Tag Archives: Dennis Tueart

Maine Road 100 – Day 24

It’s day 24 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. With many Manchester City fans currently in Istanbul getting ready for tonight’s final I thought I’d post another Maine Road image with a European theme. Today’s feature is on this image of City facing Juventus in 1976.

That night Brian Kidd scored the only goal in City’s 1-0 UEFA Cup victory, played on 15 September. But, look at the photo closely and you’ll see there are two balls! Why? Well, often in the days of black and white press photos newspapers wouldn’t quite get the shot they wanted. They’d sometime tippex on, or even cut and stick a ball on an action photo to create either a more dramatic image, or simply to ensure they could fit the image on the space available.

Modern technology has made it easier to ‘move’ the ball to a more convenient place, but it has also allowed photos to be taken quickly and in bursts. Also, once colour photography was used in national newspapers any cutting and pasting or tippexing seemed too obvious. Although this added ball definitely looks fake so I’m not certain any reader would have been fooled.

I’ve seen plenty of images like this over the years and I find them both fascinating and frustrating. I’d like the true image to be shown, but I also am intrigued as to how they felt they made the image better. For those wondering the City player is Dennis Tueart and the stand in the background is the Main Stand.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help. The roof shown is to the left of number 1 below – you can see the bit where it drops down to the next level. The tunnel is the one on the far left of the Main Stand below where the roof line changes. City were attacking the Platt Lane (stand is numbered 4 & 5) in the image.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Fastest Manchester Derby Goal

I’ve been asked whether Gundogan’s goal in the FA Cup final was the fastest Manchester City goal of all time. Sadly, it’s impossible to prove as we do not have accurate times for the majority of goals scored throughout football history. Often in the past reports would say things like: ‘From the kick-off City rushed forward and scored.’ No time and even when this is said in reports highlights that have been found often show that this was not the case, so it’s impossible to say conclusively.

We know it’s the fastest FA Cup final goal of all time and, at 12 seconds, it’s also the fastest goal in a Manchester derby. Back in 1975 Dennis Tueart netted what was claimed to be the fastest derby goal at 35 seconds. I interviewed him about it a few years ago:

GJ: ‘You played in lots of significant derbies over the years, but there is one, above all others, that we should mention – the November 1975 League Cup tie at Maine Road.‘

DT: ‘I scored the first goal after about 35 seconds and that is the fastest goal in a Manchester derby.  It was a midweek game at Maine Road and I loved night matches, under the floodlights, packed stadium.  Incredible.  The lights meant that the stadium shone out amongst the dark streets – it was the whole focus.

Dennis Tueart scores after 35 seconds v United, 1975

‘We were 1-0 up and played great football.  3-0 up after 36 minutes when I got my second goal after Asa Hartford had got City’s second. Colin Bell was injured and stretchered off which was by far the worst moment of the evening and would impact us for the next few years. 

‘After the game we went to Cellar Vie in the city centre, and I walked in and I got a standing ovation from everyone in there.  Again it hit home how important the derby was to the city of Manchester.’

Now Gundogan holds the record but we should also mention Shaun Goater who in 2003 netted after only 9 seconds of coming on as substitute. You can read about that here:

Today in 2003: Goater’s 9 Second Old Trafford Goal

Gundogan’s goal is the fastest in a derby, while Goater’s goal was the fastest ever netted in a derby from a player’s arrival on the pitch, regardless of stage of the game.

If you’d like to read the indepth material on this website, or download the entire Manchester A Football History, Farewell to Maine Road or my first book then why not subscribe? Details here:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

More Gundogan Records

For many, many years Dave Masey has been collecting stats and historical information on Manchester City. Like me he was a member of the Association of Football Statisticians and he has helped me often over the years. Following Saturday’s FA Cup final he got in touch with me to tell me about one of his spreadsheets which holds details of City scorers in trophy winning games.

His records capture those who have scored in major cup finals, but besides Cup Finals he also records other trophy-winning games. These include the deciding League games from 1937 onwards against Sheffield Wednesday (1937), Newcastle, QPR, West Ham, Brighton and Villa (2022), but nothing from three recent title successes where the Blues clinched the title when they were not playing. Got that? Good, now….

Dave tells me that Gundogan is now at the top of the list with 5 goals, overtaking Neil Young and Sergio Aguero. So he has scored more goals in trophy-winning games than any other Blue.

The list of scorers in trophy winning games reads:

1904Meredith
1934/7Tilson (3), Brook (2), Doherty
1956Hayes, Dyson, Johnstone
1968/70Young (4), Lee (2), Summerbee, Doyle, Pardoe
1976P Barnes, Tueart
2011-(former)Aguero (4), Y Toure (2), Nasri (2), Kompany (2), D Silva (2),Jesus (2), Sterling (2), Dzeko, Zabaleta, Navas, Fernandinho
2016-(current)Gundogan (5),  Laporte (2), Rodri (2), Mahrez, De Bruyne

Dave also tells me that in the three seasons where somebody else’s defeat clinched the title for City, the scorers in the club’s last game before the title confirmation were:

Gundogan (3), Sterling (2), Jesus, Haaland.

As Dave says, Ilkay gets a remarkable number of important goals, particularly for somebody who is ‘just’ a 1 goal in 5 games player (60 in 303 for City). Certainly this season he has played a true leader’s role and, looking at his place in this table, he is clearly a man for all trophy-winning seasons.

Thanks, as always to Dave, for this information.

The 2000s: This Week 2003-04

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 4,200 word article on the 2003-04 season (below) which was City’s first at the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad of course).

Subscribe to get access – Annual

This article is for subscribers to my website. It costs £20 a year to access everything on the site since creation in December 2020. That includes articles, history talks, videos, interviews & more. There’s also a monthly option below.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscription costs £3 per month to access everything on the site since 1 October 2022 (cancel anytime). All subscribers access all new material until their subscription ends. Why not give it a try for a month?

Subscribe

The 2000s: This Week 2002-03

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 6,300 word article on the 2002-03 season (below) which was City’s last at Maine Road.

Subscribe to get access – Annual

This article is for subscribers to my website. It costs £20 a year to access everything on the site since creation in December 2020. That includes articles, history talks, videos, interviews & more. There’s also a monthly option below.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscription costs £3 per month to access everything on the site since 1 October 2022 (cancel anytime). All subscribers access all new material until their subscription ends. Why not give it a try for a month?

Subscribe

The 2000s: This Week 2001-02

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.

Subscribe to get access – Annual

This article is for subscribers to my website. It costs £20 a year to access everything on the site since creation in December 2020. That includes articles, history talks, videos, interviews & more. There’s also a monthly option below.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscription costs £3 per month to access everything on the site since 1 October 2022 (cancel anytime). All subscribers access all new material until their subscription ends. Why not give it a try for a month?

Subscribe

Kevin Keegan Resigns; Stuart Pearce Becomes Manchester City Manager

Manchester City suffered a 1-0 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers on this day (7 March) in 2005 and this game ultimately led to a significant change to the then 12th placed Blues.  Years later, in an interview I did with him the City chairman John Wardle told me that Kevin Keegan, the City manager, took him to one side:  “There were nine games left and Kevin said ‘John, I can’t do any more for you’.  I didn’t believe him.  I thought it was a joke at first but with Kevin you knew when he was being serious.  He said ‘I know when I’m done and it’s only right that you put somebody else in’.  I sat there shell-shocked.  He said that if I wanted him to recommend someone he would.  He then recommended Stuart Pearce. 

“Stuart had already left Carrington and we had to call him back.  I spoke with him, then Kevin talked with him.  It was like a handover.  Kevin packed his bags and left.  We never saw him again at the training ground.  That’s Kevin.  Once he makes a decision to move on, he moves on.  Obviously, it stunned me on the day but I have to stress that I cannot speak highly enough about Kevin Keegan.  He’s a real football person and he also cares about people.”  

Keegan was hugely popular with fans and they recognised that he had been responsible for the second stage in City’s redevelopment following the disastrous mid-nineties.  They also felt that the departure of Nicolas Anelka in January was a sign that financial issues were having a severe impact on the Club.  The player was sold for a reported £7m to Fenerbahce.  At the time this was City’s record sale.  

It is fair to say that Keegan’s time brought a great deal of pride back to the Club.  Director Dennis Tueart felt that bringing Keegan in during 2002 was absolutely the right move for the Club. He told me:  “I knew he wouldn’t stay for years and years because I knew him.  He said to me in 1975 that he would never stay anywhere longer than about five years.  People told us he wouldn’t stay but I said if he can have control for a couple of years and get us out of this division then that’s fine.  That’s what we needed.  Let’s manage first things first and get out of this division.  If we can’t do that then what hope? So it was no surprise to me when he eventually left us.”

Former City and England captain Stuart Pearce guided the Blues through the final nine games of 2004-05, taking over on this day (11th March) in 2005.  Apart from a 2-1 defeat in his first game, the Blues were unbeaten until the end of the season.  This run included victories over Liverpool (1-0), Birmingham (3-0), Portsmouth (2-0) and Villa (2-1).  As a result Stuart Pearce was named the Barclays Premiership Manager of the Month for April.  The Club announced he was the first City manager to win the award since the birth of the Premier League.  That was not true – Alan Ball had, of course, previously won the award in 1995-96.

Subscribe to get access to the entire site

This is a sample of the in-depth material available on this site. If you would like to read all the in-depth articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and listen to a frank interview from John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to all the articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming months..

Subscribe

Colin The King

I know I’ve written plenty about Colin Bell over the years but, to be frank, you can never read or write enough about Bell. So for today’s subscriber article here’s a 1,900 word piece (plus videos of the Ballet On Ice game and his first return game v Derby in April 1976 – yes that’s right!) on the legendary Manchester City and Bury footballer. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 for an annual subscription (here; access everything from December 2020) or £3 per month (below; access everything since 1 October 2022).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 for an annual subscription (above; access everything from December 2020) or £3 per month (here; access everything since 1 October 2022).

Subscribe

Manchester City’s 1980-81 Season

On a day when there’s a controversial refereeing decision in a Manchester Derby here’s a reminder that today is the anniversary (14 January 1981) of a notorious refereeing error in a Manchester City Liverpool League Cup semi-final. You can read about that elsewhere on the site. the anniversary though has given me the impetus to post this 9,000+ word article on the 1980-81 season. This was a remarkable season and you can read it below:

Subscribe to get access

This 9,000+ article is for subscribers only. You can subscribe at £20 a year (here) or £3 per month (below). Annual subscribers access everything posted since December 2020 and monthly subscribers access everything since 1 October 2022.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access

This 9,000+ article is for subscribers only. You can subscribe at £20 a year (above) or £3 per month (here). Annual subscribers access everything posted since December 2020 and monthly subscribers access everything since 1 October 2022.

Subscribe

John Bond Interview – Part 5

Here’s the fifth part of the 1995 interview I performed with former Norwich City, Manchester City and Burnley boss John Bond. In this section, exclusive to subscribers, Bond talks about the great players he had at City. Most notably he talks about Dennis Tueart, Kevin Reeves, Joe Corrigan, Paul Power and Tommy Caton.

He was extremely frank, open and honest – which delighted me because he was a great talker. It’s well worth listening to. At the time we did this I was researching my in-depth history of the club called Manchester The Greatest City (later updated as Manchester The City Years). 

I met John at his home and spent a good few hours with him chatting about the Blues and his career. I loved doing this interview and was always grateful for the time he gave me. He was also happy for me to quote everything he said in the interview. I did end up quoting him extensively in the book (and in others I’ve produced) but, until now, none of the interview has ever been heard by the wider public.

Subscribe to get access

If you would like to listen to the fifth part of this frank interview (and the other parts) and read all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year, here) or £3 a month (below) if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Annual subscribers gets full access to everything posted since December 2020.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access

If you would like to listen to the fifth part of this frank interview (and the other parts) and read all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year, above) or £3 a month (here) if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Monthly subscribers gets full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022.

Subscribe