I got a message from someone telling me about the article in the Mirror, so was pretty pleased they did something on the book. Last week we sent out all the review copies to national papers, magazines and so on...
The story of the stadium....
For me this is just one of hundreds of stories uncovered or rediscovered within the book. It's not, in my eyes, the best or most significant, but it does show that football in Manchester is not as straight forward as people assume. This story may prove more significant in future years (had City been stuck at Maine Rd I suggest Thaksin would not have been interested in the club, never mind Sheikh Mansour! Also, United's financial issues may not have been so great had they chosen to move). Time will tell, but to me this could be as significant in the future as some of the others such as the Bribe scandal in 1905-07; the Manchester Central story etc.
The article couldn't cover the full story, but the quotes contained within it are all directly from my book and an interview I performed in late 2008. I gained a lot from that interview and really appreciated the time given by Graham Stringer and the material he gave. To me it showed real ambition for the City Council to be planning an 80,000 stadium in the mid-90s and, as a football historian, it's fairly obvious that the only viable tenants of an 80k stadium at that time would have been Utd. Don't forget City were heading towards Div 2 (third tier) and to suggest they could have a 80,000 stadium at that time would have brought widespread criticism and probably no backing from the Govt & other authorities.
The situation has changed dramatically since then (as it had done between the 1930s when City were the side breaking all the attendance records with a League record crowd of 79k+ and the 84,569 & Utd were heading towards possible oblivion and the 90s). Personally, I think City could build towards a 80,000 capacity in stages over the next decade or so and, with the right conditions, the fan base will grow (again the book does show how Utd attendances have grown with sustained success since their average of 36k in 1988-89 when the capacity was 56k).
With so much debate about London Olympic Stadium tenants and so on; I think Stringer & Co should be applauded for what they actually planned and what they delivered. All of these negotiations took place before the stadium build was finalised - and so when the agreement was ultimately reached and signed following City's promotion in 1999 the plans could be finalised.
Manchester can be proud of what was delivered for the Games and the legacy that was left. City can be proud of how they are now taking that legacy and building on it.
What I do find funny about the reaction in some areas is that when the MEN gave part of the story the other week some of the comments on their site claimed that the story was totally fabricated and that it was not true. Now that the Mirror have lifted some of the actual quotes, those adding comments are suggesting it's a very old story!
If you don't believe me, pick up the book at Waterstones and have a flick through. I also think most Mancunians will be surprised by some of the material (one of the most recent is connected with the Tevez 'welcome' and Utd banner).
Each book takes long time to write (and I am currently working on 4 separate books; one of which may not appear for a few years because of the depth of research needed - I started researching specifically for "Manchester A Football History" in the 90s and book of this significance do take time).
Thanks,
Gary
