# 1905–06 Manchester City F.C. season

The 1905–06 season was Manchester City F.C.'s fifteenth season of league football and third consecutive season in the top flight of English football.
At the end of the season, Manchester City were investigated by the FA for allegations of awarding players bonuses, which was at the time against FA regulations. Consequently, the club were found guilty and seventeen players were fined, suspended from football until 1 January 1907 and were banned from representing Man City in future. The club was forced to shed most of its players, including its best performers and early club legends such as Billy Meredith, Sandy Turnbull and Billie Gillespie. Though several players followed guidance and moved to Manchester United (then not a rival but a fellow community club) or other league clubs, Gillespie refused to play his fine and instead moved to America. In addition to this, manager Tom Maley was banned from football for life, and left the club.

## Football League First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 3 | The Wednesday | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 63 | 52 | 1.212 | 44 |
| 4 | Newcastle United | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 74 | 48 | 1.542 | 43 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 73 | 54 | 1.352 | 43 |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 81 | 67 | 1.209 | 41 |
| 7 | Birmingham | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 65 | 59 | 1.102 | 41 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 73 | 54 | 1.352 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 46 | 23 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 27 | 31 | 19 |
Source: rsssf.com

### Reports

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Venue | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 September 1905 | The Wednesday | A | Owlerton | 0 – 1 | | 25,000 |
| 6 September 1905 | Newcastle United | A | St James' Park | 2 – 2 | Thornley, Dorsett | 22,000 |
| 9 September 1905 | Nottingham Forest | H | Hyde Road | 5 – 0 | Dorsett (2), Livingstone, Jones, Booth | 16,000 |
| 16 September 1905 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | Hyde Road | 4 – 0 | Jones (2), Livingstone, Booth | 20,000 |
| 23 September 1905 | Bury | A | Gigg Lane | 4 – 2 | Thornley (2), Livingstone, Booth | 24,000 |
| 30 September 1905 | Middlesbrough | H | Hyde Road | 4 – 0 | Dorsett (2), Jones, McMahon | 20,000 |
| 7 October 1905 | Preston North End | A | Deepdale | 0 – 2 | | 10,000 |
| 21 October 1905 | Aston Villa | A | Villa Park | 1 – 2 | Livingstone | 30,000 |
| 28 October 1905 | Liverpool | H | Hyde Road | 0 – 1 | | 30,000 |
| 4 November 1905 | Sheffield United | A | Bramall Lane | 3 – 1 | Dorsett, Thornley, Jones | 8,000 |
| 11 November 1905 | Notts County | H | Hyde Road | 5 – 1 | Thornley (2), Turnbull, Dorsett, Buchan | 14,000 |
| 18 November 1905 | Stoke | A | Victoria Ground | 0 – 0 | | 8,000 |
| 25 November 1905 | Bolton Wanderers | H | Hyde Road | 3 – 1 | Thornley, Jones, Booth | 38,000 |
| 2 December 1905 | Woolwich Arsenal | A | Manor Ground | 0 – 2 | | 15,000 |
| 9 December 1905 | Blackburn Rovers | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 1 | Dorsett | 16,000 |
| 16 December 1905 | Sunderland | A | Roker Park | 0 – 2 | | 15,000 |
| 23 December 1905 | Birmingham | H | Hyde Road | 4 – 1 | Turnbull (2), Livingstone, ? (o.g.) | 15,000 |
| 25 December 1905 | Derby County | A | Baseball Ground | 2 – 1 | Dorsett, Frost | 12,000 |
| 26 December 1905 | Newcastle United | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 4 | Burgess | 35,000 |
| 30 December 1905 | The Wednesday | H | Hyde Road | 2 – 1 | Banks, Booth | 16,000 |
| 1 January 1906 | Everton | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 0 | Thornley | 25,000 |
| 6 January 1906 | Nottingham Forest | A | City Ground | 1 – 0 | Thornley | 4,000 |
| 20 January 1906 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | Molineux | 3 – 2 | Thornley, Livingstone, Booth | 5,000 |
| 27 January 1906 | Bury | H | Hyde Road | 5 – 2 | Thornley (2), Dorsett, Booth, Turnbull | 16,000 |
| 10 February 1906 | Preston North End | H | Hyde Road | 0 – 0 | | 12,000 |
| 3 March 1906 | Liverpool | A | Anfield | 1 – 0 | Booth | 30,000 |
| 10 March 1906 | Sheffield United | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 2 | Bannister | 18,000 |
| 14 March 1906 | Aston Villa | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 4 | Dorsett | 10,000 |
| 17 March 1906 | Notts County | A | Trent Bridge | 0 – 3 | | 12,000 |
| 24 March 1906 | Stoke | H | Hyde Road | 2 – 0 | Dorsett, Thornley | 8,000 |
| 31 March 1906 | Bolton Wanderers | A | Burnden Park | 3 – 1 | Thornley (2), Livingstone | 40,000 |
| 7 April 1906 | Woolwich Arsenal | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 2 | Dorsett | 12,000 |
| 13 April 1906 | Derby County | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 2 | Dorsett | 15,000 |
| 14 April 1906 | Blackburn Rovers | A | Ewood Park | 1 – 1 | Turnbull | 12,000 |
| 16 April 1906 | Everton | A | Goodison Park | 3 – 0 | Thornley (2), Turnbull | 10,000 |
| 17 April 1906 | Middlesbrough | A | Ayresome Park | 1 – 6 | J. Moffatt | 8,000 |
| 21 April 1906 | Sunderland | H | Hyde Road | 5 – 1 | Thornley (3), Whittaker, Bannister | 3,000 |
| 28 April 1906 | Birmingham | A | Muntz Street | 2 – 3 | Burgess, Thornley | 6,000 |

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Venue | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 13 January 1906 | First round | The Wednesday | A | Owlerton | 1 – 4 | Bannister | 21,352 |

## Squad statistics
### Squad

Appearances for competitive matches only
| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | John Edmondson | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| GK | Jack Hillman | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| DF | James Buchan | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| DF | Herbert Burgess | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| DF | Tommy Hynds | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| MF | George Dorsett | 34 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 15 |
| MF | James Young | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Bannister | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 |
| FW | Frank Booth | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 7 |
| FW | Lot Jones | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 |
| FW | Irvine Thornley | 36 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 21 |
| FW | Sandy Turnbull | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| -- | Willie Banks | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| -- | John Christie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| -- | R. Dearden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| -- | Sammy Frost | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| -- | Julius Gregory | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| -- | Geordie Livingstone | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 7 |
| -- | McMahon | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| -- | Willie McOustra | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| -- | Joe Moffatt | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| -- | Frank Norgrove | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| -- | Frank Pearson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| -- | Alex Steele | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| -- | James Whittaker | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |