Tag Archives: Roberto Mancini

Stoke v Manchester City 15 Years Ago

On this day (27 November) in 2010 City played out a dour draw at Stoke in the Premier League. If you fancy reading about it (and I’ve not really sold it with that description!) then see below:

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QPR 2 Manchester City 3

On this day (5 November) in 2011 Manchester City defeated Neil Warnock’s Queen’s Park Rangers 3-2 with goals from Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Yaya Toure. The game is often overlooked in the history of games between the two clubs mainly due to the fact that the second game of the season between these teams was such an important occasion. But this match also had its twists and turns, with the three points of course proving vital at the season’s end. People inevitably focus on the final day, title winning matches but in a season where a title is decided on goal difference then every game and goal is important.

QPR opened the scoring in the 28th minute (a header from Jay Bothroyd) with man of the match Edin Dzeko equalising two minutes before half time. David Silva (photographed) made it 2-1 seven minutes into the second half but Heidar Helguson equalised in the 69th minute. The game was won with a 74th minute headed effort from Yaya Toure.

After the match manager Roberto Mancini rightly commented: ‘It was important we beat QPR. I knew that we could have a problem. The win was very important because we’ve played 6 very, very hard games and we’ve won, it was important because of the international break.’

The 2010s: Blackburn 0 Manchester City 4

On this day (1 October) in 2011 Manchester City faced Blackburn in the Premier at Ewood Park. Here’s a few words I wrote on that game a few years ago:

At Blackburn on 1st October the home side tried to stifle Mancini’s men for some time.  In fact City sat back and took stock of the situation throughout the first half as a negative Blackburn team seemed happy to kill the game at every opportunity.  In the second half, as often the case during the opening months of the season, the Blues had total control and ten minutes after the interval Johnson made it 1-0.  

Balotelli sent Nasri’s cross home three minutes later, before Nasri added a third and Savić headed City’s fourth.  City fans, who had sung Roberto Mancini’s name at various points before and during the match, were in full voice at the end while the Blackburn supporters chanted for the dismissal of their boss Steve Kean.  Post match Mancini’s assistant David Platt faced the press:  ‘It was the result we were looking for to put Bayern Munich to bed.’

City had lost 2-0 at Munich in their previous game. Here are highlights of the Blackburn match:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2011/october/blackburn-v-city-extended-highlights-1-oct-11

Five, Fifteen, Fifty – New MCFC Match Programme Series

Those who saw the Manchester City v Tottenham match programme at weekend May have noticed my new series of articles. This year I’m doing a season tracker feature and have chosen the seasons 1975-76, 2010-11 and 2020-21. Each issue will cover those seasons plus I’ll write a Memory Match feature on a game from that week in one of the three seasons. The three seasons are all important ones in the history of Manchester’s Blues (every season is important of course!) and I hope I can do them justice. The reason I’ve chosen those seasons….

Typically season tracker pick seasons that are a multiple of five and usually focus on 5, 10, 25 years but I felt it was important to look at a season further back, so chose fifty years ago (1975-76 – one of my own personal favourite seasons). I also wanted to recognise the 2010-11 season as that saw Roberto Mancini’s team win their first major trophy. The 2020-21 season was of course a major trophy winning season unde Pep Guardiola.

The Memory Match I chose for the first issue was from 2010 and a day when Liverpool were defeated.

I hope everyone who gets chance to see the programme enjoys the four page feature. Thanks, as always, to those who support my writing.

The FA Cup

Looking forward to this weekend’s men’s FA Cup final. Back in 2011 Manchester City won their first FA Cup since 1969. The success became the first major trophy win of the current City ownership. To reach the final in 2011 City defeated Manchester United in that season’s FA Cup semi final. A few years back I produced Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final and as we build up to this year’s FA Cup final it’s well worth reminding ourselves of this time when fans hoped for success. It’s a nice reminder of how significant the FA Cup has been to City’s modern success.

This special 1 hour audio recording looks at the years between City’s 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. 2011 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. If it’s of interest then, over the coming months and years, I’ll produce others like this highlighting key points in Manchester City – and Manchester’s – footballing history. It costs £20 a year to subscribe (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time to get full access for as long as you subscribe (you can always try it for a month). It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2010 Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 and all subscribers will be able to access all of that for as long as they are a subscriber (plus all the other stuff of course). You can subscribe below.

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Match Stats for the 2011 FA Cup Semi-final

City 1-0 United (HT 0-0)

Yaya Toure 52

City: 25 Hart 04 Kompany (yellow card), 05 Zabaleta (yellow card), 13 Kolarov, 19 Lescott, 11 Johnson (Wright-Phillips 79), 18 Barry, 21 Silva (Vieira 86), 34 De Jong (yellow card), 42 Y Toure, 45 Balotelli (yellow card). Substitutes 12 Taylor, 38 Boyata, 07 Milner, 08 Wright-Phillips, 24 Vieira, 10 Dzeko, 27 Jo

United: 01 Van der Sar, 03 Evra, 05 Ferdinand, 15 Vidic, 22 O’Shea (Fabio Da Silva 84), 13 Park Ji-Sung, 16 Carrick, 17 Nani, 18 Scholes (red card), 25 Valencia (Hernandez 65), 09 Berbatov (Anderson 74). Substitutes 29 Kuszczak, 12 Smalling, 20 Fabio Da Silva, 08 Anderson, 28 Gibson, 07 Owen, 14 Hernandez

Referee: Dean

Attendance: 86,549

The FA Cup Semi Final

Tomorrow brings the 2025 FA Cup semi final between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest at Wembley – I’m always pleased that my team has reached Wembley but I do wish FA Cup semi finals were played at neutral League grounds instead! For many fans the timing and cost of a Wembley semi final are simply too much. Sadly, I don’t think they’ll ever change that now. Reaching the semi does give opportunity to remember past Wembley trips. A few years back I made this special audio recording talking about the years building up to the 2011 FA Cup semi and the day itself from a Manchester City perspective. Many of you have listened to this already but if you haven’t then it tells the story of the 2011 FA Cup semi final and the years between 1976 and that moment in 2011 for City.

I included audio from interviews I did with a variety of people including Khaldoon, Peter Swales, Garry Cook, Brain Marwood and many others.

If you have heard it before then maybe you should listen again to remind yourself of how we all felt and why that game was so significant.

I included a few words from Roberto Mancini 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 well 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. If you don’t fancy doing that then there’s also the option to make a welcome donation to keep this site going (see below). I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch too. 

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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Here’s another feature about the significance of 2011:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/2023/01/15/city-are-back-first-published-in-2011/

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Match Stats for the 2011 FA Cup Semi-final

City 1-0 United (HT 0-0)

Yaya Toure 52

City: 25 Hart 04 Kompany (yellow card), 05 Zabaleta (yellow card), 13 Kolarov, 19 Lescott, 11 Johnson (Wright-Phillips 79), 18 Barry, 21 Silva (Vieira 86), 34 De Jong (yellow card), 42 Y Toure, 45 Balotelli (yellow card). Substitutes 12 Taylor, 38 Boyata, 07 Milner, 08 Wright-Phillips, 24 Vieira, 10 Dzeko, 27 Jo

United: 01 Van der Sar, 03 Evra, 05 Ferdinand, 15 Vidic, 22 O’Shea (Fabio Da Silva 84), 13 Park Ji-Sung, 16 Carrick, 17 Nani, 18 Scholes (red card), 25 Valencia (Hernandez 65), 09 Berbatov (Anderson 74). Substitutes 29 Kuszczak, 12 Smalling, 20 Fabio Da Silva, 08 Anderson, 28 Gibson, 07 Owen, 14 Hernandez

Referee: Dean

Attendance: 86,549

The 1950s: The 1954-55 Season

The new series on Manchester City in the 1950s continues today with this 3,400 word article on the 1954-55 season when City reached the FA Cup final and Don Revie was FWA Footballer of the Year. Enjoy!

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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The 1960s: Significance of Tony Book

It seems appropriate in the week that Tony Book died that I write an article highlighting how significant Tony was as a player.

As a player Tony was a hugely successful captain with Manchester City during the Mercer-Allison period.  He was undoubtedly a key figure in each of City’s trophy successes during the seasons 1967 to 1970, and was regarded by many at the time as the greatest ever captain to have appeared for the Blues.  Certainly his record of trophy success placed him some way ahead of all earlier captains. His trophy record has been eclipsed of course but do not let that downplay anything of what he achieved. Few in the game had ever achieved what he had. It’s even more remarkable when you consider his age when he arrived at Maine Road.

Book joined the Blues in July 1966 for £17,000 after a relatively brief League career with Plymouth Argyle.  The transfer was one that saw Malcolm Allison use all his skills to persuade City boss Joe Mercer to take a gamble.  

Allison had been a fan of Book’s ever since their days together at Bath City and the City coach explained the player’s strengths to Mercer.  It should be remembered that Book had only made his League debut a month before his 30th birthday.  Mercer, remembering how his own career had been given a new lease of life at a similar age, backed Allison’s judgement, and the Tony Book fairy tale began.  

Within weeks, Book was considered to be one of the driving forces on the pitch at City. The following cutting is from the end of August 1966 and mentions him:

Inevitably, Book played a major part in each City trophy success following his arrival at Maine Road, but he was also voted FWA Footballer of the Year (held jointly with Derby’s Dave Mackay) in 1969.  It was a fitting award and said much about what made Manchester City tick – potentially he should have been awarded it in 1968 but there are several stories about that season’s award which we’ll save for another day. 

Alan Jubb’s photo of Tony Book with League Championship trophy, 1968

Had the FWA award been given to one of City’s more familiar names – Bell, Lee or Summerbee – then that would of course have been a great honour, but going to Book proved that the side was more about teamwork than about individuality.  Book was City’s influential captain.  He did more than most to bring glory to the Blues. 

People often overlook what happened when he was missing from the team. After winning the title in 1968 Book was injured during the close season and ended up missing the opening 25 League games, plus City’s first European Cup tie. It is significant that during his absence City struggled to find consistency both in the league and the other competitions.  Once he returned to the side the Blues powered their way to FA Cup glory. It makes me wonder what would have happened that season had he been fit from the start. He ended that season after playing only 21 League and FA Cup games – and was still judged FWA Footballer of the Year! What an achievement.

1969 MCFC

Tony eventually moved into coaching and, once his playing days came to an end, he developed a new career as an inspirational coach and manager. I’ll talk about that another day.

It cannot be stressed highly enough that Tony Book’s position in City’s history is a significant one.  He was a tremendous player, inspiring coach, and a loyal club servant. His time as a player was one of significant achievement, with him taking the lead for most of his playing days. His time as manager was also, without doubt, one of the most exciting periods in the club’s history.  He brought major success and allowed City to challenge the near-dominant Liverpool.  It wasn’t until the arrival of Roberto Mancini that a City manager found major trophy success again.

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6-1 Manchester Derby

On this day (23 October) in 2011 Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City defeated Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United 6-1 in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford. The City goals came from Mario Balotelli 22, 60; Sergio Aguero 69; Edin Dzeko 90, 90+3; and David Silva 90+1. United’s was scored by Darren Fletcher 81.

MCFC have highlights of the game here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/match-highlights/2011/october/united-v-city-extended-highlights-23-oct

The City win equalled the record score in a Manchester derby – also set by City and also in a League derby at Old Trafford (in a season City also got relegated!). You can read about that one here:

Decisive Derbies – 23 January 1926 MUFC v MCFC

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TALKING CITY: Sven-Göran Eriksson

It has taken a few days to find but back in October 2011 I interviewed Sven-Göran Eriksson for a feature I did back then called ‘Talking City with Gary James’ – it was a feature I did for the Manchester City match programme. To mark Sven’s passing here are the words from the full piece as originally published. I always feel it’s best, where possible, to highlight an individual’s views on their career when they die rather than something less personal.

Here goes:

Earlier this season (2011-12) Gary caught up with former City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as he prepared for a Championship game with his present side Leicester City.  Sven moved into coaching in 1975 after a knee injury had brought a premature end to his playing career.  By the time he was 40 he had found UEFA Cup success and won domestic honours in Sweden, Italy & Portugal.  In 1999 he guided Lazio to ECWC success (with Roberto Mancini in his side) and later managed England to the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals.

A year after guiding England to the World Cup quarter-finals you decided to return to club management.  Your record suggests you could have gone anywhere and there were certainly various other clubs rumoured to be interested, but you chose City.  What were the specific reasons for joining the Blues?

It is a huge job and a huge club.  With new owners in place and the club in the Premier League, I felt that they were prepared to match my ambition and invest in new players.  I never for one moment regretted taking on the role.

Was the Club what you expected when you arrived?

Yes, definitely. It was and still is a good club, with great people.

Many fans felt the Club had stagnated for a while, so when you came it lifted spirits enormously.  Supporters loved your time at the Club and your presence boosted everything from atmosphere around the place to fans’ self esteem.  That was very important.  Could you feel that at the time?

Of course, Gary.  I felt it, yes.  We hit the ground running with some excellent football, entertaining the supporters and winning games.  I had a very good feeling around that time, and I sensed that the fans shared that feeling.

They did absolutely.  How did the fans treat you when you arrived?

They were first-class as they always are.  Recently, when I came back to the stadium with Leicester City for the FA Cup 3rd round replay (2010-11), they were great to me then and they will always mean a lot to me.

Your arrival brought immediate results.  You started the League season (2007-08) with three straight victories (West Ham 2-0, Derby County 1-0 & Manchester United 1-0) and topped the table.  What are your memories of these games?

We had six or seven players who had just signed for us and started very well, playing good, entertaining and attacking football.  I remember the Manchester United home game, when Geovanni scored.  We may have been a little fortunate, but it was a great result.

You made some excellent signings during your time at City, which player impressed you most and why?

There were many players we brought in who I thought had a great impact on the team, but I would have to say Elano and Martin Petrov – they were first-class.

I think their immediate impact was the most impressive part.  It all seemed to fit together nicely at that time, and the fans certainly appreciated the immediate transformation.  There were also several quality players already at City when you arrived.  Which of these impressed you the most?

A collection of players did very well and impressed me.  I would probably pick out Michael Johnson, who was a great talent and I am very pleased to have him on loan at Leicester, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Richard Dunne and Joe Hart.  I also felt that Stephen Ireland was incredible in training, he had such ability.

You mentioned earlier that City had new owners.  This was, of course, the early days following the takeover of Thaksin Shinawatra.  What did you make of him?

At the time he was very good for the club, no doubt about that.  The previous season they were struggling and then he could be seen, perhaps, as the transition between that period and what is going on at the club now (following the takeover by Sheikh Mansour).  

Is there anything you would like to ask Thaksin if you met him now?

I hope that one day he may actually explain to me why I was sacked, as he never did at the time.

City had some great results, including the Old Trafford victory over United to complete a double, what did you feel was the best game during your time and why?

Yes, that (United match) was definitely the game for me.  It was a very memorable match.  The club were a little concerned about the fact that it was on the anniversary of the Munich Disaster, but no one needed to worry as the City fans observed the silence perfectly.  It was such a silence I seem to remember that I actually felt it, if you know what I mean?

Yes, I do.  I was in the away section and had been a little annoyed that in the build-up to the match people had assumed City fans would disrupt the silence, but most genuine fans knew the truth.  I wrote several articles in the build-up to the anniversary explaining what it really meant to fans.  Post match City’s support were rightly acclaimed for their impeccable behaviour.  Thinking about the end of the season, can you explain why the final match at Middlesbrough ended in a 8-1 defeat?

Mentally we were not right at all that afternoon and obviously the scoreline reflected that.  It was a bad day, one that everyone wanted to forget and no one wanted to be a part of.

After the season ended you went on the Club’s tour to Thailand, was that a surreal experience and how did it feel knowing how the future was likely to go for you?

It was very strange I have to say.  A lot of people didn’t really want to go, but I urged people to go as we needed to show our professionalism.  In the end, I think the staff enjoyed the trip and the time out there was probably welcome given how things had gone at the end of the season.

How did your dismissal come about?  There were lots of rumours of you being dismissed before the Middlesbrough match.  Would you have stayed if asked?

I was told in Thailand, definitively that my time at the club was over.  Given the choice, of course I would have wanted to stay.  We were keen to build on what we had done in the first season and improve in the second season.  I had another year on my contract, so for me it was very disappointing the way it all ended.

Now that your former player Roberto Mancini is at City and found success, how do you feel the Club will develop?

I am certain that City will be one of the most important clubs in world football, I have no hesitation in saying that.  They have invested in quality players and also in improvements off the field.  They will be in the elite group of teams with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

That’s nice to hear and I hope it’s true.  Remembering your time in Manchester, what was the highlight and why?

I liked the job, the place and I loved the people too, but the weather I could do without.  It was too short a time to be there, but a time I look back fondly upon.

I think most fans share those views, although we have got used to the weather a little.  Apart from Manchester’s rain, what was the biggest disappointment and why?

The sacking of course, nothing else comes close.

Any final thoughts you’d like to share with fans?

Yes, Gary.  I want to wish Roberto, the club and the supporters all the best of luck.  Manchester City is a great club, one of the best and I hope that next season we will be able to join you in the Premier League.

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