Tag Archives: Charlton Athletic

Top Two Divisions Attendances and Table From 40 Years Ago!

Last week I posted the top flight attendances for this last week forty years ago and this led to a number of comments/questions and so to answer some of those I’ve now posted the top two divisions attendances together with the two League tables AND the end of season average attendances. People asked for clarity on how the figures compared to the second tier and whether League position played its part in affecting crowds. As a reminder here’s last week’s attendances…

And here’s this week’s (published 24 November 1985) and the League table too.

Obviously, these are only snapshots from that season but to add a bit more context here are the end of season averages here are the top 46 best supported clubs in order that season (hopefully it might make those who sing songs like ‘Where Were You?’ think about the crowds at their own clubs first):

A few notable League positions for those who do sing ‘Where Were You?’… The top eight clubs in the League were: Liverpool (champions), Everton, West Ham, Man Utd, Sheff Wed, Chelsea, Arsenal and Forest. Manchester City (who were 4th best supported club) were 15th (only 4 points above relegation zone), Spurs were tenth, Newcastle 11th and Aston Villa 16th.

In the Second Division best supported club Sunderland were 18th (avoiding relegation by 4 points); the top four were Norwich, Charlton, Wimbledon and Portsmouth.

If you’d like to know more about Manchester City at this time, here’s a 2,500 word subscriber feature on the 1985-86 season. Enjoy!

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Charlton-Arsenal Attendance

Here’s a cutting from a Manchester City match programme in October 1936 which talks of a game between Charlton and Arsenal, played on 17 October 1936. The official attendance that day was 68,160 for the League game. Note how it talks of Arsenal leaving their original base south of the Thames due to issues attracting crowds and then the mention of Charlton’s popularity in south London.

Incidentally, Manchester City’s record League attendance at this time was 79,491 and record attendance was 84,569.

You can find out all about Manchester City during the 1936-37 season by reading the following 2,500 word subscriber article on that season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you don’t subscribe then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

Here’s the article:

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The 1960s: Alan Ogley’s Debut

Today (4 February 2025) marks the 79th birthday of former Manchester City and Stockport goalkeeper Alan Ogley. Ogley made his debut on 15 February 1964 and this brief match report shows what an odd game this was. Notice the report makes mention of a miracle save made by Ogley in that game.

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1963-64 season below. If you’d like to read this 1700 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.

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The 1960s: 1964-1965 A Possible Merger

Continuing the series of features on the 1960s, here’s a subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1964-65 season. This was a remarkable season when a City director held meetings, hoping to merge City and United! Plus much more. If you’d like to read this 2350 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.

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Manchester City 2 Charlton 1

Goals from Gerry Creaney and Uwe Rosler gave City a 2-1 victory over Charlton Athletic on this day (3 September) in 1996. Subscribers can read an indepth article on the 1996-97 season below. If you don’t know what happened then brace yourself! The article is almost 4,900 words long.


Why not subscribe and relive this season (it’s okay, we’ve had success since then)? As with all my 1990s subscriber features it contains material from interviews I’ve performed with key figures from that time, including Phil Neal who talks about Steve Coppell’s shock resignation.

Here’s the 4900 word article on that season:

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The 1980s: Away v Charlton

Today’s 1980s flashback is a brief reminder of this day (15 December) in 1984 when a crowd of 5,568 witnessed Manchester City’s 3-1 victory at Charlton Athletic. This was a promotion season for City and the club’s goalscorers that day in the old Second Division (2nd tier) were Jim Melrose, David Phillips and Gordon Smith. The return game with Charlton was hugely significant.

You can find out more on this season and the rest of this important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club by subscribing. The following subscriber article is a 2,600 word feature on the 1984-85 season. Enjoy!

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Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1985-86 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald

The 1980s: 1984-1985 Promotion

A new daily series of articles for subscribers started last week 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 2,600 word feature on the 1984-85 season. Enjoy!

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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.

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Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1985-86 season. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald

Paul Hince

I was sorry to hear the news of Paul Hince’s death. I met him a few times over the years and in 2002 did a small feature in the Manchester City match programme about him. The game was against another of his clubs, Charlton. Here is that small piece as written at the time with a few quotes from Paul:

16/11/2002 Charlton article

Maine Man – Paul Hince

Born: Manchester, 2nd March 1945

City debut: v West Bromwich Albion (h) 25/3/1967 (Scored twice in a 2-2 draw)

City Appearances: FL: 7 apps. 4 goals

FLC: 4 apps.

TOTAL: 11 apps. 4 goals.

Against Crewe we featured Stan Bowles and today our Maine Man is another player from the late sixties who is more familiar to City supporters for events off the pitch.  Whereas Bowles was a frequent headline grabber, Paul Hince became a headline writer and is featured here because of his connections with both City and Charlton and because of his role as a City-loving journalist. 

Hince would be the first to admit he is never likely to feature in a list of great players, nor is he to be regarded as a key member of City’s squad, however he did appear and score during City’s 1967-8 Championship season and has chronicled events at Maine Road for the Manchester Evening News while demonstrating his passionate support for the Blues.

When Hince made his debut in 1967 he had an immediate impact:  “I scored two goals in a minute, but the ironic thing is that in between those goals I missed a much easier chance!  Ralph Brand set me up beautifully.  All I needed to do was chest it down but I decided to go for a spectacular header.  I thought I’d make an impression…  I did… I totally missed the ball!”

Despite the goals, Hince wasn’t retained in the side.  It was the busy Easter period and Hince had already played in a number of important reserve matches causing manager Joe Mercer to rest him.  The following season he returned to the first team for a run of six consecutive League games early in the season:  “I was running on pure adrenaline when I played in those games and the 3-0 win at Coventry was by far my best performance.  It’s certainly the one I’m most proud of, but in the match at Arsenal two weeks later I suddenly ran out of adrenaline.  I was exhausted and seemed to be chasing the game.  I was substituted of course.  Francis Lee was signed shortly afterwards and I knew I had to move on.

“I went to Charlton and, although I didn’t play well, I was delighted with the way the fans treated me.  The Charlton supporters were genuinely nice people and when my wife gave birth they bought us romper suits and other baby items.  We really appreciated their support, but on the pitch I was trying too hard.  Eddie Firmani – the manager – used to tell me to slow down.  So did the other players – Graham Moore, Keith Peacock, and the rest.  All good people, but I couldn’t correct it. 

“Although I enjoyed the support and the players, I did miss Manchester, and when the chance came I moved to Bury.  I was back into my journalism by this point – I worked on the South East London Mercury while at Charlton – and my writing career was what I focused on.”

Hince went on to become a highly respected journalist with the Manchester Evening News and spent a very enjoyable time covering the rise of Oldham Athletic before being asked to cover City:  “I loved my time covering Oldham.  The club had progressed a great deal while I was writing about them and I was delighted for them.  Being a City fan – I used to walk to Maine Road from Gorton to get in for free at three-quarter time when I was a boy – meant that I was always destined to cover the Blues.  City were a brilliant club to cover and I had a great relationship with Peter Reid and Brian Horton.”

Hince became the paper’s Chief Sportswriter around the time of Alan Ball’s departure but still focuses on the Blues whenever he can.  He remains a loyal City fan and, although he jokes about his role in City’s history he deserves his place as a Maine Man.

Dunne, Samaras and Barton

No, not a firm of solicitors but the goalscorers when Manchester City defeated Charlton Athletic 3-2 on this day (12 February) in 2006. Some described Barton’s 62nd minute goal as his greatest ever goal. You can judge for yourself… Highlights of the game here:

Charlton Defeated

On this day (4 December) in 2005 goals from Andy Cole (2), Trevor Sinclair, Joey Barton and Darius Vassell helped Stuart Pearce’s Manchester City to a 5-2 victory at Charlton Athletic.

You can read more on that season here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/manchester-city/seasons/2005-06/