Was Alan Ball as bad as people remember?

[jimharri]

It still baffles me why Kendall went back to Everton when he did, we looked in great shape and he was building a very, very good team which Peter Reid destroyed.

Running back to the wife, innit?

 

[WEMBLEY76]

Remember his first game a friendly at Burnley and watched him stride on the pitch thinking he had no managerial skills to be at our club.

 

[nmc]

It still baffles me why Kendall went back to Everton when he did, we looked in great shape and he was building a very, very good team which Peter Reid destroyed.

He kept going back to Everton - it never worked out and to be honest his drinking was spiralling out of control by the time he left City so not sure he was much of a loss. Paul Lake covers this in his book). Agree it looked like he was building something but his managerial career declined rapidly in the years after he walked away from us.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Just a few of many, Promised transfer funds, extensive rebuilding of Maine Road ( 4 sides) , taking the club into the 20th century in terms of a business, we were run like a poor corner shop under Swales and in reality it improved very little under Lee.
Francis Lee had and has one of the biggest ego's I have ever encountered, a very unpleasant little man, whom despite what he thinks has very little business knowledge.

You have clearly met him.

Him, Barlow and Dunkerley, took the absolute piss.

We were even struggling to repay McCalpines for the botch-it Kippax build.

 

[nmc]

The real question is was Alan Ball giving Paul Walsh And cash for Gerry Creaney the worst deal in history

No it was the Buster Phillips sham which was designed to repay money ~ Ball had embezzled from Exeter. The deliberately hyped Phillips arrived for £500k - hyped to be the first £10m player! - he made a couple of substitute appearances before being sold for £100k. This was pure corruption, I often wonder whether Francis Lee was in on the scam - I doubt it and ultimately when this came to light it may of been one of the reasons Lee so readily showed his so called mate Ball the door.

 

[nmc]

You have clearly met him.

Him, Barlow and Dunkerley, took the absolute piss.

We were even struggling to repay McCalpines for the botch-it Kippax build.

Lee’s business empire is a murky affair- he’s crossed a lot of people and is generally viewed as a small time crook.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Could have been worse, Lee did a deal for Dave Bassett.

I was covering Bury v Crystal Palace in the League Cup that night and Bassett came over to tell us he wasn't coming, just hours after accepting the job.

That was a pretty low point for me as a City fan, Dave fucking Bassett turning down my club.

 

[nmc]

Could have been worse, Lee did a deal for Dave Bassett.

I was covering Bury v Crystal Palace in the League Cup that night and Bassett came over to tell us he wasn't coming, just hours after accepting the job.

That was a pretty low point for me as a City fan, Dave fucking Bassett turning down my club.

Do you know why Bassett did the about turn... ?

 

[Blue Maverick]

I was in Florida when a bloke came up to me (had my City top on) told me he had been appointed, needless to say I wasn’t impressed and that continued.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Lee’s business empire is a murky affair- he’s crossed a lot of people and is generally viewed as a small time crook.

Where there's bog roll, there is invariably shit.

I know things got so bad at one stage, the club couldn't afford his demanded loose tea, so staff were told to tear open teabags.

Apparently they used to piss their sides he couldn't tell the difference, despite his insistence for it.