On this day (19 January) in 1991 Mark Ward scored twice as Howard Kendall’s Manchester City defeated Sheffield United 2-0 before 25,741 at Maine Road. However, the game opened with the visitors’ Vinnie Jones getting booked after just 5 seconds play! He was later sent off too. You can see highlights (and Jones’ tackle) here:
I was sat in the Main Stand that day. Were you also at this match? If you were why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?
On this day (16 November) in 1991 the Manchester derby ended goalless at Maine Road but so many, many chances went City’s way! It was a frustrating draw for the Blues and came at a time when neither side had won the League since the 1960s (City in 1967-68 if you want to know). It was felt that momentum was building at Maine Road. This is one of those periods when football history could’ve gone in a different direction.
There was pressure on United boss Alex Ferguson. He had brought the ECWC and FA Cup to United by this time but it was the League that the club craved. City had ended 1990-91 in fifth place and United were 6th. Had City had a bit of fortune around this time they may well have found some success.
Arsenal had won the League in 1991 but no team dominated the League year after year. The birth of the Premier League was coming (1992) and the new riches that came with that meant that the teams that did find League success from then on could potentially dominate in a way no club had before. With United’s title success in 1992-93, United and Arsenal became the two clubs that benefited most from the riches of the Premier League. That created a gap that only strong investment could bridge.
Ah well! Money and football is nothing new. Anyway, here are a few highlights of the derby:
We hear so much about the Premier League era and how the game has changed, so for today’s feature I’ve decided to take a look at the early 1990s and the birth of the Premier League. It’s almost thirty years since the structure of league football changed forever and during that time some clubs have benefitted from the new structure and others have found life difficult. City have experienced both extremes of course.
The narrative that we often hear about the Blues’ journey over the last thirty years is that they’ve gone from a struggling club to a hugely successful one and, while it is true City are highly successful today and that the Blues entered their lowest ever point in the late 1990s, it is wrong to assume that the position the club found itself in by 1999 was typical of the club’s full history.
So, here for subscribers, I’m taking a look back at the early 1990s and remind ourselves where the Blues were; who their rivals were; and the state of football at that time:
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Recently, I covered the youngest, now it is the turn of the oldest. Today I’m taking a look at some of Manchester City’s landmark oldest record holders.
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During the close season Chairman Peter Swales gave Peter Reid an extension to his contract and publicly backed his manager. He also took the unprecedented step of appointing a former newspaper sports editor as City’s new General Manager. This was not viewed positively by supporters and there were rumours circulating that the Chairman had appointed John Maddock simply to divert attention away from himself.
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