Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
Well, well, well… I’ve just rediscovered in a box of my memorabilia my original 1980s inflatable banana. This went with me to various games, most memorably the 1988 match with Stoke at the Victoria Ground. I always felt I’d saved it but wasn’t entirely sure. It was hidden with various shirts and scarves from the 70s, 80s and 90s I used to wear.
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).
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!
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:
Here’s one from more recent times:
Here’s a link to every other post on this site tagged Liverpool. Enjoy!
https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/liverpool
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On this day (3 October) in 1987 Paul Stewart & Imre Varadi both scored twice as Manchester City beat Leicester City 4-2 at Maine Road. Games with Leicester were often newsworthy in the 1980s. Sadly, there was the match in March 1989 when Paul Lake swallowed his tongue and there was the FA Cup tie in January 1989 which saw the City players take to the field carrying large inflatable bananas which they then threw into the crowd. This was not a regular occurrence! You can read more on the banana craze here:
Today’s the anniversary of a memorable day at Chelsea when a crowd of 8,071 (imagine the seat counters if that occurred today) at Stamford Bridge watched Manchester City defeat Chelsea 3-1. Here’s some film of the day when City’s former FA Youth Cup winners Ian Brightwell (scored 2) and Paul Moulden scored:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X42HrZYvH74
You can read more on this season below if you subscribe. This article is a 4,100 word feature on the 1988-89 season. Enjoy!
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:
Tomorrow’s feature is the last on the 1980s as we tell the story of the 1989-90 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:
The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald
Two items of interest here both connected with a Boxing Day game. First, Heidi’s photo taken at Stoke in 1988. We travelled down and she took quite a few photos that day but this one was always the special one. It’s been used in a few of my books.
Next, here’s a newspaper cutting from the same day at Christmas 1988. It shows the Boxing Day fancy dress game at Stoke which saw over 12,000 Manchester City fans fill half the stadium. As I mentioned earlier, I was there that day and there were some surreal sights. I won’t mention the score (you can see that from the report!) but this was one of those crazy days when fans injected humour. There was some coverage but not a great deal. My own photos from that day have appeared in a few of my books and when I get chance to dig them out I’ll aim to post some on this site.
It was one of those crazy Manchester City days in the 1980s (and you can see film of it below!) when City travelled to Walsall for a League game on this day (25 March) in 1989. That day every one attending the match had real value for money when Nigel Gleghorn replaced the injured Andy Dibble in goal. City were 2-0 down when Dibble collapsed in agony with a groin problem. Gleghorn put on the green shirt and helped the Blues to fight back with David Oldfield – the fifth most expensive City player up until that point at £600,000 – scoring his first goal for the club. Paul ‘Golden’ Moulden equalised and then, early in the second half, he scored again to bring a 3-2 lead. Gleghorn made a couple of good saves and even kicked superbly to keep the pressure off City but then a ridiculous out of character back pass from Oldfield gave Walsall opportunity to score, and the game ended 3-3.
The substitute ‘keeper was certainly the man of the match, winning applause from both sets of supporters after being stand-in for around an hour. You can see highlights here (wonderful commentary from the Walsall video commentator too). City had the away section behind the goal on the right and the covered paddock opposite (right). I was stood in the paddock behind the row of stanchions. Notice the bananas too:
Subscribers can read a series of articles covering the 1980s – a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. The 1988-89 article is a 4,100 word feature below. Enjoy!
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:
Tomorrow’s feature is the last on the 1980s as we tell the story of the 1989-90 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:
The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald
Subscribers to my site download a PDF of my entire first book. It was published back in 1989. It’s not my best but if you subscribe why not have a look and see where it all began. Here are more details:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/06/22/a-complete-pdf-of-my-1st-book-to-download/
The book was published in April 1989 and I talk a little bit about it here:
The 200th Post – Joe Mercer
and here:
A Writing Flashback!
A reminder that subscribers to my site can download lots of my writing, including all of Manchester A Football History and a PDF of my entire first book. It was published back in 1989 and sold out within 6 months of publication. Here are more details:
The book was published in April 1989 and I talk a little bit about it here:
The 200th Post – Joe Mercer
and here:
A Writing Flashback!
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started earlier this month covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 4,100 word feature on the 1988-89 season. Enjoy!
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:
Tomorrow’s feature is the last on the 1980s as we tell the story of the 1989-90 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:
The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald
