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 series of features covering the 1980s for Manchester City continues with an article from this day (11 December) in 1989 when City chairman Peter Swales was profiled. Back then profiles like this on the chairman appeared fairly regularly, usually after he’d just sacked a manager. It all makes interesting reading today.
If you want to know more about this period and the entire 1989-90 season then become a subscriber and read the following 8,000 word article on that season. Enjoy!
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The series of articles covering Manchester City in the 1980s continues today with a reminder of the day Brian Horton damaged the Maine Road away team dressing room door. Future City boss Horton was then the manager of Oxford United. This article from this day (3 December) in 1988 explains how he was unhappy following his team’s dramatic 2-1 defeat the previous Saturday. City had been losing 1-0 with only a few minutes to go and then two dramatic late goals gave the Blues the victory. You can watch highlights here:
I think we can all understand Horton’s frustration. As part of his anger Horton left the door hanging on just one hinge! Rumours had suggested the Blues would make him pay for the damage but Peter Swales, the City chairman, said that there’d be no charge afterall.
It’s all a story about nothing really but is a nice reminder that in the days before social media these things still happened, they were just reported differently. Now this would be a major incident with apologies demanded and who knows what but back then it’s simply filling a space in the Manchester Evening News.
If you want to know more of the 1988-89 season for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read the following 4,100 word feature on the 1988-89 season. Enjoy!
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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
The series of features covering the 1980s for Manchester City continues with a reminder of a day when City chairman Peter Swales made a huge mistake. This cutting is from this day (2 December) in 1989 and refers to the Blues’ attempts to appoint Joe Royle as manager. However, by the time this article was published Swales had already messed things up.
He’d appeared on Granada TV’s Kick Off programme on the Friday night saying how he wanted Oldham boss Royle to replace Mel Machin. Unfortunately, Oldham had a game that night and Swales’ comments on TV helped inspire a series of emotional pleas and chants for Joe Royle not to leave Boundary Park. Their game basically became a Joe Royle tribute night and the emption of that night meant City did not get their man. At the time City fans would call days like this ‘Typical City!’ as cock-ups by the chairman and his supporting directors dogged the club’s development.
Note the comment about Tony Book in the image. These were the days when he often was dragged into managing the team on a temporary basis.
If you want to know more about that weekend and the entire 1989-90 season then become a subscriber and read the following 8,000 word article on that season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started earlier this month covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 8,000 word long read on the 1989-90 season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started earlier this month covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 4,100 word feature on the 1988-89 season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started last week covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 4,000 word feature on the 1987-88 season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started last week covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 2,500 word feature on the 1986-87 season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started last week covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 2,500 word feature on the 1985-86 season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
A new daily series of articles for subscribers started last week covering the 1980s. This is a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club. Today’s article is a 2,600 word feature on the 1984-85 season. Enjoy!
Subscribe to get access – Monthly
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate below which gives greater access and works out much cheaper.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (above) or £20 a year (here) to access everything posted since the site was created in December 2020. This special rate works out about £1.67 a week and gives access to everything posted, including PDFs of 3 of my books.
Gary James' Football Archive 