Howard Kendall

[jamesha]

Was gutted when we sacked Machin, and hated Howard at first for "breaking up my team" (ie selling hinchcliffe, bishop, morley, oldfield, etc) and buying adrian heath and wayne clarke.. BUT grew up and got over that when we started to gel. I had a relative growing up who deserted the family and supported Everton, so having to put up with her i knew a lot of him in the 80s, top manager at Everton, the stuff he achieved is legendary. RIP.

I felt exactly the same about our promotion/5-1 team being broken up. Particularly Bish (and Morley) being swapped for Mark Ward. In hindsight HK did exactly what he had been asked to do and I think he could have built a very good team. Reid was able to get 5th playing with neanderthal tactics (and Curley-Wurley) whereas HK had more tactical nous and would not have got rid of Hendry for petty reasons.

TBH I forgave him fairly quickly for leaving for Everton as it was obvious that he loved the club and thought of it as home. RIP Howard.

 

[OB1]

He enjoyed a drink...saw him at team hotel v Millwall away 1990 at 3 in the morning pissed as a fart...I went in the hotel bar the morning of the game feeling & looking like a piece of shit and Howard was at the end of the bar looking immaculate,you would have thought he had gone to bed at 10 the night before.

Did a great job,such a shame he left.

There's no doubt he was a heavy drinker and you have to wonder if that contributed to his decline as a manger (and his passing away) because he was a very good manager until he left City. Like others, I have wondered about what might have been if he had stayed at City? I've always thought he made a huge mistake, both for himself and City, by ending his affair with City.

He did a brilliant job for City. His impact was instant and he had the team on an upward trajectory. Of course, Swales might have gone and ruined it all but Kendall was a far superior manager to Peter Reid, who almost made a decent fist of turning us into challengers.

Any emotion I had over Kendall's leaving has long since dissipated but there's definitely a sense of sadness over his passing - R.I.P.

 

[city51]

Rip J

 

[urban genie]

In hindsight and now thinking about it 99% of fans hated him when he left so he got his minutes applause but does'nt esca0e the fact he fucked us over and was a twat

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

I drove home from Uni and the headline on the Evening News posters screamed ''Resignation Rocks City'' and I thought finally Thatcher had done one...... raced home and turned the TV on and and it was Howard who had resigned, not Maggie....
Went to Maine Road the following morning, along with a handful of others... Kendall eventually came out and hid behind Reid saying ''this is the man you want to get behind''.
I was so disappointed as I believed that with Kendall we would have improved on 5th.....
Thanks for the memories Howard....

 

[Jonsilfab]

R.I.P. Howard Kendall

 

[Mike N]

I remember the game after he left us - TV game at home to Leeds (we lost 2-3 to the mercurial Strachan). It was remembrance Sunday and mid way through the minutes silence the crowd started chanting "Fuck Off Kendall" over and over. I'd never been so ashamed to be a City fan in my life. I hope we show true class with a perfectly observed minutes silence for him.

'ashamed to be a City fan'? I can think of other times people should have been ashamed. He was a great manager but knifed us all in the back.

 

[stonerblue]

In hindsight and now thinking about it 99% of fans hated him when he left so he got his minutes applause but does'nt esca0e the fact he fucked us over and was a twat

This is how i see it as well.

 

[Wienerwald]

It hurt like hell at the time he left us - but after all these years what is left are the thoughts of 'what if' and memories of a FA Cup 3rd Round replay (2nd replay!!) down at The Den in Millwall.
Two-Nill down before I even got in the ground - a peach of a goal from Lakey - but we still went out. Then having been kept in after the game - on the way out HK is stood waiting & thanked us for the support. Top man.

RIP.

 

[yayas trusty right foot]

I remember been in my Dads car as a kid when the news came on the radio that he was going back to Everton.

I was gutted because we had the makings of a good team..

RIP Howard