Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
On 15 June 1995 Manchester City’s efforts to replace Brian Horton as manager seemed to be stumbling. Brian Kidd had been wanted by chairman Francis Lee, but that wasn’t happening; others who would be discussed widely (and fans were told would be possible) included George Graham and Franz Beckenbauer. Ultimately City appointed Alan Ball (you can read about his time at City elsewhere on this website if you’re brave enough to be reminded of those days!).
On 14 June in 1947 Manchester City’s George Smith (on right of photo the following season playing against Manchester United) scored five as the Blues defeated Newport 5-1 in the Second Division. At the time this was City’s latest finish to a season (eclipsed by the Covid affected 2019-20 season of course!). You can read more on the 1946-47 season below. This was the first league season after the war and ended with City winning the Second Division title. There were some truly significant – and well attended – games that season and future Liverpool manager Joe Fagan made his debut this season too. This subscriber article includes comments from an interview I did with George Smith back in 2003.
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On 13 June 1975 Mike Summerbee signed for Burnley from Manchester City. That day also saw Burnley sign Manchester United’s Willie Morgan too. These were sad departures from both City and United as far as Manchester fans were concerned. Here’s a report including quotes from the 14 June 1975:
The history of women’s football in Manchester deserves to be properly recorded. This week I’m presenting at the International Football History conference in Belfast on the teams and communities of women’s footballers that existed in Manchester during the 1950s. People often assume there’s either no women’s football in the city back then or there are one, maybe two teams. My research is identifying that there are many more teams than that and that the community of women playing football in Manchester during the 50s was significantly greater than most believe.
Over the last decade I’ve been interviewing women who played football in Manchester, or for Manchester based teams, during the 1940s to modern years. This includes Maureen Charlton, Dorothy Allcock and Flo Cloake (who played in the 1940s & 50s) and players like Steph Houghton, Karen Bardsley and Jill Scott (who of course played in more recent times). For me the stories of all are inspiring. Many women from Manchester, or based in Manchester, played prominent roles in football’s development during the 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond. Some who played decades ago are still contributing significantly today.
To date I’ve published two books and written many articles, chapters and features for a variety of publications on Manchester’s women’s teams. The latest of these is the book on the Manchester Corinthians. I’m absolutely delighted with this from Matt Williams, a longlist judge for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2025 award. He has posted the following video about the Manchester Corinthians book as his ‘What are we reading this week?’ post on social media. It really does please me and demonstrates why I’ve been so keen to get the Corinthians story out there.
For those interested Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of 356 pages. Getting it into Manchester bookshops, particularly Waterstones, is proving difficult so if there’s anyone reading this who can help please get in touch. We can organise events if that helps?
Thanks to everyone who has helped so far to promote the Corinthians and their stories. But we need to bang the drum for all Manchester’s clubs, so please do all you can to spread the word.
I’ll let everyone know more about the other teams, the presentation at the conference and more later. For now… the Corinthians book is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging). I’ll sign all copies ordered direct from me below.
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.
You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£25.00
I’m delighted to say that my biographical piece on Colin Bell has been published by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The ODNB is a significant record of some of the most significant figures in the UK’s history. It’s a major honour to be included in that and it’s always a significant honour to be asked to write a biographical piece for them.
It’s behind a pay wall but if you do already subscribe to the ODNB or have access via a library/university then here’s the link:
https://www.oxforddnb.com/newsitem/894/whats-new-june-2025
Previously I’ve written biographical pieces for the ODNB on Frank Swift, Tommy Docherty and Ray Wilkins.
Back in June 1985 English football clubs planned tours and preseason games were in doubt after first UEFA, then FIFA instigated bans on English clubs playing outside of the UK. According to the Liverpool Echo Manchester City was to be the first team to challenge the ban (see below for details). The bans followed the awful, tragic scenes at the 1985 European Cup Final featuring Liverpool. That day was an absolutely disgraceful day that saw 39 people die – please find a way to read about the circumstances. It really was horrific.
The reason this became a story on 11 June in 1985 in the Liverpool Echo is that City’s planned trip to Sweden was in jeopardy and the newspaper wanted to raise awareness of the possibility that the ban could be lifted.
Ultimately, City did not get to Sweden in 1985 and they played in the Isle Of Man tournament in July and August instead.
As part if my Maine Rd 100 countdown in 2023 I posted this image of Manchester City fans demonstrating against chairman Peter Swales and his supporting board of directors. It’s always worth remembering those days as a reminder of how things change.
Of course fans still demonstrate and make their feelings known over various issues (as is their right) but these days it tends to be over specific issues. Back then it was about the direction of the full club. This image was from 1983 but protests against Swales and the board began in 1979 and continued until 1993-94. Here’s a photo of John Bond stood in front of the Main Entrance in 1983. The ‘cage’ protecting the entrance would often get locked to prevent fans forcing their way in during demonstrations.
Here’s a 1995 image of Maine Road showing the forecourt in front of the Main Stand where most demonstrations occurred:
My latest article on women’s football has been published. This one looks back to 1957 when a Manchester club (chosen by Bert Trautmann to play) represented England in a European Cup in Germany. The article has been posted by Manchester City. You can access it via this link:
On this day (7 June) in 1985 it was reported that Manchester City had signed City fan Mark Lillis (see the image for the story). Lillis soon became a cult hero to Kippax fans.
The 1980s was a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club and you can find out more on this season by reading the following 2,500 word feature on 1985-86 (available to subscribers). Enjoy!
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Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1986-87 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:
The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald
The 2025 International Football History Conference will take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland and will be held over two days (Friday the 13th & Saturday the 14thof June 2025).
As usual we have a wonderful collection of presentations, with leading academics, historians, researchers etc. in their field. Here’s the schedule for both days:
The International Football History Conference is a welcoming community. Cone and join us. This is a self-funding event. All delegates, whether presenting or not,will need to book their place before attending via our Eventbrite page, which can be accessed via this link: https://bit.ly/FootyCon25
Travel & Accommodation
Delegates will need to make their own arrangements regarding travel & accommodation for the conference. The organisers of the conference recommend staying in the city centre. The information below will cover how to reach Belfast City Centre and the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the venue for our conference. Further information will be listed in the conference pack released closer to the conference.
For those flying to Belfast, the city is served by two airports: Belfast International Airport (BFS) and George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD). Bus connections from the international airport to Belfast Grand Central Station, the new transport hub of Belfast City Centre, run every fifteen minutes, and from the city airport to Belfast Grand Central Station every twenty minutes. Rail services to and from Belfast Grand Central will be operational by the time of the conference as train services are currently being transferred from the old stations to the new hub.
Belfast Grand Central Station is also close to many of Belfast City Centre’s hotel options. Pricing will range from 4* options such as the Europa, Leonardo or Fitzwilliam Hotels (all located on Great Victoria Street, close to the station), to more budget-friendly nearby options such as Benedicts Hotel, Travelodge, easyHotel, Maldron, Premier Inn, etc.
For those driving to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, the stadium can be accessed from either Boucher Road or Donegall Avenue. The postcode for your satnav will be BT12 6LW.
Gary James' Football Archive 