Quite simply and without hyperbole, last night was the greatest City team performance I've ever seen since first going to Maine Road In 1959. I was proud to be in the stadium to witness it, from the banners display, to the game itself and to the cheering of the players around the pitch at the end of the game.
Every player did his bit to the best of his (considerable) ability and dominated Arsenal from minute one all throughout the game until the final whistle. Not one player should score less than 9/10 in any media review of the game and City's performance.
Prior to last night, had you asked my opinion on the best performance I'd ever seen by a City team, I would have answered either:
(a) the April 1967 FA Cup quarter-final at Leeds which we lost (unfairly) 1-0 but which was Mercer & Allison going on the attack against the most feared side in the land, having spent all season back in the top flight trying to ensure survival by deploying Tony Book as sweeper in a very defensive set up; coming back on the Finglands coach that evening, we all wondered if we might have a team that could start to prosper if we went on the attack more often!
(b) six months later, the December 1967 'Ballet on Ice' when we thrashed high-flying Spurs 4-1 to announce that, in actual fact, Mercer & Allison now had a team not just capable of pushing the top clubs but actually getting the better of them
But last night was complete poetry in motion, whether defensively or in attack. The greatest team performance I've ever seen from City in over 60 years (actually, well over!)
And to all of you Young Johnnies and Johnesses who were lucky enough to be there last night and who are also fed up with Old Gits like me (!!) banging on about the great players and games of the past, well let me tell to enjoy these times with our club.. and also the fact that, finally, you've got 'City 4 Arsenal 1, 2023' with which to shut us up when we start boring on about the good old times with our club!
