Joe Mercer OBE

On this day (13 July) in 1965 Joe Mercer became Manchester City manager. Until the successes of Pep Guardiola Joe remained City’s most successful boss. Back in 2004 I wrote the following piece for the Manchester City match programme which, for those Blues wondering who Joe was and why he was significant, may help to explain his importance to the club. Enjoy… it starts with the original introduction (and all references to Joe’s family etc, are from 2004 of course).

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In Search of The Blues considers the life and career of a former City great who sadly is no longer with us, Joe Mercer OBE.  The reason we have decided to reflect on Joe’s life today is that last Monday (9th August 2004) marked the 90th anniversary of the birth of the former City & England manager.  Sadly Joe passed away on the same date in 1990 – his 76th birthday. Joe was City’s manager during the Club’s most successful period, and Gary James, author of “Football With A Smile: The Authorised Biography of Joe Mercer, OBE”, provides a commentary on Joe’s lifetime of achievements.

Why is Joe Mercer so important to this Club?

Joe breathed new life into a club that was struggling to survive.  During the early sixties City had reached a critical level – one director actually suggested the Blues should merge with United! – and Joe’s appointment was one which had to succeed.  Joe brought in a highly enthusiastic Malcolm Allison as his number two and between them they transformed City from a struggling sleeping giant into League Champions, FA Cup winners, League Cup victors and European Cup Winners’ Cup winners. 

The Blues became renowned for their positive approach and swashbuckling style and Joe encouraged everyone to enjoy life at Maine Road.

Without Joe’s arrival in July 1965 it’s very difficult to see how City’s fortunes could be resurrected.

How did his partnership with Malcolm Allison work?

There have been many theories over the years of how the two men worked together.  Many people focus on their contrasting styles – Malcolm the flamboyant one; Joe the fatherly figure – but during the 1990s Malcolm answered a similar question by stating:  “we made it work because we told each other the truth, and we never really fell out.  We had a great relationship.  I enjoyed it all and I think, like Joe, those first five years were the best ever for me.  I think that fortune favours the brave, and I think that sometimes you have to be fortunate where you work and who you work with.  I was very lucky when Joe got the City job, and took me there.  And we started right from the grass roots, right from the bottom and took them to the top.  That is real achievement!”

How does Joe compare to football’s other great managers?

In 1990 Bobby Charlton said he was one of football’s most important figures and added:  “Joe was a great, great person and we don’t say that about many people.  They don’t produce people like him very often.  He was a true great, along with the likes of Bill Shankly.”

Joe’s period as City manager coincided with a number of famous managerial careers – Shankly (Liverpool), Busby (United), Revie (Leeds), Nicholson (Spurs), Stein (Celtic) – and so comparisons should be easy, however each Club was at a different phase in development and it would be foolish to directly compare.  However, it is clear however that during 1967-8 City swept aside the great sides created by his contemporaries and that the Mercer-Allison side won many admirers across the Country because of the style of play and positive attitude.  

In addition to Joe’s time at City he did have some success away from Maine Road and, of course, he managed England for a brief but entertaining spell.

Why did Joe Leave?

Initially, because of Joe’s health problems at Villa, he had anticipated being at City for only a few years.  Naturally, Malcolm was keen to manage the Club in his own right but that didn’t seem possible while Joe was still at the Club.  In 1971 Malcolm was given the role of Team Manager but Joe’s position was less clear.  Power struggles in the Boardroom and various other issues placed Joe and Malcolm in different camps and, when an offer from Coventry came in 1972, Joe felt it was time to move on.  

What was Joe’s managerial record away from Maine Road like?

His first League management role was at Sheffield United.  The Blades were struggling when he arrived mid season and were relegated (1956), however during the course of the next couple of seasons he developed a good cup-fighting side and was offered the Arsenal manager’s job at one point. 

In December 1958 he became the Aston Villa manager and again created a good cup fighting side and brought the Villa Park club the Second Division Championship in 1960.  He also guided them to success in the 1961 League Cup and took them to the final again in 1963.

Sadly, problems at Villa during 1964 caused Joe health problems.  He went to see a doctor and according to Joe some years later:  “He told me ‘It’s either polio or a stroke.’ And as I was leaving the room he called me back and said ‘What about the fee?’  I turned and said ‘well, I must be a bloody bad risk then!”

At the time Joe was also managing the England under-23s and had even been tipped as England manager (August 1962) – that proves how highly Joe was thought of as a manager prior to his phenomenal success at City.

After City, Joe won a manager of the month award at Coventry and took on the role as England caretaker manager during 1974 for 7 games.  His first game in charge saw Kevin Keegan and Stan Bowles – a former player under Mercer at City – both score in a victory over Wales.  Joe was offered the job on a permanent basis but turned it down for health reasons:  “I had the most terrible sciatica.  I was almost a cripple with it.  I was offered the job but I didn’t feel fit enough.  It was as simple as that.”

Why did he join City in the first place?

After his health problems at Villa Joe missed the daily involvement with the game.  He started to report on games for newspapers but reporting was a poor substitute for management.  In 1965 when the City approach came it was a major gamble for all concerned.  Joe was not really fit enough to take on the role immediately and the Club had to think carefully about the appointment.  Joe didn’t think about it for long.  He was desperate to get back into the game and was determined to take on the job.  He recognised the potential at the Club – a year earlier he had stressed he wanted only to take on a job at a progressive, positive club.

His family was not as enthusiastic at first but his wife Norah knew he had to take it on:  “I married a footballer.  I realised he had to go back – it would have killed him hot to.”

Who was his first signing at City?

Ralph Brand, a Scottish international who had scored 128 goals in 207 games for Rangers, was the first signing but it was not a success.  Joe’s second signing was considerably more successful however, that was Mike Summerbee.

What did Joe achieve as a player?

As a player he had enormous success.  With his first club Everton he won the League Championship in 1939 – who knows what else Everton and Joe would have won had war not intervened – while his time at Arsenal saw him win two further Championships (one as captain) and the FA Cup.  He also captained the Gunners to the 1952 final where they were reduced to ten men for a significant part of their defeat by a strong Newcastle side. 

In 1986 when Arsenal celebrated their centenary they introduced many significant and famous players from their history on to the pitch.  According to Arsenal author Keith Fisher Joe Mercer received the biggest ovation of them all.

Joe also had a great England career, and captained the international side during crucial wartime morale boosting internationals.

His popularity was so high he even appeared on magazine covers.  

How is Joe remembered outside of Manchester?

Joe is remembered as a truly great player at both Everton and Arsenal.  Both sides recognise that his contribution to their history is immense while at a national level Joe is remembered as one of the Football League’s 100 legends.  

As a manager, Joe’s record at Aston Villa is not perhaps viewed as positively as it should be, however his time at Coventry (1972-1974) is remembered fondly.  As is his period as England manager.

In 1976 he was awarded the OBE for services to football.

Which team did he support as a boy?

As a boy growing up in Ellesmere Port, Joe was an Evertonian.  However he also had a soft spot for Nottingham Forest and, in particular, Tranmere Rovers as his father, Joe Mercer Snr, had played League football for both sides.  Sadly, he passed away while Joe was still a young boy, but Joe always retained a strong feeling for Tranmere.  In later life he became a regular attendee at Prenton Park.

Did he achieve any notable milestones during his playing and managerial career?

At the age of 35 in 1950 he was presented with the Football Writers’ Player of the Year trophy and continued to play top class football until injury forced him to retire at 39.  Naturally, there were all his trophy successes as a player.

By managing City to the FA Cup in 1969 he became the first man to win both the FA Cup and the League as a player and as a manager.  The first man to surpass this achievement was Arsenal’s George Graham who had actually been brought to England by Joe when he was Aston Villa manager.

In 1970, Joe managed City to the League Cup and ECWC double – this is recognised as the first major English/European trophy double although Leeds did win the Fairs Cup and League Cup (but some leading sides still boycotted this competition at the time) in 1968.

Since Joe passed away have his family retained their love of the Blues?

Definitely, Joe’s 84 year old widow Norah is a regular attendee – she came to the Lazio game last week and is determined to be here today.  She loves the Club and is a very popular presence on match day.  She has also been to the stadium for various other activities including last season’s Hall of Fame dinner and the official opening of the Manchester City Experience in April.

Norah has been part of City life since her husband first accepted the City job.  She is also a keen member of the Merseyside CSA.

Finally, how did Joe view the game during his later life?  Did he still love it with the passion he had as a boy?

Joe tried to keep focus on the game rather than activity off it.  During the 1980s, towards the end of his life, he was asked his views on the problems of the ‘modern game’ and gave a comment which is as relevant today as it was then:

“Football is a great game.  It is all about goals, goalmouth incidents, and end-to-end attacking football.  There is nothing wrong with the game; plenty wrong with managers, players, directors, legislators, and the media.  Football has been very kind to me and I really mustn’t complain so can I leave you with this thought – The object of playing any game is for enjoyment.  If you have enjoyed it and done your best you have won no matter what the result!”

Raheem Sterling

I’m sad to see Raheem Sterling is leaving Manchester City but I do wish him well for the future of course. For the final MCFC match programme of the season I included a small piece on Sterling and his status/achievements at the Etihad within my regular feature. To mark his departure I’m posting what I said only a couple of months ago here. Enjoy!

Here’s the unedited original piece as it was written: I want to focus on one of our current players who has been establishing himself as one of our greatest goal scorers of all time. In recent weeks we have rightly remembered the goalscoring exploits of our legendary hero Sergio Agüero, especially that memorable day ten years ago. These achievements have to be celebrated and remembered but we should also look at our current goal scorers and recognise what they are achieving too. Legends like Agüero do not come along every day but in today’s squad we have players whose achievements are way ahead of the majority of other players who have preceded them. 

Although we may celebrate odd goals and moments, we don’t often celebrate the achievements of our players while they are playing, especially as we know we have a squad of talented players helping the club challenge for success. However, I think it’s worth pausing to recognise the achievements of Raheem Sterling during his time at City. Sterling is now the second highest scorer for City in the modern era.

For years our top ten goal scorers of all-time list was fairly static. In fact, before Agüero, the most recent player to enter our top ten goal scorers’ chart was Colin Bell, who had followed Francis Lee into the table around fifty years ago. Agüero, of course, is our number one goal scorer of all time now, followed by 1930s stars Eric Brook & Tommy Johnson, then Colin Bell. At the time of going to press Raheem Sterling is 11th in the list after scoring 131 City goals, only one behind Billy Gilliespie and Fred Tilson, our joint ninth highest goal scorers.

We really should celebrate the career statistics of Sterling. It’s an amazing achievement to have eclipsed ALL but the current top ten prior to today’s game. I’m sure some critics will say ‘ah, but how does his scoring ratio compare?’ Well, sadly, for the majority of players in City’s top ten we are unable to have accurate statistics on the number of minutes played to allow a direct comparison, but we do have goals per game ratio statistics. Sterling’s goals to game ratio is 0.388, which is better than Colin Bell’s ratio of 0.305 goals per game and Eric Brook’s 0.359. Not too shabby then, especially when you consider the nature of modern-day squad football meant that Sterling either came on as substitute or was substituted in over 150 of his 338 games too! 

IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – Fionan Fagan (interviewed September 2004)

Versatile winger Fionan ‘Paddy’ Fagan joined the Blues at Christmas 1953 and went on to score 35 goals in 164 League and Cup appearances during a seven year City career. I discussed his career with him in September 2004. Here for subscribers is that interview.

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Sport History Relevance and How We Need to Engage

ABSTRACT

It is important to question the relevance of sport history and to recognize our failings and our successes if we are to ensure the genre develops and contributes to society. While sport historians recognize the value, outside of this sphere, it is apparent that the subject is not always recognized for its significance. In this paper, it is argued that sport historians have a responsibility to engage more with the media and the public, while seeking opportunities to collaborate with sports organizations to ensure the subject is relevant and can develop. It is also argued that minority groups are under-represented in the sport history community, arguing that it is incumbent upon sport historians to ensure greater engagement and promotion of these groups. The paper concludes by urging those engaged in sport history to promote the discipline and develop opportunities for others.

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#WEuro2022

The Women’s Euros start tomorrow with the opening match at Old Trafford between England and Austria. There are lots of great activities planned to coincide with the Euros and I’d like to take the opportunity to talk a little about some of what’s occurred as part of the Trafford element of the Heritage Lottery Funded project. Even if you’re not particularly interested in Trafford it’d be worth having a look at this to get a feel for how the project has gone and how you may be able to help track down former players, teams & more.

I’ve been working on a temporary basis with Trafford to capture the stories of women, teams & more, while also staging a few events and researching the history of women’s football within Trafford. My time with the project will end soon but it has been a great experience. So far we’ve managed to interview women who have been playing football either for Trafford based clubs or women who are from Trafford who have played for teams outside the borough. There have also been interviews with women who played significant games in Trafford.

A website has been set up to tell the stories and so far we’ve posted a few of those covering teams, games & players. There are further stories to be posted over the coming weeks but take a look here at the ones posted so far:

https://exploringtraffordsheritage.omeka.net/exhibits/show/traffordwomensfootball

Audio interviews have been performed with a variety of former players of teams such as Sale United, Trafford Ladies, Manchester Corinthians, Manchester United, Manchester City, FC Redstar, England and the Merseyside club Leasowe Pacific who won the FA Cup in 1989 at Old Trafford.

We also held a session where young girls from Sale United met with former Corinthians, City & United players to talk about their careers and compare experiences.

Last Friday we staged a talk at the National Football Museum on the History of Women’s Football with particular emphasis on the experiences and landmark moments of Trafford & Manchester’s women footballers. Jan Lyons of Manchester Corinthians & Juventus and Lesley Wright of Manchester Corinthians & Manchester City participated in a panel discussion too with some great questions from the audience.

Photo by Rachel Adams for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Arts and Heritage programme

An exhibition, including objects such as a 1958 Manchester Corinthians shirt and boots signed by Steph Houghton, is currently being staged at the archives centre at Sale.

Displays around Old Trafford have also been set up with the national history of women’s football appearing alongside Trafford bespoke monoliths close to Hotel Football and the Old Trafford Stadium. If you’re at the game go and have a look.

Photo by Rachel Adams for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Arts and Heritage programme

There are also postboxes decorated with knitted women footballers that have been produced by the local knitting groups as part of the project. If you’re wandering around Trafford have a look for them.

On Wednesday I will be with the Trafford Archives staff at the fanzone at Old Trafford during the day where we will be distributing free postcards and a Trafford football history booklet. We’ll also be answering questions about the history of football in the region and I’ll be hoping to capture the memories of those who played for women’s teams in Trafford too. Come and say hello if you’re there during the day time.

Also, look out for the FSA free Euros guide. I’ve contributed material on Trafford’s history so please look out for that.

Finally, I’m still keen to capture the stories of women’s football in Trafford. If you are from Trafford, or played for a Trafford based club then get in touch and let’s ensure your story is captured for future generations.

IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – Johnny Hart (interviewed December 2004)

Johnny Hart joined City at the age of 16 in December 1944 and went on to make a total of 177 League and Cup appearances, scoring 73 goals.  A skilful inside-right, Hart later had a highly successful coaching career with the Blues, and a spell as manager in 1973.  Here’s an interview I did with him at City’s stadium shortly before Christmas 2004

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IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES – Roy Little (interviewed August 2004)

Roy Little was a key member of the exciting FA Cup final sides of 1955 and 1956.  Born in Manchester in 1931, Roy made his City debut in 1953 and went on to play 186 League and FA Cup games for the Blues. Here for subscribers is an interview I did with him in August 2004

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Manchester Corinthians Appeal

Press Release: Appeal launched to recognise the pioneering Manchester Corinthians women’s team

• Appeal launched to create permanent tributes to the pioneering Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Club at Fog Lane Park, Didsbury

• The Corinthians and their sister club Manchester Nomads toured the globe promoting football, Manchester and female endeavour 

• The club was established in January 1949 and was a key part of Manchester’s sporting life for around 40 years

• Established at Fog Lane, the club was based there for the first 25 years of its existence

• The appeal aims to erect a plaque, a lectern-style display and create a mural by a local artist in Fog Lane Park

The first ever appeal by the Friends of Fog Lane Park has been launched in partnership with Manchester City Council, MCRActive and supporters, players and researchers of the awe-inspiring Manchester Corinthians, and their sister club, the Nomads. The aim is to establish permanent visual tributes to the Corinthians and Nomads. The Friends are seeking to raise £10,000 and deliver in stages significant tributes to these remarkable women who played and promoted football at a time when a FA ban was in place.

The main aims are to:

– install a plaque at Fog Lane Park highlighting the achievements of the club and stage a celebratory unveiling with former players

– erect a lectern-style information display, close to the actual pitch the women utilised, detailing the Corinthians’ achievements over the decades with the aim of inspiring young girls and others with their story

– Recruit a local artist to paint a specially commissioned Manchester Corinthians mural on an appropriate building within the park

The appeal aims to deliver each of these objectives in stages as funds allow. 

Football historian Dr Gary James has been researching the story of the Manchester Corinthians for several years and explains: ‘Both the Corinthians and the Nomads have been significant Manchester teams over many decades. They gave opportunities for women to play football at a time when the FA stubbornly claimed the sport was unsuitable for them. They toured the world demonstrating all that was good about Manchester, football and female endeavour, winning major competitions and raising a lot of money for charity.

‘Manchester is known as a footballing city and we have been blessed with some incredible successes over the decades, but our major contribution to the history of women’s football from the 1940s has not been given the recognition it deserves. There are statues, plaques and other tributes to men’s football across Greater Manchester yet there’s nothing permanent on the women of Manchester Corinthians. It’s time we rectified that.’

The Corinthians raised a considerable amount for charity over their existence and now it’s time to raise funds to thank them for their efforts by erecting permanent tributes. 

How to contribute to the appeal: Contributions can be made via this link: 

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/friends-offoglanepark-Corinthians

Margaret Whitworth, Karen Bardsley, Margaret Shepherd & Gary James

About Manchester Corinthians and Manchester Nomads 

The Manchester Corinthians were a team of local women who were brought together under the management of Percy Ashley at a time when the FA banned women from playing on FA affiliated grounds. Established in 1949, Ashley’s team toured the world promoting the sport and demonstrating what a dedicated group of players the club possessed. This was at a time when FA affiliated clubs were banned from allowing women’s games on their grounds.

Many of the Corinthians are now in their seventies and eighties but they still get together from time to time to talk of their exploits. In 1957 Bert Trautmann, the Manchester City men’s goalkeeper joined them on a tour of Germany, acting as an ambassador for the club. Corinthians, representing England, won a major competition in Germany which was, at the time, regarded as a women’s European Cup – these were the early days of cross-continent football and UEFA were not involved with organising competitions for the women’s game. 

In 1960 the Corinthians ventured outside of Europe for a tour of South America where they won a major international tournament and played in front of significant crowds, including one reported as 60,000. Margaret Whitworth had joined the club as an eleven-year-old in 1958 and was fourteen when she travelled to South America. Her parents had to give permission but some of the women also gave up their jobs for the opportunity of representing Manchester – and England – on the tour. Margaret: “What a great experience for us all! The stadiums… the reception from the crowd… it was all incredible but we all just took it in our stride. It’s only afterwards that you look back and realise how significant it all was.”

A second team was established by Percy Ashley as time progressed called the Nomads. Ashley wanted the Corinthians and Nomads to promote all that was positive about female participation in football and they certainly achieved that over the decades. They won a host of tournaments and trophies over the years and in 1970 defeated Juventus in the final of a competition in France.

Manchester Corinthians survived into the modern era and continued to play once the FA ban was lifted – a ban they had challenged. The club was still going strong in the 1980s but, due to ground changes and related issues it soon officially changed its name to Woodley Ladies, though was often still known as Corinthians. Some of the Corinthian players from the 1970s and 1980s became players with Manchester City’s women’s team in its inaugural season of 1988-89. By that time the volume of women’s clubs, leagues and competitions had grown. 

The Corinthians were true pioneers, promoting the sport globally at a time when many refused to accept that women could play football. 

About the Friends of Fog Lane Park

The Friends of Fog Lane Park are a volunteer friends group who work to improve Fog Lane Park for all, they have worked well with Manchester City Council and other bodies to repurpose a disused building in the park, creating a cafe space and providing much needed bathroom facilities, running community events, and looking after the park’s green spaces with volunteers looking after all the planted beds within the park. They have great links through the local park community and were close to losing this important history to both the park and women’s football.

 

Historic Name That Ground

Starting around this time last year (and going on for the following 35 weeks) I posted an image of a football ground taken in the past every Monday as a challenge to see if you could recognise the ground. Some were easy, others not so. If you missed them you can now go through each week’s ground and the answers. You can start here:

Historic Name That Ground – Easy One To Start!

You can find the answer to that and then page back through all the past quizzes here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/historic-name-that-ground/page/8/

While you’re here why not subscribe to my site and you can then access every article, interview, audio recording etc. already posted and those that will be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 per year (about £1.67 a month). You can subscribe below:

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Manchester City Fans

While searching through my articles earlier this week I spotted a piece I wrote in 2019-20 on Manchester City’s support. Back then I became somewhat frustrated with a series of articles criticising City’s support. There were a number of ridiculous comments by some and so I wrote a piece challenging some of these views.

I’m not certain all the points are still valid (though City fans have received some significant abuse since 2020 too!) but readers can be the judge of that. Anyway, here’s the article for those who missed it back then:

Click to access 20200224-mcfc-fans.pdf