Tag Archives: Malcolm Allison

Manchester City V Real Madrid, 19 December 1979

On this day (19 December) in 1979 Manchester City’s first meeting with Real Madrid occurred. Back then it was viewed as a prestigious friendly, or at least that’s what it was supposed to be, but it turned out to be a controversial game with implications for the Blues for some time. Here’s an 1800 word article with images of that game and the controversy surrounding it.

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The 1980s: Allison Jibes

Continuing the series of articles covering the 1980s. Today’s is an on this day (1 December) from 1980. It’s a newspaper story about former boss Malcolm Allison and his comments about Manchester City. Allison claimed he was responsible for the form of City AFTER they’d sacked him. Joe Corrigan was angry by the comments and so was John Bond, but Bond did admit that Allison was 90% responsible for Bond’s achievements at West Ham as a player. Have a read of the piece but if you want to know more about the trials and tribulations of this period then why not subscriber and read the following ten thousand word long read on the 1980-81 season. Enjoy!

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Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1981-82 season.

The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald

A new daily series of articles for subscribers starts today covering the 1980s. This will be a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a ten thousand word long read on the 1980-81 season. Enjoy!

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Tomorrow’s feature is on the 1981-82 season.

Flashback to 1993: Radio Interview About Joe Mercer

Late in 1993 Jimmy Wagg interviewed me on GMR about my new book on Joe Mercer. Next month it’ll be 30 years (I know!) since that book came out and so I thought I’d post the recording of the interview with Jimmy from that year. The quality is not great (neither are my answers at times!) but you can now hear the recording on my website.

If you want to hear why I did the book and the answers I gave back then have a listen now. Here goes (again apologies for the quality of the recording):

While you’re here why not have a look at all the other articles, interviews, videos and material on this site. Subscribers get access to everything and this includes PDFs of the entire Manchester A Football History book; From Maine Men To Banana Citizens (my first book) and Farewell To Maine Road. There are also audio recordings of my interviews with John Bond, Malcolm Allison, George Graham etc. It costs £3 per month or £20 per year. Details of how to subscribe below:

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Today in 1978: Kaziu Deyna

On this day (10 November) in 1978 it was reported that Polish international Kaziu Deyna signed for Manchester City. It was some time before it was all sorted out however! Back in 2003 I wrote this profile of former Manchester City player and Polish World Cup star Kazimierz Deyna. Deyna was such an important and unusual signing at the time he joined City that I feel this article is still appropriate and of interest to subscribers to my blog today.

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Malcolm Allison

Today (14 October) marks the anniversary of the death of legendary Manchester City coach Malcolm Allison. He passed away in 2010. I’ve interviewed Malcolm often over the years and you can listen to one of those interviews here:

Malcolm Allison Audio Interview Part One

Here’s also an article I published in September this year on Allison. It included comments from a variety of interviews I have performed over the decades. Allison’s views on then young footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips are captured and comments from various people who know Allison well are included.

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Dennis Tueart Interview

Here’s a video of my latest interview with Dennis Tueart. In this we focus on him leaving Manchester City for the NASL and New York Cosmos; his experiences there and his return to City. Dennis is always a great talker and there are some wonderful moments in this as he talks about this significant time in the changing Manchester City and in the excitement of New York soccer.

The conversation links Tony Book, Leonard Rossiter, Pele, Carlos Alberto, John Cleese, Dave Sexton, Malcolm Allison and Franz Beckenbauer amongst others.

It lasts about 50 minutes so get your self a brew and sit down to watch:

Dennis’s biography is still available (see link below).

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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.

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Dennis Tueart’s biography is available at most bookshops, including the usual online retailers such as:

Steve Daley Interview

Yesterday (6 September 2023) I posted a story highlighting the transfer of Steve Daley to Manchester City in 1979. Today I’d like to expand on that by posting here an interview I did with Steve where we discuss that transfer, City fans and the spending City were doing at the time we did the interview. It was a great time to interview Steve and I enjoyed it immensely, helping fill in some gaps.

This interview is available to subscribers below.

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Spend, Spend, Spend Image of Manchester City

Well, it seems the norm today to talk about the cost of Manchester City’s squad with TV commentators frequently talking about the price of City’s bench. It gets tiring. However, this is not the first time the media talked of City as a ‘spend, spend, spend’ club. Today marks the anniversary of one day in particular when City’s spending caught the media’s attention. That day was on 6 September 1979 when Steve Daley signed for the Blues at a cost of £1,450,277.

City had to defend this spending which – and I know it’s difficult to understand in the modern world of £100m+ footballers – absolutely stunned football. This transfer was the British record but it was perceived as huge.

Chairman Peter Swales’ defence for the spending was that City was a profitable club (see the article) and this is true. City were a hugely profitable club in the 1970s but that all changed over the coming years with Swales, his supporting directors and managers getting giddy trying to buy success. As we all know it takes more than money to generate success and this period of City’s history is the one that actually created the club’s fall from grace, leading to some to believe in the 2010s & 2020s that the club had ‘no history’ and was not a ‘giant’. All that is balderdash. City were a giant who fell unlucky through poor management by a board of directors who did not plan for long term development.

Anyway, lots to say on this but read the article here from 1979 and hopefully that will show the position of strength the club was in (but soon messed up!).

While you’re here why not listen to one of my interviews with Malcolm Allison. You can hear a taster here:

Coming Soon: My 1991 Malcolm Allison Interview

The full interview is available to subscribers here:

Malcolm Allison Audio Interview Part One

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Allison’s Birth & Interview

On this day (5 September) in 1927 legendary Manchester City coach Malcolm Allison was born. To commemorate that day and remember his life here’s a 2500+ word article for subscribers on the great man. Enjoy! The article includes comments from a variety of interviews I have performed. Allison’s views on then young footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips are captured and comments from various people who know Allison well are included.

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