Tag Archives: Charlton Athletic

Hartford For City Manager?

On this day thirty years ago (3 September 1996) caretaker Manchester City manager Asa Hartford was being tipped for the job on a permanent basis. Some reports, like this, claimed a win in the game against Charlton that night would help his case. CIty did win the game – 2-1 with goals from Creaney and Rosler – but Hartford was never appointed manager on a permanent basis.

The 1996-7 season started with Alan Ball as manager, but ended with Frank Clark.   In between Steve Coppell had been appointed (7 October) but resigned (8 November) while Asa Hartford and Phil Neal both had long spells – or at least longer than Coppell’s permanent period – as caretaker managers.

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Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Manchester City 0 Southampton 0

On this day (18 May) in 1966 Second Division Champions Manchester City and second placed Southampton played out a goalless draw to end the season at Maine Road in front of 34,653. The Second Division trophy was presented that day.

Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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Were You There 60 Years Ago Today? Charlton 2 Manchester City 3

On this day (13 May) in 1966 Manchester City defeated Charlton 3-2 as they won the Second Division title. City’s scorers were Dave Connor, Johnny Crossan and Alan Oakes. The trophy would be presented at the final game of the season at home to Southampton.

Were you there that day? If you were please feel free to add your comments.

You can find out more on Manchester City during the 1965-66 season by reading the following 4100 word article. As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there. This is a subscriber article (see below).

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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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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