The new series on Manchester City in the 1920s continues today with a 3,000 word subscriber article on the 1923-24 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?
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With City and Palace now scheduled to meet in the FA Cup final it’s worth remembering that on 20 February 1926 City recorded an amazing victory over Palace in the competition. It was a fifth round FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace at Maine Road. The Blues, without a manager since November, were being managed by committee with director Albert Alexander senior making the final decisions. It’s an incredible thought that a director without ever being known as a player, could make these decisions but Alexander was a knowledgeable football man and had been with the club since formation in 1894.
By half-time the score was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again. By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper shoulder high. Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. The other scorers were: Billy Austin, George Hicks and Tommy Johnson.
With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances. Here’s film of the game:
On this day (27 March) in 1926 the first all-Manchester FA Cup semi final occurred. You can see film of that game here and subscribers can read about the match below. Here’s the film from Bramall Lane:
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On this day (27 February) in 2024 Erling Haaland scored five against Luton Town in the FA Cup. On a night when memories of Denis Law scoring six in the FA Cup against Luton (and then getting them all wiped from the records as the game was abandoned) it was a wonderful performance, coming in Manchester City’s 6-2 victory.
When asked about the goals afterwards City manager Pep Guardiola discussed both Haaland’s scoring and the influence of Kevin De Bruyne too: ‘Erling is on fire and Kevin… the connection was perfect… Kevin needs players like Erling and Erling needs players like Kevin. Erling needs a guy with the vision, the quality, the generosity. Kevin is the less selfish player in front of goal. Kevin needs the movement from Erling. We know how aggressive they are.’
By this time De Bruyne had made nine assists in his previous five FA Cup games for De Bruyne. Surprisingly, one more than he managed in his first 23 appearances for City in the competition but he’d been waiting for a player like Haaland to come along for some time. De Bruyne was making similar moves and passes but the end product had not been there consistently prior to Haaland’s arrival.
Talking of De Bruyne, Haaland commented: ‘Kevin De Bruyne is massive. He is doing what he is best at. It’s a pleasure playing with him. We know what we both want from each other. It clicks well. He is a smart player and I like to play with him.’
Haaland became the 3rd Manchester City player to score 5 in a men’s FA Cup (and it still stands) game. Earlier players who achieved this feat are Frank Roberts & Bobby Marshall. Here’s Roberts’ game (there’s film of that match in 1926 via the link):
For Haaland there were a few records/points to note:
He became the first player to score five or more in the FA Cup (1st round onwards) since Duane Darby scored 6 for Hull v Whitby in 1996-97.
He was the first to score five or more for a top-flight club in the FA Cup since George Best scored 6 for United v Northampton in 1970.
This was the second time Haaland has scored five goals in a game in his senior career, previously doing so for City against RB Leipzig in the Champions League in March 2023.
Since his debut for City in July 2022, Haaland had scored 79 goals in 83 games in all comps, 30 more than any other Premier League player in the that time (Salah 49) after that Luton game.
He became the first to score five against Luton for City since Denis Law in 1961 when Law scored 6 but all were wiped from the records as the game was abandoned. See:
Last night (27 February 2024) Erling Haaland became the third Manchester City player to score five goals in a FA Cup game when he faced Luton. The two previous players to achieve this feat were Frank Roberts (see link below for video of the game he scored 5 in) and Bobby Marshall. Marshall’s five came in a FA Cup replay at Swindon on 29 January 1930 when City won 10-1. The attendance for this Tuesday afternoon match was 46,082 – a remarkable figure for an afternoon game in the days before floodlit competition.
Here are a couple of reports of that game (the second contains the goalscoring times/sequence):
For Haaland there were a few records/points to note:
He is regarded as the first player to score five or more in the FA Cup (1st round onwards) since Duane Darby scored 6 for Hull v Whitby in 1996-97.
He is the first to score five or more for a top-flight club in the FA Cup since George Best scored 6 for United v Northampton in 1970.
He is the first to score five against Luton for City since Denis Law in 1961 when Law scored 6 but all were wiped from the records as the game was abandoned.
This is the second time Haaland has scored five goals in a game in his senior career, previously doing so for City against RB Leipzig in the Champions League in March 2023.
Since his debut for City in July 2022, Haaland has scored 79 goals in 83 games in all comps, 30 more than any other Premier League player in the that time (Salah 49).
2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Maine Road’s first game and to commemorate this landmark moment I have been posting a different image or feature on the old stadium each day for the last 100 days. Today is day 100 and is the actual centenary of that historic first game. So guess what I’m covering today? On this day (25 August) in 1923 Manchester City’s Maine Road Stadium staged its first game. Here is film of that landmark day in Manchester’s sporting history…
You can also read a 1100 word article about the opening of the stadium and on why the ground was considered to be the ‘English Hampden’ and not the ‘Wembley of the North’ that some have tried to claim in more recent times.
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It’s Day 98 of my Maine Road 100 countdown to the centenary of Maine Road’s first game. I hope you’ve enjoyed these. Today it’s about the players who have scored most goals in individual games at Maine Road. Any ideas who may be heading the list and how many goals they may have scored in a single game at Maine Road?
The following are the players who have scored most in a single game for each of the domestic competitions at Maine Road:
League: 5 goals – scored by Tommy Browell v Burnley 24/10/25 & George Smith v Newport 14/6/47
FA Cup: 5 goals – scored by Frank Roberts v Crystal Palace 20/2/26
League Cup: 4 goals – scored by Dennis Tueart v Notts County 29/10/80. You can see stuff on this here:
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It’s Day 96 of my Maine Road 100 countdown (not long to go now!) to the centenary of Maine Road’s first game and a brief post on the first and last first team penalty takers at Maine Road. Anyone know who they were? I’m sure many people reading this were there when the last penalty was taken in a first team game at Maine Road. Got it?
That’s right the last first team competitive penalty taken at Maine Road was by Stuart Pearce on 21 April 2002 v Portsmouth. He missed (Elsewhere on this site I tell the story of that day – well worth reading if you’re wondering what was so special about it).
The first penalty at Maine Road was also missed. That was taken by Frank Roberts in the opening game v Sheffield United on 25 August 1923.
Of course Garry Bradbury will claim it’s actually him who took the last penalty at Maine Road as he took one for Merseyside CSA in the Supporters’ Club challenge against Prestwich & Whitefield, in a match that was claimed to be the final game at Maine Road on 12 June 2003.
If you have enjoyed this series of articles and posts on Maine Road then why not become a subscriber and access all the other great content. To find out more see:
For Day 91 of the 100 day Maine Road countdown until the centenary of City’s old stadium is a flashback to one of the earliest seasons for the old place. In particular I’m talking about a remarkable City victory against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, way back in 1926. Why is this significant? Well, it was possibly the first season or at the least the prime example of a season when the old phrase ‘Typical City!’ was first established. Fortunately Typical City rarely raises its head these days but back in 1925-26 it was very much to the fore. Read on for more…
City hadn’t had a manager since November 1925 (believing instead that vice chairman Albert Alexander could lead the other directors in selecting the team) and were struggling in the League when the Blues played a FA Cup fifth round tie against Crystal Palace on 20 February 1926. The tie turned out to be a fifteen goal thriller with City in rampant form.
By half-time the score at Maine Road was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again.
By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper Callendar shoulder high. It’s the sort of thing City fans would do back then! Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. Browell had been ill for most of the week and had been unable to train.
With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances.
Remarkably, film of the game has survived and can be viewed here:
For post 76 of my Maine Rd 100 countdown a reminder of a day when over 74,000 watched managerless Manchester City at Maine Road. The image is of Frank Roberts, a City star that day. That day (30 January 1926) City faced Huddersfield Town in a FA Cup tie at Maine Road, watched by 74,799.
The following article, for subscribers to GJFootballArchive.com, provides the background story to the tie and film of the game.
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