Here’s a nice little quote from 1973. It’s a reminder of the days just before Peter Swales became Manchester City chairman but he was already the main mouthpiece for the board (something that riled chairman Eric Alexander significantly!). It shows how Swales was already trying to grab the headlines with comments that he knew would get media attention.
The background is that there had been some discussion on whether Rodney Marsh would be sold as, according to the media, he wasn’t exactly fitting in with City’s perceived direction and had, according to some, cost the Blues the League title in 1972. You can read about that elsewhere on my site (see below).
I wonder if Swales ever did get any offers for the Main Stand as a result of this? I do know that Punch magazine did a humorous piece outlining that it had been bought by Tottenham for £500,000 and their forward.
One Manchester club seems to be getting everything right, winning League titles, European trophies and so on while the other appears to be in self-destruct mode with demonstrations against the owner and all sorts of worrying stories appearing in the media. Sound familiar? This was actually the situation on this day (11 September) in 1993 when Manchester City (not United) were the team in crisis and United (not City) were the team winning Leagues and European trophies.
This cutting is from 11 September 1993 and highlights the proposed takeover by Francis Lee of the Blues. Peter Swales had been City’s chairman for twenty years during which he’d taken the club from being a major, profitable power to one that was heavily in debt – debt that was hampering the club’s development – with a stadium that was being downgraded almost every day via a lack of serious investment. Across at United the club appeared relatively stable with a stadium that was being invested in. They also had one of the game’s most talented and successful managers while City had gone through a series of managers in the previous few years. City were a relatively stable top flight team though by 1993. Brian Horton was now City’s boss and he seemed to offer a positive style of football but the wider problems of the club were never far away. All sound familiar still?
I do find it amazing that City and United seem to have swapped roles so emphatically since 1993 in terms of how the clubs are managed, invested in, stadium developments and so on.
For those unaware of what happened to City or those who perhaps support United and are looking to see what happened and whether history will repeat here’s a brief overview: United dominated football for most of the 1990s & 2000s while City’s Lee takeover was successful. Lee, however, was unable to revive City’s fortunes and build on the fifth place finished that had occurred in 1991 and 1992. Although much of the financial infrastructure of City was improved following the takeover, the dismissal of Horton as manager and a poor appointment in Alan Ball led to relegation. Further issues followed as star players left, managers were sacked or left and the Blues ended up in the 3rd tier (for one season – too many believe City were a 3rd tier club who eventually got lucky but they were a top 6 team who fell apart!).
Could history repeat itself with the roles reversed? Unlikely United will ever fall as low as City but it is worth noting that City never expected to fall that low. Also, removing Swales from power was something that fans had been wanting for decades. It only became a possibility when a former hero announced he could take over the club BUT even then the hopes and ambition of all Blues could not be met.
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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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:
On this day (4 September) in 1981 Manchester City signed Trevor Francis from Nottingham Forest. The transfer meant that the Blues were the first English side to sign three separate £1m or £1m+ players. Peter Swales often boasted of this point (and did so in an interview I did with him years later). The earlier £1m/£1m+ men were Steve Daley and Kevin Reeves.
I’ve interviewed John Bond, Trevor Francis and Peter Swales specifically about this transfer over the years. Subscribers can listen to my Bond interview (see below for details) and a written version of my Trevor Francis interview is available too here (this is free to read):
Roberto Mancini has left his role as Italy’s men’s football manager. Hopefully, he’ll be back in club management soon and maybe in the Premier League too. His contribution to Manchester City’s history is huge and so I think it’s worth reposting this audio special I did a couple of years ago. It’s a special audio recording talking about the years building up to the 2011 FA Cup success brought to City by Mancini. It includes some audio I did with him back in 2011 too. Enjoy this reminder of a time when Mancini helped transform City’s fortunes.
Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final is a special 1 hour audio recording looks at the game and the years between the 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. The 2011 semi-final was a crucial step in City’s journey since the 2008 takeover and I felt it was vital to do a special marking this.
So what’s in this special recording? Well, I’ve included exclusive material from interviews and recordings I’ve done over the years with Garry Cook, Brian Marwood, Roberto Mancini, Peter Barnes and Peter Swales. Why Swales? Well, have a listen and you’ll hear why. Basically though I’m trying to set the tone for why the 2011 FA Cup semi final victory and overcoming Manchester United was so significant.
On Mancini… I include a few words from him recorded in 2011 and at one point he talks about the view that was then being expressed that City were ‘trying’ to buy success (now they say City ‘have’ bought success!). His words are a reminder that City have been having that particular criticism thrown at them for over a decade! Oh well, I wonder how long those criticisms were laid at other clubs who had seen major investment which propelled them forward?
Anyway, get yourself a brew and be prepared to be transported back in time. Here’s the recording:
If you enjoy the recording then please let me know, comment or subscribe to the site. I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch.
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For post 86 of my Maine Rd 100 a photo of Tony Book, Peter Swales and Kaz Deyna. They were photographed at Deyna’s signing in the Maine Rd boardroom. Swales was the City chairman for what became a quarter of Maine Road’s existence, but who were the other chairmen? For the benefit of subscribers to my website I decided to compile for the first time ever a full list of Manchester City’s chairmen since the club’s earliest known game in 1880 through to today. Here goes:
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Post 79 of my Maine Rd 100 countdown is this image of fans demonstrating against chairman Peter Swales and his supporting board of directors.
Those were the days! This image was from 1983 but protests began in 1979 and continued until 1993-94. Here’s a photo of John Bond stood in front of the Main Entrance in 1983. The ‘cage’ protecting the entrance would often get locked to prevent fans forcing their way in during demonstrations.
John Bond, 1983
Here’s a 1995 image of Maine Road showing the forecourt in front of the Main Stand where most demonstrations occurred:
The 54th post in my series counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game is a simple reminder of City fans and players paying their respects. The main image is from the game with Liverpool at the end of the 1995-96 season. That day City fans and the players paid tribute to former chairman Peter Swales. We all knew it would be respected even though many fans had not forgiven Swales for how he and his supporting directros had transformed the club from a major, profitable European trophy winning club into one that was struggling financially and out of touch with its traditional rivals.
There have been many minute’s silences, or two minutes in many cases going back, at Maine Road. This image is from the two minutes silence for King George V in January 1936. That day City faced Luton. Note: back then we did not cancel games the weekend after a monarch’s death.
Here are two photos of King George V in happier times when he visited Hyde Road in 1920:
King George V at Hyde Road in 1920 The King with the Mayor in Hyde Road’s ‘Royal Box’. Notice Lawrence Furniss stood, behind the King. Furniss was a major figure from the 1880s to the 1940s at City.
Here’s an image from a film that Will McTaggart and I showed during our Boys In Blue film show. This was from a film profile of the Manchester City chairman Peter Swales.
You can use this 1971 image to work out where the images of fans/players paying their respects were taken. The colour image of City v LFC was taken from the new Platt Lane Stand which was built where numbers 4 & 5 are. I was sat in the stand that day, looking towards the North Stand (10). The King George V silence sees the players lined up in front of the players tunnel (1) with the camera on the pitch looking towards that tunnel.
Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road
If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
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.
For day 49 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted this plan of what might have been. These were developed in January 1994 shortly after Francis Lee became chairman.
The Kippax needed to be replaced and the plans by former chairman Peter Swales and his supporting directors had been to bolt plastic seats on to the lower part of the original Kippax terracing with a reprofiled second tier behind. Lee ripped up those plans and within days had created a plan which would see the entire ground extended, not simply the building of a new Kippax.
The new Kippax was the first phase of that development but Manchester’s bids for the Olympics changed thinking. Couple that with relegation in 1996 and the wholesale redevelopment of Maine Road was postponed and then dropped completely.
Lee’s plans would have seen the new Kippax followed by a phased development of each of the other three stands. I haven’t got chance to work through every step here but these images might give an indication of how it would have progressed.
1990s Maine Rd redevelopment plans as seen in Farewell To Maine Road
Here’s an aerial photo of the ground in 1995 with the Kippax nearing completion:
If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
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.
Gary James' Football Archive 