Tag Archives: QPR

Anti-owner demos: Just another day in Manchester football

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.

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Match stats here:

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Maine Road 100 – Day 68

It’s day 68 of my Maine Rd countdown…. Many goals over the old stadium’s 80 year life were described as the greatest ever at Maine Road.  Sometimes these became a talking point for a few days, sometimes for a few years but unless they happen to occur in a major game goals tend to lose their significance as time moves on.  This is especially true for Maine Rd games prior to the 1990s when television coverage was limited to, at best, a handful of top flight games.

One that was remembered for many years was Rodney Marsh’s overhead kick from the City-QPR Division One game of September 1974.  Do you remember it? The following subscriber post tells the story of that classic goal and images of it step by step.

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Aguero Hat-trick

When Manchester City defeated QPR 6-0 on this day (10 May) in 2015 Sergio Aguero netted a hat-trick for the Blues. His first came after three minutes when he went on a mazy run before clipping the ball over the onrushing Rob Green to give Manuel Pellegrini’s side a perfect start.

Aleksandr Kolarov netted City’s second (a free kick from 30 yards) in the 31st minute and the Blues made it 3-0 when Aguero scored in the 49th minute.

Aguero’s third came from a penalty after David Silva had been pulled down in the 64th minute. James Milner made it 5-0 five minutes later before Silva completed the scoring in the 86th minute. when he ran on to a wonderful back heel from Bony, before rounding goalkeeper Green.

City lineup: Hart (c), Zabaleta, Demichelis, Mangala, Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho (Toure 73), Lampard (Bony 62), Milner (Navas 81), Silva, Aguero
Unused: Caballero, Sagna, Clichy, Dzeko

Attendance 44,564 (building work as part of the extension of the South Stand had reduced the capacity).

History Talk – MCFC Away Days Now Live For Subscribers

On Wednesday 18 January I held a discussion about Manchester City FC away games. Subscribers can now listen to a recording of that talk here (it costs £20 a year to access everything on the site or £3 per month). The talk lasts about 1 hour so get yourself a brew and listen to the story of traveling away.

We talk about the train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise and their coaches too (remember number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner?). Amongst the moments/subjects discussed were the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Oldham, QPR, Leeds & more.  Thanks to all who participated in this for your efforts, especially Graham Ward, Roger Reade and the guys from the Lad & Dad Away Days podcast who all brought up their own memories of games.

The next History Talk will take place later today 1/2/23 at 6pm-7pm UK time. This will be more of a presentation and will be about the origins of Manchester City. You can register for that and find out more here:

Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Register Now

Here’s the recording of the MCFC Away Days talk. This is for subscribers only:

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History Talk – MCFC Away Days Now Live

On Wednesday 18 January I held a discussion about Manchester City FC away games. You can now listen to a recording of that talk here. It lasts about 1 hour so get yourself a brew and listen to the story of traveling away.

There’s a link further down this page to the recording. We talk about the train specials that the City Supporters Travel Club used to organise and their coaches too (remember number one coach with Helen ‘the Bell’ Turner?). Amongst the moments/subjects discussed were the history of travelling to away games; Trevor Francis’ debut; railway & coach specials; the experience of being an away fan; games at Notts County, Barnsley, Stoke, Bradford, Oldham, QPR, Leeds & more.  Thanks to all who participated in this for your efforts, especially Graham Ward, Roger Reade and the guys from the Lad & Dad Away Days podcast who all brought up their own memories of games.

The next History Talk will take place on 1/2/23 at 6pm-7pm UK time. This will be more of a presentation and will be about the origins of Manchester City. You can register for that and find out more here:

Free Online Presentation on the Origins of MCFC – Register Now

Here’s the recording of the MCFC Away Days talk. This was freely available until 31 January and now it is for subscribers only:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

If you would like to access it here and support my writing & research while also reading all the great content (including PDFs of Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men To Banana Citizens) then please subscribe. It costs £20 a year (access everything) or £3 per month (see below).

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Stan Bowles

On this day (24 December) in 1948 the great maverick Mancunian footballer Stan Bowles was born. Here’s a profile of him…

Bowles joined City as an amateur on 27 July 1965, becoming an apprentice on 1 October 1965 and then professional on 29 December 1966.

Then in 1967 things really began to happen and Bowles’ first game was as a substitute in a League Cup tie at home to Leicester City. He scored two goals in the second half and the following Saturday he made his League debut another memorable one. He scored two again!

Lots of stories have circulated over the years about his time at City. Like Mario Balotelli many years later some are truthful; others are exaggerations and some are completely make up.

The stories go that Bowles once missed a flight to Amsterdam where City were to play against Ajax, and that Bowles’ interest in the horses led to Joe Mercer saying: ‘If Stan could pass a betting shop like he can pass a ball, he’d be a world beater.’ Suspensions and other issues led to Stan refusing to sign a new contract and he asked to leave. That in itself led to him being suspended for 14 days on the advice of the Football League.

Inevitably Bowles moved on, first to Bury (July 1970) and then to Crewe (September 1970).

A spell at Carlisle followed and then in September 1972 a bid of £110,000 took him to Loftus Road where he won five England caps as a QPR player.

Seven years later Nottingham Forest’s Brian Clough bought him for £210,000 but sold him again less than a year later after further issues. Further spells were reported at Orient, Brentford, Hounslow and Epping.

In 2015 it was announced he was suffering with Alzheimer’s Disease, like his former boss Joe Mercer.

At City Bowles made a total of 20 first team appearances, scoring 4 goals, but he remains recognised as a hugely talented player.

There are articles on this site mentioning Bowles. Here’s a selection:

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Horton’s Blues At QPR

On this day (25 October) in 1994 Manchester City faced QPR in the League Cup in what was an incredible game that kept fans on the edge of their seats. The Blues had already disposed of Barnet 5-2 on aggregate in the second round and clearly expected to put in a good performance at Loftus Road. Sadly, within a minute they conceded a goal just as they had in the earlier League Cup match at Barnet and Brian Horton’s side suffered for a while. By the 37th minute they managed to get their act together a little and Summerbee equalised with a 20 yard volley. A minute later Rangers took the lead again. 

Fortunately, in the 46th minute Keith Curle netted a penalty to bring City level once again, followed eight minutes later by a magnificent Beagrie volley which made it 3-2 and brought a series of somersaults from the popular ex-Evertonian. Five minutes later, the same player headed through to Lomas who made it 4-2. 

In the 87th minute Rangers pulled a goal back to keep City on their toes, but the referee’s whistle signalled the start of a party for the fans while their QPR equivalents began to demonstrate against their chairman.  Apparently, some unhappy QPR fans were keen to listen to the advice of a few experienced Mancunian demonstrators! 

You can watch highlights of the game here:

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Rodney Marsh’s Overhead Goal

On this day (28th September 1974) Rodney Marsh scored a spectacular overhead goal for Manchester City against QPR at Maine Road.

Subscribers to this site can read about the goal and the game here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2022/07/16/golden-goals-1974-rodney-marsh-overhead-goal-v-qpr/

While you’re here why not subscribe to my website. It costs £20 per year (works out about £1.67 a month) and for that every subscriber gets access to a PDF of both Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men to Banana Citizens (both out of print) plus the hundreds of articles, interviews and videos already posted and a guaranteed 4 new exclusive articles per month (usually a lot more than that!). I am not employed to do any research and so subscribers help fund detailed research into football’s history. Thanks for supporting my work if you do already subscribe or buy my books.

GOLDEN GOALS: 1974 Rodney Marsh Overhead Goal V QPR

Many goals over the years are described as the greatest ever.  Sometimes these become a talking point for a few days, sometimes for a few years but unless they happen to occur in a major trophy winning game goals tend to lose their significance as time moves on.  This is especially true for games prior to the 1990s when television coverage was limited to, at best, a handful of top flight games.

So, I’m starting a new feature serialising ‘GOLDEN GOALS’. The idea is to remember a significant or spectacular Manchester City goal from yesteryear.  My hope is that supporters who were not around back then will learn more about these goals while those who were here will hopefully be reminded of them.  If you would like to nominate a goal for possible use in a future feature then please comment at the end of this piece or email me with details of game, goal scorer and date.

The first one being featured is Rodney Marsh’s overhead kick from the Manchester City-QPR Division One game of September 1974.

This article is available for subscribers to the website. It costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 per month) and you get full access to all articles posted, including PDFs of the out of print Manchester A Football History and my first ever book about Manchester City. There are also audio interviews & more. Do a few searches on past content to see what’s available.      

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