On this day (15 April) in 1964 Maine Road staged a remarkable testimonial for legendary goalkeeper Bert Trautmann. You can read about this incredible night, which set an attendance record for testimonials, below.
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After a surprising defeat in the League at home to Leeds (who were down to ten men throughout the second half) Manchester City’s return leg with Borussia Dortmund on this day (14 April) in 2021, ended with the same result as the first – 2-1. Dortmund had scored first on the night via Jude Bellingham, but the tie ended 4-2 on aggregate. This was a truly impressive victory.
City’s goals coming from Riyad Mahrez (penalty) and Foden. After Foden scored a screamer, he raced towards the manager and the two embraced knowing that City were through to the semi-finals. Afterwards Pep Guardiola told journalists what he experienced at that moment: ‘[Foden] found me. He ran [past] everyone and found me. That’s for all the club, all the people that work so hard to achieve what we have achieved so far. I said, “Well done, good shot, we go”.’
Pep highlighted the task now facing City: ‘We need three wins to win the Premier League. We are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. We are in semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Carabao Cup. It is incredible what we have done. I am incredibly happy for this club, for this chairman and for the fans. Everyone.’
This was shaping up to be a great season.
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On this day (April 13) in 2014 Manchester City’s women’s team played its first competitive game after the relaunch. It was a FA Cup tie against Reading played at the Regional Athletics Arena.
Here for subscribers is a section of Manchester City Women: An Oral History discussing that opening game:
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‘History Tradition Class’ is often used on Arsenal banners (particularly when they play City it seems; there was one at Wembley) and with the two sides meeting on Sunday (19 April 2026) it seems like the same lines will be trotted out again. So for today’s feature I’ve decided to have a look at the history of the two clubs to compare successes. It seems to me that if a club claims that their club has something that another does not then it’s only fair to test that idea. Anyway here goes….
What do we mean by history? Is it success? Is it a ‘first’ that predates the rest. Is it more trophies? Is it longevity? Is it just nonsense? (probably!). So here are a few comparisons of achievements just to get the ball rolling:
Major trophies won or achievements made:
Trophy/Achievement
Year & team
Other Team
Joined the League
1892 (City as Ardwick AFC)
1893 (Woolwich Arsenal)
Promotion
1899 (City)
1904 (Arsenal)
Second Division Champions
1899 (City)
Never
Major Trophy
1904 (City)
1930 (Arsenal)
FA Cup
1904 (City)
1930 (Arsenal)
League
1931 (Arsenal)
1937 (City)
League Cup
1970 (City)
1987 (Arsenal)
ECWC
1970 (City)
1994 (Arsenal)
Fairs Cup
1970 (Arsenal)
Never
Domestic Treble
2019 (City)
Never
Traditional Treble
2023 (City)
Never
European Cup
2023 (City)
Never
Super Cup
2023 (City)
Never
Club World Cup
2023 (City)
Never
Community Shield
1930 (Arsenal)
1937 (City)
I’ll show more comparisons on success in a moment but first how about attendance comparisons?
The highest home attendance by either club is: 84,569 (City). Arsenal’s record attendance is over 10,000 lower at 73,707, achieved at a European game at Wembley.
Record League attendance: 79,491 (City); 73,295 (Arsenal).
The first time either side were the best supported team in the League: 1910-11 (City). Arsenal first achieved this feat almost 20 years later in 1929-30.
Okay, what about first and most recent successes? Here’s a list of the major trophies won by these sides listed with the first time one of the team’s achieved that success and the most recent time:
Trophy/Achievement
First
Team
Most Recent
Team
Major Trophy
1904
City
2026
City
FA Cup
1904
City
2023
City
League
1931
Arsenal
2024
City
League Cup
1970
City
2026
City
ECWC
1970
City
1994
Arsenal
Fairs Cup
1970
Arsenal
1970
Arsenal
European Cup
2023
City
2023
City
Super Cup
2023
City
2023
City
Club World Cup
2023
City
2023
City
Community Shield
1930
Arsenal
2024
City
Domnestic Treble
2019
City
2019
City
Traditional Treble
2023
City
2023
City
Interesting stats but what about most trophies won? Surely there’s a big difference? Err, well not really:
MOST TROPHIES WON
Trophy
Number & Team
Other Team
FA Cup
14 (Arsenal)
7 (City)
League
13 (Arsenal)
10 (City)
League Cup
9 (City)
2 (Arsenal)
Club World Cup
1 (City)
Super Cup
1 (City)
European Cup
1 (City)
ECWC
1 (both City & Arsenal)
Fairs Cup
1 (Arsenal)
Total
31 (Arsenal)
30 (City)
I’m sure someone will say ‘but take the Super Cup off as it’s like the Community Shield’. Okay but that still means that after all these decades there are only 2 major trophies separating City and Arsenal. Also, there are some sports historians who would say ‘remove the Fairs Cup’ as that wasn’t a UEFA tournament and the rules of entry meant that often teams finishing in a position that should allow entry couldn’t enter as only one team per city could enter. In 1969 Everton finished above Arsenal and were denied entry into the Fairs Cup because Liverpool had already qualified. Similarly Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham were denied entry due to Arsenal qualifying. The same was true across Europe. In earlier years ‘London’ had entered the competition.
I’m not going to say that Manchester City’s history is greater than any other club, nor should any other person say that about their club. Each club has its own successes and failures; reasons to be proud and moments to forget. However, when a club or its fans try to claim superiority over another because of their ‘history’ or ‘tradition’ or ‘class’ (maybe I’ll do that another day) then it’s only fair to highlight the history and tradition of success other clubs have enjoyed.
How time flies? On this day (April 11) in 2019 I staged an event at the Dancehouse in central Manchester to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Manchester City. We had a packed audience for the event and I intended to stage at least one event like this every year (then Covid happened!).
In 2019 I managed three special events at the Dancehouse connected with Manchester City’s history. In June there was the most recent showing of The Boys In Blue (my collaboration with the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University) which provided exclusive films of the club from 1905 through to the modern era.
In September there was the launch of Manchester City Women: An Oral History (you can buy that book here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/shop/ ). This was a celebration of the history of the women’s club with guests from every era of the club’s history including many founding players and also England international Karen Bardsley.
I had hoped to stage events in 2020 and 2021 but back in April 2019 there was the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the club’s birth as Manchester City. The talk of course went back further and discussed the 1870s and 1880s where I hoped to kill off a few myths. I’m still trying to kill off some of these myths. See:
The 2019 presentation didn’t just dwell on the formative years of the club as I covered stories connected with Maine Road, fans and more. The following images are slides from that day and give an indication of what was covered.
I’d love to do further shows like these and perhaps resurrect the idea of doing at least one a year but I’d need a venue and would also need to find a way to cover costs. Any ideas welcome.
On this day (April 11) in 2012 Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City lay eight points behind Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and possessed an inferior goal difference (two goals) after the same number of games. There were only six games left to play and, as far as the wider public was concerned, it was only a matter of time before United won the title. But things began to change on this day in 2012 when City faced West Bromwich Albion.
Here for subscribers is the story of that day…
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On this day (10 April) in 1944 the North Regional League (a wartime league) Manchester derby ended in a 4-1 City victory over United. The City scorers were Les McDowall (3) and Les Bardsley. The United scorer was Billy Bryant and the game was watched by an official crowd of 18,990 at Maine Road (a City home game). The image shows that days results in the war leagues.
You can read more on MCFC in the 1943-44 season below. The story of George Smith is included within this. George was the victim of friendly fire and his story is remarkable.
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Today (10 April 2026) marks the 50th anniversary of the day City legend Colin Bell was crowned. The story has entered folklore about the day when a fan – Dave Brammer – ran on to the Maine Road pitch with a crown he had specially made for the occasion and placed it on the head of Colin as the player warmed up just before kick-off. This photo recently rediscovered captures the moment and you can read more about this remarkable day and see other photos of Colin in action that day below (this is a subscriber article – see below for details).
There’s also plenty of other stuff on Colin throughout the site so why not have a search and see what you can see?
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If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
On this day (April 9) in 2005 a 90th minute volley from Kiki Musampa – his first for the Blues – at the northern end of the stadium gave Manchester City a 1-0 home victory over eventual European Champions Liverpool. This was Stuart Pearce’s first league victory as City manager.
The Musampa goal was described at the time as a ‘spectacular volley’.
Former City and England captain Pearce guided the Blues through the final nine games of 2004-05 after the departure of Kevin Keegan. Apart from a 2-1 defeat in his first game, the Blues were unbeaten until the end of the season. This run included the victory over Liverpool and wins over Birmingham (3-0), Portsmouth (2-0) and Aston Villa (2-1).
As a result Pearce was named the Barclays Premiership Manager of the Month for April.
For more on the 2004-05 season have a read of this:
On this day (April 8) in 1977 two goals from Brian Kidd gave Manchester City a 2-1 victory over Leeds at Maine Road. A crowd of 47,727 witnessed the game as the Blues challenged for the League title. This result saw City move a point behind the League leaders Ipswich Town, managed by Bobby Robson.
It had not been a convincing City performance but there had been injury issues with Mike Doyle and Brian Kidd playing in an unorthodox midfield – my biography of Peter Barnes goes in to a lot of detail about these easter 1977 games. You can order that here:
Leeds had taken the lead with Joe Jordan heading home after 17 minutes. Kidd equalised in the 38th minute after Joe Royle’s pass bounced off Leeds’ Trevor Cherry. Kidd’s second came when he flicked in the winner after Paul Madeley had seemingly headed clear a Peter Barnes corner in the 64th minute.
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