12 years ago today... the 8-1

[Banned Tosspot]

Was a great day out and we avoided a good kicking on the way out.

I hid behind @Bill

 

[jimharri]

Has anyone who played in that game written a book yet?

I want them to have the balls to admit they threw the match.

More or less common knowledge. A protest at Sven's sacking, wasn't it?

 

[leithblue]

I got the train down from Edinburgh and met my dad there who drove from Manchester - I remember phoning him before I left and mentioning it was bloody freezing and he laughed it off, so was one of the few in the away end with a jacket.

I remember united won the league, we lost 8-1 and thought Dunne’s red card had cost us a European place then being stuck at Darlington for hours as the east cost mainline was down.

good times

 

[remember arthur mann]

 

[Manncity]

The week before I think we lost to Fulham at home,I was at the academy awards evening in the big marquee behind the east stand, started with a champagne reception in the east stand reception area ,got there early with close mates having a drink, over walks thaksin and he tells us very openly that Sven had to go we all looked at each other gobsmacked. The rest his history...

 

[tommybooth]

Boro is from another planet. Been there three times. What a shit hole.

 

[Gary James]

i would have love to know how close to the wind city was really at ?? and maybe gary james the clubs researcher could shine some light on it and even the the months before the take over and the transfer window take over that changed manchester city forever

Firstly, it's worth pointing out that I'm not the club's researcher - I'm not employed by them, so every thing I do is in my own, unpaid time. People often think City employ me in some capacity but they do not. Anyway, in terms of that period I did write a lot about it in Manchester The City Years and other stuff I've done. There are loads of angles to it. Thaksin definitely believed he had the money when he arrived; he passed the fit & proper test; John Wardle et al trusted he was the right man to take City forward and when I met him (twice - once he bought 4 copies of Manchester A Football History off me. It turned out one was for Sheikh Mansour's advisors!) he had detailed plans of what he wanted to achieve. Some of his plans were somewhat bizarre (he wanted to create a 'Man City Cologne: the women - some men too - will love a man wearing it'. His words!) but he did have plans.

After he bought City it all began to unravel of course and his assets were seized. I genuinely believe he didn't think that would happen but fortunately for us it did because it meant he'd have to sell.

Leading up to that Middlesbrough game the situation at City was chaotic and somewhat toxic. John Wardle did pay the players wages out of his own pocket (it's worth remembering that Wardle is perhaps the only chairman since Eric Alexander in 1971-73 who has lost money - Swales, Lee & Thaksin all profited from City ultimately. Not certain on Bernstein's financial agreements. Wardle lost millions). Thaksin's plans were falling apart and he was reported as being on the run, but in the middle of all that he found Garry Cook and planned to bring him in. Cook officially arrived after the Middlesbrough game but he was aware he was joining.

Thaksin's greatest achievement was bringing in Garry Cook - that's controversial but when I interviewed Khaldoon et al it was clear that Cook sold the club and a vision to them well. Otherwise they may have bought NUFC, LFC or Arsenal (other clubs get mentioned too).

 

[manimanc]

Firstly, it's worth pointing out that I'm not the club's researcher - I'm not employed by them, so every thing I do is in my own, unpaid time. People often think City employ me in some capacity but they do not. Anyway, in terms of that period I did write a lot about it in Manchester The City Years and other stuff I've done. There are loads of angles to it. Thaksin definitely believed he had the money when he arrived; he passed the fit & proper test; John Wardle et al trusted he was the right man to take City forward and when I met him (twice - once he bought 4 copies of Manchester A Football History off me. It turned out one was for Sheikh Mansour's advisors!) he had detailed plans of what he wanted to achieve. Some of his plans were somewhat bizarre (he wanted to create a 'Man City Cologne: the women - some men too - will love a man wearing it'. His words!) but he did have plans.

After he bought City it all began to unravel of course and his assets were seized. I genuinely believe he didn't think that would happen but fortunately for us it did because it meant he'd have to sell.

Leading up to that Middlesbrough game the situation at City was chaotic and somewhat toxic. John Wardle did pay the players wages out of his own pocket (it's worth remembering that Wardle is perhaps the only chairman since Eric Alexander in 1971-73 who has lost money - Swales, Lee & Thaksin all profited from City ultimately. Not certain on Bernstein's financial agreements. Wardle lost millions). Thaksin's plans were falling apart and he was reported as being on the run, but in the middle of all that he found Garry Cook and planned to bring him in. Cook officially arrived after the Middlesbrough game but he was aware he was joining.

Thaksin's greatest achievement was bringing in Garry Cook - that's controversial but when I interviewed Khaldoon et al it was clear that Cook sold the club and a vision to them well. Otherwise they may have bought NUFC, LFC or Arsenal (other clubs get mentioned too).

A lot of people took the piss out of Cook for being this bolshy and outspoken guy but he was right in the end about the vision he had for us.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

Firstly, it's worth pointing out that I'm not the club's researcher - I'm not employed by them, so every thing I do is in my own, unpaid time. People often think City employ me in some capacity but they do not. Anyway, in terms of that period I did write a lot about it in Manchester The City Years and other stuff I've done. There are loads of angles to it. Thaksin definitely believed he had the money when he arrived; he passed the fit & proper test; John Wardle et al trusted he was the right man to take City forward and when I met him (twice - once he bought 4 copies of Manchester A Football History off me. It turned out one was for Sheikh Mansour's advisors!) he had detailed plans of what he wanted to achieve. Some of his plans were somewhat bizarre (he wanted to create a 'Man City Cologne: the women - some men too - will love a man wearing it'. His words!) but he did have plans.

After he bought City it all began to unravel of course and his assets were seized. I genuinely believe he didn't think that would happen but fortunately for us it did because it meant he'd have to sell.

Leading up to that Middlesbrough game the situation at City was chaotic and somewhat toxic. John Wardle did pay the players wages out of his own pocket (it's worth remembering that Wardle is perhaps the only chairman since Eric Alexander in 1971-73 who has lost money - Swales, Lee & Thaksin all profited from City ultimately. Not certain on Bernstein's financial agreements. Wardle lost millions). Thaksin's plans were falling apart and he was reported as being on the run, but in the middle of all that he found Garry Cook and planned to bring him in. Cook officially arrived after the Middlesbrough game but he was aware he was joining.

Thaksin's greatest achievement was bringing in Garry Cook - that's controversial but when I interviewed Khaldoon et al it was clear that Cook sold the club and a vision to them well. Otherwise they may have bought NUFC, LFC or Arsenal (other clubs get mentioned too).

Agree with all of this. I worked for a Bank that was involved with City at the time (we were trying to get out because of Thaksin - as were many others). We refused to lend to the club following the takeover and an American investment bank arranged a bond issue, that took out all the historic traditional bank debt but we were still involved with the mechanics of the finance, even that we wanted out of. The money was coming in at first through various dodgy channels and with Thaksin's wife's name on the paperwork. Those 'assets' were eventually frozen quite possibly because of the high profile nature of buying the club. If he had hidden his millions in a Panama trust fund he might not have lost it all. When the money stopped flowing there was no where to go, the club was toxic in financial circles due to the ownership. I don't think they ever failed to pay the wages but they were basically borrowing money to pay the creditors threatening to go legal, paying out the bare minimum from funds scraped together. We would not have gone bust as someone would have bought the club the question is who if the current owners had not.

 

[ancoats]

Firstly, it's worth pointing out that I'm not the club's researcher - I'm not employed by them, so every thing I do is in my own, unpaid time. People often think City employ me in some capacity but they do not. Anyway, in terms of that period I did write a lot about it in Manchester The City Years and other stuff I've done. There are loads of angles to it. Thaksin definitely believed he had the money when he arrived; he passed the fit & proper test; John Wardle et al trusted he was the right man to take City forward and when I met him (twice - once he bought 4 copies of Manchester A Football History off me. It turned out one was for Sheikh Mansour's advisors!) he had detailed plans of what he wanted to achieve. Some of his plans were somewhat bizarre (he wanted to create a 'Man City Cologne: the women - some men too - will love a man wearing it'. His words!) but he did have plans.

After he bought City it all began to unravel of course and his assets were seized. I genuinely believe he didn't think that would happen but fortunately for us it did because it meant he'd have to sell.

Leading up to that Middlesbrough game the situation at City was chaotic and somewhat toxic. John Wardle did pay the players wages out of his own pocket (it's worth remembering that Wardle is perhaps the only chairman since Eric Alexander in 1971-73 who has lost money - Swales, Lee & Thaksin all profited from City ultimately. Not certain on Bernstein's financial agreements. Wardle lost millions). Thaksin's plans were falling apart and he was reported as being on the run, but in the middle of all that he found Garry Cook and planned to bring him in. Cook officially arrived after the Middlesbrough game but he was aware he was joining.

Thaksin's greatest achievement was bringing in Garry Cook - that's controversial but when I interviewed Khaldoon et al it was clear that Cook sold the club and a vision to them well. Otherwise they may have bought NUFC, LFC or Arsenal (other clubs get mentioned too).

thanks gary

sorry if i got the wrong end of the broom ? i thought with you running the old museum thing at city that you was employed by the club ??

great post again and it would make a great book on its own that season. the ups and downs. the party at manchester town hall the 6 or 7 signings in a flash. the media and the BBC at the first game showing fans pictures of the new players and asking fans to name them hahahaha. Thaksin was a funny bloke and the troubles in his home country and him escaping without his wealth and then buying manchester city. then the premier league fit and proper test what on earth did they check hahaha

any way thanks gary and keep up the good work you do on manchester city and football