Old rivalries are renewed this weekend when the two giants of Manchester football clash for the 170th time.
Manchester City take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday 25 October, so we looked back 100 years to delve into that fascinating history.
The two teams first met on 12 November 1881, as ‘West Gorton’, now Manchester City FC, and ‘Newton Heath’, now Manchester United FC. Newton Heath soundly beat their rivals 3-0. Over the intervening years, City have won 49 contests, with United taking the spoils 70 times.
On 25 September 1915 a crowd of 16,000 watched the two sides re-ignite the conflict at Old Trafford in what would have been Manchester United’s 24th season in the Football League and their ninth in the First Division.
The total cost of the tickets was £600 – adjusting for inflation, some £62,000 in today’s money.
Still, this would be a bargain in 2015, with Manchester United fans – those who can get tickets – paying an average of £50
each.
With the outbreak of the First World War, all Football League matches were cancelled, and teams instead played in a ‘War League’, which was split between northern and southern teams.
Opposited City and United in their league were the likes of Southport Central, Bury, Oldham Athletic, Blackpool, Liverpool and Preston North End.
Managed by Jack Robson and still in their classic full red kit, United put out a team of Mew, Ireland, Pennington, O’Connell, A. Davies, Gipps, D. Davies, Woodcock, Halligan, West and Wilson.
The much-fancied Sky Blues – who would finish the season at the top of the War League – saw a team of Goodchild, Henry, Fletcher, Bottomley, Henderson, Brennan, Broad, Wynn, Fairclough, Barnes and Jones.
The fast pace of today’s Premier League was nowhere in evidence.
In fact, it was a fairly trying first half as both teams struggled against a sodden pitch.
But United took an early advantage when Hallligan scored after eight minutes: West belted a shot towards Goodschild in the City goal, who could only parry the shot back into Halligan’s path.
A sudden flurry of action around the United box saw Mew save twice: first from Barnes, then a fierce shot from Jones which nearly squeaked an equaliser for City.
United were to suffer when they had two goals disallowed by the referee, first from Halligan and that man, West, which would have made it 3-0 before half time and most certainly have killed off the game.
A further blow came when Wynn was carried off injured just before the half time whistle. Although he gainfully struggled against the injury and attempted to come out for the second half, he was forced to withdraw.
City came out rejuvenated, as Henderson drove a stinging shot across goal which Mew managed to save, however Broad regained possession and nicked a perfect pass through to Barnes who slotted it past the United keeper to make the score 1-1.
United almost snatched the winner in the closing minutes when Pennington drove a shot at goal which was cleared to safety by Henderson.
The final whistle blew and honours were shared between the two Manchester clubs.
The point put City at the top of the league, two points clear of Everton, whilst United were fourth from the bottom.
Earlier that year Manchester United and Liverpool became embroiled in a now-infamous betting scandal, when seven players, three from Manchester United and four from Liverpool were banned from playing football for life.
United were struggling to avoid relegation while Liverpool were safely in mid-table.
Ahead of their Good Friday clash, players decided to rig the match for a 2-0 United win, betting large amounts of money on the outcome.
Billy Meredith denied any involvement but told a Football Association investigation that he became suspicious during the match when none of his teammates would pass him the ball.
All of the players seemed to be aware of the fix, but many refused to take part: Liverpool’s Fred Pagnam threatened to score to upset the corrupt players and even hit the crossbar in the final minutes, later testifying against his teammates.
It took until December 1915 – two months after the Manchester derby – for the FA to decide on a ban.
For United: Sandy Turnbull, Arthur Whalley and Enoch West were told they would never play again, while Liverpool saw Jackie Sheldon, Tom Miller, Bob Pursell and the brilliantly named Thomas Fairfoul come acropper.
The a decision which was reversed in 1919 for all players except Enoch West, in recognition for their services to the country in the First World War.
It is hard to think of Liverpool doing Manchester United any favours in this day and age, such is the animosity between the two clubs.
Manchester United take on Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday 25 October 2015, with the kick-off at 14.05pm.
I am going for a 2-1 win for the Reds, if not then 1-0, see me on Monday if I am not correct!
