Francis Lee RIP

M18CTID said:
Also, it gets largely forgotten about now but there were huge signs of progress when Frank Clark first became our manager halfway through the 96/97 season. We finished mid-table but had been in a far more perilous position than that when he was appointed, and as such there was a lot of optimism ahead of the following season. From what I can remember, the sacking of King Colin was right at the back end of that 96/97 season and I don't recall there being a huge amount of uproar amongst the fans about it. It came as a bit of a shock for sure but we all soon got over it.
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Yeah with our record signing upfront and Kinky agreeing to stay there was a lot of optimism for promotion not relegation!
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
Brought up on his tales, and felt so let down as our chairman.

Arguably, made some of the worst decisions to impact the club.

He bought the club with Barlow and Dunkerley, and it always felt it was a little club of their own, making decisions on the fly.

I also couldn't forgive him sacking Colin Bell so ruthlessly?

I choose to herald the man who is one of our greatest ever players and extend sympathy to his family.
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No doubt it didn't go anywhere near as swimmingly as we all hoped, but regarding the bolded bit Peter Swales says hello and I remain convinced that if Lee hadn't come along when he did then we'd have found ourselves in far deeper shit. On the field, for sure he made some odd decisions. The appointment of Ball for one but it was clear he was never his first choice to be manager despite being his mate. That also doesn't negate the decision to replace Horton who for some reason is revered by a section of our fans as being akin to a messiah all because for about half a dozen home games of the 94/95 season we played some really exciting football. Once we lost our unbeaten home record against Arsenal we regressed so badly that we needed those 2 back-to-back wins against Liverpool and Blackburn over Easter 1995 to pull clear of the relegation zone, but even with just a couple of games to go we could've still gone down.

However, off the pitch Lee transformed the club, plus he signed the deal for the move to Eastlands which arguably paved the way for where we find ourselves today. Also, unlike Swales he didn't hang around indefinitely when the fans started to turn. True to his word, he stepped down when it got on top and he deserves credit for bringing Bernstein into the club.
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
Last I knew, they never spoke again to each other, but happy to stand corrected.
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I agree Tolm, unfortunately & to the best of my knowledge they never did make up :-(.

My best mate, who is really well connected at the club, actually got me a signed shirt by Bell, Lee and Summerbee for my 50th birthday!
Not an easy task at all apparently, Buzzer was the mediator and after signing it himself, he took it to KC and asked him to sign it and, because he didn't want any potential ill-feeling towards him from KC apparently, he told KC that he was going to Franny for him to sign next, to complete the 3.
After a few seconds of deliberation and being told who it was for and why, I was fortunate to have met KC on a few occasions, KC (incredibly) duly signed it, which is something he just didn't do this apparently as he didn't want his name next/near to Franny's............so very sad!!
It has been really nicely framed (this cost like $700!!) and has pride of place in my basement bar, here in the US and you couldn't offer me enough money to part with it. My daughters know that this never, ever, leaves the family even after my death!
It will be even sadder to look at it now, with 2 of our 3 true LEGENDS now gone :-(
I cannot thank my best mate enough for doing this, plus Buzzer for taking it upon himself to actually get this done :-)

I truly love my club!
 
M18CTID said:
Pretty sure we were the bookies favourites to go up at the start of that season!
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Yup, i put 50 quid (that i really couldn't really afford at the time!!) on us winning the league and proudly walked in The Beehive before the first home game and showed my mates the betting slip!
Needless to say, that was the one and only time i have ever put money on City winning anything! Much to my mates pleasure i might add..
I should have tried to get a bet on City just getting out of that league !!!
 
BufordUSABlue said:
I agree Tolm, unfortunately & to the best of my knowledge they never did make up :-(.

My best mate, who is really well connected at the club, actually got me a signed shirt by Bell, Lee and Summerbee for my 50th birthday!
Not an easy task at all apparently, Buzzer was the mediator and after signing it himself, he took it to KC and asked him to sign it and, because he didn't want any potential ill-feeling towards him from KC apparently, he told KC that he was going to Franny for him to sign next, to complete the 3.
After a few seconds of deliberation and being told who it was for and why, I was fortunate to have met KC on a few occasions, KC (incredibly) duly signed it, which is something he just didn't do this apparently as he didn't want his name next/near to Franny's............so very sad!!
It has been really nicely framed (this cost like $700!!) and has pride of place in my basement bar, here in the US and you couldn't offer me enough money to part with it. My daughters know that this never, ever, leaves the family even after my death!
It will be even sadder to look at it now, with 2 of our 3 true LEGENDS now gone :-(
I cannot thank my best mate enough for doing this, plus Buzzer for taking it upon himself to actually get this done :-)

I truly love my club!
Click to expand...
Can you post a picture?
 
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