Tag Archives: Anfield

The Appeal Of Manchester City

There has been a lot of criticism of City’s fanbase in recent weeks. Ridiculous stuff like celebrating a goal is seemingly wrong, according to some. Thankfully the banana craze and the general humour of fans is helping enormously and is a huge positive. Let’s face it, football is a game to enjoy and, as with the original banana craze, the idea of ‘putting the fun’ back into football is something all should support. The appeal of Manchester City has never simply been about finding success, it’s about community.

I’ve often posted this page from my biography of Joe Mercer which rightly points out that football is a great game (and highlights that there’s plenty wrong around the game, though he didn’t highlight fans which I think shows he knew what it was like for us).

Joe Mercer, quoted in Football With A Smile by Gary James

Football is all about camaraderie, connections, family and friends. It’s about shared experiences and the joy of life. Sometimes things don’t go so well, but the key thing is that football should always be about the joy of attending games and sharing experiences and, as with so many times in the past, the negativity of others shouldn’t detract from your own experience.

Leaving the Etihad the other night after City had lost to PSG there were plenty of smiling faces. Sure we’d lost but most there recognised the fightback and spirit exhibited in that second half, while also acknowledging that PSG played extremely well. I think we always knew it would be difficult to beat PSG, especially after Sunday’s pressures at Anfield, so it was wonderful to see the spirit of the Blues (both on the pitch and in the stands).

As I left the ground an excited boy was saying to his dad: ‘Did you see that penalty save, Dad?’ and he was clearly delighted with what he saw. I’m sure his dad will have seen better penalties – and saves for that matter – but for that boy it was a great moment. Maybe it was the first time he’d seen a penalty save? Maybe he wants to be a goalkeeper? Who knows, but what is true is that the game brought him joy. Ultimately, we should all have that joy.

Back in 1987 when the banana craze started football fans were viewed negatively by politicians, the wider media and the general public who didn’t attend games but read what they saw in the ‘papers. We were all classed as hooligans because of several high profile stories (not least Heysel but also issues at a variety of grounds around the country), but of course not all fans looked for trouble. Not all fans were ‘hooligans’. However, the negativity towards us was intense. I remember being interviewed for, what I hoped would be my first job, and the interviewee (who knew nothing about football) was surprised I’d mentioned being a season ticket holder. It was as if I’d said I belonged to some outlawed political party.

In this environment many fans began to challenge the way we were perceived and organisations were established to represent fans’ feelings. Fanzines also started to appear. Then at City the banana craze began. It was a laugh, pure and simple, and several articles highlighted the positivity of it all. It brightened the mood.

This is a bit of a rambling piece but I just basically wanted to highlight that football is a fun game and it’s not all about match results, it’s about the community. City fans know better than most that football is never just about results. Only a small number of clubs can ever find trophy success each season and games are either won, drawn or lost – we can’t all win every game. So it’s so important to have fun no matter what the result. The banana craze gave us that in the 1980s (our big fancy dress day out at Stoke ended in defeat of course!) and today, in October 2026, thanks to the 1894 Group, the Supporters Club and those who attended Anfield, the 2026 version of the craze is doing it again. Enjoy!

Liverpool v Manchester City

Today’s the latest in a long line of meetings between Manchester’s Blues and Liverpool’s Reds. Don’t forget to take your inflatables and have some fun in an atmosphere that is likely to be ferocious today. The first competitive meeting was on 16/9/1893 (as Ardwick)) with the first meeting as Manchester City coming on New Year’s Day 1896.

There have been over 200 games between these clubs (more than Manchester derbies!) and many of these have been featured on this site over the years, such as this meeting at Anfield:

The 1920s: Liverpool 1 Manchester City 6

Here’s one from more recent times:

The 2020s: Victory at Anfield

Here’s a link to every other post on this site tagged Liverpool. Enjoy!

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/liverpool

Liverpool v Manchester City

Today’s the latest in a long line of meetings between Manchester’s Blues and Liverpool’s Reds. The first competitive meeting was on 16/9/1893 (as Ardwick)) with the first meeting as Manchester City coming on New Year’s Day 1896.

In total there have been 180 League games and many of these have been featured on this site over the years, such as this meeting at Anfield:

The 1920s: Liverpool 1 Manchester City 6

Here’s one from more recent times:

The 2020s: Victory at Anfield

Here’s a link to every other post on this site tagged Liverpool. Enjoy!

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/liverpool/

The 2020s: Victory at Anfield

Manchester City’s meeting with Liverpool on this day (7 February) in 2021 was considered by some as the day the Blues’ run of great results would end. Playing at Anfield against the reigning champions was expected to be tough and, indeed, the first half was tight with little between the sides. In the 37th minute a great opportunity to take the lead was missed when a penalty, given for a foul on Sterling, was fired over by Gundogan. City fans watching at home due to Covid restrictions felt fate was working against them.

However, the second half started positively when, in the 49th minute, Gundogan lashed in a rebound after Liverpool ‘keeper Alisson had parried a Phil Foden shot. The lead didn’t last though as Mo Salah scored from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute. Ten minutes later Gundogan was played in by Foden to convert from close range after a defensive mix-up to make it 2-1. Three minutes later (76th minute) Sterling’s diving header from a clever cross by Bernardo Silva made the score 3-1.

Man of the match Phil Foden completed the scoring in style with a sizzling strike (83rd minute). It was thoroughly deserved as Foden had been outstanding throughout the game. 

The 4-1 victory lifted City five points clear of second-placed United and with a game in hand. This was also Pep Guardiola’s first win as a manager at Anfield. He summed up the game well: ‘I have a lot of emotions, many things happening in the game. Gundogan missed a penalty – it’s like a routine against them – but we started really, really well, doing what we want to do. In the second half, the way we reacted to the goal, the way we played with quality, made the difference.’

When asked about the destination of the League title he responded: ‘It is an important win, but it is February. Of course, the gap to fifth is big right now and [qualifying] for the Champions League next season is important – but 10 [League] wins in a row in this period is something exceptional.’

Match Stats 

7 February 2021

Liverpool 1 (Salah) City 4 (Gundogan 2, Sterling & Foden)

Attendance 0 (Covid restrictions)

MCFC Score 4 At Anfield

On this day (7th February) in 2021 League leaders Manchester City managed a 4-1 victory over reigning Champions Liverpool. It was the Blues’ greatest win at Anfield for over 80 years.

The Blues have struggled to win at Anfield over the last 40 years (I don’t need to go through the stats, City fans get bombarded with them every time there’s a game at Anfield! So the 2021 resounding victory over Liverpool was significant. City ended up winning the League by 12 points with Manchester United second.

In 1937 the Blues managed a 5-0 victory on Good Friday (and three days later won 5-1 at Maine Road). That season the Blues went on to win the League, as they did in 2021 of course.

As the above advert shows, it cost 3 shillings for a return train fare to Anfield that day (sadly no fans were allowed in 2021).

Here’s how the MCFC match programme remembered the 1937 victory:

I love that advert – so appropriate!

Here are the League results and table following that historic win at Anfield. It’s interesting to see which clubs are no longer members of football’s top division and which of today’s giants are missing.

Here are a few snippets from a Liverpool based newspaper telling the story of that day:

Here’s a few stats from the victory over Liverpool in 2021:

  • Sterling became the third player to score 100 or more goals under Guardiola, after Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (211) and City’s Sergio Aguero (120).
  • Of all players to score at least 10 goals within the top five European leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) this season, only Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland (20 years 2021 days) is younger than Phil Foden (20 years 255 days). Now where have we heard of Haaland?
  • Since netting his first goal of the season on 15 December 2020, Ilkay Gundogan had scored at least three more Premier League goals than any other player (nine).
  • At 20 years and 255 days Phil Foden is the youngest player to score and assist in a Premier League game at Anfield.
  • Oleksandr Zinchenko made his 50th Premier League appearance on that day.

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If you would like to read the blog’s other 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, above) or £3 a month (sign up here) if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time.

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Historic Name That Ground – Week 13 Answer

Can you name the ground featured in the image above? Unlike previous weeks this is a drawing of the ground and so there may well have been a bit of interpretation by the artist. The image is pre-World War One. The answer is…

It’s Liverpool’s Anfield ground, drawn in 1906. This was actually architect Archibald Leitch’s drawing of what intended his ground developments would look like and, according to the newspaper report associated with this drawing, work wuld take another year to complete.

Next ground on Monday.

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I had planned to run ‘Historic Name That Ground’ only during the close season as in previous years, but it’s proving of interest so I’ll keep it going for a little while yet. If you have an old image of a ground that you think it’d be worth including in this weekly quiz then please get in touch. They don’t have to be from the 1900s to 1960s – even ground images from the 70s and 80s may prove a challenge to identify these days. You can email me at gary@GJFootballArchive.com Thanks.