How Peter Swales became City chairman

[BillCarlisle]

Subscribed - excellent series of articles.

Brought back plenty of memories from those times. I used to regularly stop off at Chris Muir's newspaper & confectionery kiosk just off King St where he usually did the afternoon shift. He often had a snippet or two about what was going on at City, but as it turned out not all was quite as it seemed !

 

[Andrew Keenan]

Just because someone is a successful businessman/woman, it doesn’t mean that he or she is capable of running what was, at the time, one of the biggest and best football clubs - and that is what Manchester City was in the early '70s - in the country.

Swales took us from a great, well run entity into a laughing stock. His time as chairman was nothing short of a complete disaster.

I don’t disagree with any of that. However, from my experience as a financial journalist, I never assume that the rapid deterioration of a company’s finances is the result of incompetence. As I’m sure you’re aware, it can also be the intended product of careful planning.

 

[Andrew Keenan]

Subscribed - excellent series of articles.

Brought back plenty of memories from those times. I used to regularly stop off at Chris Muir's newspaper & confectionery kiosk just off King St where he usually did the afternoon shift. He often had a snippet or two about what was going on at City, but as it turned out not all was quite as it seemed !

Thanks. I'm always keen to hear from people who have had personal dealings with figures at the club. If you've got anything you want to share, please PM me.

 

[Vienna_70]

I don’t disagree with any of that. However, from my experience as a financial journalist, I never assume that the rapid deterioration of a company’s finances is the result of incompetence. As I’m sure you’re aware, it can also be the intended product of careful planning.

So you think Swales planned the decline of City?

What a weird take.

He was fucking useless as a chairman!

 

[mount pleasant blue]

So you think Swales planned the decline of City?

What a weird take.

He was fucking useless as a chairman!

I think Andrew is implying something subtly different ;-)

 

[flook]

excellent work, I was born whilst all this was going on so have no recollection. Manchester City, dodgy business since the 1960's :/

 

[Andrew Keenan]

I think Andrew is implying something subtly different ;-)

Indeed I am. One of the fascinating things about City’s history is how it has often provided a perfect mirror to business practices of the time. This is particularly true of the Swales era.

By the early 1970s the era of the corporate raiders was well underway. For those unfamiliar with the term, these were people who realised that the cost of buying a business could be far less than the value of its assets. In other words, it could be far more profitable to strip a company of its assets than increase its market share.

In that light, it’s worth noting that one of the first things Swales did after becomining chairman was to replace the club’s auditors with a firm that specialised in company liquidations.

 

[Andrew Keenan]

excellent work, I was born whilst all this was going on so have no recollection. Manchester City, dodgy business since the 1960's :/

Thanks. And there was dodgy stuff going on at City way before then. We’ve been ruining football since the 1890s.

 

[BeerIsTheBest]

Indeed I am. One of the fascinating things about City’s history is how it has often provided a perfect mirror to business practices of the time. This is particularly true of the Swales era.

By the early 1970s the era of the corporate raiders was well underway. For those unfamiliar with the term, these were people who realised that the cost of buying a business could be far less than the value of its assets. In other words, it could be far more profitable to strip a company of its assets than increase its market share.

In that light, it’s worth noting that one of the first things Swales did after becomining chairman was to replace the club’s auditors with a firm that specialised in company liquidations.

Andrew

I am thoroughly enjoying your articles, well crafted and enjoyable and shared with my blue mates who are now subscribed. Keep up the great work.

I would though request that you ensure that sufficient attention is directed to the evolution of the Swales combover. It fascinated me as a teenager and I’ve often mused that it was deliberately cultivated to deflect folk from the utter bullshit that came out of the mouth underneath it.

 

[Ashton Moss Messi]

Swalea at the front and the team at the back

I think feeling the need to include the club minibus says a lot.

It all feels a bit Jim Bowen with the smashing super speedboat.

And one of the cleaners holding a mop in front of her face to hide her embarassment