The 1930s: 1929-30 Supporter Backlash

My series on Manchester City in the 1930s begins today with a 1,300 word subscriber article on the 1929-30 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)?

Here’s the article:

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As well as subscriber pieces this series on the 1930s includes some free articles. Watch out for a daily post.

POSTPONED GAMES

The postponement of any game is rare. Obviously, the 2019-20 Covid hit season was different and in the days before undersoil heating icy conditions would often lead to postponements. However, Manchester City have suffered many postponements over the years. So for today’s feature I’m talking a look at some of them.

This is available to subscribers. Why not subscribe for a month and see what you think?

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More on the City-United 2009-10 postponed game here:

The 1900s: 1905-1906 An Unjust Ban

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 2200 word article telling the story of 1905-06 when the FA ban almost destroyed Manchester’s Blues. This story is one of skullduggery (by other teams too!) and powerful figures seeking to limit opposition.

All of this sound familiar? Well, get a brew and start reading below if you’re a subscriber. Maybe read yesterday’s feature first?

If you’re not a subscriber then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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

The 1900s: 1904-1905 Villains

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 3000 word article telling the story of 1904-05 when the FA Cup holders and League runners-up were suddenly under scrutiny from the FA. Viewed as a nouveau riche club, the feeling was that City couldn’t possibly have found major success so quickly. Remember they only became MCFC in 1904. This story is one of skullduggery (by other teams too!) and powerful figures seeking to limit opposition.

All of this sound familiar? Well, get a brew and start reading below if you’re a subscriber. If not then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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

The 1900s: 1903-1904 The FA Cup

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 9400 (yes that’s right!) word article telling the story of 1903-04 when Manchester won its first major trophy. If you’re a subscriber you’ll need to get a brew before reading this celebration of that season. If you’re not a subscriber then why not?

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.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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

The 1900s: 1900-1901 Attendances

The series of features on the 1900s continues today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1900-1901 when Manchester City finished 11th in the First Division (top tier). There were 18 clubs in the division that season. Despite this relatively low position, City were the second best supported club – the highest position either Manchester team had enjoyed up to that point. League champions Liverpool were the 5th best supported club. Newton Heath (MUFC) were still a Second Division club and were 22nd best supported team.

All these figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.

Match programme for 29 September 1900. Manchester City v Stoke

In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.

1900-1901 Average Attendances

AverageTeam
18700Aston Villa
18300Manchester City
16225Everton
15800Newcastle
15000Liverpool
13600Sheff Utd
11525Sunderland
10575WBA
10175Bolton
9950Sheff Wed
9450Notts County
9350Nottm Forest
8375Middlesbrough (2)
8050Derby
6950Bury
6850Stoke
6575Blackburn
6325Preston
5900Small Heath (2)
5900Woolwich Arsenal (2)
5850Wolves
5475Newton Heath (2)
4975Leicester Fosse (2)
4625Grimsby (2)
3725Stockport (2)
3575Lincoln (2)
3125Walsall (2)
3100Burnley (2)
2850Barnsley (2)
2825Chesterfield (2)
2800Glossop (2)
2675New Brighton Tower (2)
2375Burton Swifts (2)
2075Burslem Port Vale (2)
2050Gainsborough Trinity (2)
1850Blackpool (2)

This series of features covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success. Why not subscribe and read every feature?

More on the 1900s tomorrow.

The 1900s: 1899-1900 Attendances

The series of features on the 1900s starts today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1899-1900 when Manchester City was a First Division club for the first time. They were the third best supported club – the highest position either Manchester team had enjoyed up to that point. In fact City had been the best supported club for the opening months of the season as the heading photo shows (that’s from 20 January 1900).

All these figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.

Manchester City with the Second Division Shield, 1899

In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.

1899-1900 Average Attendances

AverageTeam
19825Aston Villa
16725Newcastle
16000Manchester City
12925Everton
11325Liverpool
11175Sheff Utd
10475Sunderland
8950Notts County
8125Derby
7875Nottm Forest
7700Stoke
7150Sheff Wed (2)
6575Wolves
6475Blackburn
6250Leicester Fosse (2)
6225Newton Heath (2)
6175WBA
5925Burnley
5925Middlesbrough (2)
5775Bury
5050Small Heath (2)
4825Preston
4800Bolton (2)
4125Woolwich Arsenal (2)
4000Glossop
3775Grimsby (2)
3775Lincoln (2)
2950Chesterfield (2)
2875New Brighton Tower (2)
2525Walsall (2)
2400Barnsley (2)
1875Gainsborough Trinity (2)
1675Burslem Port Vale (2)
1650Loughborough (2)
1650Luton (2)
1500Burton Swifts (2)

This series of features covers Manchester City in the opening years of the twentieth century. Why not subscribe and read every feature?

Tomorrow there’ll be a subscriber article on the 1900-01 season in a similar style to those recently posted on the 1890s. Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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

The 1890s: 1898-99 Attendances

The series of features on the 1890s continues today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1898-99 when Manchester City was a Second Division club – but look where they are in the attendance table! These figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.

Glossop North End 1898

In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.

1897-9 Average Attendances

AverageTeam
20675Aston Villa
18150Newcastle
14525Everton
13975Liverpool
12300Sunderland
10675Notts County
10000Manchester City (2)
9850Sheff Utd
9400Blackburn Rovers
8875Sheff Wed
8850Nottm Forest
8025Stoke
7775Newton Heath (2)
7550Wolves
7450Leicester Fosse (2)
7325Bolton
7225Derby
6125Burnley
6025Preston
5775Small Heath (2)
5200WBA
4600Burslem Port Vale (2)
4525Bury
4475Woolwich Arsenal (2)
3350New Brighton Tower (2)
3325Grimsby (2)
3000Lincoln (2)
2875Walsall (2)
2775Luton (2)
2750Glossop (2)
2400Barnsley (2)
2375Burton Swifts (2)
2275Gainsborough Trinity (2)
1900Loughborough (2)
1500Blackpool (2)
900Darwen (2)

This series of features covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success. Why not subscribe and read every feature? Here’s a link to the story of the 1898-99 season:

Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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

The 1890s: 1897-98 Attendances

The series of features on the 1890s continues today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1897-98 when Manchester City was a Second Division club. These figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.

From 9 May 1898 the first Manchester football programme was a mock up based on Everton Liverpool programme

In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.

1897-9 Average Attendances

AverageTeam
17550Everton
15325Aston Villa
12125Liverpool
11800Sheff Utd
11600Newcastle (2)
10925Sunderland
9475Sheff Wed
9050Derby
8600Notts County
8300Bolton
8050Blackburn Rovers
8000Manchester City (2)
7875Woolwich Arsenal (2)
7425Nottm Forest
6950WBA
6925Wolves
6825Stoke
6200Preston
6125Newton Heath (2)
5900Leicester Fosse (2)
5400Small Heath (2)
5200Bury
3825Burnley (2)
3525Grimsby (2)
3325Luton (2)
2950Lincoln (2)
2825Walsall (2)
2600Darwen (2)
2300Burton Swifts (2)
2250Gainsborough Trinity (2) (2)
2050Loughborough (2)
1825Blackpool (2)

This series of features covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success. Why not subscribe and read every feature? Here’s a link to the story of the 1897-98 season:

Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

More on the 1890s tomorrow. Why not subscribe and read this and all the other subscriber features?

The 1890s: 1896-97 Attendances

The series of features on the 1890s continues today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1896-97 when Manchester City was a Second Division club. These figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.

In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.

1896-97 Average Attendances

AverageTeam
15525Everton
12925Aston Villa
11675Liverpool
8575Bolton
8300Derby
8200Sheff Utd
8075Newcastle (2)
8000Manchester City (2)
7300Sheff Wed
6775Blackburn
6725Preston
6425Wolves
6275Woolwich Arsenal (2)
6200Newton Heath (2)
6150Bury
6000Leicester Fosse (2)
5825Small Heath
5550WBA
5525Sunderland
5425Stoke
5300Leicester Fosse (2)
5175Burnley
5125Nottm Forest
4850Notts County (2)
4800Grimsby (2)
4500Small Heath (2)
3325Gainsborough Trinity (2)
2950Blackpool (2)
2875Walsall (2)
2650Burton Wanderers (2)
1500Darwen (2)
2325Burton Swifts (2)
2075Loughborough (2)
1675Lincoln (2)

This series of features covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success. Why not subscribe and read every feature? Here’s a link to the story of the 1896-97 season:

Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

More on the 1890s tomorrow. Why not subscribe and read this and all the other subscriber features?