1905/06 SEASON REVIEW
Leaving the club pre-season was Billy Holmes who joined Clapton Orient for a minimal fee of £10.
During the Summer City were submitted to investigation by an FA Committee which was set up to look at the violence in the last game of the 1904/05 season, although they were actually looking for as much evidence for any underhand dealings they could pin on The Blues due to City’s campaign to abolish the minimum wage.
On 5th August 1905 the FA sensationally announced their findings: City legend, Billy Meredith was to be banned from the start of the season until April 1906, after Meredith was accused of bribing Aston Villa’s Alec Leake to ‘allow’ City to win against the Villains the previous season. Meredith had denied the accusation stating that Villa had too much influence in the FA and the FA were just out to punish City anyway they could, and that they were much to eager to side with Villa, indeed the three main protagonists of the violence at Villa Park on the last day of the season had been dealt with with total inconsistency, the referee was suspended for failing to control the players and the match. Sandy Turnbull received a one month ban, however Villa’s captain Alec Leake was not banned, could Leake have been offered ‘immunity’ for the bribery allegation?
The press and the fans certainly didn’t side with the FA and the way they had used the enquiry as a ‘witch hunt’ against Manchester City.
And so City started the season without their great captain and a depleted side, as they lost 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day.
The Blues then travelled to the North East as Newcastle celebrated the opening of their new ground at At St James Park, City spoilt the party by taking away a point in a 2-2 draw.
In a torrential downpour at Hyde Road City’s players put up a great display, beating Nottingham Forest 5-0, and then again at home they beat Wolves 4-0.
It seemed the great Meredith wasn’t being missed as The Blues beat Bury 4-2 at Gigg Lane, a 3-2 defeat in a friendly at Altrincham followed, then City made it seventeen goals in four games with a 4-0 league victory over Middlesbrough at Hyde Road. Moving into October the early Division 1 table showed City in fourth place on nine points, just two behind leaders Sheffield Wednesday with a game in hand.
After playing just 8 games for City in his two years at Hyde Road, forward Frank Pearson moved to Chelsea.
As was and always has been (as many City fans will profess) City then predictably showed their unpedictability, as having won four games on the trot they then lost three on the trot, losing 2-0 at Preston, 2-1 at Aston Villa and 1-0 at home to Liverpool, The Blues first league defeat at Hyde Road since April 1st 1904.
November saw a return to better form as they beat Sheffield United 3-1 at Bramall Lane and Notts County 5-1 at Hyde Road, at Stoke they drew 0-0, then beat Bolton 3-1 in Manchester.
December started with a 2-0 defeat at Woolwich Arsenal followed by a 1-1 home draw against Blackburn and a further defeat, 2-0 at Sunderland.
Another player boosted the squad as Willie Banks joined from Kilmarnock. City moved into the Festive period with a 2-1 win at home to Birmingham.
Christmas Day brought a 2-1 win at Derby, Boxing Day saw a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle and four days later Sheffield Wednesday were beaten 2-1 at Hyde Road.
1906 started well with a 1-0 win at home to Everton and a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest which moved City up to third in the table, four points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.
It was an early exit from the FA Cup as Sheffield United beat City 4-1 at Bramall Lane in the first round.
Back in the league however The Blues won again beating Wolves 3-2 at Molyneux to go second in Division 1 just four points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.
Another high scoring victory, sawa City bear Bury 5-2 at Hyde Road to keep the pressure on the scousers.
With an empty Saturday due to the early exit from the cup, City travelled to play a friendly against Corinthians and lost 4-1. Then back in the league drew 0-0 at home to Preston and then on another free Saturday won 5-3 in a friendly at Bristol Rovers.
Off the pitch things weren’t going as well, although banned from football and associating with the club during the ban, Billy Meredith repeatedly visited Hyde Road, not just watching games and training but also engaged in a legal wrangle with the club, as he believed secretary Tom Maley had given him a promise that he would not lose out financially during his ban, however City’s accounts were now being looked over by an FA auditer, Tom Hindle, and therefore, Meredith, and indeed the rest of the playing staff, were now being paid within the limits of the FA’s minimum wage structure. and so Meredith kept quiet about higher wages and bonuses that may have been paid in the past. However under pressure from the FA, City called Meredith to a hearing about his conduct during his ban, and he backtracked and admitted he had offered the Villa captain £10 to lose the match but only because Tom Maley had told him to.
Maley denied this saying various players at the time had talked about bribery but had agreed not to go ahead with it.
Back on the pitch City beat leaders Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield, and just as it looked like they would prove to be a genuine rival to the scousers for the Championship, City lost three games on the trot, at Hyde Road they were beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United and 4-1 by Aston Villa, and at Trent Bridge 3-0 by Notts County. They had now dropped to fifth in the league and were seven points behind Liverpool with nine games left to play.
City then rallied again beating Stoke 2-0 at Hyde Road and Bolton 3-1 at Burnden Park.
The FA then set up another investigatory commission and Meredith and many of the other players in the squad unhappy at no longer being paid ‘illegally’ under the maximum wage sructure surrendered information about previous illegal payments made to them by the City board in the hope of gaining an amnesty from the FA. The City board ominously waited for the FA’s report due at the end of the season.
The off field problems transferred to the pitch as a loss of form saw two home defeats, 2-1 against Woolwich Arsenal and on Good Friday 2-1 against Derby County. Easter Saturday brought a 1-1 draw at Blackburn, before a much needed victory, 3-0 at Everton on Bank Holiday Monday, however one day later they crashed to a 6-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.
The season petered out with a 5-1 win at home to Sunderland and a 3-2 defeat at Birmingham, City finished in fifth position on 43 points.
The Blues then sensationally placed Billy Meredith on the transfer list for apparently his ‘insulting attitude towards the board and because of his abusive language’.
The FA published their report on their investigations into City in June.
It seemed it could spell the end for Manchester City Football Club. Certain players were fined around £900 and were banned for a year, together with all the directors, indeed Tom Maley and Chairman Forrest were banned for life, and quite remarkably all the players were banned from playing for City ever again.
City were left with nothing but their stands (they didn’t own the land the ground was built on), a football kit and just £15 in the kitty.
Their only real asset was Billy Meredith, and Manchester United were more than happy to take the Welsh wizard. City slapped a £600 transfer fee on his head, hoping that they could boost their funds to try and get a team together for the new season.
Unfortunately Meredith produced a letter from the board from a year earlier which had promised him a benefit match to generate a minimum sum of £600. The City shareholders’ hands were tied, unable to provide the funds to Meredith he left for United with City receiving not a penny, the remaining City board however would not officially ratify the move, and Meredith later revealed he received an unofficial signing on fee from a ‘gentleman’ from United and also the ‘gentleman’ paid the £100 fine Meredith had received from the FA.
City did raise some funds however as United agreed deals to sign Turnbull, Jimmy Bannister and Herbert Burgess. Amongst other deals McMahon and Booth agreed to move to Bury for £750 and Bolton paid £250 for keeper Edmondsen. Rangers also paid a small fee for George Livingstone.
The Blues used £650 from their incoming fees to sign forward George Stewart from Hibernian