TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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CONTENTS PAGE 5
PAGE 8
PAGE 10
WELCOME - PAGE 4 Words: Clarkey311, http://www.topicalcity.co.uk
OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT - PAGE 5 Words: Simon Curtis, http://downthekippaxsteps.blogspot.com
FALSE DAWN - PAGE 8 Words: Michael Maguire, http://thetheatreofbasecomedy.blogspot.com
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CLASSIC MATCH - PAGE 10 Words: Richard Tucker, http://www.rtfract.com
TERRY COOKE - PAGE 12 Words: Neil Sherwin, http://www.backpagefootball.com
HEROES AND VILLIANS- PAGE 14 Words: Pete Cummings, http://mancityblog.com
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PAGE 16
PAGE 18
PAGE 20
PAGE 16 - BERT TRAUTMANN Words: Bluewolf, http://mcfcforum.com
PAGE 18 - TYPICAL CITY Words: Matty Hill, http://mcfcforum.com
PAGE 20 - THE COLOSSUS Words: Lloyd Scragg, http://www.mancityissues.com
PAGE 22 - BEST FANS?
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Words: Stu Yearsley, http://www.nowwerenolongeralone.blogspot.com
PAGE 24 - ATMOSPHERE Words: Ryan Corless, http://www.mcfcforum.com
PAGE 26 - THE TRUE BLUES Words: Tripp, http://www.mcfcforum.com
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TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
WELCOME Email: topicalcity@gmail.com Website: http://www.topicalcity.co.uk Editor: Clarkey BACKPAGE FOOTBALL Website: http://backpagefootball.com/
Neil Sherwin DOWN THE KIPPAX STEPS Website: http://downthekippaxsteps.blogspot.com/
Simon Curtis MAN CITY BLOG Website: http://mancityblog.com/
Pete Cummings MAN CITY ISSUES Website: http://www.mancityissues.com/
Lloyd Scragg MCFCFORUM Website: http://www.mcfcforum.com/
BlueWolf Matt Hill Ryan Corless Tripp NOW WE’RE NO LONGER ALONE Website: http://nowwerenolongeralone.blogspot.com/
Stu Yearsley RTFRACT Website: http://rtfract.com/
Richard Tucker THEATRE OF BASE COMEDY Website: http://thetheatreofbasecomedy.blogspot.com/
Michael Maguire
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Topical City .
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TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
It’s been a mixed month since our last publication; we have enjoyed success in both domestic and European cups with wins over Aston Villa and Aris respectively. Yet we have struggled to keep equivalent form in the league having only earned 4 points from a possible 9, which included a crushing defeat at Old Trafford thanks to an extravagant Rooney overhead shin, typical. It’s once again approaching that time of year when the table is finally starting to matter and despite our recent struggles, we are still firmly in a Champions League spot. With an arguably easier run-in than both Chelsea and Tottenham, with both still to play, City can boast that their destiny is firmly within their own hands. Despite being a somewhat slimed down issue, we are proud nonetheless to boast about the excellent quality of content featured within issue 3. Once again I ask you all to visit our contributors sites of origin, which be found on the left of this page, as without their time and dedication this fanzine wouldn’t be possible. For those of you who are of the social networking inclination, I urge you join our Facebook group just search ‘Topical City’. We currently don’t have a Twitter account, but you can always follow @Clarkey311 and I’ll happily answer any question/comments. Clarkey
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT: THE AXEMAN COMETH
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Words: Simon Curtis, http://downthekippaxsteps.blogspot.com
his was clearly Mike Summerbee‟s Galipoli. He sat quietly watching Jamie Redknapp and Dwight Yorke eulogise The Second Coming of Christ, the backdrop to his pain, millions of little red bucket seats still warm and steaming from the excited antics of many foreigners‟ bottoms. He looked at his co-panelists with the expression of deflated resignation sometimes etched on the face of an axe murderer before the first cathartic swipe at the sinewy neck down below through the tear shards and light prisms. It has come thus far and must go no further. Words welled up in his throat and finally when he coughed them all out, they appeared in the wrong order, with the normal ones due for the middle of the sentence completely missing, other less important ones repeated threefold one after the other and some really important ones (and ideas to go with them too) missing in action altogether. Bugger, he must have thought when he got home and slipped under his Eastlands eagle themed eiderdown. “64%, 60% or something, must have been, we had total control, I’ll say it again, Sir Alex, over his shoulder goes one, Sir Alex 60% to 64%...” he spluttered, axe heavy in his sweat stained hand. Yorke grinned a toothy grin. Teeth everywhere. Light cascading off his shiny surfaces. Redknapp, dapper in kilt and sporran, suspenders and Indian headress, mocked “Cam orn, United deserve this. Just for that goal”. Mr Summerbee flinched, the late sun winding itself down over the cranes shone in his left eye, making him visibly recoil. His axe hand quivered. Sweat dripped. Clocks ticked. Pundit land steadied itself. A grim silence whispered
like the breeze. A little voice to the side could be heard saying “Did he smash it? Did he smash it?”. There could be only one response left. We have been here before of course: the slightly blue-tinted philosopher surrounded by barracking and crowing from the ranks of United apologists. So steady yourselves, gird up your loins and travel back to a time when punditry did not necessitate immediate apologies on screen for hurting the feelings of sensitive Chinese viewers, nor did a bit of boy’s banter result in the Charge of the Fright Brigade, arrest warrants fluttering in the afternoon wind. We did have Mary Whitehouse, though, and for that we can be eternally grateful, even if she never quite kept a grip on Benny Hill and his milkfloat full of cavorting blondes. Come to think of it, his treatment of the little slaphead in the mac (can I use this term?) would have landed him in trouble these days. An immediate barrage from the Society of Protection and Equality for Vertically Challenged Bald Persons (SPEVCBP). For we have come to this. In a wonderfully demented mini-piece in
the Mail, Martin Samuel stated (Feb 20th), “The problem with Manchester City is their mewling paranoia” ”Mike Summerbee has had too much of footballers scoring overhead, volleyed bicycle kicks to win matches, apparently. Who hasn’t? What a nuisance they can be. There you are, settling in your armchair for an afternoon of pure tedium, when up pops Wayne Rooney with one of those irritating goals of the season, and the next thing you know the whole country is off its feet in dizzied excitement wanting to see it again. Who needs that every week? The fact that Rooney, a striker for Manchester United, did this against Manchester City did not contribute in any way to Summerbee’s suggestion that Sky television is biased towards the Barclays Premier League leaders. He would have been equally unenthusiastic if, say, Mario Balotelli had appeared after months of ineffectuality to win the Manchester derby in such a spectacularly decisive manner. Summerbee’s status as a Manchester City ambassador did not cloud his judgment at all. Sky only see United, he wrote in the TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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MALCOLM ALLISON - MADE FOR TELEVISION?
City programme at the weekend. They certainly won’t be seeing too much of Summerbee after his temper tantrum over Rooney’s goal, that much is certain. The least appealing product of City’s rise to prominence is mewling paranoia. Roberto Mancini, the manager, has been moaning that some find his team dull. Who cares? Critics said that of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, too. No doubt Roman Abramovich would settle for a hefty dose of winning boredom now. Every fan thinks the media has it in for his club. It never occurs to them that partisan leanings cloud their own judgment. Summerbee, a wonderful player, should delight in the talent of Rooney whatever colour his shirt. Instead, he is so one-eyed he turned over to Antiques Roadshow rather than watch a re-run of a brilliant goal scored against his club. It would seem Sky are not the problem here; it is the sky blues that need to see both sides of the story. ‘The media go on as if we don’t exist and that annoys me,’ Summerbee said. ‘I don’t mind banter, I don’t even mind jokes, but the progress we make is being ignored.’ How true. Never hear a mention of City these days, do you? It is like Carlos Tevez has fallen off the map since he left Old Trafford. Is he even 6
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getting a game? Anyone know?” It was far too tempting not to reply to this, although signing up to become a Daily Mail Online Participant makes one feel like going for a steaming hot bath immediately. It made me feel a little like someone who wakes up in the Tripoli sunshine and finally has an idea for the day: “I know, today i think i’ll put up some Gaddafi’ posters around town”. Can we let this creeping acceptance take hold that every little United misdemaenour is smiled at like the benjign teaching assistant watching Little Dwaine throwing his chair out of the window again and every single City story is twisted for the negative slant? Balotelli booked against Fulham for minimal contact with the flying legs of a departing opponent. Rooney given friendly warning for forearm smash across Wigan’s James McCarthy’s cheek. Press reaction. Tepid. FA reaction. Silence. Clattenberg? Taps Dwaine/Wayne on the elbow and whipsers “stop throwing your chair/elbow, there’s a good lad”. A Man Made for Television Our dear beloved departed Malcolm Allison was the world’s wake up call when it came to punditry. He was
there when it was invented, for the Mexico World Cup in 1970, when ITV gathered the most incendiary bunch of egos they could find and set them loose on any topic they wished. The carnage today would cause the entire Daily Mail readership to spontaneously combust. Alongside the whining, whinnying Brian Clough with his slightly-too-pert television quiff, Big Mal sat nonchalantly amidst cigar smoke, happily carrying checked shirts with striped suits and vice versa. Cuban cigars, Fedoras, sheepskin coats. This was a televisual feast on wheels before it even opened its mouth to speak. Then, at the moment of truth, we would be treated to Mal’s faux-Cockney wind-up, the sly grin, the sarcastic put-down, the flick of ash from the luxuriantly patterned slacks. With the fermenting Mullery, caustic Crerand and bizarre Terry Mancini, Mal walked the walk and talked the talk for ITV for several years. His oneliners were like Bette Davis, whilst the others were strictly Betty Turpin. Mal knew his onions, dressed to kill and spoke with the ease and efficacity of a saber going through the middle of a loosely stacked pile of pancakes. Television punditry had almost been invented for him. Oh dear did he say “bollocks” again?
Which you couldn’t say for Peter Reid. A combative midfielder, turned frisky young manager, by the time Reidy stepped into the wobbling plywood cabin that passed for a studio during Maine Road’s final dying days, he had become the Great Vocabulary Thief’s first sad victim. The battered syntax, strangled at birth, the not-too-deep insight “He done really good there the lad, really good”, the nervous banter all belied a man cut for midfield combat and not for the Big Match coffee table chat. He would call a spade a spade, a tackle a tackle and a deep lying midfield passer a bit of a soft twat. You would watch Jim Rosenthal’s face drop gently to the floor and cry hosanah inside. No nonsense, muck and graft Reidy knocking it to the efete television crowd once again was always a bit of a car crash waiting to happen. At least he made it to the leather upholstery. Mel Machin was hardly worth an aftermatch interview, never mind a spot where he could make large with real opinions. So softly spoken was our Mel, so unobtrusive and gauche, that the walking dictionary that was Peter Swales managed to sack him for “a lack of repartee with the fans”. If dear old Swales had only been aware of the joke bursting to get out of that. Machin and repartee would have been akin to putting Sir Geoffrey Howe on stage at the Palladium with Roger de Courcey’s duck. Fluffy, bouncy, shiny, poncy Machin had crossed paths with John Bond many times of course, at Bournemouth, Norwich and City, but there any similarities ended abruptly. John Bond liked the sound of his own voice, even if it did have a rural burr that made him sound like an excited extra from A Country Diary. The result of never quite getting the ghost of Malcolm Allison off his broad shoulders, meant that Bond tried to
cultivate a similarly sheepskin-clad uber-personality, but with Bond there was always his slip showing. Wearing a helmet of over-coiffed blonde hair and a coat down to the ground, Bond would often take on the aura of a Cyberman rather than touchside guru. Whilst Mal wafted cigar smoke nonchalantly across the director’s box, Bondy fell out of it and was carried off to hospital. His City team had just beaten his old charges Norwich sixnothing in the FA Cup. He had some brilliant one-liners ready for Alan Parry. Just couldn’t wait to get to the press room to share them with everybody. Bond later found a niche as an on pitch summariser and interviewer for Granada, a slightly brusque, hurried, he’ll-drop-a-clangerin-a-minute style of English lent itself more to the outsdoor space than the studio, where the twanging vowels would echo like Malvern Cavern. There was always a charming honesty to Bond’s choppy performances in front of the cameras. There was definitely a light or two on, but... What made listening to these men entertaining was the feeling of impending carnage, the spluttered expletive, the casual put-down of a colleage, the unexpectedly candid
insight. Watching Jamie Redknapp and Dwight Yorke, with their lip gloss and assinine gobbledygook might well be enough to make you lose control of your possession percentage stats. City are not immune to this modern disease. Who can forget Adebayor’s classic modern footballer’s appearances in the BBC World Cup studio in South Africa, where he stumbled glibly through his pundit moment whilst his mobile was ringing gleefully in his pocket? Not content with that, he then left it on the shiny table to ring again twenty seconds later. It must be said at this point that the noise made by his phone was the only memorable part of the appearance. With the Pravda-like restrictions on us all by the politically correct crew, we can only dream misty -eyed of a time when Big Mal was joined in the studio by an unshaven and disticntly dishevelled Rodney Marsh. If there had been scratch and smell telly in 1975, the living room would have come alive to the fragrance of last nights Bloody Marys, half dead Woodbines and the sweet musk of dancing girls. And no tinny little voice parping “Did he smash them, did he?”....
PETER RIED - ONE TIME CITY MANAGER TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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FALSE DAWN SHINAWATRA 8
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1th August 2007. The opening day of the season had taken us away to East London and a game against West Ham at the Boleyn Ground. As we stepped out of the tube station and into the late summer sunshine, those usual feelings of trepidation and doubt were outweighed by something different, something new.
The previous season had ended with a long slog of drab, hopeless football. Stuart Pearce’s trusty Beanie Horse had run out of luck and City had not scored a home league goal since New Year’s Day. There was a tangible sense of impending doom about the club. If the lucky horse no longer delivered, what hope was there for the season to come? Step up, the ‘fit-and-proper’ saviour, Thaksin Shinawatra. The FA agreed that our new charismatic owner needed a break from ‘politically motivated’ bitchiness, and the former Thai Prime Minister came in and injected, that vital football fan ingredient , hope into the football club. The week before the start of the season, after showcasing his new football team against Valencia at home (a David Silva goal settled the tie – I wonder what happened to him?), Thaksin treated the City fans to a party in Albert Square. Whilst those who went down into central Manchester after the game were guzzling down the complimentary Thai Green Curry, Shinawatra took the microphone and serenaded the dumbfounded Blues with the club anthem, Blue Moon. Accompanying Thaksin Shinawatra on this charm offensive was newly appointed manager, Sven Göran Eriksson. Previously England’s first foreign manager, Sven now became City’s first manager from outside the British Isles. As high profile a manager as City could have dreamed of during the knuckle-biting impotency of the previous six months at Eastlands, Sven was part of the exciting, cosmopolitan set up that was now sweeping through the club. City had reached a stage when it felt like they needed something different, and everything changed very quickly that summer.
Sven only had a month to gather his team for the first day at West Ham but, in a little under three weeks, he brought in eight players – comprising: the physically questionable yet endearingly enthusiastic strike duo of Rolando Bianchi and Valeri Bojinov; the sensationally gifted but motivationally challenged Brazilian midfield maestro, Elano; the peculiar mentality and exquisite left foot of Martin Petrov; the very likeable, and longest-lasting, Javier Garrido; the cultured and pedestrian Croatian, Vedran Corluka; the bullet-pass master, Gelson Fernandes; and United conqueror, Geovanni. Such was the speed of arrival and relative obscurity of the players that Match of the Day’s Kevin Day was loitering outside the ground, trying, and failing, to catch City fans unaware of their new signings with a kind of ‘Guess who?’ large card game mockup. All but Gelson Fernandes featured against West Ham, with a first appearance for Kasper Schmeichel keeping the debutants total at eight. Part of the joy of the opening day of the season is the anticipation of the unknown and, with so many changes over the summer, a sense of hope was back amongst the fans. It took just eighteen minutes for Sven’s new charges to take the lead. Elano, breaking from midfield, pushed the ball effortlessly past Matthew Upson before sweeping a cross to the back post for Rolando Bianchi to slide the ball home. City were playing with the skill and verve of a team far from being newly assembled. After being starved of goals for too long, there was a Brazilian midfielder who was showing such craft and vision that we may even be entitled to expect the odd goal or two at home. The shadow of Stuart Pearce’s reign seemed to have lifted and there
was a genuine party atmosphere in the away end, as the City fans chanted “City are back!” with full belief that it was true. To wrap up the result, second half substitute, Nedum Onuoha embarked on an uncharacteristically mazy run down the right wing before pulling the ball back to Geovanni who found the bottom corner. Leaving the ground, there was such optimism and joy amongst the fans that the promise of the summer’s revolution had delivered – that our fresh mix of imports and academy graduates (Kasper Schmeichel, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Stephen Ireland and Michael Johnson all played that day) would deliver stylish and effective football under the auspices of an internationally renowned coach. Yet, of course, it all panned out rather differently. Despite City’s wild successes on the pitch before Christmas, Thaksin inexplicably lost faith with Sven after what he termed an ‘avalanche’ of dissatisfactory results – leading to fan protests, the players threatening strikes, and an embarrassing 8-1 defeat against Middlesbrough on the final day of the season. Charged with corruption in his home country, Thaksin lost the hope of having his £800m assets unfrozen and needed to sell the football club he had bought the year before. Through his contacts in Dubai, Thaksin found interest in the Abu Dhabi United Group and, despite many months of perilous rumours, left the club in very good hands indeed. Notwithstanding everything that happened in between, Thaksin’s takeover of the club seemed like a crucial intervention at the time and, whether people like it or not, his will remain the first chapter in the new era of Manchester City Football Club. TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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B
Words & Pictures: Richard Tucker (KippaxBlue), http://rtfract.com
etween 1954 and 1956 I served with the RAF in Hong Kong and used to write articles for the Hong Kong Tiger Standard under several pseudonyms among other sporting ventures . When I returned to the UK I kept up my association with the newspaper and covered some league, cup and internationals for the paper.
With the recent high scoring Premiership scores I did a bit of research and as I checked my scrapbooks I came across a game between City and Wolves in November 1957 at Maine Road. I was sat in the Press Box at Maine Road only a few feet from Frank Swift who was one of the journalists to be killed in the Munich Air Disaster a few months later. A fact that many City supporters forget when they start Munich chants. Any way here is my report as printed at the time of the game. There were enough thrills, excitement and good football in the Manchester City v Wolves game to last the average supporter a month let alone 90 minutes. In a game full of incident, first Wolves then City and then finally Wolves dominated the exchanges and the result was in doubt to the very last second. Full marks to both teams for putting up such a great display but it was bad luck for Steve Fleet making his debut 10
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in the City goal. He shouldn't lose much sleep over this game though for he had little chance with the four that got past him and he made several fine saves that would have made even the injured Trautmann proud. One admirable factor about Fleet's work was his accurate distribution which was of the highest order. Well done Steve Fleet. Wolves opened the proceedings as though they were going to flatten City and in the opening seconds their brilliant approach work almost earned a goal. The speed of wingers Mullen and Deeley often had the City fullbacks at sea while centre forward Murray was always dangerous. About 27 minutes went by before Wolves opened the scoring and the man to apply the finishing touch was Murray. It looked like the beginning of the end. City seemed incapable of doing anything to reassure their supporters and their unbeaten home record was in danger. Suddenly it happened. A peach of a through ball by Bobby Johnstone sizzled through the Wolves defence to
find Barlow on the right wing beating his man by speed. Barlow cracked in a shot which appeared to be going in the net when up popped McAdams to crash the ball home just to make sure. In the very next minute a short centre by Johnstone was headed clear by a Wolves defender straight to the feet of City right half Barnes and before you could say “Sputnik 2" the ball was in the net - a great first timer to put City 2-1- up. The rest of the half was all City with the Wolves defence desperately clearing time and time again. In the second half City went further into the lead. Johnstone was racing through the penalty area in full flight for goal when Harris thinking something drastic had to be done upended the centre forward with a vigour that sent Johnstone flat on his face. "Penalty” roared the crowd "Penalty" shouted the City players and "penalty” said referee Rhodes, and as it is his decision that counts a penalty it was. But not to the Wolves players
who protested vigorously. However had the referee changed his mind he would probably have ended up in the Manchester Ship Canal. The resultant spot kick was converted by Barnes. The floodlights were on now but the evening mist made the game very difficult to follow and at one time there were doubts whether the game would be finished at all. They say Wolves only play well under the floodlights and they certainly showed us how. In a wonderful rally that had City staggering and reeling
under its barrage. With only 12 minutes left a loose ball found Murray looking suspiciously offside near goal but there was no flag and no whistle as the Wolves centre forward flicked the ball past Fleet. A minute later Jimmy Mullen getting the better of Lievers chipped the ball across and Mason's header went over the clutching hands of Fleet to equalize for Wolves. It was Wolves calling the tune now and it was City's turn to be desperate in defence. Five minutes to go and
slipshod marking let in Broadbent who snatched the winner for Wolves from close range. 3-1 up to 4-3 down It was certainly a reversal of fortunes for City but how near they were to drawing level again only Dwyer's fingertips can tell for in the last fleeting moments City forced a corner and McAdams' header was only just saved by the Wolves keeper. Wolves finished champions that season and City finished in 5th place scoring 104 goals but conceding 100 !
City team: Fleet Leivers Sear: Barnes, Ewing, Warhurst: Barlow, Hayes, Johnstone, McAdams, Fagan
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TERRY COOKE PROFILE
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Words: Neil Sherwin , http://www.backpagefootball.com
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t‟s 1999 and Manchester City are struggling following relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time. A 22 year old named Terry Cooke joins on loan from rivals United and his arrival coincides with improved performances, culminating in promotion.
Born in Birmingham, Cooke was an integral part of the Manchester United side captained by Phil Neville that won the FA Youth Cup in 1995. Indeed, the winger scored the winning penalty in the final’s shootout. With David Beckham amongst others ahead of him in the pecking order, opportunities were few and far between at Old Trafford and Cooke made just eight first team appearances in total. Loan spells at Sunderland and his home town club Birmingham City followed before Joe Royle brought him to City where he lit up Maine Road with some excellent displays on the right hand side. Cooke made his debut on 16 January 1999 in the 3-0 home win over Fulham, and netted his first goal three weeks later in the win over Millwall. He impressed so much that the club forked out £1 million to sign him permanently in March 1999. In an interview conducted by Tribal Football last year, the former England under 21 international spoke fondly of his time at City. “I had some great times playing at Manchester City,” he said. “The most memorable being the play -off final where I scored in a penalty shoot out at Wembley. We gained promotion.” However Cooke had by all accounts a very poor game that day at Wembley, summed up by a horrible touch in the 93rd minute which looked to have seen City’s final chance to attack slip away. Fortunately just se-
conds later, Paul Dickov scored what is arguably the most important goal in the club’s history to send the game to extra time and ultimately penalties. Cooke stepped up for City’s third spot kick and calmly converted low to Vince Bartram’s right hand side. With the club now back in Division One, competition for places was a lot stronger and Cooke lost his spot in the team after starting five of the opening six games of the 1999/2000 season. He appeared briefly as a substitute towards Christmas but grew understandably frustrated at the lack of opportunities and handed in a transfer request in February 2000. Cooke was allowed to join first Wigan Athletic and then Sheffield Wednesday on loan before returning to City in January 2001 with the club now in the Premier League. He remained surplus to requirements so moved to Grimsby Town, again on loan, and joined the Mariners permanently in the summer of 2002 after 41 league and cup appearances in blue. After a year at Blundell Park he fell out with manager Paul Groves and headed for Sheffield Wednesday for a second spell but again lasted just one season. In 2005 Cooke left England to try his luck in United States, securing a deal with Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids. He went on to make over 100 appearances for the club, with his proudest moment coming on the opening day of the 2008 season when he captained the side to a resounding 4-0 win over Los Angeles
Galaxy, who included Cooke’s former Manchester United teammate David Beckham in their line up. In July 2009 Cooke was waived by the Rapids, making him a free agent. His next stop was Down Under where he signed with North Queensland Fury on a short term deal. He played out the season in the A-League but failed to secure a more permanent deal and left the club after just ten games. Cooke now plays his trade in Azerbaijan with Gabala FC, the side managed by former England and Arsenal defender Tony Adams. While to most a move to such an obscure country would prove difficult for a lot of people, Cooke has expressed his happiness at how things have gone. “I know about Gabala’s plans in the coming years, and I was interested in taking part in this process,” he said following the move. As well as linking up with Adams, Cooke counts former Derby County striker Deon Burton amongst his teammates. This may be the final chapter in a colourful career but Cooke will be remembered fondly by City fans for that spell in 1999 having made the bold move of switching from red to blue. “When I moved to Manchester City I was only the third player in history to move between the two clubs, the others being Dennis Law and Brian Kidd,” he says. “ Now Carlos Tevez is the fourth so I guess you could say I'm in great company!” TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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HEROES AND VILLIANS Words: Pete Cummings, http://www.mancityblog.com
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e‟ve had some good ways to shout our hero‟s names over the years. Uwe, Uwe Rosler to the theme of Pet Shop Boys „Go West, or Ooh Curly Wurly to the theme of, well Ooh Curly Wurly. But in 1998, a new chant echoed around Maine Road aimed towards an unlikely hero. The players were told from the stands that, if they fed the goat, he would score. Well they fed him, and he scored again, again and again. In February 1998, City manager Frank Clarke was dismissed by City. His replacement, Joe Royle, had a hell of a task to keep City in the First Division. He needed a recognised goal scorer but, with relegation to the second division a huge possibility, he needed one with lower division experience. On transfer deadline day, Shaun Goater arrived at Maine Road in a £400,000 deal that would propel him to legend status amongst the fans. Born in Bermuda, Shaun Goater was spotted by scouts from United and signed for the Old Trafford club in 1989. However, he failed to make an impact on Alex Ferguson and moved to Rotherham United, where he scored 70 goals in over two hundred appearances. He then spent two years at Bristol City, where he made 79 appearances, scoring 43 goals and it was that statistic that made Royle splash out, but the question was, could he do the business for City and justify his price tag. With six games of the season remaining, the fans looked to their new signing to save them. And he started in the best possible fashion, scoring on his debut in a 4-1 home win over local rivals Stockport County. But at this early stage of his City career, the players didn’t know to feed the goat and he failed to score in the following four games as City headed closer to the drop zone. On the final day 14
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of the season and with City needing to win handsomely, Goater obliged and scored two in a 5-2 win at Stoke. It didn’t save the blues but Goater was in the territory he knew well. And he soon set about proving himself to the City fans. And the following season, he did just that. A goal on the opening day against Blackpool helped City to a 3-0 home win and began forming a good relationship with fellow striker Paul Dickov. By the end of the year, Goater had scored 11 goals and more was to come as the blues headed towards Wembley. Just under a year into his City career, Goater hit his first hat-trick for the club as the promotion chasing blues thumped Burnley 6-0 at Turf Moor to take his tally for the season to 16 and another five goals, including a ‘hand of goat’ goal against Wigan saw him end the season on 21 goals as City won promotion via the play offs. The following season, Goater completely silenced any remaining doubters by scoring 30 goals as City won back to back promotions, but his first season in the top flight was a bit of a disaster. Well in fact, the club’s season was a disaster as they went straight back down. Goater scored his first ever top flight goal in a 21 home win over Wimbledon. He finished the season with ten goals, but it was the following year he really made his mark.
Under the new management of Kevin Keegan, City turned into a team of swashbucklers and The Goat was a key figure. By the end of September, he’d already knocked in twelve goals, including another hat-trick against Burnley. Another hat-trick, this time against Gillingham, helped towards the Goat finishing the first half of the season with 23 goals. A further nine goals saw The Goat contribute 32 goals in a highly successful season as City stormed to promotion. City’s first season back in the Premier League saw Keegan invest in a new strike force that included Nicolas Anelka and the Goat soon saw himself relegated to the bench, but he did form a good partnership with the Frenchman. The highlight of his season though, had to be his two goals against United, the club that brought him to England. Goater made United defender Gary Neville look a complete idiot, dispossessing him before slotting home City’s second. He scored his second and City’s third in the second half as City won 3-1. The Goat also came off the bench at Old Trafford to earn City a point, but also had a goal disallowed shortly after. That goal at Old Trafford was his seventh of the season and turned out to be his last for the club when he was released by Keegan at the end of the season. The Goat spent five years at Maine Road
and never had the opportunity to play at Eastlands, but in his time, he earned the admiration and respect of every blue and will forever be a City legend. In the 1990’s, two North West clubs paid around £3m for strikers from two South Coast clubs. One went on to be highly successful, while the other just, well didn’t. Guess which one City got? While Alan Shearer went to Blackburn and won the league, Lee Bradbury headed north to Maine Road and that was probably the most interesting aspect of his City career. Lee Bradbury was a former soldier who had bought his way out of the army and into professional football with Portsmouth. After scoring goals for Pompey, then manager Frank Clark was persuaded to break City’s transfer record and spend £3m on the striker. On the opening day of the season, Maine Road buzzed with anticipation. A new striker and a new look team would soon see City back in the Premier League and Bradbury’s first game was, ironically at home to Portsmouth. Bradbury’s shooting was probably much better while in the forces as the £3m man failed to find the target against his former club, or in the following three games. It wasn’t until the ninth game of the season that Bradbury broke his duck with a goal in a 2-1 defeat at home to Norwich City. His second goal came a week later in a 6-0 win over Swindon and it finally looked like Bradbury, who had gained the nickname ‘Lee Badbuy,’ was starting to justify his huge price tag. However, that goal turned out to be his last of the year as City only scored eleven goals prior to Christmas. So, New Year, New Start for City and Bradbury as the blues looked to the striker to hit the goals he had been bought to score. But it took another ten games for him to score again and it was against his favourite team Swindon Town. Maybe now he would start paying back the fee? Maybe not and he would have been better to just pay the money out of his wages and leave there and then. But Bradbury did score three more goals before the end of the season and got his first, well only brace in a 4-1 win over Stockport County as he tried to react to the threat posed by The Goat. His final goal of the season was an equaliser at home to QPR. Perhaps then, the following season in the second division would help him improve, thought the fans and a goal on the opening day of the season in a 3-0 home win over Blackpool was just what was needed for Bradbury to regain his form. He scored again as City thrashed Notts County 7-1 at Maine Road but sadly, he couldn’t keep it up. Two further goals against Chesterfield and Millwall were his final ones for the club and he was eventually sold to Crystal Palace for £1.5m, half the fee Clark paid for him. An embarrassing and expensive flop, Bradbury is a relic from an era that most City fans would rather forget. Next month, Heroes v Villains focuses on defenders and pits the no-nonsense Mike Doyle against City’s very own Mr Nonsense, Brian Gayle. GOATER DURING THE FINAL MAINE CITY ROADISSUE DERBY TOPICAL 3
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BERT TRAUTMANN
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Words: BlueWolf, http://www.mcfcforum.com
ert Trautmann was so much more than the 1956 final, and yet that is most of what many know of this truly great Manchester City player. He may have been flawed with his stubbornness and anger, but he was also a consummate professional who pushed himself even in the face of such hatred to become one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Sadly, he had many troubled times off the pitch, too, most notably with the death of his young son, whilst he was away in Dusseldorf, Germany, who was tragically killed in a traffic accident. His start to his footballing life was not the smoothest of rides, when City initially signed him. Manchester had always had a large Jewish community, and that had grown even more during the second World War, as people fled Germany to escape the persecution at the hands of the Nazis. On top of that Manchester still bore the heavy scars of the Luftwaffe and the nation was still subject to ration16
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ing. What many of the objectors did not realize was that Bernhard Carl Trautmann hated the Nazis, but under a blanket of lies and deceit perpetuated by the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), he had gone to war as a Paratrooper as a German fighting for Germany; had he have known what the real reasons were he would never have gone in the first place.
The life of a footballer in the 1940's and 50's was in stark contrast to even the 70's - style, preparation, fitness, and pay levels were either non-existent or negligible, and many times did Bert try and change this, not just for himself but for the team as a whole. Sometimes he succeeded, and sometimes he did not. There were also many occasions where he did not help himself - most notably
purposefully attacking the referee on one occasion by blasting the ball at him at full force, and additionally when he attempted to get himself transferred to FC Schalke so that he could move back to Germany with his wife, Margaret. In the latter case, not only did Margaret have no intention of leaving England, but he managed to get himself and FC Schalke in trouble for illegally tappingup a contracted player. City ended all questions by slapping a £20,000 fee on his head, leaving FC Schalke to walk away. It wasn't the only time that Bert was said by the press to be moving back to Germany, for in late 1953, a pools consortium were apparently ready to pay City a staggering £25,000 for his services again FC Schalke were involved. One of the main reasons behind this scheme was that the German public wanted Trautmann in the National side for the World Cup, which was never going to happen whilst he played in England. In reality, no offer ever arrived and it was deemed to be the work of the English media, although City probably would have sold him had someone come calling offering that amount of money. Throughout his career, Bert had to deal with cries of "Nazi" and "German bastard" at every game, but with the help of Jack Friar, the club secretary of St. Helen's (and later, Bert's father-in-law), where he first began his footballing career, he managed to deal with it, although when an opposing player said things of these sorts to him, his anger did get the better of him occasionally. When he did first sign for City, many supporters - fuelled by the media threatened to boycott matches, but those who actually carried the threats out were very few and far between. The idea of Jock Thomson, the manager at the time, was that Bert would be a backup for the great Frank Swift who had been with the club since 1932. It had been hoped that Alec Thurlow would replace Swift, but after Thurlow succumbed to tuberculosis, Swift changed his mind about retiring and remained at
the club until a suitable replacement could be found. Ex-Normandy beach veteran, Eric Westwood, the Captain, welcomed him publically into the fold, which helped ease tensions a little, but it was reputed that he secretly was not entirely happy with the situation, although he never publicly spoke about his feelings. It wasn't until a change in the law in 1952, that Bert found himself to be a free man and no longer under the scrutiny of Govt officials, worried that he may yet still be a Nazi. Bert was renowned for being a very serious man, and every defeat by City was taken by him as a personal slant on his own ability, and his family would leave him alone whilst he'd go through every moment of the game in his head, demanding improvement upon himself unfortunately in the beginnings of his career with the club, those defeats happened very often. What the fans saw was that, were it not for their new keeper, the club would be in an even worse mess. The 1953-4 season saw City dramatically change the way they played, and Bert Trautmann was instrumental in this change. After watching the Hungarians tear England apart at Wembley, with a deep-lying centre forward behind the front two, Bert knew that this was what he wanted to be a part of at City. Fortunately, Don Revie, Roy Paul, and Nobby Clarke were all in agreement and the squad started to tinker with this new system. It had actually been used to great effect by the reserves, and so when it was implemented into the first team, it was expected to be a resounding success, particularly utilizing Bert's quick pin -point accurate throws. It wasn't. Les McDowell, however, stuck with it and told the squad to ignore the media, whilst they practiced and he tinkered with the starting XI. It finally paid off. The much hailed 'Revie plan' got City to two finals in two seasons, culminating in that notorious final. Bert Trautmann, sadly, was never the same again after that match. He recovered his passion for the game, but his speed and strength were no longer what
they once were; he wanted to retire, but the club talked him out of it. Meanwhile his home life was getting worse, as Margaret was envious of her husband's fame, and she started to take it out on him in ways that were unthinkable. He remained at the club until 1964, seeing much upheaval and changes to the team, including the likes of Denis Law come and go, but after dropping down in the pecking order and becoming the #2 keeper he vowed to leave. City of course, told him that he would always have a job at the club, which he sadly found out to be untrue. Thankfully, however, due to his long service and a testimonial featuring some of the Manchester greats (from both sides) he managed to bank enough money to see himself through the beginnings of the next stage of his life. It wasn't all plain sailing though, as those he had spent the last fifteen years with, turned their back on him and virtually ignored his achievements within the game. It ended with him returning to Germany, virtually penniless. However, in spite of all the problems both on and off-field, he finally found his niche - although he had to endure yet more frustration when he managed Preußen Munster (after a short stint at Stockport County). Bert eventually became to work with Third World Nations (under the German football association), which took him to places such as Burma, Tanzania, Liberia and Pakistan, coaching them the ways of German football. This gave him so much pride, and he made great in-roads within these nations. Bert's life had been one of constantly over-coming life's obstacles, but throughout it all he gave everything he had, (including offering his services to United after the Munich disaster as a translator, and to the West German national side in the '66 World Cup as the official attaché) and has now, thankfully, been recognized for his achievements within the game, and more importantly for what he did at Manchester City. A consummate professional and a true City legend. TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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TYPICAL CITY Words: Matty Hill, http://www.mcfcforum.com
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t‟s a phrase that has been long adopted by the Blues‟ faithful and it describes perfectly the club that they unwittingly chose – yet loyally follow (it‟s all Dad‟s fault). Fans from other clubs mock City‟s apparent “lack of history”, typified by United fans‟ jeers on the 28th February 2011 – the 35th anniversary of City‟s last major trophy (the League Cup in 1976).
Indeed some dare suggest that City have no history, a false allegation - if you know of any other club that were the only reigning English champions to be relegated (in the 1938-39 season), or were the only team to score and concede over 100 goals in the same season (195758), or were the only team to score 31 goals in five rounds of the FA Cup only to lose 1-0 to Bolton in the final (1925-26 season) then let me know. Joking aside, if you think of Manchester City’s history then a fair few things spring to mind: Colin Bell, Francis Lee, Mike Summerbee, Dennis Tueart, Denis Law’s back heel and so on and so on. One thing that has dogged the Blues’ history is the phrase ‘typical City’. In fact all the descriptions listed above epitomise the phrase ‘typical City’ – after all it is a well known fact that City do everything the hard way. In order to become the richest club in the world they first had to be taken over briefly by Thai tyrant Thaksin Shinawatra, a wanted man back in his native land for charges of corruption. Life as a City fan is certainly not an easy one. Just when you thought things might get that little bit better following their takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in August 2008, and the signing of Brazilian wonder Robinho from Real Madrid. In a British record transfer fee (at the time) it was a signing that sent City fans into raptures. Fans from across Manchester 18
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flocked to Eastlands, dancing in jubilation with elastic bands around their heads ensuring the tea-towels they donned remained in place. With such a hefty price tag Robinho was expected to set the Premier League alight. It didn’t take long for City to crash back down to reality, it was City after all who’d signed Robinho it was a transfer that was never going to work out – ‘typical City’ you could say. As the weight of expectation increased (thanks to some indiscreet members of the board broadcasting club targets) and City were expected to challenge for the Champions League places, and ultimately win the league it was inevitable that City would fail and finish just outside the top four. Too many draws under Mark Hughes meant that the points ‘trajectory’ was falling below the target, culminating in City doing what they do best and sacking yet another manager – ‘typical City’ you could say. With the club being accused of selling its soul the big question is will the Blues ever lose the tagline ‘typical City’? After all, there have been results this season which have been worthy of the phrase – take the two FA Cup ties for instance, both against lower league opposition and both went to replays. Granted, City won the replays which starts to buck the trend, but it seems that it might be some while yet before the club loses the tag
for good. But the phrase ‘typical City’ can also be used to describe actions by the club not relating to results on the field. Sir Alex Ferguson called City ‘a small club with a small mentality’ when asked what his views were on City’s witty, impressive and award winning ‘Welcome to Manchester’ marketing phenomenon featuring Carlos Tevez. It is City’s apparent obsession with United that has increased the friction between the two sets of fans. After City went top of the Barclays Premier for a short while a few months ago, the league table flashed on the big screen to show City ahead of United – even though the Blues had played two games more. Whilst it may appear innocuous to some it could appear as something a ‘small club’ would do. Or perhaps another example would be the baffling decision for Edin Dzeko, City’s only acquisition in January, to be named January’s player of the month after only a handful of appearances in which he hardly set the world on fire. Whilst it’s true that he needs time to settle – time which he will get given his previous scoring record – he was hardly a convincing choice for player of the month. These small matters may seem irrelevant, but until they are obliterated by Manchester City actually winning a major trophy, there will always be that monkey on the back and the chip on the shoulder.
WELCOME TO MANCHESTER POSTER TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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THE COLOSSUS
Words: Lloyd Scragg, http://www.mancityissues.com
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here to begin with the Belgian colossus? He has been simply sensational for City this season; producing consistently excellent performances. 2010/11 could well be the defining year for Vincent but things weren‟t always this smooth.
He arrived from Hamburg as a ‘defensive midfielder that could play at the back’ for around £6million (money very well spent in hindsight). Arriving on the back of a serious knee injury, the fans were concerned about his fitness. But we needn’t have worried. He made an encouraging start to his City career, rapidly becoming an integral member of Hughes’ squad. However, whilst it was obvious that he was a good player, defensive midfield did not appear to be his most natural position. Strangely, Hughes persisted in playing him in the middle, despite seemingly having the required attributes of a centre halve. Hughes hope was that he could anchor a midfield consisting of Elano, Robinho and Wright-Phillips. Of course, he put in some accomplished performances in this position, providing a much-needed barrier in front of our defence and distributing well from deep. Yet there were signs coming though that suggested he really ought to be moved elsewhere. By January 2009 things were becoming more obvious. His anticipation of movement and ability to read the game had caught the eye, whilst his profound lead20
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ership qualities had lead many to question Dunne’s role as captain. A place in the defence surely awaited. The cries from the stands were then answered. Dunne’s absence forced Hughes to move Kompany back, and with also Dunne being captain, Kompany temporarily took the skippers armband. By the seasons conclusion he had become a fan favourite, excelling in both defence and midfield. He had made a brilliant start to life in England after starting only 18 Bundesliga games in 2007/08. However, there was an underlying problem. Kompany had been playing through the pain barrier since January with a troubling toe injury; he didn’t really look fit for the rest of the campaign. Despite this, the hope was that his injury would heal over the summer and he would become an integral part of the team for the approaching season. But this was not the case, in July news surfaced that his toe problem had not healed and an operation was required. Things got even worse though. Barry was signed to partner de Jong in midfield whilst Lescott and Kolo Toure were re-
cruited to become the new central defensive pairing. But Kompany proved his doubters wrong, how fickle we were to doubt his fighting spirit. He had to wait, but when his opportunity came, he seized it with both hands and didn’t look back. His performances in the second half of that campaign were easily the best by any defender at the club from that season. Vincent was back. The acquisition of Jerome Boateng meant that Kompany would have even more competition for his central defensive position. Regardless of his injuries from the previous term, Vincent still managed to outshine his more expensive teammates in Kolo and Lescott. The question was though, could he do it again? Mancini handed Kompany a starting shirt for the season’s curtain raiser, partnered by Kolo Toure and with Joe Hart in goal. It was Hart who stole the show with his immense goalkeeping exhibition, but the contribution of the two centre halves should not go unnoticed. After last season’s disappointments, this was a surprising yet hugely encouraging start by Kolo Toure. Being stripped of the captain’s armband normally inhibits a nega-
tive reaction from the player. But initially, this appeared to not be the case. Unfortunately he has failed to sustain his promising early season form, Kompany on the other hand has built upon it. Kompany’s imperious performance against Chelsea in September confirmed his status as the best defender at the club. Never before have I seen Didier Drogba kept so quiet. His composure under pressure that day and his flawless positioning gave the Ivorian powerhouse very little to work with. His outstanding performance thus far this season came at Old Trafford. Again, he was phenomenal, shackling Rooney superbly until the striker’s spectacular effort found the net. Thankfully, his performance that day did not go unnoticed and he got a lot of justified praise in the following days papers. His statistics are even more telling: He has made 1802 touches in his own half in the Premier League this season, more than any other player. He has won 60 tackles, more than any other player in our squad. He has completed 1172 passes this campaign, second only to Gareth Barry with 1223 completed, and second also in terms of defenders in the entire league. Finally he has played for a total of 2551 minutes, making him the most played outfield player in our squad. Therefore, had it not been for David Silva’s magical displays, he would be in prime position to net the player of the season award. Nevertheless, I’m sure he’ll push David and Carlos until the very end. There is still a long way to go this season - possible FA Cup glory awaits and Champions League qualification beckons, but with Kompany at the heart of our defence, I’m couldn’t be more confident.
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THE BEST FANS IN THE LAND AND ALL THE WORLD?
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Words: Stu Yearsley, http://www.nowwerenolongeralone.blogspot.com
o the great majority of City fans this is generally seen as a statement rather than a question, but there has been a growing concern about its credibility. The one constant throughout our clubs rapid development has been the well maintained reputation of its fans. It has been viewed that the stature of our fans has been a catalyst for bringing in quality players, whilst players departing the club have echoed these sentiments and often sang the praises of the City faithful. Yet questions have raised recently about the number of empty seats that consistently litter the City of Manchester stadium, especially in the cup competitions. The old proverb states that success brings adoration, even in the fickle minds of most football fans it seems a given that the better your team play then the greater the desire to watch them – hence my lack of understanding at the number of seats left empty and its correspondence with our degree of cup progression. Our league attendances over the last 4 years agree with this theory; in the 07-08 season we averaged just over 42,000, the 08-09 season just short of 43,00, in the 09-10 season 45,500 and this season we can boast a healthy average league attendance of 47,177. Our fans sit fourth in the attendance table only behind United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle. With the defeat at Old Trafford this year our ambitions for the season changed, with most fans now content with a Champions league place and to focus our attention on the two remaining cup competitions. Despite this, we can only produce a contrasting average attendance for FA cup games which is a lowly 26,867 – 9th in the attendance table with teams above us including Leeds, Leicester, West Ham and Everton. So I remain unsure of what it will take to encourage fans to watch cup games, our best chance in winning silverware for a well 22
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documented 35 years and one game away from playing at Wembley just doesn’t seem to provide the motivation. In our home Europa League games this year we average a slightly less shameful 35,700, which bridges the gap between FA cup games and Premier league games. This leaves us with the 7th highest attendance in the Europa League. To put the things into perspective the teams above us include Borrussia Dortmund, Benfica and Ajax. Looking at the other end of the scale the teams below us include Rubin Kazan who had an average attendance of just 400. The common perception is that the main reason for our low attendance is financial; with the current economic climate of course this is understandable. With our FA cup tickets costing between £15 and £25 and our cheapest season tickets selling for £420, City offer one of the fairest ticket pricing schemes in the division with only considerably ‘smaller clubs’ being able to offer similar; West Brom, Blackpool and Stoke pose as good examples. To put that into context, the other teams currently making up the top four; United, Arsenal and Chelsea sell season tickets for £513, £893 and £550 respectively. Even taking the financial situation into account, clubs have still managed to bring in high FA cup attendances this year, Spurs and Leeds have both averaged over 35,000 along with
the aforementioned ‘big three’ from the premier league. This considered, I would certainly refuse to solely blame finances for our poor turnouts. The simple part as usual is identifying the issue, coming up with a solution would always be more problematic. One approach, taken by more and more clubs is to tie in a cup ticket scheme with the purchase of season tickets. This makes cup games compulsory for season ticket holders, some offering discounted rates. The negative aspects to this tie-in are again financial but the positive aspects are clear to see in the success that United have had operating the scheme. With an average FA cup attendance this year of 74,753 it is clear that the cup scheme is contributing to filling the ground more regularly. This could become more and more important as new financial fair play regulations are introduced and all the revenue from ticket sales will be considered. If City do progress to the Semi-finals or even further in the FA cup, I have no doubt that the club will easily distribute their full allocation, however there certainly needs to be some planning for the early stages of all cup competitions next year. So do we really have ‘the best fans in the land and all the world?’ – I’d say about 25,000 of them.
MANCINI & EMPTY SEATS DURING EUROPACITY LEAGUE TOPICAL ISSUETIE 3
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ATMOSPHERE Words: Ryan Corless, http://www.mcfcforum.com
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hether it‟s bouncing up and down in a sea of blue and white, not worrying about a thing or honouring a certain Mr Rösler, this campaign has seen another seven months or so of vibrant support from the Blue army. Some new terrace chants have been introduced over the course of 2010/2011 season; a few of them have been instrumental in the on-going task of developing and maintaining an atmosphere at our still relatively new home, Eastlands. When somebody says the word ‘atmosphere’, what do we think? Some might think of three thousand loyal supporters bouncing around in a sea of col24
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our, not caring about whether their team wins or loses. Others might say it’s more about that tense, irritable feeling, knowing that it’s a big game, fans everywhere
nail-biting, and waiting for that perfect moment to let out an emotionallyfuelled burst of passion. We’ve seen different examples of both this season,
both from visiting supporters at Eastlands, and our fans themselves. The latest craze amongst City fans all over, following our obsession with inflatable bananas is to do the ‘Poznan’. Let’s take a look back at the history of the Poznan – on October 21st 2010, City played Lech Poznan at Eastlands in the Europa League group stage. The Polish outfit brought a vast, inspirational following of around 9,000 Poles, who didn’t fail to brighten up a dark, bitterly cold night in Manchester. Around quarter of an hour into the somewhat slow-starting game, the impressive away following did something that would change our season forever. Poznan’s ‘Poznan’ was greeted by a chorus of ‘what the f****ng hell is that?’ Like most football fans though, when Adebayor slid City in front, we just couldn’t resist the temptation to mock and try out the ‘Poznan’ for ourselves. It was a bit of fun, it wasn’t overly impressive that night but it added a bit of a new dimension to celebrating a goal. At West Brom on November 7th, it returned for a second time. After a Balotelli brace (along with a Balotelli red card), City fans decided to imitate the Poznan once again. This time, the whole stand joined in, and it was the start of something special. Since then, every time a goal’s been scored, Blues have bounced with their back to the game. It’s something that’s increased the atmosphere along with the mood at Eastlands ten fold, because in honesty the noise made at City home games in recent campaigns hasn’t been too dissimilar to the amount of noise made in a Manchester graveyard in the early hours of the morning. It was at it’s magnificent peak against Wolves, after Yaya Toure effectively sealed three points for City, we saw our first ‘full stadium Poznan’, even the North Stand joined in, and when the North Stand join in with anything, you know it either involves Moonchester shooting free t-shirts into the crowd or they really like celebrating a matchwinning goal in a certain way, the Poz-
nan was here to stay. Round 3 of the FA Cup saw City travel to Championship outfit Leicester, looking to reach a first major cup final for now 30 years. The match was specifically picked out as the one in which City fans would honour the career and life of Neil Young, who sadly passed away shortly after the tie. Black and red scarves were specially made in remembrance of City’s 1969 FA Cup final colours, the same colours that Young wore when he scored the decisive goal to add another illustrious chapter to City’s equally illustrious history. Early in the second half I heard a small pocket of fans singing a specially crafted, Cityfriendly rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’. ‘City don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing is gonna’ be alright’, the pocket sang, slowly turning into a majority of strangely optimistic sounding Blues. ‘City don’t worry’ increased in popularity, and at later away days at the likes of Villa Park, St. Andrews and Meadow Lane, it was sung by the large contingency of Blues attending. It’s been another contributory factor in the increasing spirit of City fans this season, and another reason why the atmosphere at the City of Manchester Stadium has been slowly and steadily becoming more hostile for away players and fans alike to visit. It has to be said though that this particular ‘newbie’ in the songbook is reserved mainly for City away, so if you want to belt it out, find a stinky minibus, an inflatable object, and join in the fun! Late February saw the visit of Aris Thessaloniki to the City of Manchester Stadium. Prior to the game you didn’t have to do much searching when it came to finding a sea of yellow in the town centre. Needless to say, the Greeks were everywhere and they made any of the English supporters we’ve encountered at Eastlands this season sound incredibly quiet too. The visit of Aris got me thinking though, what makes an atmosphere? Because the way the Aris fans make a noise and
the way us City fans make a noise involved very different methods. For one, we don’t use instrumental aids, unlike the Greeks who used a drum. Secondly, our (and most English teams’) supporters sing when the time feels appropriate. Maybe the team’s got a corner or had a period of sustained pressure and the fans feel the need to urge the team on. The Aris fans’ approach was slightly different, it was very much a case of ‘we don’t care what happens on the pitch, we’re going to try our hardest to damage everyone’s eardrums’. But is that really an atmosphere? If you sing for 90 minutes does it take the shine from belting out a fan anthem? To compare, if you eat cake every day for a month, you’ll probably get a bit bored of it, but if you only eat cake when you really feel like it, it’s going to feel more like a special occasion. I think the answer is probably lodged somewhere in the middle, hearing the Aris fans sing for 90 minutes really was something to behold, but it got a bit repetitive and monotonous after a while, however if you only sing a song every ten minutes, does the game get a bit stale and uninteresting? Make of it what you will, but I’m sure everyone will have an opinion on what constitutes calling something ‘atmosphere’. However you look at it, the introduction of newer, entertaining goal celebrations like the Poznan have really livened up Eastlands this campaign, something that definitely needed to happen sooner rather than later if we’re too ever rival the atmosphere we managed at Maine Road for the big games. Some of the foreign supporters this season have shown City fans how to make noise, and it’s something we have on at least on occasion taken on board and used it ourselves. If we’re to develop an atmosphere that can make the City of the Manchester Stadium more like the fortress we’d like it to be we have to blend more of these fun, quirky terrace chants into our ‘songbook’ and get City fans singing and smiling again whatever the score. We are after all meant to be the twelve man, whatever the circumstances! TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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THE TRUE BLUES OF MANCHESTER CITY Words: Tripp, http://www.mcfcforum.com
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t is hard to find a kind word about Manchester City written in the newspapers these days, as has been the case ever since the club was bought by Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008. As has been seen with the likes of the World's major financial institutions since that same year, throwing about millions of pounds in the pursuit of what might seem to be trivial ends, is not exactly the best way to endear oneself to the general public during the worst recession in decades. In City's case, they may have a point; spending 27 million pounds on a striker when the club already has one who cost 25 million and makes upwards of £200,000 every week seems more than a bit absurd to those in our society who are struggling to find jobs, often far below the level that they are qualified for. So there is the problem of simple economics. Were this the only part of the puzzle, this would be a much shorter article. Unfortunately for City supporters, our squad itself, at first glance, does not seem to be particularly likeable either. One of our new signings, Mario Balotelli, is a well-known hothead who, since coming to Manchester, has crashed his Audi R8, a £200,000 supercar, and allegedly was discovered to be cheating on his girlfriend by the tabloids. Adam Johnson, Gareth Barry, and Shay Given were recently caught getting drunk at a student party in Scotland, to the fury of manager Roberto Mancini. There have been several bust-ups recently, notably involving Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, James Milner, and the aforementioned Balotelli on separate occasions, during training as well as on the pitch, which the media was quick to pounce on. This list goes on, and were I to go into Chief Executive Garry Cook's hi-jinks, we would be here all week. 26
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The perception of Manchester City being pushed by the newspapers is that of a club undone by its financial largesse; these spoiled awful players are only in it for the money, and they are ruining football, etc. Neil Ashton of the News of the World even went so far to call us a “club without class.” The truth of the matter, however, which the muckraking media has, as so often happens in the entertainment-crazed media world of today, done a thoroughly good job of trumping up the occasional mishaps of the club's players, and conveniently ignored the massive amount of good that this club does for the city of Manchester and other institutions around the globe. I will not make excuses for the conduct of the likes of Barry, Johnson, Balotelli et al, though in the latter's case there is a case for them to be made. My aim here is to bring to the light the mountain of positivity that this club is working from. I highly doubt Neil Ashton, or Barry Glendenning, or any of the journalists who so love to revel in the missteps of our players will be convinced, much less take the time out of their cynical existences to read this article, but, nonetheless, I think it is important for us to be reminded of these deeds, and maybe scrape a bit of breathing space into the avalanche of bad press.
Manchester City has a long-standing program called City in the Community, a push to forge close links between City and its neighbours. The mission statement of the program states that “Social responsibility is deep seated in our Club's heritage and essential in its future, and in this City in the Community plays a central role. Everyone involved with Manchester City in any capacity is part of the 'City family'. Together we share and work to resolve issues and develop hope and aspiration across the community.” To this end, the club sponsors an enormous range of activities for children, such as football skills classes at parks across Greater Manchester. The club has also recently begun an initiative called Strike A Balance, a program for local schools aimed at improving health amongst primary school students, especially those aged 9-10, through courses teaching information on how to eat more healthily, the importance of exercise, and even cooking classes. The initiative was kicked off by goalkeepers Joe Hart and Shay Given facing off under the eyes of chef (and personal hero of mine) Marco Pierre White. City in the Community has numerous more projects like this happening all the time. Last year, the club, along with members of several different Supporter's Club
branches, sent a shipping crate full of football gear, books, laptops, and even a mini coach to the Sierra Leone Supporter's Club, which, as you might imagine for a group of people living in one of the world's poorest nations, did not have much kit to speak of at all. The mini coach itself, besides helping transport the team to its away games, is used as a public transportation vehicle during the week in Freetown, creating jobs as well as revenue for the Sierra Leone fans. Also in this war-shattered nation, our striker Craig Bellamy, who is more famous in Europe for his enthusiasm in using golf clubs in unusual ways, runs a charitable foundation completely out of his own pocket that invests in the infrastructure of said nation, including its very first football academy, which provides education in not just the game itself but in more general matters as well, as the only condition to attending the academy is that the child wishing to join must be attending school. According to the club's website, “the project has proved to be an incredible success with 1,600 youngsters, 40 managers and 40 coaches now enrolled in the Craig Bella-
my Foundation League which began last year.” One of our most important players, defender Vincent Kompany, also has a large part of his heart in Africa. Every summer, Vincent goes to the Congo as a participant in the SOS Children's Villages charity, a group that looks to support “vulnerable children, aiming to provide a safe home within a family-based model, as well as primary health care and education.” According to Kompany, "The SOS village is for 150 children and has a medical centre for 10,000 people a year, so there's an impact on the surrounding community. It gives children a chance to attend school, learn to read and write, and go back to a form of stable family life. But you have to develop aspects of the child's personality as well. Do they want to be a footballer, an athlete, in music, or the media maybe? We'll try to develop their natural talent, and if you can take a child who had no chance and give them a chance to become someone who can make a difference, then how much more beautiful can a story be? I feel privileged, and it's something I will
fight for in the future. It's unfair to have opportunities in Europe but not in Africa, and I want to do something to make a difference." These are not the actions of selfish, money-crazed players. They are the actions of compassionate human beings who, realizing their own privilege, choose to invest it in the future of a continent, not in the latest shiny new car or fashion accessory. I could go on far more about how the club and its players are working to better the World through their actions. My point in this whole piece is to remind the readers of Topical City that the media's line is not the one that should always be believed. Sports journalism in our modern world operates on the gotchamoment, the scandalous happenings, not the stories with actual import like those I've mentioned. It gets hard to remember that sometimes amongst the barrage of negativity that constantly emanates from the broadsheets. But, know that our club and many of our players are working to make the World a better place, and that matters far more than football ever will.
GIVEN & HART DURING COOK-OFF TOPICAL CITY ISSUE 3
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