Champions - Manchester City 1968

BBC feature on Manchester City's 1968 title winning side

[@plasteredbastard]

For years we were an average struggling league team. When Mercer landed he assembled the finest group of players, each one worked harder for the other. They had an indefatigable spirit and played as hard as they performed. Finally success materialized in the late 60's and early 70's. Before Mansour this was the period we could look to for inspiration and hold our heads up. We lost Colin Bell today but truthfully he is where our great lineage begins, along with Doyle, Lee, Summerbee and Young. He will forever be a talisman in our history. God love him and the indelible memories we'll forever share. His name will always loom over the strident history of this amazing club.

[@citymad2mancitymad644]

I'm so proud to be a blue and seen bell lee Summerbee etc the team was full of stars great players and great times sad news of the passing of THE KING COLIN BELL a true gent and great sportsman he was my hero and much loved by the CITY fans .... rip the KING is sleeping now GODBLESS .

[@any1younger]

We didn’t LOSE The King - he was broken by a career ending tackle by Martin Buchan. Just as Alan Oaks career was finished by George Best and Haaland by Keane. There’s a common theme here isn’t there..........

[@fatClyde]

Nice words but can I add the City team that won the FA Cup in '34 and the Div 1 title in 36/37 and the following Charity Shield were perhaps the 1st great City team. Not only because my Grandad was Frank Swift :)

[@koksie0456]

@@fatClyde Wait, THAT Frank Swift?

[@thehotchannel2449]

@@koksie0456 Goalkeeper :).

[@meyzhaafa4178]

Damn i love this club so much 😣

[@alanburrows7656]

Great days that i was lucky enough to watch.Joe was a great manager and a true city lgend. God bless him.

[@YousifFiras]

How old are you?

[@emirares]

Do you remember Fenerbahçe match in Champions Cup in 1968?? Champion of England eliminated surprisingly by Turkey Champion Fenerbahçe

[@EAMCFC]

1930s,60s and 70s were our 20th century glory days when people say we have no history before 2008 what's all this then

[@johnevans2456]

Not bad in the 50s either- 2 games cup finals

[@joshdolan9146]

1900s and 1950s mancity had great teams too. Not bad in 20s either.

[@ysgol3]

If only all managers, in all walks of life, were like Joe Mercer.

[@eavyeavy2864]

Love it when mu fan bring up the past 40 years but conveniently forget pre 1980 when City is bigger than them for over 50 years

[@DaveSeville-sf1ku]

True but Best Charlton won us the European Cup, thanks for lending us the Wembley of the North for a bit though. In all seriousness does the Emptihad label piss you off a bit, as your attendances are 53k, which is only a couple thousand off Anfield. And higher than Newcastle etc

[@tiernancregan1924]

RIP Colin xx King of the kippax

[@kevindebruyneneedstotalk9747]

what a legend

[@choppy249]

I’m from London and not a City supporter but this will always be the Man City team that I love and remember the most . They were so exciting to watch back then when I was a young boy at school . It was great to play against them as well because they pressed forward and attacked so much that they would sometimes leave gaps at the back and give the other team a chance to score . This led to some unbelievably exciting games whenever they played . I guess their philosophy was , if we go all out and attack we have more firepower than you so we will end up winning , which usually they did . I also remember us kids talking at school when it was announced that they had the first One Million Pounds forward line . We all thought like , Wow and we couldn’t wait to see them on Match of the Day on Saturday night . Great football back then . Incidentally I always wondered why they didn’t go on to dominate English football with Leeds etc during the early seventies especially but now thanks to some of the comments , I think I understand why . Damn boardroom interfering messing things up for the players and fans again . Such a shame .

[@Blinkers2007GameDev]

truly. truly. But now we are back. This is the spirit of MCFC

[@waynemurray5264]

@ choppy249. Nice words mate, what a refreshing change to read a post from a rival without it being “ oil money, cheats, empty seats” etc. I was privileged enough to see the back end of that team, your right, it should have won more, 71-72 6 points clear with a few games left, then Malcolm signed Rodney marsh, it all went tits up, even Rodney himself admitted his signing cost us another title. Boardroom squabbles, Malcolm wanted to be the manager, the board was split in half, Joe left for Coventry, and it all went downhill. That team should have progressed but it didn’t, we’ve more than made up for it since, but it’s been a struggle in between. Thanx for your post.

[@kiwitintinscott]

Joe Mercer, THE complete gentleman 👏👏👏👏👏

[@1986Denmark]

congratulation city!!!

[@peterdavis943]

Love this fella I wish there was more footage of him on utube

[@ptarmegen]

That 1st goal by Colin Bell was in the 70/71 season.

[@hauntboy]

Hardly any of the goals shown were in the 67/68 season when they won the Championship, only the Tony Coleman goal was. You can instantly tell by the clarity of the footage and the hair length. The goal against Birmingham was in the 73/74 season.

[@tmckboston417]

Even georgie best once said he would have loved to have experinced a game playing in the city attack enough said..... We had right quality, bell, Lee, summerbee, Tc, young etc.... CTID Mcfc4ever!

[@rajendranramalingam2448]

The greatest city team ever

[@PHealey1981]

Wonderful piece. Never seen this interview before. Brilliant

[@tmckboston417]

I watched the Everton(Howard kendalls reign)documentary, it was very good, interesting..... Imagine one on the mercer/Allison years at city, that would of been amazing!!! R. I. P. Mercer, Allison and kendall! Mcfc4ever CTID ✌️

[@craigmullen9046]

Shame kendall didn't stay with us he was building a good side and I don't think we would have gone 35 years without a major honour I do believe he would have won something with City but he walked out and went back to Everton and stated City was the love affair Everton is the Marriage MCFC

[@tmckboston417]

@@craigmullen9046 100% 👍

[@mjh5437]

Stan Bowles scored twice on his Man City debut this season.

[@christopherjames5895]

The last all English born team to win the league :)

[@sxbluerider3588]

Really , what about derby in 74

[@user-sw2lv3zp6o]

Derby didn't win it in 74. They did in 72 and 75.

[@AJM-timecop]

@@sxbluerider3588 English. Derby had a few Scots on the roster.

[@johnvalentine8941]

@@sxbluerider3588 nope a few scots in there, city are the only english club to win a european trophy with 11 english players on the pitch. but yeah no history lol

[@ericcollins8794]

@@AJM-timecop archie gemhill for one

[@sphughes01]

In an era where there was fairer, open and wider competition. There was Leeds, Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Everton, WBA, Wolves, Newcastle and West Ham to name 10 that had good sides with international players. To become champions of England meant you had to be exceptional, consistent and brave. It was nothing like today (2024) where the top two or three have huge reserves of cash to buy larger pools of international superstars which knocks out any hope of competition. There were 42 tough, uncompromising league fixtures to navigate on muddy, heavy pitches which soon turned into quagmires. (Ironically up in Scotland Celtic and Rangers were also powerhouses in their own right. Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 and were regular challengers for that trophy while Rangers had reached the European Cup Winners Cup final in the same year. It could have been a Glasgow double to go with the international victory at Wembley which fatally punctured the world champions unbeaten home record.) Back to England and United had won the title the previous year and were distracted by the lure of the European Cup a trophy they would win at Wembley, somewhat undermining City's success. But City were at Wembley the next year winning the FA Cup following that they won both the League Cup at Wembley and the European Cup Winners Cup and thus a double. In the background there was Revie's Leeds who had won the League Cup and Fairs cup and were to be champions themselves in 1969. For City to come through and become champions they would have to be an excellent team which they were from the goalkeeper in Joe Corrigan up to the substitute position. If you look back at the record for the 1960s and 1970s it was not until that great Liverpool side emerged in 1976 that one side managed to monopolise the English championship. Leeds had apparently been the dominant force in the late 1960s and early 1970s which they were but they only won two titles although were runners up five times. Derby County could match them for titles. By God look at the situation in the Premier League now! Could you imagine clubs like Derby and Leeds emerging from the Second Division and winning the title? Not a chance!

[@craigmullen6784]

the Club with no History Apparently who never won Anything before 2008 when FA Cups 2 League Championships 2 League Cups and 1 European Cup Winners Cup may say otherwise MCFC

[@EAMCFC]

Exactly we won 2 league championships, 4 fa cups 1 european cup winners' cup, 3 charity shields and 2 league cups and apparently that's no history before 2008 MCFC OK

[@memers94]

Not we you're not part of the team

[@EAMCFC]

@@memers94 what?

[@usceccu]

@@memers94 clubs are nothing without their supporters. So if he is a true Mancunian Man City supporter he can say "we". If he's a bandwagon fan who's not from Manchester or at least close to or if he started supporting them in 2008 that's different.

[@morgan7]

This channel has 21 subscribers maybe not but we’re part of the club

[@johnnewton3335]

I was so privileged to give my one and a kick every other week at mane road and the other week it was only a tanner to watch the reserves, you could sense something was going to happen that year. Off course bell, lee and summerbee but my absolute favourite was the majestic nelly young, a sweeter left foot you'll never see. Next was tony Coleman, the rebel with a cause, sir stan Horne the ultimate professional, utility player dave todger conner, all the unsung heroes of my youth,

[@any1younger]

It’s MAINE ROAD - not Mane.......🙄

[@johnnewton3335]

@@any1younger thanks mate, sorry, typo

[@azul.sincero01]

*Vamos City! C'mon City!!*

[@briankidd3074]

Best forward line I ever saw; came down to Tottenham and ran all over them, and that was when Spurs had a top side.

[@tmckboston417]

Joe Mercer...... Legend! MCFC!

[@horse69outside]

The golden era of English club football was the period mid sixties to mid seventies.

[@nelsongarcia738]

City do have history this was a long time ago.

[@davidsmythe9266]

Best days ever for me.

[@pfg333]

"Joe Mercer came we played the game". God bless Joe and big Mal.

[@alistairnewton4149]

Wise words from Joe !.

[@johnevans8276]

City should have gone on to be the greatest team of the 70's but the boardroom wranglings early that decade drove a wedge between Joe and Malcolm

[@tmckboston417]

We should have gone on to further success, but like you said the changes upstairs etc... Should of won the league in 77....never mind there's always brighter days ahead.... Like now... ☺ Mcfc4ever!!! Enjoy it!!! CTID! ✌️ 👍

[@bestrafung2754]

Yeah, we should've been a much better team in the 70s, but sadly a lot of bad shit was going on behind the scenes. At least we're now a great club once again and are currently making history as we speak. This time it will go on for much longer, I'm sure of it.

[@caffreymcfc8386]

Greatest football club on the planet

[@tmckboston417]

👍 Hear, hear! Mcfc4ever CTID ✌️

[@johnwalters4792]

Like a Jaguar E Type smooth

[@BRIDGETONBILLYBOYS]

Always liked City but love the Rangers. 🇬🇧

[@englanduk3811]

City and Rangers for me, hopefully they'll both be champions this season, brilliant....

[@ianblake3127]

City and Celtic for me

[@gspacethebest3513]

common City 💙 💙 💙

[@bertcert991]

One of the goals is at the north stand which opened in 1971

[@officialzk9]

Fred tilson is my great great great uncle

[@EAMCFC]

Yes but he was part of the 1937 winning team

[@anthonyfoster5307]

I Don't know if he said it tongue in cheek, but I think Tony Book was 28.

[@brianturner4589]

The Albion did the double against City that season

[@tmckboston417]

Then we beat the albion in the league Cup final, and the previous season smashed them 6-1 in the charity shield!!! Mcfc4ever!!! CTID

[@robertlees7528]

Great times post world cup

[@yippyialeftside8351]

great stuff but alot of this is not 67 68 season

[@mizofan]

Elton John music to start, from his great Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album!

[@alandalton7652]

Some team kinkladze was like ronaldo back then

[@eddiesweeney1499]

alan dalton i

[@johnvalentine8941]

may have been better :)

[@leomarks889]

Wrong era completely

[@any1younger]

WHAT?! Kinkladze? Obviously you weren’t there as he didn’t come along for nearly another 30yrs! He wasn’t even born when this was happening.......🙄

[@peterdavis943]

Great to see Joe Mercer not much of Joe speaking on film!

[@HandleGF]

All roads lead to Halifax

[@citymad2mancitymad644]

I WAS THERE RAIN SOAKED MUD BATH

[@englanduk3811]

@@citymad2mancitymad644, ha ha, typical city.....

[@ianblake3127]

Me too that game was worse than Shrewsbury

[@ForzaJuventus-z5h]

If Malcolm allison didnt betray man city owner and joe mercer our successful year wouldve stayed long 😔😔

[@EAMCFC]

Apparently this is no history

[@dahabirintikam6793]

😭😭

[@4PEATCHAMPIONS]

CTID CTWD

[@stevefrost3484]

Which English team won the 1st Division title and then got relegated the following season ?

[@englanduk3811]

City, that's why city fans never take anything for granted, no matter how well we're playing, that's what makes neutrals prefer City to the arrogant historical top four because City fans are never cocky....

[@onthekippaxsince75]

Not only that, they finished the 1937-38 season in 21st position out of 22, (only 2 teams went down in those days)going into the 1937- 38 season as defending champions. Incredibly City also went down being top goal scorers in the division scoring 80 league goals, 1 more than Arsenal who won the league. They also went down with a positive goal difference of +3, the only time in the history of league football in England that this has ever happened. Absolutely incredible, and know nothing ignorant pricks try and tell the world, our wonderful football club has no history. MCFC, no history since 1880. MCFC loyal since 1973.

[@saifuddin816]

Did they win bpl

[@GuyOnABuffalo82]

There was no BPL then...it was just the 1st division...and yes they won that in 1968.

[@Isleofskye]

They won the top division by beating Newcastle 4/3 Away in the last game in 1968/9 I think.

[@peterdavis943]

Love this fella I wish there was more footage of him!!

[@cymruisrael]

67/8

[@EAMCFC]

@@Isleofskye 67/68

[@Paperoy]

They couldn't beat the Atlanta Chiefs!!!

[@dannylewington2605]

Paper8oy who gives a fuck

[@emirares]

Next season they got beaten and eliminated after two matches by Fenerbahce in Champions Cup, it's still remembered even after those years..

[@englanduk3811]

Wasn't it on aways goals rules?

[@ManchesterOurCity]

@@englanduk3811 2-1 on aggregate, first leg 0-0 at MR

[@ForzaJuventus-z5h]

European cup not champions cup

[@ForzaJuventus-z5h]

@@ManchesterOurCity and in 1971 we lost to chelsea in cup winners cup semi final

[@emirares]

@@ForzaJuventus-z5h Yea sorry.. In addition to that, Manchester City came to İstanbul in 1993 for a friendly match with Fenerbahçe on the 25th anniversary of the first match in 1968. Fener won 3-2 as I remember.. couldnt find the match but if you can please share a link.