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With City and Palace now scheduled to meet in the FA Cup final it’s worth remembering that on 20 February 1926 City recorded an amazing victory over Palace in the competition. It was a fifth round FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace at Maine Road. The Blues, without a manager since November, were being managed by committee with director Albert Alexander senior making the final decisions. It’s an incredible thought that a director without ever being known as a player, could make these decisions but Alexander was a knowledgeable football man and had been with the club since formation in 1894.
By half-time the score was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again. By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper shoulder high. Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. The other scorers were: Billy Austin, George Hicks and Tommy Johnson.
With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances. Here’s film of the game:
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:
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Here’s an action image I found while researching about thirteen years ago of Manchester City v Preston North End played at Hyde Rd on 20 December 1913. That day a crowd of about 20,000 watched as the two sides drew 1-1 with Tommy Browell scoring for Manchester’s Blues.
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It’s Day 98 of my Maine Road 100 countdown to the centenary of Maine Road’s first game. I hope you’ve enjoyed these. Today it’s about the players who have scored most goals in individual games at Maine Road. Any ideas who may be heading the list and how many goals they may have scored in a single game at Maine Road?
The following are the players who have scored most in a single game for each of the domestic competitions at Maine Road:
League: 5 goals – scored by Tommy Browell v Burnley 24/10/25 & George Smith v Newport 14/6/47
FA Cup: 5 goals – scored by Frank Roberts v Crystal Palace 20/2/26
League Cup: 4 goals – scored by Dennis Tueart v Notts County 29/10/80. You can see stuff on this here:
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For Day 91 of the 100 day Maine Road countdown until the centenary of City’s old stadium is a flashback to one of the earliest seasons for the old place. In particular I’m talking about a remarkable City victory against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, way back in 1926. Why is this significant? Well, it was possibly the first season or at the least the prime example of a season when the old phrase ‘Typical City!’ was first established. Fortunately Typical City rarely raises its head these days but back in 1925-26 it was very much to the fore. Read on for more…
City hadn’t had a manager since November 1925 (believing instead that vice chairman Albert Alexander could lead the other directors in selecting the team) and were struggling in the League when the Blues played a FA Cup fifth round tie against Crystal Palace on 20 February 1926. The tie turned out to be a fifteen goal thriller with City in rampant form.
By half-time the score at Maine Road was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again.
By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper Callendar shoulder high. It’s the sort of thing City fans would do back then! Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. Browell had been ill for most of the week and had been unable to train.
With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances.
Remarkably, film of the game has survived and can be viewed here:
Tomorrow Manchester City face Arsenal in the League and there’s the possibility that national goalscoring records could be broken once again. A few weeks back I calculated that if Erling Haaland maintained a goal a game ratio in the remaining League fixtures for Manchester City he would better Tommy Johnson’s 38 goal tally by a goal. Since then Haaland, who is already City’s seasonal record scorer in all competitions, has indeed kept up that ratio – in fact he has surpassed it – and has now broken another barrier: 30 League goals in a season.
To celebrate this I’ve put together a feature comparing every player who has scored 30 goals or more for City, plus those Premier League goalscorers whose achievements could be bettered by Haaland this season. Here goes….
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This article is available for subscribers. It costs £20 a year (here) to access this and everything else on the site, including books, videos and 100s of articles.
Today (20 February) in 1926 Manchester City recorded an amazing victory. It was a fifth round FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace to Maine Road. The Blues, without a manager since November, were being managed by committee with director Albert Alexander senior making the final decisions. It’s an incredible thought that a director without ever being known as a player, could make these decisions but Alexander was a knowledgeable football man and had been with the club since formation in 1894.
By half-time the score was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again. By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper shoulder high. Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances. Here’s film of the game:
City hadn’t had a manager since November and were struggling in the League when the Blues played a FA Cup fifth round tie against Crystal Palace on this day (20th February) in 1926. The tie, played at Maine Road turned out to be a fifteen goal thriller with City in rampant form.
By half-time the score was 7-0 to the Blues, but Palace would not give up and quickly pulled back four goals. City were knocked out of their period of complacency and soon found their goalscoring touch again.
By the end it was 11-4 and, according to a number of spectators present on the day, Manchester fans rushed on at the final whistle and carried off the Palace ‘keeper Callendar shoulder high. Apparently he had played extremely well and, somehow, managed to keep the score down, although one cannot help wondering if he’d have been given such a reception had the scores been reversed.
Frank Roberts was the City star for this particular game, scoring a remarkable five, while Tommy Browell also earned a few plaudits with his hat-trick. Browell had been ill for most of the week and had been unable to train.
With no management and such a miserable time in the League, no one could believe how City had been able to deliver such strong cup performances.
Remarkably, film of the game has survived and can be viewed here:
Here’s an action image I found while researching about ten years ago of Manchester City v Preston North End played at Hyde Rd on 20 December 1913. That day a crowd of about 20,000 watched as the two sides drew 1-1 with Tommy Browell scoring for Manchester’s Blues.
Gary James' Football Archive 