Manchester City: Twenty Years Ago Today
With the season Manchester City are having, it is hard to believe it hasn’t always been like this. Fans who have only known the club since the takeover, will only know big money signings, European football and being at the top half of the table. Head back a little further though, and they would be in for a shock.
2005/06, under Stuart Pearce, City did just avoid relegation, despite being in free fall. Only five wins from Christmas to the final game wasn’t enough to see us drop down a division, nor was it enough to see the ex England defender lose his job!
That was because even that was an improvement on previous seasons. Other than 2004/05 and 2002/03, Manchester City had never finished in the top ten of the Premier League. Well, except the inaugural EPL season of 1992/93.
Certainly, for most City fans, the pre season hopes were that the side would secure their Premier League safety for another season. Some seasons that was done with ease, while others took a little longer. It is an alien feeling for some of the younger fans, who only know of it through older family members.
I suppose it is similar to my Father telling me of the cup wins and League wins of the 1960’s and 70’s. Certainly in the 1990’s and early 2000’s that was as alien to me as relegation must be to the new breed of blues.
With that in mind I’m not sure what they’d make of the events of 20 years ago on this day. Heading to Stoke City in the final game of the season, a 5-2 win wasn’t enough to save the Cityzens from relegation. Not from the Premier League to the second tier, but second to third!
Frank Clark had been replaced by Joe Royle, but he couldn’t stop the rot. At the end of the season, Uwe Rosler and Georgi Kinkladze left the club. Much like the situation Sunderland now find themselves in, City too needed to bounce straight back.
Finances meant that not much more than a season could be endured by the club. It was also the first season of the Eagle badge. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. Of course, history will show that we did make it back at the first attempt, but it wasn’t easy.
Recently I spoke to Jim Whitley, who was at the club at the time. There was no promise that the Blues would be automatically back. Hard work, and team work, was needed. Andy Morrison came in, and play off drama ended a quite emotional season.