Probably have more chance of shagging Eddie
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Two anecdotes summing up City in the 80's
- Thread starter Mad Eyed Screamer
- Start date
xgorton
Well-Known Member
Spot on also it was new year's day 1-1 v Everton the last home league goal,unbelievable.Vassell missing an 80th min pen to equalise against the rags to cap it off.
franksinatra
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That 1999 play off final summed up the absolute shambles the club and ticket office was at the time. We averaged 28-32,000 that year and got 46,000 tickets give or take a couple. There should have been plenty to make sure everyone comfortably got a ticket but of course it didn't pan out that way. I had plenty of ticket purchasing history, stubs including loads of aways but because I was working away when the tickets went on sale I missed out. I spent hours phoning every club number and just got the engaged tone constantly. I got a ticket last minute from Sue Wallace but I shouldn't have had to go through all that hassle it was ridiculous.
We had the required points to get tickets and then as we applied for season tickets for the following year were able to get another ticket each.
It was a shambles. I remember going down on the saturday around 8 and saw a few mates further ahead. Pretty sure it was cup final day or another match as we joked we would probably miss it, not realising it was around 7/730 when we finally got our tickets
We had the required points to get tickets and then as we applied for season tickets for the following year were able to get another ticket each.
It was a shambles. I remember going down on the saturday around 8 and saw a few mates further ahead. Pretty sure it was cup final day or another match as we joked we would probably miss it, not realising it was around 7/730 when we finally got our tickets
If you couldn't queue up like I couldn't you had zero chance.
franksinatra
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If you couldn't queue up like I couldn't you had zero chance.
Even better was the semi final. The club issued raffle tickets to those queueing, numbering up to circa 350, and as it was two tickets per person everyone thought this meant all would get a ticket.
Ticket office opened at 5pm? and we were queueing from 9am. Fair to say people were not happy when tickets ran out miles before all those with raffle tickets had been sold tickets.
quiet_riot
Well-Known Member
2-1. Samaras got bothSpot on also it was new year's day 1-1 v Everton the last home league goal,unbelievable.
Thomas Hearns
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I loved that little souvenir shop and the shambolic ticket office and all the mismatching stands and the utter chaos of those days. It's where a lot of the dark humour comes from that separates City fans from over entitled self righteous fans of other clubs and I wouldn't change any of it even if I could.
Souvenir shop lol. I was a kid, about 15 when I thought I'd treat myself to a leather season ticket holder. Went and bought one only to find the ticket was too big without butchering the back of the ticket to get it in. The next year I got another one but when I got it out of the bag the club crest had been printed on the back of the cover! The woman in the shop checked the box and found they were all the same. She gave me 50p off! Summed us up.
It was just found this
From PAUL LAKE, I’M NOT REALLY HERE, A LIFE OF TWO HALVES by Paul Lake
…An assured first half performance was capped with a brace of goals from Paul Moulden and a poacher’s strike from Trevor Morley. Our promotion was almost within touching distance, and so bouyant was our mood that we almost danced a Highland fling up the tunnel at half-time. Adding to our glee was the fact that the club had promised us an immediate no-expense spared holiday abroad if we were to secure the three points and as such were prepared to field a second string side for what would be a meaningless final game of the season.
As we back slapped each other in the dressing room and mentally packed our suitcases, a typically low key Mel Machin expressed caution and warned us agaist complacency, but then a mischievious grin played across his face as he informed usthat he’d arranged for one of his pals to give us a quick motivational pep talk. What do we need this for? We’re 3-0 up, for Chrissakes’ I remember thinking, wondering which former colleague of the gaffer’s was going to get wheeled out.
From the direction of Roy Bailey’s physio room toddled Eddie Large, the Mancunian funny man and City fanatic who, in those days was a huge primetime TV star with his weekly sidekick ‘supersonic’ Syd Little. What followed was the most surreal half time team talk I’ve ever experienced. Eddie wearing a shiny grey showbiz suit with rolled up sleeves, proceeded to dole out individual advice to each of the players using his well known repetoire of celebrity impersonations. So Deputy Dawg ordered me to keep tight in defence; Frank Carson told Nelly to use the width and pace of Whitey; Cliff Richard advised Trevor Morley to shoot on sight; Harold Wilson told Bob Brightwell to keep it simple and Benny from Crossroadsntold Andy Dibble to stay awake. If only the cat had heeded Benny’s advice. He conceded three goals in the 2nd half (no thanks to a defensive horror show in the final ten minutes, and a Bournemouth midfielder by the name of Ian Bishop running rings round us) and the sure fire win that we’d assumed at the interval finished up as a sorry score draw. Mel’s mystifying decision to take off in form Paul Moulden at the interval probably hadn’t help matterds, but we were all to blame for a pathetic 2nd half display.
After the match we sat in the changing room dumbstruck, half expecting Eddie Large to com back in and do his Oliver Hardy Impression.
“Well Boys, that’s another fine mess you’ve got yourselves into…?”
After he gets that bit wrong it is hard to take notice of the rest - extra details are added in that book which make it less accurate, as no one would describe that as a poacher's strike, it was a Glen Hoddle type swivel.
I remember Paul Stewart taking a penalty against Blackpool. Pretty sure it was an FA cup replay, could be wrong though. It was at the Platt Lane end in front of the Blackpool fans. We were 3-0 up at the time and Stewart almost hit the corner flag. It was the most obvious miss you will ever see. He had a big smile on his face after the miss.
As for the Bournmouth 3-3 I've never seen a game like that before since or afterwards. That match summed up the old "typical City" mantra. Happy days though.
It was a shit pen by Stewart but it was a very close game and we only just won it 2-1. Fans and player make things up alike for a good story,
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
Plus Andy Dibble was not in goal but doing commentary in front of the Platt Lane end. Cooper was in nets.After he gets that bit wrong it is hard to take notice of the rest - extra details are added in that book which make it less accurate, as no one would describe that as a poacher's strike, it was a Glen Hoddle type swivel.