ALL OUR LIVES said:He loved City and had things worked out on the pitch would have been a hero.
The campaign to oust him was a disgrace. Forward with Franny. Well that worked didn't it.
Peter Swales remains entrenched in our history.
Didsbury Dave said:tolmie's hairdoo said:The other interested party was former newspaper tycoon Eddie 'Fat Man' Shah.
Do you know, that's rung a little bell somewhere. How keen was he? Is FBloke right that it was the momentum behind the Forward With Franny campaign which kept him out?
DTKOAG said:Does anyone know if Bernard Halford is considering writing a book about his time at City.
That would be a bombshell.
fbloke said:tolmie's hairdoo said:Swales basically ran City like one of his TV shops in Altrincham.
I can't help but think he allowed his heart to rule his head, and for all his failings, it was his obsession of being City chairman and overhauling United, which clouded his thinking.
I got swept up when the Franny headlines first hit, but on reflection, Franny was no better.
Colin Barlow was reported to have taken £75k a year out of the club - for poncing around with his silk hankerchief.
One main player was John 'The Rug' Dunklerley, who helped prop up Franny with some cash.
At the time, Stephen Boler was the vital cog. He made his money through the Limelight Group and was the real power behind the throne.
He and his front man, jumped-up accountant Ashley Thomas also propped up the Swales era.
To which time, Boler decided to save the white rhino.
He died on Safari and his son Mark now brown-noses United at Mere Golf and Country.
The fan of the board- Dave Wallace - merely window dressing and lip service.
Only City could be involved in such a script and owned by two dead men, long after they had gone.
As for Franny, he sullied his previous good name. A £12m debt to McCalpines for building the Kippax became a huge burden to carry.
Colin Barlow, John Dunkerley and Franny Lee or
Freddie Pie, Steve Boler and Peter Swales
You choose :-)
tolmie's hairdoo said:fbloke said:Colin Barlow, John Dunkerley and Franny Lee or
Freddie Pie, Steve Boler and Peter Swales
You choose :-)
You really are obessed with pie mate, aren't you, ha ha
Pye, Boler and Swales were worth £200m more - or should I say Boler was.
Barlow and Dunkerley just made it a more refined drinking men's club.
Tudor Thomas, Ian Niven, they were guys who no doubt had City at heart.
Whitworth Park said:If Bernard Halford ever wrote a book it should be called.
" The Incompetence of the Ticket Office "
When he was in charge of it at Maine Road it was a nightmare.
fbloke said:That period has left me with the most surreal memories as a City fan.
I remember being kept locked in the club (free drinks and sandwiches) directors dining room when the biggest disturbances were in full swing.
Swales really wasnt that bothered and used to joke about it all blowing over when we started winning!
Incidentally FHL very rarely (if ever) turned up at Maine Road until it became clear he was going to win the fight.
"Hail the conquering hero!"
There are many, many things I saw and heard that mean I have no time for the man though.
And I would dearly have loved to slapped Dunkerley causing his wig to fly off!
No wonder Swales and his private drinking club buddies (directors) wanted to hold on, many a time we were stood on the Kippax rammed in like sardines only to hear the tannoy announce the crowd as being 24,500 !!! met by cries of derision by fans all around, the Kippax alone could hold that many, no surprise Swales had an accountant on the board is it. Yes Bernard Halford could drop a bombshell indeed trying to explain where all the money went from those massaged gate receipts, do`nt think he`s likely to tell us though somehow...de niro said:DTKOAG said:Does anyone know if Bernard Halford is considering writing a book about his time at City.
That would be a bombshell.
what he could tell us would be mind blowing, he'd never write it though.
nevilletogoater-in said:I was only born in 85 so when this started I wasn't around but I seem to remember it still being in full force in the early 90's, perhaps up until 93ish? I started watching in 92 with Forest being the first game and I vividly remember being caught up the protests after the game outside the main stand. My dad and he 2 mates were passionately screaming for 'Swales Out' but obviously at the time I had no understanding of it.
I agree with the points made about Franny being the saviour, I remember the campaigns to get him to be the new chairman and how he too had promised the world and delivered very little. Didn't he once say I'll jump off the Kippax if we get relegated? Never did though the twat.
Gary James said:There's so much to say on this that we could go on for decades looking at the rights and wrongs of it all. I don't really have much time for those on the Board who supported Peter Swales as Chairman for so long (and some even carried on under Lee!).
Until the day comes when I update "Manchester The Greatest City" I think I'll stick with focusing on the last few years and where we're going and ignore this nightmare period. The key facts are what I'll remember....
April 1970 - City win ECWC during a glittering period of success under the longterm direction of a Board that included descendents of some from the 1890s.
Nov 1970 - takeover launched by Joe Smith, Ian Niven, Simon Cussins, Chris Muir & Michael Horwich & City's League form drops significantly. Mercer & Allison take opposing sides, meaning relationship cannot last.
July 1972 - new board takes Mercer's office off him & his car parking space (Joe finds out when he arrives to find his name removed!) and ultimately leaves feeling unwanted. Prior to new board City boasted of making a profit season after season.
Feb 1973 - vice-chairman Peter Swales (brought on to board via takeover negotiations) interviewed by Goal talks obsessively about matching United (even though City had been more successful in recent years!). Following Oct he becomes Chairman with only about ten shares and relies on support of other directors.
Feb 1976 - City win League Cup
May 1981 - John Bond comes close to resigning after the FAC final (first game) because of treatment by certain directors.
Summer 1982 - Swales sells Francis less than a year after buying him - first obvious sign that City had overstretched themselves through financial incompetence.
May 1983 - relegation. Value of shares low. Years later Swales claimed this was when he bought most of his shares.
And so it goes on.... It's all too depressing.
Ducado said:I remember it well!
As a callow youth I kind of got caught up in all the excitement, and the hope and expectation and depression of the era!
The experience has somewhat moulded me, to the type of supporter I am today, no matter what happens nothing could be worse than those days, I often wonder what Bluemoon would have been like if we had, had the internet in those days.
But we move on it was a period of our history that really does need sweeping under the carpet, I (and I am sure quite a few others) would rather forget it
Didsbury Dave said:Do you know, that's rung a little bell somewhere.