Committee, led by Albert Edward Burns Alexander

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Born: n/a

16th November 1925 - 26th April 1926

Whether Ashworth’s departure caught City by surprise is unknown, but it is fair to say the directors were in no rush to appoint a replacement. It’s highly likely the directors felt they possessed more knowledge of the game than any of the possible replacements did. Certainly within the Club there were a few knowledgeable football men – Chairman Lawrence Furniss had been the Club’s first League secretary-manager; vice-chairman Albert Alexander has created and coached the City ‘A’ team; and assistant secretary Wilf Wild would ultimately become manager in his own right. In the end Albert Alexander took the lead role, and with his guidance the Blues won the first two games of December 1925, and were unbeaten in January. In fact January was an excellent month as Manchester United were defeated 6-1 at Old Trafford – this remains the highest score in a Manchester derby – and the Blues progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Despite that optimism League form dipped, but Alexander’s Blues did progress to the FA Cup final, where City became the first Manchester side to play at Wembley. Sadly, City were defeated 1-0 by Bolton, and the following Monday City finally appointed a new manager.

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All history and statistical material has been produced based on the research and writing of Manchester football historian Gary James (www.facebook.com/GaryJames4). It is maintained by Ric Turner & Gary James. All text remains the copyright of the original contributors.

Gary's book, Manchester - the City Years: Tracing the Story of Manchester City from the 1860s to the Modern Day, is available to order on Amazon.