The recent ceremony organised via the Celtic Graves Society marking the grave of former City manager Tom Maley has brought a few mentions of the great man.

Few City fans today probably know Tom’s story in detail and to be fair some won’t know his name. It is for this reason that I thought I’d share some basic stories and comments about him. He really is a manager all City supporters should be aware of. Without him Manchester’s Blues may never have found success at all.

Tom Maley was, without doubt, the first truly great Manchester manager, not simply City’s first great manager.

He had been a successful player in Scotland during the 1880s and was a member of Celtic at formation in 1888. Nicknamed ‘Handsome Tom’, his time at Celtic was mainly as an administrator and as such he is recorded by Celtic historians as one of the club’s most important early figures. Interestingly, despite being a proud Scotsman, he was born in Portsmouth on 8th November 1864.

He arrived at City’s first proper home, Hyde Road, following the Blues relegation in 1902 and immediately encouraged the Blues to play stylish football. His view was that playing in the Scottish passing style – uncommon in England at the time – would bring the club success and would excite the fans. He was right. At this stage in English football the key tactic seemed to be to run with the ball until it was taken from you or you were able to have a shot, whereas Celtic in particular had perfected a passing style which seemed to bamboozle most sides.

By the time he arrived in Manchester he was known as an excellent football administrator and tactician and, by adopting the passing style, he turned City into a major force. According to a 1920s journalist, Maley built the Blues: “It was when Tom Maley came to Hyde Road that Manchester City may be said to have entered fully into their kingdom. Under his management, he built a team for the club that was comparable with the mightiest sides in the country.

“I never happened a greater enthusiast than Maley, nor yet a better informed man. If Maley had had average luck he would have gone down in history as one of the most successful managers the game has known. It is enough to say that so long as Maley was at the helm, the family at Hyde Road was a particularly happy one.”

At City he managed to attract great players and the club’s popularity increased as a result. City’s average attendance exceeded 20,000 for the first time during his reign as the Blues became Manchester’s premier club, although it’s fair to say Maley’s first few weeks were a particularly difficult time for the Blues. Welsh international and star player Di Jones gashed his knee during the pre-season public practice match and, despite treatment from the club doctor, within a week the wound had turned septic and the played died. Another significant player Jimmy Ross also died that summer. Maley had to lift spirits quickly.

His first League game ended in a 3-1 win and the Blues went on to lift the Second Division championship in Maley’s first season. This was a remarkable achievement but more was to follow in 1903-4 when Maley’s men won the FA Cup for the first time in their history. The Blues were the first Manchester side to win a major trophy and the feat had come a mere ten years after formation as Manchester City F.C.

In addition City narrowly missed out on the double, finishing second to Sheffield Wednesday after fixture congestion forced the Blues to play five League games and the cup final in the space of 16 days! No squad rotation possible back then. Who said fixture congestion was a modern phenomenon?

City’s success wasn’t popular with the footballing establishment – in particular the southern based FA – and FA Officials soon arrived at Hyde Road to check up on the young northern upstarts. They found one or two discrepancies over transfers but nothing major, however the following year Maley’s side were once again bidding for the League title. A controversial match with Aston Villa gave the FA another opportunity to investigate the club’s affairs and this time the FA claimed to have found widespread anomalies including overpayments to players. Tom Maley was questioned at length and admitted that he had followed what seemed like standard English practice. He claimed that if all First Division clubs were investigated, not four would come out ‘scatheless’. He was right but it was City the FA seemed determined to punish and they suspended 17 players and 2 directors. But the harshest sentence fell on the Chairman and on Maley. They were both suspended for life.

The northern based Football League and the footballing press supported the Blues but the FA got their way and Maley’s brief but successful reign was over.

Maley suffered more than most by the unfortunate events of 1905/6, and his role in football history has been tainted forever by the F.A.’s harsh treatment. However, in the eyes of thousands of Mancunians he is remembered as the man who brought exciting football and the F.A. Cup to the city for the first time.

Without his period at Hyde Road, Manchester may never have found real football success. Many of his players were forced to join United after the scandal of 1905, and went on to bring the Reds their first trophy success only a few years later. Had Maley been allowed to develop those players further who knows what success may have come City’s way. I reckon he would have created a dynasty at Hyde Road.

After City he became a headmaster in Glasgow, but in July 1910 the F.A. lifted his suspension and the following February he became Bradford Park Avenue’s manager. The Bradford club gave him full control of team affairs – something unusual at the time – and he remained there until March 1924. During his reign the club achieved its highest position (9th in Division One, 1914-15), and for a period played in his beloved green and white hoops. During the First World War he is said to have acted like an “amateur recruiting sergeant” and was famous for his entertaining lectures.

After Bradford he is said by some to have managed Southport between May and October 1925, and then in 1931 he temporarily took over as Celtic manager from his highly successful brother Willie during a trip to the USA.

On 24th August 1935 he passed away at the age of 70. Had his time at City not ended prematurely, it’s possible he would be remembered today as one of Britain’s most successful managers. As it is, he should always be remembered as one of Manchester’s greatest leaders.

I’ve added a few references/images concerning Tom to my facebook. Take a look at the folder “Research – Maley”: http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=289818652815

Early in 2012 I will be announcing details of my next history book on City via http://www.facebook.com/GaryJames4

Tom Maley’s City Career Details

Secretary/Manager – July 1902 – July 1906

Took Over From: Sam Ormerod following the Club’s first relegation.

Inherited: The legendary Billy Meredith and Billy Gillespie.

Players Brought In Included: Sandy Turnbull & George Livingstone – both major stars.

Nickname: Known as ‘Handsome Tom’ in Glasgow

First Game: City 3 Lincoln City 1 (City scorers Willie McOustra 2 & Fred Bevan), 6 September 1902, attendance 16,000.

High Points: Coming close to the League & Cup double in 1903-04 and developing a quality side that truly represented Manchester for the first time.

Lows: The scandal that rocked City in 1905-07 and caused the Club to be severely punished.

Last Game: Birmingham 3 City 2 (City scorers Herbert Burgess & Irvine Thornley), 28 April 1906, attendance 3,000.

Season By Season Record:

League
1902-03 P 34 W 25 D 4 L 5 GF 95 GA 29 Pts 54
1903-04 P 34 W 19 D 6 L 9 GF 71 GA 45 Pts 44
1904-05 P 34 W 20 D 6 L 8 GF 66 GA 37 Pts 46
1905-06 P 38 W 19 D 5 L 14 GF 73 GA 54 Pts 43
2 points for a win

FA Cup
1902-03 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 3 Reached 1st round
1903-04 P 6 W 5 D 1 L 0 GF 12 GA 3 FA Cup winners
1904-05 P 2 W 1 D 0 L 1 GF 3 GA 3 Reached 2nd round
1905-06 P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 GF 1 GA 4 Reached 1st round

TOTAL (League & cup fixtures)
P150 W89 D22 L39 GF 322 GA 178

Trophies Won: FA Cup (1904) & Second Division title (1903). His brother managed Celtic to Scottish Cup success in 1904 to complete an unusual double.

He Said: Talking about City’s 1904 homecoming in which, it was widely reported, the entire population of Manchester turned out to welcome the Cup winners home: “Perhaps the love of sport had something to do with the bringing together of so great a gathering, but love of Manchester had much more to do with it.”

(I love this quote and included it in the Introduction to my book on all of Mancunian football “Manchester A Football History”:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= … permPage=1

They Said: “I never happened on a greater enthusiast than Maley, nor yet a better informed man. If Maley had had average luck he would have gone down in history as one of the most successful managers the game has known” – A 1920s journalist for Athletic News.

Followed By: Harry Newbould.

Eighty years ago, United were struggling, dying in fact, and City were dominant.  Yet City did more than you’d expect to help United survive against a third club that threatened the Reds’ existence. 

Manchester football historian Gary James explains how football history in the north-west could have been very different had Central been given a League chance.  This is an adapted version of a story first revealed in Gary’s excellent “Manchester A Football History.”

In recent years much has been made of the growth of FC United of Manchester and their impact on support, community work and attitudes in Manchester.  However, the United offshoot were not the first Mancunian side created following dissatisfaction among supporters. In fact FC United arrived 80 years after a bigger offshoot had seriously challenged the livelihood of Manchester’s two major sides. The difference being that in the Twenties it was Manchester City’s move to Maine Road that prompted the creation of a new forward-looking club – Manchester Central FC, who joined the semi-professional Lancashire Combination in 1928-29.

One of the main figures behind Central was former City director John Ayrton, who that felt that Maine Road, in the south of Manchester, was too far from City’s old base in the east: “Ever since the City club left the Hyde Road district, I have thought of having a club on this side of Manchester. Our whole object is to develop local talent, and gradually to build up the club so that one day it may take its place in the Third Division of the Football League. Manchester has the biggest sporting community in the provinces. Surely then we have every reason to hope that there is plenty of room for our club.”

Many well known figures in Manchester football were involved in the creation of Central, including the great Billy Meredith, plus Charlie Pringle and Charlie Roberts, former captains of City and United respectively. As with FC United, the side attracted significantly better players than many of their Combination rivals – who included Morecambe, Chorley and Darwen – simply because of who they were. Central was chosen as a name so that the club could use the initials MCFC, which were spelt out on the ironwork above the main entrance of their 40,000-capacity Belle Vue ground on Hyde Road, half a mile from City’s old stadium.

After a couple of failed attempts, Central were on the verge of League football when Wigan Borough withdrew from Division Three (North) during October 1931. Central, now based in the Cheshire League, immediately offered to take over their fixtures. The existing Division Three sides supported Central’s application, including, significantly, Stockport County, who saw Central’s acceptance as being a positive development for local football.

In the Daily Dispatch, journalist ­“Adjutant” commented: “Manchester Central potentially are not merely a Second Division, but a First Division club of the future. There should be room in Manchester for three League clubs.” Second Division United and First Division City did not share the enthusiasm. Working together they complained to the League and, as they were classed as full members of the League while Division Three’s clubs had fewer rights, the League rejected Central.

The local press was appalled, as were many City and United supporters. So why did the two clubs object? At first glance it would seem that Central’s aim to be “the new MCFC” simply upset City. However, the truth is that Central were actually more of a threat to United, who were struggling on and off the pitch. Crowds were small – United’s nearest home gate to Central’s bid was 6,694 (against Notts County) and that was almost double United’s crowd for the opening game of the season at Old Trafford (3,507).  Central attracted several crowds higher than this despite being non-League.

Respected journalist Ivan Sharpe of the Sunday Chronicle argued that Central should have been admitted because United were failing: “A third club in Manchester would not damage the City at all seriously. It would build up football interest. I don’t like the way Manchester is slipping back in football. Where are those 30,000 football followers who used to assemble at Old Trafford? The odd 25,000 are missing. It is time something was done about it.”

Central were hugely disappointed and chairman George Hardman said: “We think there ought to be League football in the Belle Vue area, where there are 440,000 people within two miles, and a million people within four miles. This is surely enough for two League clubs in a place like Manchester. There seems to be a sad lack of enterprise so far as League football is concerned.”

It seems Hardman deliberately ignored United when he talked of “two” clubs as he knew it was the threat to United that was the deciding factor. Ivan Sharpe: “In view of Manchester United’s sorry position I certainly think Manchester Central should have been admitted.” “Nomad”, writing in the Evening Chronicle, held a similar view: “Keen disappointment is expressed that Manchester is not to have a third Football League club, especially as there is a splendid ground available at Belle Vue, and that Manchester United are so signally failing to keep Manchester on the football map.”

Within a year Central folded, feeling the close relationship of City and United would continue to severely restrict their progress. At City the 1930s proved to be a golden era with record crowds and significant success, while United struggled. Post-1945 it all changed, of course, but had Central been accepted into the League during 1931 then football in Manchester today might have been very different.

For more information about Gary’s books have a look at: http://www.facebook.com/GaryJames4

Manchester – A Football History is the definitive record of the development of football in the Manchester region and has significant content of interest to City fans.

To buy “Manchester A Football History” click here.

31 year old Polish World Cup captain Kaziu Deyna arrived in Manchester in November 1978, after an incredible transfer. According to journalist Nick Harris, the whole transfer started as a result of a Barry Davies match commentary on BBC during the 1978 World Cup: “During one of Poland’s early games Davies made an off the cuff comment that Deyna would be interested in playing club football in Western Europe.” According to Harris that comment was heard by another journalist, John Roberts of the Guardian, and he contacted Peter Swales. John Roberts: “He told me City were looking for a midfield player and asked if I knew any who might be available. I mentioned Deyna because I’d heard that BBC commentary.”

On City’s behalf contact was made with the Polish coach Jacek Gmoch and Gmoch told Roberts: “I do not think there would be a great problem for a club like Manchester City to have Deyna. I know he would like to move and Manchester City seems to be the kind of club which would suit him. In my opinion, Deyna has enough stamina and ability to be able to offer at least two seasons in the highest grade of football anywhere in the world. He was feeling down, psychologically, after the World Cup finals, but that was to be expected and he is now as enthusiastic as ever.”

A complicated series of negotiations followed with the Polish Army – Deyna was a player with army side Legia Warsaw – and the Blues ended up paying around £100,000 in medical equipment, white goods, photocopying machines, and US dollars. The American money helped Poland fund the overseas training of their 1980 Olympic athletes.

In 1995 former Chairman Peter Swales looked back on the transfer: “I actually went over to Warsaw. This was when it was an oppressive communist state – not like it is now. All the players were in the army, and I had to see the commanding officer. I remember he brought Deyna in and when he came in he was in his uniform looking very smart. He saluted the colonel and did everything you’re supposed to do when you’re in the army. Within a short while he was making the excuse that he had to go back to training and I though ‘this is terrific… got to get back to training… this is what we want from all our players… this is great’. It looked as if it was the greatest signing ever because he was a great player. But you’re suddenly bringing him from a strict regime to a very loose life.”

When Deyna arrived at Manchester Airport he was greeted by club officials and City fans, and his arrival was perceived as one of the most important transfers by any club during the Seventies. It was anticipated Deyna’s arrival would further push Tony Book’s exciting side forward for glory, however, looking back, Deyna’s City career was not as great as it ought to have been.

The Pole made his debut in the 2-1 defeat at home to Ipswich in November 1978, but he was not a regular member of the side until April, by which time Malcolm Allison was back at Maine Road. During those final games of the season Deyna netted 6 goals in 7 games and seemed to be at the level anticipated, but not everyone was impressed. According to Peter Gardner, writing for the Manchester Evening News, in 1979: “Most of the Football League’s other imported stars settled down with some degree of success. Unfortunately the story for Deyna, arguably the most famous of all the immigrants who were allowed to invade these shores once League barriers were lifted, has been slightly different.

”Criticisms about the wisdom of City importing a foreign player at the wrong end of the age scale were quickly levelled at the Maine Road club. It was suggested that City were misguided in their pursuit of a player whose best days may have been during Poland’s glorious World Cup exploits of 1974.”

Deyna’s early days with the Blues were difficult because, at first, the player could speak no English and adapting to the pace of English football was a struggle, but as those final weeks of the 1978-9 season showed there were glimpses of great ability. It was also clear Deyna possessed terrific vision, something he felt the other City men lacked. Talking in 1979 he claimed: “I came to Manchester with the idea that I would first try to create scoring opportunities for the other players and then, when I settled in, I would try more shots of my own. But there are not many players in the City side who can read my passes. The problem with the forward players is that sometimes, when a good pass is made, they are lost and not sure what to do.”

It is possible Deyna’s language problems may have changed the emphasis of his comment. Maybe the real problem was the speed of the game and his age. A year after arriving he denied he had problems: “I am not a granddad yet. I am capable of playing food football until I am thirty-five. I chose to come to City because of their past reputation and good results in the English League as well as European competitions.”

“There is no substitute for experience. Age is certainly no detriment and I feel the way the English game is played suits my temperament and personality. Realistically, I would have preferred to have been able to leave Poland two or three years earlier, but this was not possible. We had a rule that stipulated no player could leave the country until he had reached the age of thirty. It was then that my former international colleague Lubanski [former Gornik player who had faced the Blues in the ECWC in 1971] left to go to Belgium. However, this rule has now been scrapped. The case of any player wanting to leave Poland is judged on its merits.”

After these rather negative comments he managed six goals in 22 League appearances during the 1979-80 season. Many of those goals were crucial – especially those which brought victory against Middlesbrough and Forest in October 1979 – but City were not having a great time in the League and it was felt Deyna excelled when City were in the top half of the table rather than the bottom. In October 1980 Malcolm Allison was replaced by John Bond as manager. Deyna had only made one full appearance out of a possible ten. The game he played was against Stoke, and Alan Durban Stoke manager commented: “The problem is, Deyna’s on a different wavelength. He’s tuned to Radio Four, and the others are on Radio Luxembourg.”

Under Bond, Deyna had less opportunity to shine and in January 1981 he moved to San Diego Sockers. He continued to play professionally until 1987 and then became a coach in the States. Sadly, in September 1989 he was killed in a car crash in California. It was a tragic end.

Deyna’s name may not be too familiar to many supporters today, however he did have a great international career – earning 102 Polish Caps – and was a very entertaining player. He once told the media: “I don’t need Malcolm Allison to tell me I am a great player. Pele told me I am a great player.” The comment perhaps says more about the situation than the facts. It clearly reveals Deyna was not as happy as had been hoped, but it also recognises that most of Deyna’s real achievements had been significant. The sad fact is they occurred away from England.

Deyna may not have achieved the success at City we all craved and expected, but he did provide a few flashes of genius during his Maine Road career. His name also entered the record books as the last City player to score in European competition prior to the club’s return to Europe in 2003-04.

It’s also worth noting that he also appeared in the footballing/wartime film, Escape to Victory, with Mike Summerbee and Sylvester Stallone.

Gary James is the author of Manchester A Football History and Joe Mercer, OBE: Football With A Smile, both available from Amazon.