Today (3 January) in 1994: After 39 minutes Manchester City’s game with Ipswich Town was abandoned with the Blues winning 2-0. The scorers were Vonk and Ingebrigtsen – his only League goal for the Blues was expunged from the records as a result!
The referee David Elleray angered the City players, especially Tony Coton, by abandoning the tie due to a waterlogged pitch. The pitch had been appalling at the kick-off and perhaps the game should not have commenced. Naturally, it was a big disappointment at the time.
I was at this abandoned game in the ‘new’ Platt Lane Stand. Were you also at Maine Road that day? If so why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?
On this day (November 28) in 1936 Manchester City’s game with Brentford was abandoned due to fog. The two were rivals for the League title and the rearrangement of that game did ultimately have a bearing on the title. More on this for subscribers below…
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this article when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (£1.66 a month) to access everything or £3 per month paying a month at a time. If you’d like to support my research then why not subscribe? Every subscription directly helps support my research and provides annual subscribers with access to everything posted on this site, including the entire Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men To Banana Citizens books, plus interviews, articles and more.
The last two games abandoned at Maine Rd were actually both meetings between City and Ipswich. Here’s a reminder of one of them. It’s the 3 January 1994 meeting. After 39 minutes City’s game with Ipswich Town was abandoned with the Blues winning 2-0. The scorers were Vonk and Ingebrigtsen – his only League goal for the Blues was expunged from the records as a result!
The referee David Elleray angered the City players, especially Tony Coton, by abandoning the tie due to a waterlogged pitch. As a fan I wasn’t particularly happy either! The pitch had been appalling at the kick-off and perhaps the game should not have commenced. Naturally, it was a big disappointment at the time.
As I mentioned, I was at this abandoned game in the ‘new’ Platt Lane Stand. Were you also at Maine Road that day? If so why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?
It’s interesting that yesterday (28 January), the day Luton Town were drawn at home to Manchester City in the FA Cup, was the anniversary of one of the most remarkable FAC games between the two clubs. On 28 January 1961 Denis Law’s six goals for City against Luton in the FAC were wiped from the records when the game was abandoned. City were winning 6-2. Here for subscribers to the blog is the story of that game and the ‘typical City’ replay that followed.
Subscribe to get access
If you would like to read this and the blog’s in-depth, longer articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) 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 (see below). Annual subscribers get full access to the 1300+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming months.
If you would like to read this and the blog’s in-depth, longer articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe below. It’s £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time (cancel anytime). Monthly subscribers get full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything posted during your subscription.
This is an unusual tale from this day (9 September) in 1965. On that day Manchester City’s game with Norwich was abandoned at half time due to a waterlogged pitch. Norwich had taken an early lead via a Ron Davies header.
Neil Young equalised for the Blues in the 37th minute and fans had been hopeful of a win but referee Jim Carr (Sheffield) abandoned the match stating: ‘The lines were not visible. In seven seasons on the list, I can’t remember a ground in this state at this time of year.’
Journalist Peter Gardner thought the ref had made a mistake as conditions seemed to be improving. Many fans agreed and after the abandonment several confronted a man they believed to be the ref but it was actually Stretford mayor Edward Cavanagh. He claimed about 300 people confronted him as he headed for his car. A woman apparently kicked a councillor who was with him and the ‘mob’ started to bang on his car too!
The story made the papers. The replay ended in a goalless draw before over 34,000 on 27 October.
On this day (27 August) in 1960 the only Manchester Derby to be abandoned (and the game replayed) took place. It was abandoned at 2-2 with heavy rain at Maine Road.
Strictly speaking another derby (the one at Old Trafford in 1974) was also abandoned but the result for that game was allowed to stand.
27 August 1960 (date on image is incorrect). The abandoned Manchester derby.
It’s day 90 of my 100 day countdown to Maine Road’s centenary and today’s feature is about a mysterious abandonment of a Manchester City match at Maine Road. On 7 January 1956, with the score at 1-1 City’s cup tie with Blackpool was abandoned in the 56th minute after fog enveloped the ground. The game was an extraordinary one with City fans angry that it had ever started. In thick fog the referee H Webb (no not that one!) of Leeds said the game should go ahead because, although those in the stands could see little, he claimed he could see both ends of the pitch. So much for consideration for fans!
Blackpool kicked off to start the game but City were unable to see what was going on unless they were close up to the ball. Within 13 seconds Ernie Taylor, who later signed for Manchester United of course, scored without a single City man touching the ball (or even seeing it it seems).
After 37 minutes the players left the field and it looked like the game would be abandoned but, to the shock of the City players (who seemed to want it abandoning according to some reports, though we all know how things can be incorrectly reported), the match restarted.
A longer half-time than usual followed but still the game went on. After eight minutes City’s Jack Dyson was fouled in the area – although only the referee, Dyson and the man who committed the foul seemed to know this at the time. Dyson scored the resulting penalty and then a couple of minutes later referee H Webb abandoned the game (maybe it was that H Webb after all!).
Amazingly one newspaper photograph of the game did appear (above), but apart from that it seems the public didn’t see anything. A cartoon appeared in one ‘paper suggesting that fans only found out what happened when they went home and turned on their radios.
Four days later 42,517 attended Maine Road for a 2.15pm kick off on a Wednesday afternoon to see City win the replayed match 2-1.
If you would like to read more 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 1000+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.
Subscribe to get access – Annual
Read the exclusive content in gjfootballarchive.com when you subscribe. It costs £20 per year or £3 per month (see below). Annual subscribers get access to everything posted since the site was created in December 2020 and throughout your subscription.
Read the exclusive content in gjfootballarchive.com when you subscribe. It costs £20 per year (above) or £3 per month (cancel anytime). Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and throughout your subscription.
On this day (28 January) in 1961 Denis Law’s six goals against Luton in the FAC were wiped from the records when the game was abandoned due to fog. Manchester City were winning 6-2, and lost the replay 3-1 (Law scored City’s consolation).
Subscribers can read a report of the game and more on Law & this game below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (here, works out about £1.66 per month) or £3 per month (below). Annual subscribers access everything posted to the site including PDFs of 2 out of print books and 100s of articles/interviews etc.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (above) or £3 per month (here). Monthly subscribers access everything posted to the site since 1 October 2022 and can cancel anytime, so why not try it for a month?
Today (3 January) in 1994: After 39 minutes Manchester City’s game with Ipswich Town was abandoned with the Blues winning 2-0. The scorers were Vonk and Ingebrigtsen – his only League goal for the Blues was expunged from the records as a result!
The referee David Elleray angered the City players, especially Tony Coton, by abandoning the tie due to a waterlogged pitch. The pitch had been appalling at the kick-off and perhaps the game should not have commenced. Naturally, it was a big disappointment at the time.
I was at this abandoned game in the ‘new’ Platt Lane Stand. Were you also at Maine Road that day? If so why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?
On this day (November 28) in 1936 Manchester City’s game was abandoned due to fog. For today’s piece I’m taking a look back at the season of 1936-37and that game when City and Brentford were title rivals.
The early months of the season were difficult for City. Despite exciting victories over Leeds (4-0) and West Bromwich Albion (6-2), an opening day defeat at Middlesbrough and another at Old Trafford in the first derby since February 1931 caused a little concern. The United defeat was particularly upsetting as the Reds were a side clearly lacking and destined to return immediately to the Second Division. Further City failures occurred, including a 2-1 loss at Wolverhampton and a 4-2 Maine Road defeat to Sunderland.
Significant injuries to captain Sam Barkas, and attackers Alec Herd and Fred Tilson had hampered our progress during the opening months. All three absences affected the Blues considerably – Tilson missed twenty consecutive League games; Herd eight and Barkas missed seven of the opening nine matches.
These injuries meant it was difficult to find consistency and by November 28 City were twelfth. That day they were to face Brentford at Maine Road, who were already perceived as title challengers after defeating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 the previous week. That victory had meant that Brentford were third, only one point behind leaders Sunderland. If anyone had been asked to predict which of City and Brentford were more likely to end the season as champions at that time they would inevitably have answered Brentford. However, things were about to change for Manchester’s Blues.
Subscribers to my site can find out what happened next…
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this article when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (£1.66 a month) to access everything or £3 per month paying a month at a time (see below). If you’d like to support my research then why not subscribe? Every subscription directly helps support my research and provides annual subscribers with access to everything posted on this site, including the entire Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men To Banana Citizens books, plus interviews, articles and more. I am not employed by anyone and all my research is self funded or comes from subscriptions to this site.
Read more of this article when you subscribe today. You can subscribe at either £20 per year (above) or at £3 per month here (cancel any time). For those subscribing £3 per month you will be able to access all content from October 2022 onwards for as long as you are a subscriber. Those subscribing £20 a year have access to everything posted since December 2020.
Gary James' Football Archive 