Francis Lee

Mike N said:
All I can say is that if the boys take the ‘Francis Lee’ spirit into the final on Saturday, we win the cup.

A classic ‘Franny’ would have absolutely left nothing on the pitch. His quality and determination would have resulted in him taking the match ball home
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He injured his ankle before the 74 League Cup Final. Spent the week up to the final running up and down the Kippax to get fit. Franny and Colin would be in any Pep team.
 
Berts Neck said:
Like many of you who saw the picture of Franny at the weekend, I was shocked. Reading many posts about him, he seems a marmite guy for Blues. Great as a player but not so cherished as a CEO.He never wanted to go to Derby.He scored almost a goal every other game for City. As far as his time as CEO, I actually take my hat off to him for trying to resolve the mess Swales created.I genuinely believe he thought he could bring the good times back.He tried, and I believe he loves the club. Yes he made mistakes especially by appointing Ball. Well the rags signed Mourinho.Shit happens.The hardest thing for me to comprehend is his falling out with the KING, and I guess sitting in the Etihad seeing those pictures of the KING in the stadium probably saddened him. He looked deflated.He was part of the greatest City triumvirate,Bell,Lee and Buzzer. Well I for one will always cherish Franny. Will always support any City player, but I feel he deserves more credit than he seems to get on this forum. Franny Lee Won Pen.
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He was my idol.
Brilliant player.
I am sure he had good intentions when he took over but probably did not surround himself with the best advisers...
Still an absolute legend for those of us lucky enough to have witnessed him as a player and I personally will never say a bad word about him.
 
paulchapo said:
Just found this when he was in his prime.

View attachment 17784
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Geez !! I had his hairstyle and hair colour way back then, and still have, if a little thinner in centre + a few stray greys. Pretended I was him or Colin when I wore my first and only full home kit in the late 60's. Couldn't believe it was him when saw him on screen on Sunday. Father time can be a B......
 
Vienna_70 said:
We too were shocked to see Frannie on Sunday; I remarked to Mrs Vienna that Frannie has gone to look old.

Francis Henry Lee is the reason I support Manchester City.

For those old enough to remember, in those days, we used to get player collection cards; they came in packs of four with a piece of bubble gum.

The first year I collected them was 1970, and one day,we were in class discussing them, and one of my friends (R. I. P., Paul), pointed at a Frannie card, and said, "He must be a good player, there are loads of him."

He immediately became my favourite player, and therefore his team was my team. He remains my favourite, even to this day, despite all the modern-day heroes.

Even his time as chairman did nothing to erode my love for him. As others have said, I think the mess that the club was in was far worse than he realised. The impending transformation of the Kippax into an all-seater stand, and the necessary removal of the toxic waste underneath the old stand didn’t help.

However, to his credit, he started the transformation of the club’s corporate hospitality from its almost non-existent state to what it is today and his administration paved the way for the club's eventual move to CoMS.

I too hope that the slimmed-down version of Frannie is a conscious effort to lose weight, rather than linked to health issues.
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A poignant post. I too collected player cards, we also got them in "sweet" cigarette packs. I think I had the full City team at some stage, sadly disappeared in a Spring clean sometime. Living in Ireland, along with UK comics, they were the only chance we had to put a face, in colour, on the names we heard on the rare occasions City were featured on BBC live commentaries on the radio. Wouldn't have sworn it was him on Sunday if asked before the commentator said his name. You must be looking forward to 29th, it's been a long wait, let's hope we can win and enjoy it.
 
Got me thinking this thread,do footballers genearally have a shorter life expectancy than your average Joe?

Obviously its mostly the more famous players we hear of passing,but am i imagining it or is it rare you hear about many living well into their 80's or beyond?

Anyway......all the best Franny,hopefully you are fit and well and remain so for many more years!
 
Burtonblue said:
He was my idol.
Brilliant player.
I am sure he had good intentions when he took over but probably did not surround himself with the best advisers...
Still an absolute legend for those of us lucky enough to have witnessed him as a player and I personally will never say a bad word about him.
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Not sure about advisors, he simply did not have the money that was required.

Tarnished his reputation with his time as chairman for me, promised so much, used the fans to get rid of PJ Swales, then gave us Alan Ball!

Have to say after seeing him this weekend, he has lost the sparkle, does not look well at all.

All the best Francis, take care of yourself.
 
Keeper! said:
Not sure about advisors, he simply did not have the money that was required.

Tarnished his reputation with his time as chairman for me, promised so much, used the fans to get rid of PJ Swales, then gave us Alan Ball!

Have to say after seeing him this weekend, he has lost the sparkle, does not look well at all.

All the best Francis, take care of yourself.
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Used the fans to get rid of Swales don’t think so mate,Swales should never of been chairman in the first place **** he was.
 
EL APACHE TEVEZ said:
Used the fans to get rid of Swales don’t think so mate,Swales should never of been chairman in the first place **** he was.
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He was an utter cnut quite right, but Franny said so much, promised so much but delivered little.

Francis was punching well above his weight, he was personally wealthy but not enough to rebuild MCFC.
 
Always remember him as a City legend,like Sumerbee ,Bell and so many others....Ok ,not a succesfull chairman ,but that's just a detail,for me.....
 
My favourite from when I began going, too young to appreciate Colin being a young kid, cemented as my no.1 with all those pens in my first full season.

Broke my heart when he left and then broke it again winning the league with Derby & that goal.

Met him at Haydock Park when he was a racehorse owner and had a small chat.

I can't find it in me to critise his chairmanship we must have been in so much of a mess, think he needed 10x money to sort it out.
 
Just before he went to Derby, came back and scored for Derby as they won the league. Another Swales masterstroke. My hero. Oh and the scattering of Norman Hunter, he's a legend all right :)
 
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blue b4 the moon said:
My favourite from when I began going, too young to appreciate Colin being a young kid, cemented as my no.1 with all those pens in my first full season.

Broke my heart when he left and then broke it again winning the league with Derby & that goal.

Met him at Haydock Park when he was a racehorse owner and had a small chat.

I can't find it in me to critise his chairmanship we must have been in so much of a mess, think he needed 10x money to sort it out.
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Met him at golf courses a few times. The best I could say is he didn`t seem like a happy man.

Loved the guy on the pitch in a City shirt and try to put the rest to the back of my mind. Buzzer and Gary Owen being easy to talk to and very friendly.
 
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