Dowd’s efforts up front and a fine performance in goal from Gray the Blues secured the point. Gray had managed to keep a clean sheet, although Dowd’s amazing exploits prevented him from receiving the kind of credit that other emergency City ‘keepers Doyle, McDonald, Gleghorn, Quinn and Walker would over the decades that followed.
This game was probably Dowd’s highlight of the season as later on, he found himself dropped with Bert Trautmann returning to the side for three games before even he gave way to Alan Ogley for the final five matches of the season.. At one point Dowd asked for a transfer, but he remained at Maine Road, playing a significant part in the successes that followed under manager Joe Mercer.
Read more content like this when you subscribe today.
On Wednesday 1 March at 6pm (UK time) come and join me for one hour of discussion on Joshua Parlby and the launch of Manchester City FC in 1894. I will talk about Parlby, his background, the launch of City and the development of the club which was established with the aim of creating a club to represent the whole of Manchester. Sign up to listen to this free event where I will explain how Ardwick died, City was created and the steps Parlby took to get City into the League. I’ll be explaining how significant this was and who the key players were, plus pointing out the role Queen Victoria played in it. There are some myths out there about the club’s birth as MCFC so come and listen to the facts. This hour will include the opportunity to ask questions as I’m keen to hear your thoughts on these formative years for the club.
The event will be live on Zoom on 1/3/23 at 6pm and a link will be sent to all those who have registered for the event beforehand (probably earlier that day). THIS WILL BE EMAILED OUT SEPARATELY AND NOT VIA THE EVENTBRITE WEBSITE.
The plan is to present the facts and history of the birth of the club and its development as Manchester City during the 1890s. Dispelling myths and revealing the latest research and evidence of what actually happened.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions about this critical period for football development in Manchester. Subscribers to my site can register now and this will be opened up to non subscribers after 15 February if any places remain.
Subscribers can register for this event now. It costs £20 per year of £3 per month (see below) to subscribe. Annual subscribers get access to everything posted to this site (books, audio & written interviews, history talks etc.) since it was created in December 2020
Subscribers can register for this event now. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to subscribe. Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted to this site (books, audio & written interviews, history talks etc.) since 1 October 2022
You must register here if you want to get involved. If you’d like an example of what the talk will be like take a look at:
The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online on zoom, so you should be able to access it anywhere.
You can see posts about other History Talks here:
On this day (7th February) in 2021 League leaders Manchester City managed a 4-1 victory over reigning Champions Liverpool. It was the Blues’ greatest win at Anfield for over 80 years.
The Blues have struggled to win at Anfield over the last 40 years (I don’t need to go through the stats, City fans get bombarded with them every time there’s a game at Anfield! So the 2021 resounding victory over Liverpool was significant. City ended up winning the League by 12 points with Manchester United second.
In 1937 the Blues managed a 5-0 victory on Good Friday (and three days later won 5-1 at Maine Road). That season the Blues went on to win the League, as they did in 2021 of course.
As the above advert shows, it cost 3 shillings for a return train fare to Anfield that day (sadly no fans were allowed in 2021).
Here’s how the MCFC match programme remembered the 1937 victory:
Here are the League results and table following that historic win at Anfield. It’s interesting to see which clubs are no longer members of football’s top division and which of today’s giants are missing.
Here are a few snippets from a Liverpool based newspaper telling the story of that day:
Here’s a few stats from the victory over Liverpool in 2021:
If you would like to read the blog’s other in-depth, longer articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe below. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year, sign up here) or £3 a month (below) if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time.
If you would like to read the blog’s other in-depth, longer articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe below. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year, above) or £3 a month (sign up here) if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time.
‘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.
Read this indepth article and access everything else on the site when you subscribe. It costs £20 a year (about £1.67 a month) or £3 a month (see below). Annual subscribers access everything posted to the site since December 2020 (including PDFs of Manchester A Football History & my first book, audio & written interviews, history talks etc.).
It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or £20 a year (above) to subscribe. Monthly subscribers access everything posted to the site since 1 October 2022 (including PDFs of books, audio & written interviews, history talks etc.).
Today (6 February) in 2005 a Stamford Bridge crowd of 42,093 witnessed a goalless draw between Manchester City and Chelsea. This meant City were the only side to take 4 points from the eventual Champions.
Continuing the series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on John Allison who was a key figure with Ardwick AFC, Manchester City, Salford Harriers and also at Celtic. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since December 2020 for an annual subscription of £20 (works out about £1.67 per month). There’s also a monthly subscription (see below).
Monthly subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since 1 October 2022 for a monthly subscription of £3 (cancel any time).
The full series of True Blue profiles will feature:
Lawrence Furniss, John Allison, Joshua Parlby, Walter Chew, William Sumner, Tom Maley, St Mark’s community leaders, Billy Meredith, John Chapman, William Beastow and James Moores.
Gary James' Football Archive 