Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
A 4-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the season gave many supporters hope that 1969-70 would see the Blues challenge for the League title, however 3 successive defeats followed and the Mercer-Allison side struggled to find consistency. Nevertheless they did manage to reach 4th place – 9 points behind leaders Leeds – by 18th December, and defeat Manchester United 4-0 on 15/11.
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On 29th April 1970 Manchester City won the European Cup Winners’ Cup beating Gornik Zabrze from Poland 2-1 at the Prater Stadium in Vienna. Here are a few comments and feelings from supporters, players, and others affected by the game. These were gathered as part of a project I organised to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the final. As we’ve now past the 51st anniversary they have become an even greater historical record.
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Tonight (May 4, 2021) Manchester City will play the second leg of their Champions League semi final with PSG. It’s not the first European semi final the Blues have played of course, but for those thinking City’s European heritage began after the 2008 takeover here’s the story of City’s first European semi-final. This came way back in 1970!
In 1969-70 City, managed by Joe Mercer, played their first European semi-final. The second leg was was to be the best and most important European victory ever at Maine Road.
Here for subscribers is the story of both the first and second legs of that first European semi-final for the Blues.
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On this day (March 31) in 1971 holders Manchester City were forced to play a European Cup Winners’ Cup game at a neutral ground. These were the days before penalty shoot outs decided ties. For subscribers to my site, here’s the story of that game:
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