The 2010s: Manchester City v Notts County

On 20 February 2011 Manchester City’s FA Cup tie with Notts County ultimately demonstrated the gulf in quality between Manchester’s Blues and the 18th placed team in League One (3rd tier). County, managed by former United player Paul Ince, had opened brightly and almost took the lead after only 60 seconds, but City went on to dominate this fourth round replay.

Patrick Vieira opened the scoring for City in the 37th minute when he headed home after David Silva whipped a cross in his direction from a Kolarov corner. Vieira added a second 13 minutes after half time. Roberto Mancini’s side seemed comfortable by this time, but County began to put the Blues under pressure, forcing goalkeeper Joe Hart to make a couple of significant saves.

Ince’s side peaked by about the 70th minute and City increased their lead in the 84th as Carlos Tevez scored his 50th goal in only 73 appearances for the Blues – a return that caused the Guardian’s Daniel Taylor to suggest the Argentinian had: ‘legitimate credentials to be recognised as the outstanding striker in [City’s] history.’

A Edin Dzeko header made it 4-0 in the 89th minute and then Micah Richards hooked a superb shot into the top corner from about 12 yards out to make it 5-0 in added time.

City were through to face Aston Villa in the fifth round, and they already knew that, should they beat Villa, the quarter-final would be against either Everton or Reading.

While the result was extremely positive there had been one potentially concerning moment picked up by the nation’s media. Mario Balotelli clashed heads with County defender Pearce and was replaced almost immediately by Carlos Tevez (60th minute). As Balotelli left the field, he seemed somewhat unhappy and threw his snood to the ground as he walked down the tunnel. The player was taken to hospital after the game as he felt dizzy and nauseous, but much was made of his disappointment at being substituted. When asked about it after the game Mancini said: ‘He was unhappy, sure. I’d expect him to be. But that was our plan [to substitute him] and we had told him. We have games coming up every three or four days and we want him 100%.’

At a time when some were suggesting City should concentrate on finishing in a League place that would guarantee Champions League football rather than a domestic cup, Mancini was asked whether the Cup mattered to him. He replied: ‘The FA Cup is an important competition, and we want to win it. Reaching the final is our aim but we cannot look too far ahead. We have a Europa tie on Thursday and then we must play in the League on Sunday before the cup match against Villa… It is a lot to ask to win every week, but we must rest well and then work hard.’

Match Stats

20 February 2011

Manchester City 5 (Vieira 2, Tevez, Dzeko & Richards) Notts County 0

Attendance 27,276

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Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Manchester City 1 Coventry City 0

Today (19 February) in 1966 a goal from captain Johnny Crossan brought City a 1-0 win over Jimmy Hill’s Coventry City and prompted City boss Joe Mercer to say that his side were not good enough for promotion. He was joking after some criticism that day and was able to point to the League table which showed City top of the Second Division. Were you at Maine Road that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments. Here for subscribers is a contemporary match report from this game:

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You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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The Origins Of Manchester City: The Early 1870s

Continuing here: the story of Manchester City’s origins. Today’s feature is on the early 1870s. Association football clubs were starting to develop in Manchester, although the clubs that led to the formation of Manchester City were still a few years off. Below is a 1000+ word article on that period and the latest part of a series looking at Manchester City’s origins prior to 1890.

Already there are seasonal articles on every season from 1890-91 (Ardwick) through to 2009-10 and now, throughout February, I’ll be adding the history of the Club prior to 1890. I’ll be telling via a series of articles the story of key individuals/origins/moments that contributed to the establishment of a football club. The series continues below with the second feature on the early 1870s.

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MCFC Away v. NUFC at Maine Rd

Manchester City have drawn Newcastle away in the FA Cup this year and this reminds me of 4 January 1975 when City played ‘away’ at Maine Road against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.  The tie should have been played at Newcastle but the FA ordered that the match be played at Maine Road following crowd disorder at St. James’ Park the previous season.  City lost the match 2-0.

Were you at this match? If so why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?

You can read a 1500 article on the 1974-75 season here:

The Story of 1974-75

The Origins Of Manchester City: The 1860s

Continuing here: the story of Manchester City’s origins. Today’s feature is on the 1860s. As I’ve mentioned previously, this was before association football clubs were in existence in East Manchester but steps were taken in the this decade that would ultimately lead to the establishment of teams in West Gorton. Below is a 1500+ word article on that period and the second part of a series looking at Manchester City’s origins prior to 1890.

Already there are seasonal articles on every season from 1890-91 (Ardwick) through to 2009-10 and now, throughout February, I’ll be adding the history of the Club prior to 1890. I’ll be telling via a series of articles the story of key individuals/origins/moments that contributed to the establishment of a football club. The series continues below with the second feature on the 1860s.

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The Origins Of Manchester City: The 1850s

Starting here: the story of Manchester City’s origins, beginning with the 1850s. This was many years before association football clubs were in existence in East Manchester but steps were taken in the 1850s that would ultimately lead to the establishment of teams in West Gorton. Below is a 1000+ word article on that period and the first part of a series looking at Manchester City’s origins prior to 1890.

Already there are seasonal articles on every season from 1890-91 (Ardwick) through to 2009-10 and now, throughout February, I’ll be adding the history of the Club prior to 1890. I’ll be telling via a series of articles the story of key individuals/origins/moments that contributed to the establishment of a football club. The series starts below with the first feature on the 1850s.

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Starting Tomorrow: The Origins Of Manchester City

Already this website tells the story of Manchester City with seasonal articles on every season from 1890-91 (Ardwick) through to 2009-10 and throughout February I’ll be adding the history of the Club prior to 1890. Starting with material from the 1850s and the establishment of an organisation that was to play a major part in the establishment of the Club, I’ll be telling via a series of articles the story of key individuals/origins/moments that contributed to the establishment of a football club. The series starts tomorrow with the first feature on the 1850s. Watch this space!

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The 1970s: Could Colin Return For Wembley?

Fifty years ago today there was lots of discussion around Manchester of the prospect of Colin Bell returning to action for the League Cup final, planned for Saturday 28 February 1976. Much of the talk throughout February had been on who manager Tony Book would pick for the final with Newcastle. Injuries and suspensions had impacted City significantly throughout the season and reaching the final had been seen as the major achievement it was. Alongside this the Blues had maintained a challenge for the title, though there had been mixed results so far during January and February. A disappointing 2-1 defeat at Birmingham on 14 February had left City seventh, eight points behind leaders Liverpool. 

During the week that followed the Birmingham game Book decided to move a Reserve match in the Central League to Monday 23 February, five days before the League Cup final. He explained: ‘I had been hoping that my ideas on the [Cup Final] line-up would have taken firmer shape by now, but the recurring problem of getting our key midfield player Colin Bell fully fit for his first [first team] match action since early November and a doubt about the best defensive formation at my disposal, has left the situation uncertain until the last minute.’

The move of the Reserve game with Sheffield United meant that, in Book’s eyes, there were now two games to have a proper assessment of who would be in his Wembley team – a League match with Everton on 21 February and the reserve game two days later. The hope that Bell could return was greeted extremely positively by fans desperate to see their hero. He had started a Reserve game on 17 January but, in the days that followed, he had suffered a reaction. 

As City approached their League game with Everton Book admitted: ‘I will decide the team on Wednesday or Thursday of next week and part of those plans will be structured around the situation with Colin. I made it clear recently that I considered it important for our inside forward to get a couple of games under his belt to rate consideration, but whatever this weekend’s events I shall not dismiss his chances of returning until a final talk with Colin and the medical staff in midweek.’

As City fans looked forward to their League game with Everton some were already talking about attending the Reserve game with Sheffield United simply in the hope of seeing their hero.  Fifty years on, it’s difficult to stress how significant the prospect of Colin Bell returning to action was viewed. It seemed unlikely he’d play at Wembley, but everyone hoped he would pass Book’s final tests and make it. Sadly, things didn’t work out, but this week back in 1976 there was still hope.

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If you’d like to know more about this period in Manchester City’s history why not read the following 5,320 word article on the entire 1975-76 season – a season which saw Tony Book guide the club to major success. 

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60 Years Ago: Malcolm Allison Ban For Criticising Referees

This week in 1966 Manchester City assistant manager Malcolm Allison was in trouble for criticising refereeing decisions on the radio. He was irate at inconsistencies seen and suggested that referees were ‘homers’ (giving decisions to home teams rather than being fair to both sides). Inevitably, his comments brought censure from the FA but he did receive a lot of support from fans. Here’s a selection of the newspaper coverage as it appears in the 1965-66 scrapbook I have:

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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From The Archives: An Away Friendly At Bournemouth

Here’s an item from the collection from this day (12 February) in 1949 when Bournemouth staged a home friendly against Manchester City. This was City’s second away friendly of 1949 (after Coventry the previous month). The game ended in a 4-2 win for Manchester’s Blues and was watched by 15,046. City’s scorers were: Jack Oakes, Johnny Hart, George Smith and Andy Black. It’s not clear exactly who this letter was sent to but similar letters were sent to both the FA and the League for games like these.

If you’d like to find out more on the 1940s at City why not read the following article on the 1948-49 season. This article can be read by subscribing below.

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