THE MANCUNIAN DERBY

The MANCUNIANS will have differing opinions following this season's Wembley FA Cup Final, where the "national stadium" crowd (well the majority of it) had to travel to "The FA's Wembley" to witness their teams playing in the English FA Cup Final. Fair enough, history and tradition stands firm. 

First played in 1872, the English FA Cup Final is the oldest and biggest fixture in World football. For today's winners it was a great day, for the losers a bit dull...not surprising! The first "normal" fixture between the two Mancunian clubs were:

03 Oct 1891

Ardwick v Newton Heath

W

1-5

FA Cup

United was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed their name to Manchester United in 1902. After a spell playing in Clayton, the club moved to their current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.

The other team of course was Man City! They first met in the League:

03 Nov 1894

Manchester City v Newton Heath

W

2-5

League Division Two

Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in April 1894. The club's home ground is the Etihad Stadium in east Manchester, to which they moved in 2003, having played at Maine Road since 1923. Manchester City adopted their sky blue home shirts in 1894, in the first season with the current name. The club's first major trophy was the FA Cup in 1903–04, and then won it 1933-34, 1955–56, 1968–69, 2010–11, 2018–19, 2022–23: They were Runners-up (5): 1925–26, 1932–33, 1954–55, 1980–81, 2012–13.

The Manchester Derby refers to matches played between City and United, a fixture first contested on October 3rd 1891, an FA Cup tie won by United 1-5. The two grounds are separated by approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) and the teams have played 189 matches in all competitions: United winning 78, City 58, and the remaining 53 having been drawn. They first played under their present names on:

25 Dec 1902

Manchester Utd v Manchester City

D

1-1

in League Division Two

Amongst the top clubs in England, they have won a combined 96 honours: 66 for Manchester United and 30 for Manchester City. In history: