Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
On this day (April 6) in 2002 Kevin Keegan’s Manchester City won the Football League Championship by defeating Barnsley at Maine Road. Here, for subscribers to this site, is the story of that weekend, including quotes from Keegan, Ali Benarbia and even Alan Ball! Enjoy reliving that day again…
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Continuing the weekly series on Manchester City’s seasons from 1999-2000 through to 2008-09. Each week I’ll be publishing here the story of a different season of that remarkable ten-year period. Today we have a 5,400 word article on the 2001-02 season (below) which saw City win the old League Championship trophy. City’s manager was Kevin Keegan.
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On 27 January 2002 Manchester City’s fourth round FA Cup tie at Ipswich saw Kevin Keegan’s side thrill live on TV. City impressed the nation with their spectacular 4-1 fourth round cup demolition of Premier League side Ipswich Town. It is worth remembering that City were in the second tier at the time, hoping for promotion. Many of us felt that the Blues were not only good enough to find success in the League but also stood a genuine chance of FA Cup success (mind you, some of us felt that every season – nine years later it finally happened!).
The City scorers against Ipswich were Eyal Berkovic, Shaun Goater (2) and Darren Huckerby.
After the Ipswich match Keegan said: “Our fans know we can play but I think we showed the rest of the country that we are a good team. I believe the FA Cup needed a game like our tie with Ipswich where the atmosphere was tremendous and both sides picked their strongest available sides and really set out to win.”
In the fifth round, Keegan’s Blues travelled to Newcastle for another thrilling performance against the manager’s old club. The media hype focused on Keegan, but the match ended with national recognition that the Blues were clearly a force. Although City lost the match 1-0 after Richard Dunne had been sent off, the general view was that ten-man City were more than a match for the Geordies. City impressed the nation once again.
The Newcastle tie, like the Ipswich game, came at a time when many were questioning the status of the FA Cup. City’s performance in both ties were seen as major boosts for the competition. According to Henry Winter of the Daily Telegraph: “Keegan returned with his magnificent Manchester City side whose spirited, defiant football sent the heart rate soaring among Newcastle’s nervy support. Making light of Richard Dunne’s dismissal and Nolberto Solano’s goal, City scared the black-and-white life out of those who still cherish Keegan’s name. Shaun Wright-Phillips was marvellous, Eyal Berkovic and Kevin Horlock not far behind with outstanding displays as City narrowly lost a Cup-tie but won countless admirers. If they build on this, they will surely keep the Blue Moon rising and head back to the Premiership, where their noisy supporters belong.”
Here are highlights of the Ipswich tie:
Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour has bought the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy at auction. The trophy, which was the first major trophy won by Bury, City and United, will be on display at the National Football Museum. To understand more of that trophy’s significance to Manchester check out my earlier posts:
FA Cup success, football infrastructure and the establishment of Manchester’s footballing identity – FREE DOWNLOAD FOR LIMITED PERIOD
And:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/08/manchesters-first-great-season/
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On this day (6 January) in 2001 goals from Andy Morrison, Darren Huckerby and a penalty from Shaun Goater brought Manchester City a 3-2 FA Cup third round win over Birmingham City. City had raced to a three goal lead and seemed comfortable but then things started to go horribly wrong. Fortunately, the Blues held on for the victory though. Phew! It was one of those games. Here’s a contemporary match report of the game:
I was sat in the ‘new’ Platt Lane Stand that day. Were you also at this match? If you were why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?
You can read more articles on Shaun Goater here:
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