Fifty years ago today (11 October 1975) a goalless draw with Burnley led to lots of issues at Maine Road. Dressing room disagreements (some say fights) led to captain Rodney Marsh being placed on the transfer list. Some fans protested but new captain Mike Doyle spoke out, explaining that the players supported the manager. Marsh never played for City again and in the games that followed Dave Watson and Tommy Booth both filled in as forwards in games (and both scored). Centre forward Joe Royle was injured as well.
While you’re here why not subscribe and read a 5,320 word article on the entire 1975-76 season – a season which saw Tony Book guide the club to major success. You can read this below.
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This is something I wrote a few years back about Ian Brightwell. I hope you enjoy it… Of all the players to appear in City’s 1986 FA Youth Cup winning side, Ian Brightwell is the one who ended up having the longest playing career with the Blues. He remained at Maine Road until 1998. By that time he had played for a total of ten permanent managers and numerous caretakers in a 12 year first team career. It’s a wonder any player could cope with so much change.
He made his debut against Wimbledon on 23rd August 1986 (their first game in Division One), around four months after the Youth Cup success over Manchester United: “Billy McNeill gave me my debut in the opening game of the following season against Wimbledon. He told me a few days before that I’d be playing. He came up to me and told me, and I couldn’t believe it. I’d only just turned 18, but I had a few days to prepare. We won the game 3-1 and it helped me that Steve Redmond was already in the side. Of that Youth side Reddo was first in and then it was me, and I remember us watching to see who would be next. My second game was at Anfield and that was a great experience. We drew the game 0-0 but how we got away with that I’ll never know. We were battered.”
Brightwell made 12 League appearances plus four as substitute that season, but it was not a great time for the Blues as City were relegated at the end of the campaign. Billy McNeill had left early in the season: “I had great respect for him and was really disappointed when he left. He was a real legend – first man to lift the European Cup for a British side. Jimmy Frizzell took over, so that helped as it was more of a continuation. But for me it became the norm that managers would be changed. I don’t think Billy should have left when he did. I’ve still got great respect for him as a person and of course as a football manager. I’ll always be thankful to him.”
Under Mel Machin the following season Brightwell became an established member of the promotion seeking side before the arrival of Gary Megson limited his chances for a while: “It was a strange season because it was the first time as a group those of us from the youth side weren’t winning. I know we’d been relegated the previous season, but by 1987-88 a few of us were regulars in the first team. We were disappointed and felt we should have done better. I missed the 10-1 against Huddersfield, but I appeared in the 6-2 against Plymouth a few days later. Those games did bring a lot of attention our way, but I’d rather City be consistent. We weren’t good enough overall, but the following year that experience helped push us on. But it was difficult in 1988-89 as well. It’s a tough division to get out of.”
Promotion was achieved on the last day of the 1988-89 season in a nerve-wracking match at Bradford: “The pitch invasion followed. I was carried off on fans’ shoulders and had half my kit ripped off me. In the dressing room I remember thinking how close we’d been to missing out.”
The following season there was yet another managerial change and Howard Kendall was brought in. Under his guidance Brightwell was given an extended run in the team and, on 3rd February 1990, he scored his most memorable goal. It was a marvellous 25 yarder against Manchester United at Old Trafford: “I remember that the ball was out on the right and Mark Ward sort of half-crossed it. It came to me and I’ll never forget this – I heard Steve Redmond on the half way line shout: ‘Bob…’ I’d best not say his exact words, but let’s just say he wanted me to have a go in his strong scouse accent! It was on my left foot, which isn’t my strongest, but I did what Reddo said. It went in the top corner!
“I ran off and jumped about twenty feet in the air – or at least that’s how it looks on the photos. I remember the noise because back then the away fans used to get about 10,000 tickets at Old Trafford and it was phenomenal.”
Afterwards an excited Brightwell, when asked to explain how he’d scored, told the media: “I just wellied it!” It became the expression of the season and seemed to match everybody’s impression of a boyhood dream come true.
In the years that followed Brightwell performed consistently and was loyal to the City cause. Many of his former youth team colleagues were transferred or, in the case of Paul Lake, suffered serious injury, but Brightwell remained: “It was odd once the others went. They didn’t all go at once and of course Lakey was injured, but it did feel different. We’d known each other as a group for about 15 years, so a big loss. But my incentive was always to stay in spite of everything else. I actually think that if we’d have had continuity of management during that time that we’d have all stayed. If that had happened… well just look at United. They had a crop of talented youngsters about ten years after us like Butt, Scholes, Neville, and so on and they grew as a team. We never got that chance.”
There were some bright moments for the Blues in the early Nineties, however the second half of the decade saw City plummet through the divisions. In 1998, after relegation to the third level of football, Brightwell moved on: “It broke my heart to see City fall so low but I still didn’t want to leave. It was a difficult decision but Joe Royle had explained that the Club couldn’t offer me a contract at the level I was on. In the end I had to go and I moved to Coventry who were still in the Premier League, but my first impression was that this was such a small club in comparison with City. They may have been two divisions higher but in my mind there was no comparison.
“It didn’t work out at Coventry and I became injured. I kept going back to Manchester to watch City whenever I could.”
After Coventry Brightwell played for Walsall (including an emotional return trip to Maine Road), Stoke and Port Vale, before moving into coaching. In 2004 he was caretaker manager of Port Vale and, in 2006, he performed a similar role at Macclesfield. In 2007 he became Macclesfield’s manager on a permanent basis, but was dismissed in February 2008. He admitted in 2010 that Tony Book and Glyn Pardoe, who had been City’s youth coaches during the Eighties, remained influential figures throughout his career: “It’s difficult to stress how important Book and Pardoe and some of the others were. When I moved into coaching and, of course, management at Macclesfield, I used a lot of the things they said. They were so influential and if you think about where they got it from – well that was Malcolm Allison and Joe Mercer. You can’t get any better. Tony Book used to always say ‘control and play’. It sounds simple but in essence that’s what the game is all about and I still use that. Tony and Glyn used to drum it into you in the A team.”
To the wider world Ian Brightwell may not be the most well-known player from City’s 1986 FA Youth Cup winning team, but in terms of commitment to the Blue cause and longevity he was certainly one of the most dedicated. He was also a passionate Blue from childhood: “It was the team I supported and I used to go down to Maine Road. Colin Bell was nearing the end of his career when I went but there were people like Asa Hartford, Peter Barnes and Gary Owen. City were still a major side at that time. I remember the year we missed out on the title by a point to Liverpool (1977) – we should have done it. Tony Book was manager and the players were a different class. It was great to watch.”
During his career it was often highlighted that Brightwell came from a family with a great sporting pedigree. His brother David also played for City, while his parents were successful British Olympic athletes: “I couldn’t ask for a better sporting pedigree. My mum (Ann Brightwell nee Packer) won a gold and a silver in Tokyo and my dad (Robbie) won a silver.”
On this day (9 May) in 1987 Manchester City were relegated after a 2-0 defeat at West Ham (see match report). At the end of the game City supporters and West Ham fans climbed over the fences and onto the pitch. Some thought that the two sets of supporters were about to confront each other, but the fans knew differently. The Hammers began chanting “You’ll be back” and both groups swapped scarves and souvenirs on the pitch. It was the kind of moment that should have been widely reported in the media but at the time focus tended to be on hooliganism and confrontation rather than the positives of football support. City had been relegated, but their supporters did not seek revenge. The West Ham fans could have ridiculed, but they didn’t. If only those condemning football fans at the time could have seen the two sets of loyal supporters genuinely appreciating and understanding each other.
The relationship between the fans of the two clubs is not something that is widely discussed or promoted but it is something that has endured. City fans have never forgotten the ‘You’ll be back’ game and in recent years, as others have unfairly mocked both sets of fans, the supporters of both the Blues and the Hammers seem to understand and respect each other. Inevitably, there will always be banter during a game but outside of the match the mutual recognition and respect always seems to win through.
To many West Ham are the City of the South – a proud football club with a great history and heritage, combined with a loyal and passionate fanbase.
You can read more on Ian’s debut season of 1986-87 below. This is a 2,500 word feature on the entire season and is available to subscribers.
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I’ve heard the sad news that the former Manchester City and Stockport County player Barney Daniels has died. He also played for Manchester United (though not in the first team), Chester City, Ashton United and Hyde United.
He joined City on 30 March 1973 and made his first team debut against Derby County on 6 Feb 1974 (report below). In total he played 3 games in 1973-74 (debut v Derby 1-0 win; 9/2/74 at Chelsea & came on as sub at Liverpool on 16/4/74).
Screenshot
The following season (1974-75) he made ten appearances and the first of those was against Leicester on 23/11/74 when he scored 2 goals and made the headlines as he helped City go to the top of the top flight (see following report):
Daniels moved to Chester City on 9 July 1975 (Chester’s record signing at the time) and went on to join Stockport County (July 1976), Ashton United (1978-82), Hyde United 1982 and back to Ashton United (1982-84).
At City he was a consistent performer for the reserves.
John Maddocks (City’s former statistician/historian in the 80s/90s) gave these notes he’d written on Barney in the late 1990s which are worth posting here: ‘Most enjoyable it was watching Barney Daniels in action in the Reserves in the 1970’s. He scored an average of almost a goal a game in 1973-74 including several hat-tricks and he deserved his first team chance when it came. He had had trials with Blackpool, scoring three goals in four reserve games, but was not taken on, and in his first season with Ashton United he scored 27 goals. City bought him for £1,000 and also played a friendly at Ashton.
‘Barney was top reserve team marksman in consecutive seasons from 1973-75, scoring 44 times.’
John’s stats showed that Barney made the following City appearances:
On this day (5 April) in 1969 Jimmy Mundy came on as substitute, replacing Tony Book, to make his Manchester City debut. The Manchester born player’s first appearance saw the reigning champions defeated 1-0 at Elland Road. Mundy was spotted playing for Ashland Rovers just before his 18th birthday, and after trials signed for the Blues.
His reserve debut came in December 1967 at left-half against Bolton Wanderers, and he went on City’s tour to the USA the following summer. Unfortunately, Mundy only managed a further two league appearances. After a loan spell at Oldham, Jimmy moved to non-League Bangor City on a free transfer.
You can read more on Manchester City during the 1968-69 season (another trophy winning season!) below. If you’d like to read this 6,000 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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On this day (3 April) in 1965 Manchester City defeated Plymouth 2-1 thanks to goals from Alan Oakes and Trevor Ogden. Mike Trebilcock scored for Plymouth. Tony Book played for Plymouth that day while Malcolm Allison was their manager. The following summer Allison would arrive as number two to Joe Mercer and the year after that Tony Book would become a Blue too. Incredible success followed of course!
The 1964-65 season was remarkable and, perhaps, demonstrated how bonkers things were at Maine Road before Mercer and Allison arrived. This was the season when a City director held meetings, hoping to merge City and United! If you’d like to read the following 2350 word article on that season, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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On this day (23 March) in 1968 came a game between two title challenging teams – Leeds Utd and Manchester City. The view was that this game could knock City out of the title race if it went Leeds’ way. So what happened? Here’s film of the game:
You can find out more aboutthe potential impact of this game by reading this subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1967-68 season. If you’d like to read this 7,600 word article (yes, 7,600 words on one season!), plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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It’s Tony Book’s funeral today and, all being well, I intend being there. Tony was one of the most important figures in the entire history of Manchester City and deserves to be remembered for ever more. Please spare a moment today to think of him. Over the years I met and interviewed Tony on many occasions. I last spoke with him at the MCFC Former Players Dinner earlier this season. As a tribute to him I’m posting here an interview I did with him back in May 2015 (I’ve posted this before but think it’s an appropriate moment to post it again). It wasn’t the first interview I did with him (that was in 1992 about Joe Mercer), but it is a reflective piece with Tony talking about his career.
I always think it’s important when someone passes away to use their words where possible to talk about their career. You can read it below. I’ve posted this exactly as it was written and published in 2015 so, obviously, references are to that era and before.
TALKING CITY WITH GARY JAMES
Tony Book joined City in 1966 and went on to become manager, winning the League Cup in 1976.
Let’s start with your birth certificate and the story that this was altered to give the impression you were a bit younger when signing. Is this true?
Ah, it’s true, but I didn’t actually alter it. My birth certificate had been folded with a heavy crease down it, and I needed it when I was moving from Bath to join Plymouth where Malcolm Allison was the manager. He told them I was 28 but I was 30. Luckily, when I opened out my birth certificate the fold had meant that the final number in the year wasn’t clear, so they just took Malcolm’s word for it! When I came here in 1966 I was 32 – for real – and we never hid my age.
It’s a good job, otherwise you’d have been celebrating your 80th two years late! When you signed for City Malcolm had to persuade Joe Mercer to ignore your age didn’t he?
Yes. Joe was a similar age when he joined Arsenal, as you know Gary, and Malcolm said “look at what you did at Arsenal Joe” – he captained them to a couple of League titles and the FA Cup. Little did we realise that something similar would happen to me at City. I always wanted to be a full time professional footballer and Malcolm gave me the chance. I went playing in Toronto – it was the first time I’d trained in the day because I was a bricklayer by trade and had to train at night back home – before Plymouth and Malcolm came and talked with me after I’d played against a team of Italians over there. He told me how much he liked my play and, well, after that he signed me for Plymouth and then City. I was always grateful to Malcolm, but joining City was perfect. The club under Joe and Malcolm was about to take off and I recognised as soon as I got here that there was a good nucleus of young lads who were ready. Doyle, Pardoe, Oakes, Dowd, Young… the list goes on. I came in just after they’d got promoted and everything felt right. I made my debut at Southampton on 20 August 1966 and, although that match ended goalless, it was clear those lads were enjoying their football. Of course, Summerbee and Bell had been added and then Francis came in October 1967. That’s when we really took off.
Tony Book 1969
How did it feel to be made captain of this team?
When Johnny Crossan left I was made captain because of my experience in football, not because of experience at the highest level because I didn’t have that. But what I did know was football and the way a team operates. I came to professional football late, but back then non-league teams did have quite a few former League players. Some actually gave up League careers because, in the end, they could earn more in non-League and regular employment. I always felt I had something to offer the younger guys because of that experience.
Being totally honest, what did you feel you’d do at City? Did you think you’d be there for as long as you were?
I hoped I’d get a couple of years. That’s all I felt I could get and I would have been very happy with two years at Manchester City, of course. Back then City owned some club houses and I went in one – paying about £2.50 a week! Because of what happened and the way the success came in my second year, Gary, I felt I could go on again. Winning the League in 1968 was like a spark and I wanted to keep the flame going.
Thinking about the title winning season of 1967-68, there were quite a few standout games. What are your memories of those?
There was the Spurs game at Christmas when we sharpened our studs to keep a grip on the surface and we really played a graceful, stylish game. There was the derby at Old Trafford when I made a mistake. I was playing the sweeper role, I let the ball bounce, and George Best went through and stuck it right in the net in the first minute! I couldn’t believe it and the lads lifted me and, Gary, we went on to play a brilliant game. We won 3-1 and that set us on course, but we still had nine games to play. None of us had ever won a major trophy, but Malcolm and Joe were brilliant during that period. Malcolm was great at relaxing us and there was never a doubt in his mind, and then in our minds, that we wouldn’t win it. We believed in ourselves and with Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee and Francis Lee we knew we had that something special that champions need. I always felt that if we went behind one of those three would get us out of trouble. We had a great team throughout of course, and we complimented each other well across the park. We all knew our roles.
After winning the League you suffered an Achilles injury, did you think that was the end?
No, but I was desperate to get back. I tried everything. My leg was in plaster and as soon as they took it off I tried. I played in a reserve game and Sidney Rose, the doctor who was also a director, saw me struggle. I felt it go again. He stuck a needle in me and I had to rest. In the end I went to Christie’s, had a shot of radium, and that seemed to take the sting out of it all. I don’t know whether that was the right treatment or not, but I began training and came back to the first team in January.
Clearly, losing your influential captain for such a large period of the season had its effect on City in the League and in their first European Cup campaign, but once you returned you guided City to FA Cup success. Was this another fairytale season for you?
I guess it was because winning the FA Cup was amazing. It was important for us to keep our success going and the FA Cup was viewed as something special, but I have to tell you Gary, that now, when I look back, I realise that we were not consistent in our challenge for the League. We consistently challenged for trophies, but not in the League. Today, we have such a wonderful team that has been able to challenge for the League season after season, but back then we were more inconsistent. We had good days and bad days, but almost any team in the division could challenge back then. There were no easy games. In 1969 I also shared the FWA player of the year with Dave Mackay, so it was a good season. People had suggested I’d win it the year before because I’d played every game and we’d won the League. I was getting a lot of praise but George Best won it that year. So, the year I won it, it was a surprise. A great feeling and I remember being at the award dinner. For me though, it was an achievement for the entire team. You need a good team around you to win awards like these, and we certainly had a great team.
What are your memories of City in Europe during that time?
There was Malcolm’s boast about scaring Europe which set us up, but then in the ECWC 1969-70 we did. The final is the strongest memory but mostly because of the rain. We had a great following of fans, but few locals and Gornik fans were there, and they were all drenched. I felt so sorry for them. We won the cup, of course, and that season we’d also won the League Cup. I wanted to go on forever by that time. I was enjoying it and those two years became four and I was 36. I couldn’t wait for the next season. I was like an 18 year old who had just been given his chance.
1971 ECWC v Chelsea. Tony Book and mascot Paul Todd. Photo by Alan Jubb
Is there anything from your playing career that you would change if you could?
Ah, yes. I gave the referee an elbow at Ipswich! He’d disallowed a goal. At Ipswich, you had to go down a corridor as you went in at half time and as I turned I deliberately elbowed him. He went down. I was called to an FA disciplinary meeting and the first question they asked was “would you like your past record to be taken into consideration?” Well, I’d only been a pro for a couple of years so I said yes, thinking it’ll be great. They then brought out information going years back from my non-league days and it all worked against me!
When it came time to retire from playing, was that your choice?
No. Johnny Hart had been manager but was ill and Peter Swales asked me to take over on a temporary basis in October 1973. I managed the team for about five weeks until Ron Saunders came in and he had a chat with me suggesting I was needed more as a coach/assistant than a player. I wish now I’d said I wanted to finish playing at the end of the season because I think that would have helped him more. There were issues between him and some of the playing squad and I think I could have helped him, had I been a player. He was insistent though.
Ron Saunders, Peter Swales and Tony Book at Saunders appointment in November 1973
It’s a shame because we got to the League Cup final (1974) and with you in that team, maybe things would have gone differently. Saunders didn’t last as manager and was gone in April that year. How did you feel?
You see things happening but are unable to change it. It was tough. I ended up being given the manager’s job and it was a strange period because we’d had turmoil over that season. I also had to start looking at my pals, the players I had won trophies with, and explain that they needed to move on. I didn’t want to do that and I found it very hard. Awful!
As a manager I was proud that in the five years that followed we won the League Cup, finished runners up by a point to Liverpool, and we were in Europe for three consecutive seasons. I had some good players that came in – Dave Watson, Brian Kidd, Asa Hartford – and did an excellent job for me. I felt we were on our way.
From the moment you took on the job it was progress all the way through and, just before Malcolm returned as ‘coaching overlord’ in January 1979, we had reached the UEFA Cup quarter finals. What was it that made you a success in that role?
The players. It’s always about the players you manage to sign and what they do for you. I was more like Joe Mercer as a manager and had good coaches working with me. Bill Taylor was recommended to me by Don Revie and he was a great coach.
Tony Book, Peter Swales and Kaziu Deyna at Deyna’s signing for Manchester City
City may not have won many trophies during your spell as manager, but we came close, had some great players and, significantly, this was an exciting period to watch. Then Malcolm came back. Did you welcome the return?
Malcolm is such an important figure in my life that I cannot say anything but positives about him as a man. I will always be indebted to him. But I knew that it couldn’t work when he came back. I knew the chairman, I knew Malcolm, and I knew how they both worked. There was no way they would have been able to work together. It was as simple as that. That’s what the main difference was between the 60s and 1979. In the 60s we had Albert Alexander as chairman who worked wonderfully with Joe and Malcolm, but it was different in 1979. It was such a shame, because I thought we were going somewhere.
Silkman, Allison & Book after Peter Barnes scored v Tottenham 3 February 1979
On a day to day basis, what was it like working during that period?
It varied but there were players like Gary Owen and Peter Barnes who I felt had a lot to offer, but they were moved on. It’s difficult to go through it all, but as we know it failed and we were dismissed in October 1980. I stayed briefly and then became Cardiff manager. I missed Manchester but was delighted that under John Bond that season ended with the FA Cup final against Spurs. I got a phone call from John Bond asking me back to City to look after the youth team and I said I’d think about it. In the meantime there was the FA Cup final and as it was the 100th final they invited all surviving captains of cup winning sides. Myself, Roy Paul, and Joe Mercer (Arsenal) were on the pitch with the others and all of a sudden they announced my name and the City fans erupted into song. It really got to me, emotionally, and I knew I had to come back. It was one of the best feelings I ever had. Returning to City was the right thing and I had a wonderful time working with Ken Barnes, Glyn Pardoe and all those talented young lads. We won the Youth Cup in 1986 and it was a real pleasure being there at the start of so many careers.
This year I’ve interviewed quite a few of the players who had progressed through the youth team while you were there. Every one of them has talked with affection about your approach, driving them on. I think it’s amazing really that your influence has been there at City year after year since 1966. How does it make you feel to have had three great distinct careers at the club?
I love this club and am grateful to all those who brought me here and involved me for so long. Whenever I’ve been given a job to do I’ve always tried to give my best. When it all came to an end in the 90s it hit me hard and there were issues that were well documented, but since then Francis Lee and I have resolved our differences. Actually, I think it says something that so many of our former players come to games these days, and all of those players from that Mercer-Allison team are so proud of how this club is challenging once more. We’re enjoying the success and the consistency season after season. Having said that I loved my days as a player and would never swap them… I would have loved us to have these pitches though. They’re perfect. How great would the likes of Colin Bell have been on these surfaces?
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On this day (31 January) in 1968 Manchester City defeated Reading 7-0 in a FA Cup replay. As the players left the field the Elm Park tannoy announcer claimed: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, you have just seen one of the greatest teams England has produced in a long time.’
Goalscorers were Mike Summerbee (3), Colin Bell, Tony Coleman, George Heslop and Neil Young. This photo is of the Bell, Lee & Summerbee statue at the Etihad today.
Dozens of letters arrived at Maine Road commenting on City’s performance. Many Reading fans wrote in saying they could have watched the Blues all night. Other letters arrived commenting on how well behaved the City supporters were, while fans themselves commented on the cheerfulness of the Reading police.
These points may seem trivial today, but in 1968 football had already begun to enter its hooligan period. Football supporters had started to be seen as trouble causers and incidents of violence, or of vandalism, soon found their way into national newspapers. Although City supporters were never totally blameless, during the late 1960s Blues fans continued to gain commendations rather than condemnation.
You can read more on this remarkable, trophy winning season below. If you’d like to read this 7,600 word article (yes, 7,600 words on one season!), plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.
For those lucky enough to get the match programme for today’s game at the Etihad my programme feature focuses on Tony Book and Denis Law. It’s not extensive as I’m sure they’ll also be featured elsewhere, but I wanted to make sure I made mention of them in my piece too.
City v Chelsea has been an important fixture over the decades with European semi finals played between the sides over fifty years ago for example. Many of these are featured on this website, so why not have a search around. Here’s a link to all articles tagged Chelsea on here:
Continuing the series of features on the 1960s, here’s a wonderful film from the Manchester derby played at Maine Road on this day (21 January) in 1967:
The game ended in a 1-1 draw before almost 63,000 at City’s old stadium. You can read more on the 1966-67 season (a 3200 word article; plus all other articles on the site) if you subscribe (see below). As with most of the other features in this series it includes words from interviews I have performed with those who were there.
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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.
Gary James' Football Archive 