Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
An advert which appeared on the cover of the Manchester City match programme from today (15 December) in 1934. Back then ‘all’ the City players wore Sammy Scarves! Presumably not in games, though Sammy Scarves could have made a fortune in Sammy Snoods when Tevez was playing!
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Now that Erling Haaland has joined an exclusive group of Manchester City players who have scored 100 League goals for the club I thought I’d post a table of all those players. I’ve also listed them in a goals per game format (I’d love to do goals per minutes but we simply don’t have that information for all players). Here goes…
The goals per game ratios for all Manchester City players who have scored 100 league goals or more…
| Goals | First Name | Surname | Goals Per Game | Total League Appearances |
| 100 | Erling | Haaland | 0.9009 | 111 |
| 184 | Sergio | Aguero | 0.6691 | 275 |
| 126 | Billy | Gillespie | 0.5780 | 218 |
| 120 | Horace | Barnes | 0.5530 | 217 |
| 122 | Tommy | Browell | 0.5495 | 222 |
| 116 | Frank | Roberts | 0.5370 | 216 |
| 158 | Tommy | Johnson | 0.4817 | 328 |
| 112 | Francis | Lee | 0.4498 | 249 |
| 110 | Fred | Tilson | 0.4472 | 246 |
| 142 | Joe | Hayes | 0.4290 | 331 |
| 107 | Alec | Herd | 0.4163 | 257 |
| 146 | Billy | Meredith | 0.3989 | 366 |
| 158 | Eric | Brook | 0.3511 | 450 |
| 117 | Colin | Bell | 0.2970 | 394 |
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DonateOn this day (28 September 1929) a hat trick from Fred Tilson (photographed at Wembley in 1934) gave Manchester City a 3-0 victory over Derby at Maine Road, watched by a crowd of 42,047. You can find out more on the 1929-30 season below in this piece for subscribers (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)?
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As well as subscriber pieces this series on the 1930s includes some free articles.
On this day (21 September 1929) Manchester City defeated Everton 3-2 with goals from Bobby Marshall (2, photographed) and Fred Tilson at Goodison Park, watched by a crowd of 32,711. You can find out more on the 1929-30 season below in this piece for subscribers (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:
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at £20 per year. Subscribers have access to the 1000s of articles, features, interviews etc. posted so far and all those posted during your subscription.
As well as subscriber pieces this series on the 1930s includes some free articles.
The new series on Manchester City in the 1920s continues today with a 700 word subscriber article on the 1927-28 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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Continuing the series on Manchester City in the 1920s here’s a brief post on 1920s City manager Peter Hodge. Enjoy!
Peter Hodge
City Manager between: 26 April 1926 – 12 March 1932
Previously: Former Leicester City manager.
Took Over From: Committee led by vice-chairman Albert Alexander snr.
Inherited: Sam Cowan, Tommy Johnson & Frank Roberts.
Players Brought In: Eric Brook & Fred Tilson.
Youngster Gave Debut To: Matt Busby
Players He Let Go/Sold: Tommy Johnson in 1930, leading to widespread demonstrations and a boycott (crowds dropped by around 8,000 following the move).
First Game: City 2 Leeds Utd 0 (City scorers Austin & Johnson), 27 April 1926, Division One, attendance 43,475
Lows: Relegation five days and 2 games after taking over in 1926.
Last Game: Arsenal 1 City 0, 12 March 1932, FA Cup semi final at Villa Park, attendance 50,337.
Unusual Start: It was agreed Hodge would become City manager in 1926 but would only take up the post after his current club Leicester ended their own season. Their last game was on 24th April 1926 and he became City’s manager with 2 League games left the following Monday. The Blues looked safe from relegation, but defeat at Newcastle saw City demoted (a point would have kept them up).
Similar End: Hodge’s City career ended with defeat by a solitary goal in the dying seconds of the FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal in 1932. The manager had already agreed to return to his previous club Leicester once City’s FA Cup campaign ended.
Season By Season Record:
League
1925-26 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 4 GA 4 Pts 2
1926-27 P 42 W 22 D 10 L 10 GF 108 GA 61 Pts 54
1927-28 P 42 W 25 D 9 L 8 GF 100 GA 59 Pts 59
1928-29 P 42 W 18 D 9 L 15 GF 95 GA 86 Pts 45
1929-30 P 42 W 19 D 9 L 14 GF 91 GA 81 Pts 47
1930-31 P 42 W 18 D 10 L 14 GF 75 GA 70 Pts 46
1931-32 P 32 W 11 D 10 L 11 GF 70 GA 59 Pts 32
2 points for a win
FA Cup
1925-26 City competed in the FA Cup Final 2 days before he took over.
1926-27 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 4 Reached 3rd round
1927-28 P 3 W 2 D 0 L 1 GF 3 GA 2 Reached 5th round
1928-29 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 3 Reached 3rd round
1929-30 P 5 W 2 D 2 L 1 GF 18 GA 7 Reached 5th round
1930-31 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 0 GA 3 Reached 3rd round
1931-32 P 5 W 4 D 0 L 1 GF 16 GA 7 Reached semi-final
TOTAL (League & cup fixtures)
P260 W122 D59 L79 GF 582 GA 446
Trophies Won: Second Division title 1927-28, the season after missing out on promotion by the tightest margin in the history of the game.
Followed By: City secretary Wilf Wild who went on to become a truly successful manager.
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On this day (4 September 1929) Manchester City defeated Arsenal 3-1 with goals from Fred Tilson (2; photographed in the 1934 FA Cup final) and Bobby Marshall at Maine Road, watched by a crowd of 38,458. You can find out more on the 1929-30 season below in this piece for subscribers (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:
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at £20 per year. Subscribers have access to the 1000s of articles, features, interviews etc. posted so far and all those posted during your subscription.
As well as subscriber pieces this series on the 1930s includes some free articles.
My series on Manchester City in the 1930s continues today with a 1,800 word subscriber article on the 1937-38 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:
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at £20 per year. Subscribers have access to the 1000s of articles, features, interviews etc. posted so far and all those posted during your subscription.
My series on Manchester City in the 1930s continues today with a 2,500 word subscriber article on the 1936-37 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:
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at £20 per year. Subscribers have access to the 1000s of articles, features, interviews etc. posted so far and all those posted during your subscription.
My series on Manchester City in the 1930s continues today with a 4,300 word subscriber article on the 1933-34 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:
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at £20 per year. Subscribers have access to the 1000s of articles, features, interviews etc. posted so far and all those posted during your subscription.
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