The extraordinary first derby at the City of Manchester Stadium
Manchester City moved into a shiny new stadium for the 2003/04 season. In March, their enemies came to take a look around for the first time. It turned out to be an incredible afternoon.
As Manchester underwent a cultural shift in the late nineties, something odd happened: The Manchester Derby temporarily disappeared.
This was a period when the iconic Hacienda nightclub would close forever and the ribbon was cut to an American-style mall called ‘The Trafford Centre’. The region was morphing into a different beast – and the local sports scene was seemingly swept up in the mood for change.
In New Manchester, there was seemingly only room for one football team at the top.
After years flirting with relegation, the region’s Blue team tumbled out of the Premier League trapdoor, before falling further down into Division Two.
Younger fans will find it hard to comprehend the gulf between Manchester’s two football clubs before the turn of the millennium. But not that long ago, the sides were separated by a staggering 46 places.
When the summer of 1999 rolled around, United had picked up the third major trophy of the season. City, meanwhile, were only the third best team in Manchester.
After losing their top tier status, City spent several years contesting a very different kind of Manchester derby with Stockport County instead – desperately trying to claw their way back up the leagues whilst their traditional enemies at Old Trafford cemented a reputation as one of football’s greatest ever sides.
The Blues had fallen so far off their arch-rivals’ radar they were considered inconsequential (the worst possible regard in which to be held by your nemeses). But in 2000, after a four-year exile, City made it back to the promised land of the Premier League – yo-yo’ing between divisions before finally defeating United for the first time since 1989 in a memorable 3-1 win.
The victory marked the final derby at Maine Road before City’s big move to a new 47,000-capacity stadium on the east side of Manchester. There had been discussions about simply upgrading the old ground, but City realised this new chapter was about more than just a fresh lick of paint. They wanted the kind of home that screamed clear intentions that City were no longer content to play second (or third) fiddle for Manchester on the world stage.
An international stadium – which had played a pivotal role in elevating the region’s global reputation via the Commonwealth Games competition – would be the place to do exactly that.
City of Manchester Stadium / Image: David Dixon via Geograph
The City of Manchester Stadium officially opened to football fans in August 2003.
The Blues spent a few months settling in, and on March 14, their enemies came to take a look around for the first time.
They were in a foul mood, too.
There were 11 games left until the end of the season, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had already fallen well adrift of Arsenal in their attempts to retain their Premier League crown – arriving in Eastlands without a win in three.
The Reds had also just suffered an ignominious exit from the Champions League. On the previous Tuesday, Portuguese side Porto scored a last-gasp winner at Old Trafford that sent a young, dapper-dressed manager by the name of Jose Mourinho galloping down the touchline in wild celebration and left United fans sat in sickened silence.
The damaging defeat had instigated a supporters’ inquiry; with fans pointing the finger of blame at various members of the squad. 19-year-old winger Cristiano Ronaldo was being called a show-pony who couldn’t deliver the goods on the big stage. Diego Forlan was being criticised for a lack of goals. And goalkeeper Tim Howard was also under fire for dropping the clanger that led to Porto’s big goal.
After a painful night in Europe, all United wanted was to curl up under the covers for the whole weekend – but were instead tasked with trudging down the road and putting their irritating noisy neighbours in their place.
They didn’t really want to be there. And City smelled blood.
Trevor Sinclair puts City 3-1 up in the first ever derby at the City of Manchester stadium
Over 47,200 fans packed into the ground for the first ever derby clash at the City of Manchester Stadium, with United supporters – still hungover from their Champions League defeat – trying to find their bearings in unfamiliar surroundings.
City hadn’t quite gotten used to their upgraded digs just yet either. They’d shown a few symptoms of home sickness since leaving Maine Road behind – having won just twice at the new ground.
But on this particular Sunday afternoon, they were playing host to their most-anticipated visitors of the season. And there’d be no welcome mat.
Within three minutes, the stadium received a jolt so ferocious its new foundations threatened to come crashing down.
Some fans were still finding their way to their seats when the ball fell to City striker Robbie Fowler, who juggled his way into the six-yard box and prodded it home – inciting utter pandemonium.
The Red end grimaced. For United – it was the worst possible start caused by the worst possible player (Fowler had already represented two of United’s other bitter rivals in Liverpool and Leeds before joining City). But what felt like an unpleasant fever dream turned into a nauseating nightmare over the 87 minutes that followed.
Jon Macken caught the ball on the volley to put City 2-0 up after half an hour, and whilst Paul Scholes’ low drive gave the Red Devils a glimmer of hope, Trevor Sinclair capitalised on a defensive mix-up in the 73rd minute to stretch City’s lead once again in the second half.
The most memorable moment of the match, though – and the one replayed by City fans time and time again ever since – came in stoppage time.
Young winger Shaun Wright-Phillips (who would go on to make his England debut later that summer) burst down the right flank, pivoted past Wes Brown and rattled in a worldie to make it 4-1.
The final whistle screeched to signal City’s biggest win over their rivals for 15 years – a margin that would not be surpassed until the “Why Always Me?” derby of 2011 when United were hit for six on their own turf.
It took another decade and over £1 billion of investment for City to finally put themselves on equal footing with their foes at the top of the Prem – but this was the moment where a new chapter for the Blues began to take shape.
Looking back, that first all-Manc fixture in Eastlands in 2004 was about more than just bragging rights. It was about City putting their foot down and making their new stadium feel like home.
And there’s no better way to do that in football than by warmly welcoming your neighbours, giving them a serious walloping, and sending them on their way.
Sport
Pep Guardiola aims not-so-subtle dig at ‘destructive’ FIFA Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is the latest to voice his concerns surrounding the ongoing 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, delivering a not-so-subtle dig at the competition.
Ahead of Man City‘s round of 16 match against Al Hilal in this year’s Club World Cup, of which they won all their group stage games, the Catalan head coach has once again come out to criticise the increasingly congested fixture calendar.
His comments come after former Liverpool manager and now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, Jürgen Klopp, labelled the current off-season summer run of matches “the worst idea ever.”
Somewhat echoing his statement – or at the very least aligning with it (albeit indirectly) – Pep Guardiola gave his two cents also, claiming that the now extended, 32-team tournament could “destroy” his squad and their fortunes in the next campaign.
Clearly, Pep is far from the biggest of fan of the recently refreshed format, even despite having won the thing on four occasions in the past – the most recent being with Manchester City back in 2023.
Reflecting on what impact he fears the Club World Cup may have on his team next season, Guardiola said: “I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious. We will rest [for as much time as] the Premier League allows us to.
“And game by game, month by month, we will see. And maybe in November, December, January, ask me, Pep. I may say: ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.’ I don’t know, but it’s the first time in our [lives] that that’s happened [a 32-team CWC]. So we will see…”
Unpredictable weather in the United States, where the action is being hosted, has also been the subject of outrage in some cases, with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca stating, “It’s a joke! It’s not football”, after a major storm delay mid-game pushed meant that one of their games took five hours to finish.
The 54-year-old also insisted that those who were against the tweaked concept “fought a lot” here in England, in UEFA meetings and so on, as was the case with the revision of the new layout of the Champions League, but to no avail.
Jurgen Klopp: "NBA player earns a lot of money & has 4 months of rest per year. Van Dijk didn't even have that in his entire career. Tournaments such as the Club World Cup cannot take place at the expense of players" [Die Welt]
Regarding Klopp, who set this latest chain of criticism, he claims that whoever wins the 2025 Club World Cup is ultimately “pointless” and will be “the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league.”
In his eyes, the decisions are being made by people who have “never been involved” with the pressure of day-to-day life in professional football and the physical toll of multiple competitions, in particular.
As for who might win the 2025 CWC, it could very well be Man City for a second time, as the Blues are the only team remaining that has a 100% win ratio this year, having most recently thrashed Juventus 5-2 in their last game.
Nevertheless, it seems that the stance of Klopp, Guardiola, Maresca and more is pretty plain: this particular tournament will go down in the record books for the wrong reasons, and they won’t be happy until the format is revisited.
Do you agree with Pep and co. on the Club World Cup controversy?
Featured Images — Man City (screenshot via YouTube)
Sport
The latest on Salford Red Devils financial situation as ‘winding-up’ petition is adjourned
Danny Jones
The current situation at Salford Red Devils is far from ideal, with the rugby league team currently owing hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt, not to mention facing further stress over finances with players owed wages, key personnel leaving and remaining uncertainty over future ownership.
So, why is the board expressing reassurance among supporters following the recent adjournment of a ‘winding-up’ petition, and what exactly does this mean?
It is no doubt a complex issue, but with the season concluding in October and the Greater Manchester club essentially being given a stay of execution, for lack of a better phrase, it’s possible that a corner could hopefully be turned soon.
Here’s everything we know so far about the situation in Salford and where the Red Devils’ finances are currently at.
Salford Red Devils’ finances and more – explained
For a start, they’re late on payroll again this month.
Salford Red Devils players have been told they will not receive their salaries today.https://t.co/ofHTR0uZyN
According to recent reports, Salford Red Devils owe more than half a million pounds to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at present, with current estimates said to be in the region of £600,000.
The Super League side has fallen into debt due to a number of factors: their own performance as a business, cuts to local funding and a period of spending in terms of recruitment and pre-season preparation under the assumption of a subsidy from Salford City Council (SCC).
However, this would-be uplift – despite it being promised late last year – never came as the Council (having already provided £315k in ‘immediate’ financial aid back in March 2024) U-turned on the decision after it was revealed further backing was not in the budget.
SCC ended up owing around £2 million itself after stepping in to save both SRD and fellow rugby league outfit Swinton Lions, handing out loans to both clubs even prior to purchasing Salford Community Stadium and the surrounding area.
The Council ultimately shelled out north of £7.7m to buy the ground and sever commercial ties with previous owners, Peel. They had hoped to further alleviate pressure on the club, but Salford Red Devils (SRD) had already spent the money they were expecting to receive on new players, training and more.
SRD were then told to sell off a number of players by the league.
With all this in mind, something called a ‘winding-up’ petition – basically a document sent by creditors that demands the immediate liquidation of a company/organisation that owes them money – was filed by HMRC back in May, with the tax authorities demanding payment of the outstanding sum.
However, special dispensation appears to have been made not only due to the complicated and unforeseen circumstances Salford have faced along the way, but also for the sake of the Rugby Football League (RFL) itself, with the Red Devils still seen as a valuable sporting and community asset.
One of those unexpected twists was the takeover by a new consortium led by Dario Berta, whose investment failed to clear in time and resulted in the club being hit with the financial sustainability problem that saw them cutbacks.
In a small bit of good fortune, it has now been decided that the petition to liquidate the SRD has been postponed, though not indefinitely.
As expected, there is good news that the winding-up petition filed by HMRC against Salford Red Devils has been successfully adjourned by the club's representatives in London until after the season has finished in September.
It's important to focus on supporting Salford as they…
— The Game Caller 🗣🎙📻 (@TheGameCaller) June 25, 2025
What could happen next?
The date for coughing up what debt they owe to the tax authorities has now been pushed back to September, meaning they have until then to find the finances, or else they could very well be made insolvent in a matter of months.
However, as per BBC Radio Manchester, those involved in the ongoing process are “confident” that bridging loans will be put in place over the coming days to keep HMRC at bay.
And, nevertheless, head coach Paul Rowley has insisted that he can see “green shoots” starting to emerge around the club, despite still sitting bottom of the table with just one win to their name.
What’s for sure is that the local area isn’t giving up on them, with numerous fundraisers and charity events being set up to help support the club via the official Salford Red Devils Foundation.
Fingers firmly crossed that there is light at the end of the tunnel.