Happy Takeover Day! (7 years ago today)

[petrusha]

I know I've said it on here before but the news WAS whispered about beforehand, by quite a few weeks. I can't quite remember the details but I do remember seeing that "ARabian News" article (I think it was late at night on the 31st August) and thinking "So the rumour IS true". Got into work the next morning and all the office blues were buzzing with it, not much work getting done. Then by mid morning everyone knew we were the wealthiest club in the world.

I remember getting in touch with someone I knew who was around the fringes at City at the time - a Blackburn fan. I was expressing concern about rumours of a firesale and so on. This was about a week after the home friendly, when there'd been all the rumours on the day of various players leaving (I remember Ireland and Corluka in particular) and of our having mortgaged the next couple of years' Sky money). My acquaintance said, "Oh, I wouldn't worry. You're getting saved by some investors from the Middle East." (He also said it was a property deal, which is why I was intrigued by the Las Vegas thread for so long).

I think it became obvious that money was going to come in from somewhere when we didn't have to take desperate measures to pay the latest instalments on the Sven signings that summer. Indeed, we started spending a bit of cash as well - SWP, Kompany and Zabaleta were all signed in the week before, weren't they? I saw the initial story in Arabian Business by Anil Bhoyrul at about 8 a.m. that morning, when I came into my office in St Petersburg, Russia (so the time was three hours ahead of Manchester and the message boards were all pretty quiet). It was no surprise that there was a takeover, especially with Thaksin having also become persona non grata in the UK, but the scale of it was jaw dropping.

United had spent all summer chasing Berbatov and the Bhoyrul story had us making a bid of GBP 30 million, which was just sensational. The time shown on this story is eleven in the morning UAE time, but there were earlier versions of the story, too: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-seals-deal-buy-manchester-city-44156.html

I remember following it all online later on when I got home from work as deadline day hotted up. Ferguson having to kidnap Berbatov and overpay by five million quid was hilarious, while us landing Robinho was a huge statement. Fantastic day. Think it must be the best non-matchday I remember as a Blue.

 

[Gundogan's Moustache]

Shouldn't this thread be called '7 years since we were formed' because we have no istory

 

[eversince 76]

First read about it while watching telly in bed, zapping and running in to a Belgium channel that broadcasted an interesting programm that unfortunately was nearly finishing. Just thought to have a go and watch teletext for any late footballtransfers, not expecting anything with us involved. The story about the takeover and getting Robinho in caught my breath. The misses thought I had a stroke when she walked in. Hardly slept that night, ran to my computer as soon as I figured it was a decent time to get out of bed and from than on I think I hardly left the damn thing that day.
It changed my life as it surely did many of us on here. 7 years later and I still feel we are on a rollercoaster that has not finished its round yet. Isn't there a saying that 7 good years are to be followed by 7 bad ones? Well, the start so far hasn't been anything like that. Unless the past 7 were the bad ones ... wow!

 

[BillyShears]

I know I've said it on here before but the news WAS whispered about beforehand, by quite a few weeks. I can't quite remember the details but I do remember seeing that "ARabian News" article (I think it was late at night on the 31st August) and thinking "So the rumour IS true". Got into work the next morning and all the office blues were buzzing with it, not much work getting done. Then by mid morning everyone knew we were the wealthiest club in the world.

I think what added to the surreal nature of the entire thing was that in the run up to it there were so many conflicting reports about us potentially going into a administration, not being able to pay wages, etc. Then we're signing players without really knowing where the money was coming from.

The day of the takeover itself was truly bizarre. I'm actually half glad that it happened on the last day of the window rather than the first. Can you imagine that original frontman before Khaldoon was brought in spending the summer trying to sign the likes of Torres and Berbatov. Would've been pure comedy, maybe not in a good way though.

 

[goatscheese]

I remember Alan brazil and talk sport saying it was a load of bull,and they wouldn't pass the fit and proper test ruling the fa brought in. Some city fan rang inand gave him down the banks and explained that due diligence was taking place and was almost complete. He (Mr Brazil) was back tracking live on air again just as he did at Wembley when bob Taylor scored for Gillingham after Asaba,and he said ,that's it,now its all over ,city have basically had it.. Lol. Oh fun times these are....

 

[Blue Shield]

Being a couple of months shy of my 20th it's fair to say that for now city have been good for longer than they've been bad for me, it's weird for me to think back and remember when my hope for the season was to finish in the top half!

 

[Pam]

I was absolutely stunned, I remember. It seemed to come straight out of a clear blue sky. Oh it was lovely hearing SSN describing how much wealthier the Sheikh was as compared to Abromovich.

 

[west didsblue]

Has the Sheikh got bored yet?

 

[gfunkstylee]

Being from Belfast meant that just like rats, I was never more than a few metres away from a scum supporter. I had to endure their taunts all the way through high school as I was the only city supporter there and they were winning everything. Down to the old second division and back up again, my love for city never waivered.

The day of the takeover, I was randomly off work. I got a text from a coworker, a rag of course, telling me that I had better switch on SSN. What a day that was, bettered only by the playoff final and 93:20.

I know I don't come from Manchester, but my dad supports city and that's where I got it from since birth. Every time I hear the word 'Manchester' in a conversation or on TV my ears prick up, that's how obsessive city is to me.

Everything changed that day, I think we all knew as blues that the city roller coaster had just started another ascent and was about to take us on another mad ride.

 

[franksinatra]

I remember being at work at the construction of the new Manchester Royal Infirmary of Oxford Road, when I got a text of GX Blue (bluemoon username) saying a guy worth 600 billion had bought us and we have put over 200 million pounds worth of bids, for players like Gomez.

I just had to find out, so on my dinner I ran to the ground in my safety boots and overalls.

Bumped into the guy from Sky and asked him where the transfers were up to. He told me of all the players we had been linked with and I walked around in a daze. Pretty sure the Berbatov story had broke by this stage, with the he is on a private jet to manchester but to which ground?

The robinho signing capped of a great day and when that free kick went in against Chelsea 32 years of pain lifted off my shoulders. Such a wonderful moment.