Frank Swift XI For Mercer’s Sheffield United

Here’s an interesting piece of floodlit football history from 70 years ago. On 24 October 1955 Joe Mercer’s Sheffield United played a team of former internationals selected by Frank Swift, the ex-Manchester City ‘keeper. Mercer was selected by Swift to play for the old internationals against the team he was manager of.

The game ended in a 4-1 victory to Sheffield United, though the Swift XI goal owed much to Mercer and was scored by ex-Manchester City star Peter Doherty.

Here’s a report of the game:

The 1920s: Wembley

The new series on Manchester City in the 1920s continues today with a 4,900 word subscriber article on the 1925-26 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

Here’s the article:

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The 1920s: The English Hampden

The new series on Manchester City in the 1920s continues today with a 3,000 word subscriber article on the 1923-24 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

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As well as subscriber pieces this series on the 1920s includes some free articles. Watch out for a daily post.

The 1930s: 1938-1939 A Worrying Time

My series on Manchester City in the 1930s continues today with a subscriber article on the 1938-39 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you don’t subscribe then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

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The 1940s: Manchester City 2 Sheff Utd 1

A week after winning 3-2 at Football League North league leaders Sheffield United, Manchester’s Blues do it again on this day (27 April) in 1946. This time they beat the Blades 2-1 before 19,241 at Maine Road (although this report from the MEN suggested there were only about 15,000 there when the game started). The City scorers were Maurice Dunkley and George Smith. The image shows a Manchester Evening News report published that evening.

Although this game was played in peacetime the regional war leagues were still being played, with the Football League returning the following season.

There was FA Cup action though and you can read about that in the following feature on the 1945-46 season.

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

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The 1940s: Sheff Utd 2 Manchester City 3

On this day (20 April) in 1946 Manchester City defeated the Football League North league leaders Sheffield United 3-2 at Bramall Lane. The City scorers were Lew Woodroffe, Jimmy Constantine and George Smith. The image shows the results from that day.

A crowd recorded as 40,000 watched this match. Although this game was played in peacetime the regional war leagues were still being played, with the Football League returning the following season.

There was FA Cup action though and you can read about that in the following feature on the 1945-46 season.

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

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The 1920s – The First All-Manchester FAC Semi-Final

On this day (27 March) in 1926 the first all-Manchester FA Cup semi final occurred. You can see film of that game here and subscribers can read about the match below. Here’s the film from Bramall Lane:

https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/51947/

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An Interview About Joe Mercer

I was interviewed on this day (17 February) in 2021 about the great Joe Mercer for the ‘esk podcast’ – an Everton podcast. I talk about meeting Joe; about writing his biography; about Joe’s time at Everton, Arsenal, Manchester City and so on. I also tell the story of Norah Mercer insisting that Bobby Charlton phones me to apologize (it was somewhat of a shock at the time)! We also discussed Everton and City in preparation for their game that night (17th February 2021). No matter who you support it’s well worth listening to.

The podcast can be accessed here:

https://play.acast.com/s/1c7cca11-92ad-58f8-b31b-49145958bc80/602d41a1c5f50f5b203f5312

While you’re here why not see what else has been posted on City and Everton: https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/everton/

You can access other esk podcasts here: https://shows.acast.com/the-esk-podcasts

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Manchester City 2 Sheffield United 0

Here’s film from this day (30 December) in 2023 of the World Champions defeating Sheffield United 2-0 in their first home game following their return to England. City had won the FIFA Club World Cup earlier in the month. City’s goals came from Rodri and Alvarez.

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/sheffield-united-premier-league-home-extended-highlights-63839535

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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The 1900s: 1901-1902 Ormerod Ousted

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 1800+ word article telling the story of 1901-02.

Ever wondered how Manchester found its first major trophy success or what the scandal that rocked City was all about? Then subscribe and read this series of articles.

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More on the 1900s tomorrow. Why not subscribe and read this and all the other subscriber features?