Football writing, thoughts and more by Gary James
Despite beating Kyiv 1-0 thanks to a Kolarov goal at home Manchester City were knocked out of the UEFA Cup on this day (17 March) in 2011. The first leg had ended in a 2-0 defeat. You can watch highlights of the second leg here:
This season would of course end in success with City winning the FA Cup.
The 19 February 2020 saw Manchester City defeat West Ham 2-0 at the Etihad. The game had been scheduled to be played ten days earlier but had been postponed due to the weather and this was the first time City had played in 16 days. Details and highlights below:
Goals from Rodri (30 mins) and De Bruyne (62). The win came shortly after UEFA had banned City (later overturned of course) from European competition and their were several banners and chants directed at this unfair decision. After the match Pep Guardiola was asked about UEFA and Manchester City: ‘We are professionals on the pitch, what happens off it we cannot do much. We talked about what we have to do until the end of the season, especially for the people who love this club. We will play our game the best as possible. We have a lot of interesting things to play for… I love this club. I like to be here. This is my club and I will be here, no matter.
‘We appeal. When someone believes they are right they have to fight. The club has to fight and I trust the club 100% what they have done and they have explained to me. This situation is not finished and we will wait. But until it is resolved you have to play and play, and that is what is going to happen.’
Here are the highlights of the game:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/man-city-west-ham-extended-highlights-63717730
On this day (15 September) in 1976 Manchester City defeated Italian giants Juventus 1-0 at Maine Road in the UEFA Cup. A crowd of 36,955 watched Brian Kidd net the only goal. You can read about the game and watch highlights here:
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On this day (13 September 1972) Manchester City drew 2-2 at home to Valencia in City’s first UEFA Cup tie. The City scorers were Ian Mellor and Rodney Marsh. You can read more about that game here:
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You can read other articles about Rodney Marsh here:
This day (15 August) in 2020 was the latest date a football season had ended for Manchester City. Sadly, the Blues were defeated 3-1 in the Champions League quarter final v Olympique Lyonnais. There are some highlights here if you want to see them:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/city-lyon-match-highlights-63733124
On this day (14 August) in 2003 the City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad Stadium) staged its first competitive game as City defeated TNS 5-0 in the UEFA Cup. Relive that night (and Granada TV!) with this video of the game:
On this day (7 August) in 2020 Raheem Sterling scored his 100th goal for Manchester City. Not only that but this was City’s latest victory (2-1 v Real Madrid, Champions League) in a football season. The season had been halted and then restarted due to Covid. You can see highlights of the game here:
https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/city-real-madrid-champions-league-highlights-63732419
On this day (31 July) in 2008 Manchester City played a home game at Barnsley. This game made history as it was the first occasion the Blues had played a home European tie outside of Manchester. Previously City had played home European games at Maine Road and at the City Of Manchester Stadium, but work at Eastlands following a concert by Bon Jovi prevented the Club from staging the game at home. The decision was taken to stage the match at Barnsley. Subscribers can read about both legs of the European tie here:
On this day (November 23) in 1978 Manchester City drew 2-2 with Milan at the San Siro. Here is a 1100 word piece plus rare colour photos from that highly significant UEFA Cup game (which should have been played a day earlier – details below).
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When the Champions League home game for Manchester City was played in Budapest on 16th March 2021 due to the Covid situation some asked ‘have City ever played a home match away before?’ Well, yes City have and the first time this happened in European competition was on this day (July 31) in 2008. Co-incidentally City take on Barnsley tonight (6pm, July 31 2021) at the Academy Stadium. I wonder how many there will even know about this oddity of City history in 2008. Here’s the story of the 2008 game…
The close season of 2008 saw several behind the scenes changes at Manchester City. One of these was the arrival of Garry Cook, who would eventually take on the title of CEO, and another was the appointment of former Manchester United star Mark Hughes as manager. Both seemed pleased with their welcome from fans but behind the scenes the two men were surprised at how the club acted at times. The first surprise of the season was that City’s initial home UEFA Cup tie of the season had to be played away from Manchester. The stadium, as was often the case during the close season, had staged a concert. The Bon Jovi concert prevented the ground from recovering in time for the Streymur return and so the decision was taken to move the game to Barnsley. Some supporters felt the game could have been staged in Greater Manchester or at least in Lancashire, and so the trip to Barnsley was not viewed particularly positively by fans.
This game made history as it was the first occasion the Blues had played a home European tie outside of Manchester. Previously City had played home European games at Maine Road and at the City Of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad), but work following a concert by Bon Jovi prevented the club from staging the game at home. The decision was taken to stage the match at Barnsley.
Subscribers can read about the first leg here:
Subscribers can read about the first leg here: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2021/01/09/manchester-city-in-europe-2008-09-v-eb-streymur-at-home-in-barnsley/
Incidentally, that first leg (played on July 17) meant that City had played a competitive game in every month of the year (not the same year obviously but the Blues had played in the usual football season August to May plus June 1947 and now July 2008). Covid also resulted in games during June and July in 2020 and 2021.
City comfortably won the second leg 2-0 with goals from Petrov three minutes into the second half and Vassell in the dying seconds, however there was some criticism in the media. Graham Chase, writing for The Times, claimed: “Another European win in July, but as with the first-leg victory over this amateur team from the Faroe Isles two weeks ago, Manchester City again looked very much a side working their way through pre-season as they overcame EB/Streymur at Oakwell last night through goals from Martin Petrov and Darius Vassell.
“This tie has only ever been an inconvenience to Mark Hughes and, while his team again failed to shine, the new manager is pleased to be in today’s draw for the UEFA Cup second qualifying round with no new injuries to concern him.
“Not that opportunities were in short supply. City had 36 efforts on goal, but their finishing was poor and René Torgard, the EB goalkeeper and a garage mechanic, was in impressive form, making fine saves, particularly from Vassell and Daniel Sturridge. Even when Torgard was beaten, the woodwork denied Vedran Corluka and Petrov.”
For some fans the game raised the concern that football seemed to play second fiddle to other activities. It was understandable that financial considerations had played their part, but supporter Sean Riley was not impressed: “This is why there is no other club like us. What club can have a high profile owner and a new manager in Mark Hughes, and then his first game in charge at City is played at Barnsley because four rockers have messed the pitch up! That can only ever happen at City as Noel Gallagher would say. It was a total lack of professionalism and planning. It suggested that other activities were more important than football at a club that liked to think of itself as a major club.
“I know these things take organising, but we knew we’d be in the UEFA Cup in May and we’d hoped we’d be in it much earlier than that, so we should have thought about this. Mark Hughes and Garry Cook must have thought, ‘what the bloody Hell have we come into here?’ I know the ground had to have UEFA accreditation or something so that would have limited options, but to be in that situation was poor.”
Looking back on 2008, it seems an alien world to today.
Match details:
31st July 2008
Qualifying Round 1 Leg 2 (at Barnsley)
Attendance: 7,344
City 2-0 EB Streymur
City Goalscorers: Petrov & Vassell
City: Hart, Onuoha, Dunne, Richards, Ball, Fernandes (Hamann), Johnson, Elano, Petrov (Etuhu), Vassell, Sturridge (Evans)
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