#FABan Manchester Corinthians

At the start of December 2021 together with Geoff Matthews I staged a talk at Hebden Bridge on the FA ban of women’s football. It was a wonderful night and lots of attendees asked about the future and what they could do to help promote the stories of the women who played at a time when the FA tried to kill female participation in the sport. Well, today I want to talk about recognising the Manchester Corinthians.

As part of my longstanding project into female participation and involvement in football in Manchester I have been researching a variety of teams, including the original Manchester United and Manchester City teams, and these will form part of a book that I will eventually produce (it’ll be a while before I can develop this in the way I want). The book will be of a similar scope to my Manchester A Football History on men’s football.

Margaret Shepherd and Margaret Whitworth with me prior to the Hebden Bridge event

One of the key teams in Manchester’s football history is Manchester Corinthian Ladies. The team existed from the 1940s into the 1980s (some of their story appears in my book on Manchester City Women as several of their late 1970s players played for City in its inaugural season).

A lot has been written on the Corinthians (see the section on women’s football on this site for a few examples) but not nearly enough, plus there are some inaccuracies out there that need to be corrected. Basically, this team possessed a talented group of players who toured Europe and South America promoting football, female endeavour and Manchester.

I talked quite a bit about Corinthians at Hebden Bridge and we were fortunate to have three Corinthians as guests that night. Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd and Lesley Wright between them covered every season of the club’s life from the 1950s through to its demise (maybe next time we’ll get one of the players from the 1940s too).

What became clear was that we need to recognise these players further. on the night I mentioned my idea of having a plaque erected for the Corinthians in a significant/related location in Manchester. Several members of the audience thought this was a wonderful idea and asked if they could support the wider promotion of the Corinthians.

Previously I’d written an article in the Manchester City men’s match programme about the Corinthians and highlighted my desire to get a plaque erected about their achievements.

The talk at Hebden Bridge

Since that night I have written to appropriate people at Manchester City Council about the Corinthians and the idea, suggesting a location and asking what we need to do. I’m still awaiting a reply sadly but I will be pursuing this again soon. If possible it would be great if anyone who can help make this happen gets in touch.

Those present at Hebden Bridge – and anyone else reading this – can help by raising the topic with Manchester City Council or any other body you feel can help. Manchester has plaques connected with men’s football but nothing highlighting the incredible achievements of its female footballers. Those women represented Manchester and England in a positive manner and won trophies in South America for example before either men’s club represented the city there. They also won a significant European competition before either men’s team yet their achievements are not recognised by the city.

With the women’s Euros being in England (and various sites in Greater Manchester) this year I would love to do talks and other events in Manchester celebrating the Corinthians and Manchester’s other teams. The event at Hebden Bridge was free to attend and was made possible by the support of a locally based business. We felt it was vital we made this free to attend to spread the word.

If anyone runs a key Manchester venue and would like a Corinthians celebration event then please get in touch. The more we can do to promote their story the better. In 2024 I will be publishing the Authorised History of the club and you can read about that here:

Order: Manchester Corinthians Book

Thanks for reading this. If you would like to find out more about the Corinthians then follow the tabs on this site or use the search function. If you’d like to know more about the FA Ban then you can download for free an article I’ve recently co-written here:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2021.2025415

Copies of my book on Manchester City Women are still available. This tells the history of City Women via the voices of the women (and some men) involved. The book has been heralded as a model for oral histories by the Oral History Society.

Here’s a link you can follow to order a signed copy of the City Women book:

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Here’s the Oral History Society review:

Watch this space for more on the Corinthians and women’s football over the coming months. Thanks – now use the tabs and search to learn more on women’s football in Manchester. Ta!

Historic Name That Ground – Week 34 Answer

Did you recognise this ground? On Monday I asked: ‘Can you name the ground featured in the image above? This is a 1950s photo of this ground, mostly one of its floodlights. The floodlights at this venue were quite distinctive. The ground remains a major sporting venue today, although the floodlights disappeared in the 2010s during a major renovation.’

The answer is Windsor Park, Belfast.

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A year Ago Today – Pep’s Record breakers

On this day (10th February) in 2021 Manchester City won 3-1 at Swansea in the FA Cup with goals from Kyle Walker (30’), Raheem Sterling (47’) and Gabriel Jesus (50’).

The victory meant that City became the first team to win 15 consecutive games (excluding penalty shootouts). This new record was added to the Blues other win record established in 2017: Most consecutive wins (including penalty shootouts): 20. For more information on these records see:

Consecutive Win Records – Facts or Fiction?

For more on games between City and Swansea see: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/02/10/swansea-and-city/

The win also meant that Pep had managed City to 200 victories during his time as manager. After the win he told the media: “I’m very pleased for the way they performed. All of them.

“Swansea is a strong side. They are a really strong team. You understand how many games they were unbeaten. We are in the next round. We are very pleased. The game takes more than 90 minutes. I would love to win after eight minutes. That’s why you have to be patient, control the strength points. In general we played a really good game.

“It shows how special these players are. And we think of the next one. I know we broke a record of all-time. Now it belongs to us and it will be broken for sure. Sport is like this. It means a lot. This is the toughest period. To do what we have done so far is quite remarkable. The important thing is the way we are playing, consistency and the next ones.

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Historic Name That Ground – Week 34

This is week 34 of Historic Name That Ground. As always, please leave your comments in the comments area at the bottom of this website page. Do you recognise this ground? On Friday I’ll post the answer. Here are a few clues…

Can you name the ground featured in the image above? This is a 1950s photo of this ground, mostly one of its floodlights. The floodlights at this venue were quite distinctive. The ground remains a major sporting venue today, although the floodlights disappeared in the 2010s during a major renovation.

Post your answer below in the comments field and I’ll give the answer on Friday.

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) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

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Historic Name That Ground – Week 33 Answer

Well, did you recognise this ground? On Monday I asked: ‘Can you name the ground featured in the image above? This is a 1950s photo of this ground during a pitch invasion (bonus point for anyone who knows what this game was and why there was a pitch invasion). The ground remains a major sporting venue today and I’m sure many subscribers to my site will recognise it.’

The answer is Oldham Athletic’s Boundary Park and the game/pitch invasion? Those on the pitch were apparently Everton supporters celebrating promotion in 1954.

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) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

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I Just Wellied It!

On this day (February 3) in 1990 Manchester City and Manchester United drew 1-1 at Old Trafford. The derby became remembered as the ‘Wellied It!’ derby. Here is the story of that day with quotes from an interview I did with Ian Brightwell a few years ago. He explains how the ‘Wellied It!’ phrase came about and why he said it. Enjoy….

Howard Kendall’s City arrived at Old Trafford for the return derby match on February 3 1990. So much had changed since September when Mel Machin’s City had defeated Alex Ferguson’s United 5-1 and so the game was always going to be a difficult one to call. As the Blues were now supposedly a better side it is true to say most City fans eagerly awaited this particular match. Disappointingly, United only gave City 600 seats and 4,500 terrace tickets, although even that was considerably more than in the years that followed. The eventual attendance was only 40,274 in a stadium holding a minimum of 48,000, as many disenchanted United fans stayed away. 

Although there were noticeable gaps in the United sections, the paddock in front of the Main Stand appeared full of City supporters. They were later joined by Blues evacuated from the Stretford End and estimates from impartial observers suggested there were around 12,000 City fans in the 40,000 crowd. 

The match was the 100th meeting in the First Division and commenced with City tearing into the Reds as they had in September. The Blues were actually two points better off than United in the League and the difference in position prompted City fans to chant “Fergie in” to annoy the home contingent… Football humour, hey?

Squandering some early chances, City looked the more composed overall but when Clarke missed a sitter some fans still muttered about Everton rejects (it had been a thing ever since Howard Kendall’s arrival and transfer of several former Evertonians to Maine Road). It wasn’t just the Evertonians who should have given City the lead; Ian Brightwell was also guilty of a shocking miss when, with Leighton off his line, the youngster feebly lobbed the ball wide. Don’t worry, he made up for it!

Against the run of play it was actually United who took the lead when Clayton Blackmore was gifted a free header. Fortunately, within five minutes Mark Ward found Brightwell who, from fully 25 yards out, blasted a stunning shot past Leighton for the equaliser. Afterwards the delighted player explained exactly how he’d scored by succinctly telling the media: “I just wellied it!”  In May 2010 he remembered how the expression came about:  “We totally outplayed them, but Clayton Blackmore scored even though we’d had most of the chances.  I had a chance in the first half, but that’s a different story.  Once they went a goal ahead you’d normally think it’s going to be difficult, but we still had a lot of chances and I felt we’d still do it.  I remember that the ball was out on the right and Mark Ward sort of half-crossed it.  It came to me and I’ll never forget this – I heard Steve Redmond on the half way line shout:  “Bob…” I’d best not say his exact words, but let’s just say he wanted me to have a go in his strong scouse accent!  It was on my left foot, which isn’t my strongest, but I did what Reddo said.  It went in the top corner!

“I ran off and jumped about twenty feet in the air – or at least that’s how it looks on the photos.  I remember the noise because back then the away fans used to get about 10,000 tickets at Old Trafford and it was phenomenal.  

“When we came to do the post-match TV interview I was asked the usual stuff and then was asked about the goal.  So I told him what I just told you, being careful not to say what Reddo actually shouted!  Just as I was doing it, someone walked past and we had to do the interview again.  But then the same happened again.  So we had to do it a third time.  By this point I thought I had to say it in a different way – inexperience I guess.  I didn’t need to, but I ended up saying:  ‘the ball came out to me and I just wellied it!’  It’s true I did, but now it’s the phrase that people remember.  It summed it up nicely, but it wasn’t what I’d meant to say.”

The match should have brought a City victory, but everyone seemed satisfied with a point. You can watch highlights of the game here: 

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Manchester City Season 2008-09

Previous Season

The Blues ended 2007-08 in ninth place, five places higher than the previous season.  However this was not good enough for owner Thaksin Shinawatra who dismissed manager Sven Goran Eriksson in the close season.  His replacement was former United star Mark Hughes, but few fans were impressed as they had loved Sven’s brief period in charge and were uncertain what to make of the summer’s changes.

League Overview

By the time Mark Hughes managed his first League game the Blues had already started their UEFA Cup campaign with victory over Streymur from the Faroe Islands.  The first League game saw Hughes’ side defeated 4-2 at Aston Villa – all six goals came in the second half – and it is fair to say that fans were not particularly enamoured with the position the Blues were now in when compared with twelve months earlier.  

If you would like to read the full article and other pieces like this then please subscribe below. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to the 500+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

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Historic Name That Ground – Week 33

This is week 33 of Historic Name That Ground. As always, please leave your comments in the comments area at the bottom of this website page. Do you recognise this ground? On Friday I’ll post the answer. Here are a few clues…

Can you name the ground featured in the image above? This is a 1950s photo of this ground during a pitch invasion (bonus point for anyone who knows what this game was and why there was a pitch invasion). The ground remains a major sporting venue today and I’m sure many subscribers to my site will recognise it.

Post your answer below in the comments field and I’ll give the answer on Friday.

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) or you can sign up on a monthly basis at £3 per month (you can cancel at any time, so you could sign sign up for a month, access everything you want and then cancel). You can subscribe below:

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On This Day – Over 74,000 Watch Managerless Manchester City At Home

On this day (30th January) in 1926 managerless Manchester City faced Huddersfield Town in a FA Cup tie at Maine Road, watched by 74,799. The following article, for subscribers to GJFootballArchive.com, provides the background story to the tie and film of the game.

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Eleven Year Ago Today – Dzeko’s First Goal!

On this day (30 January) in 2011 Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City team faced Notts County in the FA Cup. Edin Dzeko’s first City goal came on this day too!

In the build-up to the Notts County tie much was made of the fact that County were the world’s oldest League team and that they were facing the world’s richest club – as usual ignoring the hard fact that it was City’s owner that was wealthy not the club itself. Who’d have thought then that ten years later we’d still be hearing this same old claptrap!

Television, in particular, liked to build up the David and Goliath aspect to it.  For neutrals it added to the interest perhaps, but for the Blues it continued to give a false impression of the stage they were at in their development.  

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