Tag Archives: Supporters club

Manchester’s Female Football Fans-100 Years Ago

This week 100 years ago in Cumbria (as it’s now known) a local newspaper talked of the support both Manchester City & United received from women. This article suggested it was a new phenomenon but I’ve lots of evidence of female support at Manchester’s clubs goes back many decades before 1923. In fact City we’re issuing specially discounted season tickets to women from formation as MCFC in 1894.

Incidentally the Corinthians it mentions at the end of the piece is the famous male amateur team of the era, not the famous women’s team of the 40s to 80s.

Rock Bottom!

What a Valentine’s Day this was: Here’s a 1500 word article on a major turning point in the fortunes of Manchester City. I’ve called this ‘Rock Bottom!’ because that’s what we all felt that day but it did get worse! On this day (14 February) in 1998 City were defeated 1-0 by near neighbours Bury at Maine Road. It was a 2nd tier game and this defeat brought home the realisation that the Blues could be relegated to the third tier for the first time. There are lots of angles to the story and my article includes quotes from interviews I have performed with some of the key figures. John Wardle talks about the situation and there are also quotes from that weekend from David Makin and Frank Clark. City have moved on a lot since then but it’s important to remember that day and how we felt. Here’s the subscriber article:

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Video of my online talk on history of MCFC Support/Match Day at Maine Road

Earlier today (Saturday March 5 at 3pm UK time) I did an online talk/presentation on the history of Manchester City’s support and match day at Maine Road. It was a celebration of fans and a reminder of Maine Road. I’ve now posted below a free to view video of the talk for anyone to watch…

The online talk lasted over 1 hour and was recorded live, so you should able to access it anywhere.The talk covered the history of Manchester City’s support with particular reference to:

•Match day ritual at Maine Road

•The Viking Call

•The ‘Boys Stand’

•Record crowds

•Songs & chants

•Fancy dress, bananas & bells

•Fanzines

•The Supporters Club

I had a couple of technical issues but you can watch it now here:

I’m keen to hear thoughts on the idea of doing other talks like this for subscribers to my site. If you’re interested then please get in touch and let me know what you’d like me to talk on. I have quite a few ideas I’m keen to do and am also open to suggestions. Thanks.

If you enjoy the talk then please subscribe to my site. I am a self employed historian and spend all my working week writing, researching and publishing my work. I am not an employee of any organisation (I know some think I’m employed by a football club but I’m not an employee of any club). I am independent of any organisation and care passionately about the quality and accuracy of my work.

A limited amount of content will always be free for anyone to read but those subscribing will have access to everything on this site for as long as they subscribe. For subscribers I guarantee to post a minimum of 4 articles alongside adding material from my archives each month (in practice it’s been much more than this!). To subscribe costs £3 a month or £20 a year (a reminder that the 2010 edition of Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 when published and is now out of print but available to subscribers as a downloadable pdf as part of their subscription.).

If you’re uncertain whether to subscribe or not then why not subscribe for a month at £3 and see if you’re getting value for money. The £20 annual subscription works out about £1.67 a month for a guaranteed 4 new articles per month and access to everything else posted in the archive.

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Last Chance to Book: Free Online Talk on History of MCFC Support/Match Day at Maine Road

Tomorrow (Saturday March 5 at 3pm UK time) I will be doing an online talk/presentation on the history of Manchester City’s support and match day at Maine Road. It will be a celebration of fans and a reminder of Maine Road. If you want to watch/listen you’ll need to register by noon tomorrow (UK time; Saturday 5th March 2022). Details of how to do that are below…

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online, so you should able to access it anywhere. It will cover the history of Manchester City’s support with particular reference to:

•Match day ritual at Maine Road

•The Viking Call

•The ‘Boys Stand’

•Record crowds

•Songs & chants

•Fancy dress, bananas & bells

•Fanzines

•The Supporters Club

This presentation and talk is based on my popular 2019 talk at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester (if you attended that you will already have seen it!). I go into detail about the history of City’s support and celebrate some of the unique aspects of over 125 years of Manchester City FC.

This is a free event but there are a limited number of tickets. These must be ordered in advance. There is a limited capacity and no one will be able to join the event without first registering. If you want to participate. Book here:

Register on Eventbrite

San Francisco Blues

Recently I’ve been in San Francisco and was there when Manchester City played Spurs. I was invited to watch the game at Maggie McGarry’s with the San Francisco Blues. It was a great experience (we’ll ignore the result!) and here are a few thoughts and a bit of film from the day….

Firstly, I want to pay tribute to ALL the City fans who were there and who made us feel so welcome. It’s clearly a great supporters club and we really enjoyed our time there.

I’ve always been proud of the fact that MCFC has been a welcoming club over the decades and fans of the Blues have tended to be welcomed no matter where they are from or who they are. The San Francisco Blues are just as welcoming with wonderful hospitality too.

The branch contained several exiled Mancs, British and Irish members, as well as many, many US born City fans. This was great to see and I enjoyed listening to their stories of how they became City fans, or of how they came together to watch games at the bar. Two Mancs actually went to the same school (1 year apart) but didn’t know each other until they met in San Francisco through their City support. One was a history teacher in the States and asked me ’Was Billy Meredith guilty of the bribery charge?’ Hopefully, US children will now hear the rights and wrongs of FA investigations into perceived nouveau riche clubs, as City were called back in 1905 (I know!).

Some had travelled a couple of hours to get to the bar for the 930am kick off (California time of course!). from what I heard the same happens for earlier kick offs – some feat when you consider a regular 3pm UK kick off would be 7am local time. The landlord, who is also a Blue, opens the bar early for City games.

A few of the branch members had travelled to the Champions League final last year and others told me of their plans to get to the away games at Everton and Peterborough. The atmosphere on Manchester Derby Day is always special there – I think we’re all looking forward to next weekend. I’ll be in my regular seat by then of course but if you are a Blue in San Francisco get yourself down to Maggie McGarry’s.

I often get angry when rival fans or some in the media criticise football supporters for their loyalty, or when some state that ALL City fans are this or that when the truth is that we’re varied and have come to support City in lots of different ways. We live all over the world and show our dedication to the cause in ways that some don’t understand. Fans spend a considerable time, amount of money or put themselves out in lots of different ways to support their club.

I could go on but I’d just like to say thanks again to the San Francisco Blues. Their facebook page is here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SFMCFC/?multi_permalinks=5040337162654422%2C5033026926718779%2C5037452739609531%2C5034885366532935%2C5032028846818587&notif_id=1645716259585487&notif_t=group_activity&ref=notif

Here’s the scene at the bar when City equalised:

David Humphreys from the branch is heavily involved with a football club called San Francisco Vikings, formed in 1922. They focus on bringing kids through from age 3 onwards to adult leagues and to sponsor kids who can’t pay to play.

It may be some time before I’m in San Francisco again, but when I do make it I’ll aim to get back to the San Francisco Blues. Thanks again for making us so welcome.

Free Online Talk on History of MCFC Support

On Saturday March 5 at 3pm (UK time) I will be doing a talk/presentation on the history of Manchester City’s support. If you want to watch/listen you’ll need to register. Details of how to do that below…

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online, so you should able to access it anywhere. It will cover the history of Manchester City’s support with particular reference to:

•Match day ritual at Maine Road

•The Viking Call

•The ‘Boys Stand’

•Record crowds

•Songs & chants

•Fancy dress, bananas & bells

•Fanzines

•The Supporters Club

This presentation and talk is based on my popular 2019 talk at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester (if you attended that you will already have seen it!). I go into detail about the history of City’s support and celebrate some of the unique aspects of over 125 years of Manchester City FC.

This is a free event but there are a limited number of tickets. These must be ordered in advance. There is a limited capacity so please book early if you want to participate. Book here:

Register on Eventbrite

Free Online Talk on History of MCFC Support – Register Now

On Saturday March 5 at 3pm (UK time) I will be doing a talk/presentation on the history of Manchester City’s support.

The talk will last about 1 hour and will be online, so you should able to access it anywhere. It will cover the history of Manchester City’s support with particular reference to:

•Match day ritual at Maine Road

•The Viking Call

•The ‘Boys Stand’

•Record crowds

•Songs & chants

•Fancy dress, bananas & bells

•Fanzines

•The Supporters Club

This presentation and talk is based on my popular 2019 talk at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester (if you attended that you will already have seen it!). I go into detail about the history of City’s support and celebrate some of the unique aspects of over 125 years of Manchester City FC.

This is a free event but there are a limited number of tickets. These must be ordered in advance. Subscribers can order their tickets now. There is a limited capacity so please book early if you want to participate. If any tickets are left I will open this up for non-subscribers at a later day (though this cannot be guaranteed of course). Further details below for subscribers:

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Book your ticket for the talk and access all the articles, interviews and archive material on this site when you subscribe today.

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City Voices Project: More MCFC Fans’ Views Needed

An update on the City Voices project… It’s been over a year since I announced the project which will capture and archive the memories, stories and views of MCFC fans but, due to COVID, I’ve not been able to interview many fans. I’m still keen to gather these stories, which will be archived at MCFC for future generations too! Read on for more information…

Following on from my successful project capturing the stories of the women who played for and the people involved with Manchester City’s women’s team throughout its 30+ years of existence, a similar project was launched more than a year ago to capture the stories of Manchester City’s fans.

I will be capturing the stories of the club’s fans over the next year and you can help contribute to this great project. I’m keen to hear from and interview fans to ensure their stories and experiences are captured and retained for ever.

If you would like to help the project and provide your stories then please complete the questionnaire below and send it to gary@GJFootballArchive.com as soon as you can. Unfortunately, due to time constraints at the moment I will not be able to reply to all emails. I will certainly be reading every questionnaire and those stories will be captured for posterity. 

In addition, I will be interviewing some fans during 2022. Hopefully, this will be via face-to-face interviews may follow. If you would like to be considered for interview then please complete the relevant section on the questionnaire.

Updates on the project will follow over the coming months, including details of how these stories will contribute to our knowledge and understanding of what it has been like to support Manchester City over the decades. 

One important point to note is that I am keen to hear from fans of all ages based in Manchester, the United Kingdom and around the world. The greater the number that respond the better the archive of fans stories will become.

Please help this project and ensure the memories, stories and lives of City fans are captured for posterity. Thanks to those who have already completed the questionnaire – some of you are still on my list for potential interviews (apologies for the delays – COVID has been a bit of an issue for us all of course!).

Here’s the questionnaire:

https://gjfootballarchive.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/city-voices-modelconsent.docx

Thanks,

Gary

Gary James and Peter Barnes Talks – Nov & Dec

Over the coming weeks Peter Barnes and I will be talking at various locations about the biography I have written on Peter. Here’s a brief rundown of the locations and dates, starting with tomorrow night (Tuesday 2nd November 2021):

Tuesday 2nd November – West Yorkshire MCFC Supporters Club (8pm; Morley Cricket Club, Scatcherd Lane Morley, Leeds LS27 0JJ)

Thursday 4th November – Castleton MCFC Supporters Club (7pm; Royle Bowling Club, 958 Manchester Road, Castleton, OL11 2TL)

Monday 8th November – Denton, plus Haughton Green, branches of the MCFC Supporters Club (Denton Conservative Club, 45 Manchester Rd, Denton, M34 2AF)

Thursday 11th November – Abbey Hey MCFC Supporters Club

Tuesday 16th November – Orrell MCFC Supporters Club (7.30pm)

Friday 19th November – Ashton under Lyne MCFC Supporters Club

Friday 26th November – Stretford & Urmston MCFC Supporters Club

Thursday 2nd December – Warrington MCFC Supporters Club

Monday 13th December – Wilmslow MCFC Supporters Club

Monday 20th December – Irlam MCFC Supporters Club

At each talk/evening we’ll be selling the book at a discounted price of £15 (cash only) and we will, of course, sign copies for those in attendance. Obviously, our diaries are pretty full with events and other activities but if you are interested in myself and where possible Peter talking about the book at your event then please contact me with details and we’ll see what we can do: gary@GJFootballArchive.com

This 372 page, colour paperback book is £16.95 (including UK postage). For those interested in buying the book but unable to attend you can order it here:

The Peter Barnes Authorised Biography – UNITED KINGDOM

Order today for £16.95 (incl UK Postage and Packaging).

£16.95

UK postage included; outside UK contact me for additional postage costs. You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.

Thanks Reddish!

I’d like to thank Howard Burr and all at Reddish MCFC Supporters Club for making Peter Barnes & I so welcome last night. It was a great night and we really enjoyed talking about the book.

Reddish is a great branch (if you’re local and not a member then why not?) and it was wonderful to be in a room with City fans again.

Thanks for supporting the book and keep up the excellent work. Some great questions and I hope our answers encouraged a few to take a look at the book and see what it’s all about.