The long term disappointment was the lack of an FA Cup or League Cup semi final for 29 years, the relegation were not so bad, as we had the promotions in equal measure, but never getting close to the two cups we had a realistic chance of winning was bizarre.
There was a list produced on here of teams who had got further than city in Cups over that period, with 224 semi final births available as us getting none.
The "no history" thing is something like Beckham would say, and the same people are likely to say the same about Huddersfield or Notts County.
I remember the quarter final against Spurs in 92/93. I don't think I'd ever been as shattered after a loss up until that day (Although worse was to come) I remember going home and drinking a bottle of my dad's Glenfiddich and then causing murders outside the Farmyard on Rochdale Rd later on. Then there was the terrible Blackburn away quarter final which was one of the most gutless performces I've ever seen. I remember thinking, please get to a semi, just a semi. Then there was the quarter final of the league cup against Ipswich when Horlock got his head nearly booted off but wasn't given a penalty. We've come a long way and I celebrate every cup(whichever it is) like it's our first and possibly last. Never forget blues.Yeah, it was the not even getting a sniff that was unbelievable and frustrating. At least Newcastle etc reached a few finals, 2nd/3rd places, etc. I was 1 in 1981 and I was 30 before we even got to one match away from a Wembley final.
I agree, it was the reappointment of Mal that was the killer. His ego was massive (!) and he tried to prove he knew more than anyone. Coupled with Swales' poor judgement, it was a recipe for disaster.The '1995 to 2002 blip' as you call it Gary actually started for me with Big Mal coming back in January 1979. Although John Bond did fantastically well initially we never recovered from those crazy spending days of Big Mal until our debts were paid off in full by Sheikh Mansoor. We had brief periods when it seemed we were back on track but as we are well aware you need things to be right off the pitch as well as on it for sustained success. Lets be honest until David Bernstein took charge in 1999 the club was run like a market stall in a world where our neighbours were the top high street fashion store..... haha how times change!
Even during those years you mention when we finished fifth it was obvious major expenditure was required on Maine Road which was looking pretty shabby and the debt still lay heavy over us- there was no chance of the stadium being modernised other than on a shoestring.
The fall to the third tier was more of a disaster because of what our neighbours were doing at the time. If they would have been struggling too then the gap between us would not have seemed so bad. Like now in reverse, their troubles are made all the worse for us being so good and boy, it will be as hard for them as it was for us.
The final Stuart Pearce season was bad too- if we hadnt had that injection of cash and Sven taking over then 2008 season could have gone pear shaped as well...although the last few months werent great and we found out later how close we had come to financial crisis yet again.
It only makes me appreciate the great management we have in place now, Khaldoon was a perfect appointment and we seem set for the long term, but that blip lasted 30 years or so in my book!