If we hadnt got Big Mal in the 2nd time...

[petrusha]

I always thought that Tueart went of his own accord, pay day from the 'exciting' new game and challenge in the USA and all that. Didn't seem to raise too many eyebrows at the time but I'm sure it would today. The Channon transfer actually made the BBC 9 o' clock news !!!

Tueart originally asked for a transfer after he wasn't restored to the side when he'd got fit again after being injured. In his autobiography, he claimed he'd not had thoughts of leaving until then, but once he did decide he wanted out, there was no persuading him otherwise. And he looked at his options, then decided he'd rather go to the States than join another English club.

Channon was meant to be the signing that took us from nearly a title-winning side to one that actually could land the big prize, and you're right - it was considered a big deal at the time. He was an England regular, though he only earned one more cap after joining us because Ron Greenwood had taken over as manager and didn't seem to fancy him.

At the time, as a kid, I was delighted that we'd bought Channon, but in retrospect he was the wrong acquisition. We already had Tueart, Barnes, Kidd and Royle to play in the forward positions and we quite regularly played only three up top anyway: if we went with a 4-2-4, that left us with only Hartford and Owen in midfield, which was rather lightweight. So instead Paul Power quite often played in a midfield three and one of the forwards missed out.

In effect, Channon's arrival meant the end for Joe Royle at Maine Road, with Royle predictably shipped out less than three months into the new season. But we still had the same conundrum: we either went with all four forward players, which made us a free-scoring side but one which was far too open defensively to challenge for the title, or we left one out.

That wasn't an easy choice in the autumn of 1977. We'd just spent a club-record fee on Channon, Kidd was the best leader of the line, Barnes was in superb form that had earned him full England selection, and Tueart had a brilliant start to the season. A further problem was that Tueart and Channon weren't, at least in the former's view, all that compatible - Channon liked to drift wide into the areas that Tueart liked to occupy, and they tended to get in one another's way.

In his autobiography, Tueart suggests that we should have rejected the chance to buy Channon and instead should have gone for a really top-class midfielder. The name he put forward was Graeme Souness. I've said this to a few Blues since and the usual response is that we wouldn't have had a chance of signing him, but I think Tueart's right and I also believe it would have been a realistic option at the time.

Souness wanted to leave Boro after Jack Charlton's departure in the summer of 1977. Though the Teessiders were reluctant to sell him, they indicated that they would for the right fee, but it had to be a big one (he eventually joined Liverpool for £350K six months later, when fees were starting to rise markedly, so £300K in the summer could easily have tempted them in that market).

And why wouldn't City have been an attractive destination for him? We had a team full of internationals that had just run a great Liverpool side close for the title. We were one of three sides in the country averaging over 40K for home league games and had a stadium that regularly hosted semi-finals and representative matches. In short, we were a proper big club at the time and would have offered him an excellent stage for his talents.

After Colin Bell's injury, we were always just a little short of quality across the midfield three and definitely needed the right acquisition to address that. The likes of Jimmy Conway and Colin Viljeon on the cheap were never likely to do so, while Deyna predictably found the physical demands of a midfield role in the First Division too much for him - all his good moments with us were when he was used up front.

Tony Book says he wanted to buy Alan Ball from Arsenal in the summer of 1976 but that Swales wouldn't sanction a fee of £100K for a 31-year-old. Ball was still playing in the First Division six years later, so would have been worth the money and might have made the difference in 1976/77. But in Ball's absence, I find the prospect of a move for Souness rather than Channon in the summer of 1977 another intriguing 'sliding doors' MCFC moment.

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

Tony Book says he wanted to buy Alan Ball from Arsenal in the summer of 1976 but that Swales wouldn't sanction a fee of £100K for a 31-year-old. Ball was still playing in the First Division six years later, so would have been worth the money and might have made the difference in 1976/77. But in Ball's absence, I find the prospect of a move for Souness rather than Channon in the summer of 1977 another intriguing 'sliding doors' MCFC moment.

This might be the first time in my life that someone has written something about Alan Ball coming to City and I thought this makes sense...... I guess there is a first time for everything!!! For what it's worth I loved Mick Channon. However, if there was ever a case of the wrong signing at the wrong time it really had to be him

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Tueart originally asked for a transfer after he wasn't restored to the side when he'd got fit again after being injured. In his autobiography, he claimed he'd not had thoughts of leaving until then, but once he did decide he wanted out, there was no persuading him otherwise. And he looked at his options, then decided he'd rather go to the States than join another English club.

Channon was meant to be the signing that took us from nearly a title-winning side to one that actually could land the big prize, and you're right - it was considered a big deal at the time. He was an England regular, though he only earned one more cap after joining us because Ron Greenwood had taken over as manager and didn't seem to fancy him.

At the time, as a kid, I was delighted that we'd bought Channon, but in retrospect he was the wrong acquisition. We already had Tueart, Barnes, Kidd and Royle to play in the forward positions and we quite regularly played only three up top anyway: if we went with a 4-2-4, that left us with only Hartford and Owen in midfield, which was rather lightweight. So instead Paul Power quite often played in a midfield three and one of the forwards missed out.

In effect, Channon's arrival meant the end for Joe Royle at Maine Road, with Royle predictably shipped out less than three months into the new season. But we still had the same conundrum: we either went with all four forward players, which made us a free-scoring side but one which was far too open defensively to challenge for the title, or we left one out.

That wasn't an easy choice in the autumn of 1977. We'd just spent a club-record fee on Channon, Kidd was the best leader of the line, Barnes was in superb form that had earned him full England selection, and Tueart had a brilliant start to the season. A further problem was that Tueart and Channon weren't, at least in the former's view, all that compatible - Channon liked to drift wide into the areas that Tueart liked to occupy, and they tended to get in one another's way.

In his autobiography, Tueart suggests that we should have rejected the chance to buy Channon and instead should have gone for a really top-class midfielder. The name he put forward was Graeme Souness. I've said this to a few Blues since and the usual response is that we wouldn't have had a chance of signing him, but I think Tueart's right and I also believe it would have been a realistic option at the time.

Souness wanted to leave Boro after Jack Charlton's departure in the summer of 1977. Though the Teessiders were reluctant to sell him, they indicated that they would for the right fee, but it had to be a big one (he eventually joined Liverpool for £350K six months later, when fees were starting to rise markedly, so £300K in the summer could easily have tempted them in that market).

And why wouldn't City have been an attractive destination for him? We had a team full of internationals that had just run a great Liverpool side close for the title. We were one of three sides in the country averaging over 40K for home league games and had a stadium that regularly hosted semi-finals and representative matches. In short, we were a proper big club at the time and would have offered him an excellent stage for his talents.

After Colin Bell's injury, we were always just a little short of quality across the midfield three and definitely needed the right acquisition to address that. The likes of Jimmy Conway and Colin Viljeon on the cheap were never likely to do so, while Deyna predictably found the physical demands of a midfield role in the First Division too much for him - all his good moments with us were when he was used up front.

Tony Book says he wanted to buy Alan Ball from Arsenal in the summer of 1976 but that Swales wouldn't sanction a fee of £100K for a 31-year-old. Ball was still playing in the First Division six years later, so would have been worth the money and might have made the difference in 1976/77. But in Ball's absence, I find the prospect of a move for Souness rather than Channon in the summer of 1977 another intriguing 'sliding doors' MCFC moment.

Great post that, mate - and spot on too. Really enjoyed reading it.

The thing that many City fans frequently remarked about Channon at the time was how much he constantly fell over.

 

[Blue Feather]

Tueart originally asked for a transfer after he wasn't restored to the side when he'd got fit again after being injured. In his autobiography, he claimed he'd not had thoughts of leaving until then, but once he did decide he wanted out, there was no persuading him otherwise. And he looked at his options, then decided he'd rather go to the States than join another English club.

Channon was meant to be the signing that took us from nearly a title-winning side to one that actually could land the big prize, and you're right - it was considered a big deal at the time. He was an England regular, though he only earned one more cap after joining us because Ron Greenwood had taken over as manager and didn't seem to fancy him.

At the time, as a kid, I was delighted that we'd bought Channon, but in retrospect he was the wrong acquisition. We already had Tueart, Barnes, Kidd and Royle to play in the forward positions and we quite regularly played only three up top anyway: if we went with a 4-2-4, that left us with only Hartford and Owen in midfield, which was rather lightweight. So instead Paul Power quite often played in a midfield three and one of the forwards missed out.

In effect, Channon's arrival meant the end for Joe Royle at Maine Road, with Royle predictably shipped out less than three months into the new season. But we still had the same conundrum: we either went with all four forward players, which made us a free-scoring side but one which was far too open defensively to challenge for the title, or we left one out.

That wasn't an easy choice in the autumn of 1977. We'd just spent a club-record fee on Channon, Kidd was the best leader of the line, Barnes was in superb form that had earned him full England selection, and Tueart had a brilliant start to the season. A further problem was that Tueart and Channon weren't, at least in the former's view, all that compatible - Channon liked to drift wide into the areas that Tueart liked to occupy, and they tended to get in one another's way.

In his autobiography, Tueart suggests that we should have rejected the chance to buy Channon and instead should have gone for a really top-class midfielder. The name he put forward was Graeme Souness. I've said this to a few Blues since and the usual response is that we wouldn't have had a chance of signing him, but I think Tueart's right and I also believe it would have been a realistic option at the time.

Souness wanted to leave Boro after Jack Charlton's departure in the summer of 1977. Though the Teessiders were reluctant to sell him, they indicated that they would for the right fee, but it had to be a big one (he eventually joined Liverpool for £350K six months later, when fees were starting to rise markedly, so £300K in the summer could easily have tempted them in that market).

And why wouldn't City have been an attractive destination for him? We had a team full of internationals that had just run a great Liverpool side close for the title. We were one of three sides in the country averaging over 40K for home league games and had a stadium that regularly hosted semi-finals and representative matches. In short, we were a proper big club at the time and would have offered him an excellent stage for his talents.

After Colin Bell's injury, we were always just a little short of quality across the midfield three and definitely needed the right acquisition to address that. The likes of Jimmy Conway and Colin Viljeon on the cheap were never likely to do so, while Deyna predictably found the physical demands of a midfield role in the First Division too much for him - all his good moments with us were when he was used up front.

Tony Book says he wanted to buy Alan Ball from Arsenal in the summer of 1976 but that Swales wouldn't sanction a fee of £100K for a 31-year-old. Ball was still playing in the First Division six years later, so would have been worth the money and might have made the difference in 1976/77. But in Ball's absence, I find the prospect of a move for Souness rather than Channon in the summer of 1977 another intriguing 'sliding doors' MCFC moment.

Thanks for this BUT the thought of Tueart staying and having Ball (the player) and Souness makes it even more frustrating....

 

[BringBackSwales]

I'm not saying he was right, it's fucking annoying especially when it doesn't work!

He was also responsible for the worst ever City song

 

[JohnBlotto]

Tueart originally asked for a transfer after he wasn't restored to the side when he'd got fit again after being injured. In his autobiography, he claimed he'd not had thoughts of leaving until then, but once he did decide he wanted out, there was no persuading him otherwise. And he looked at his options, then decided he'd rather go to the States than join another English club.

Channon was meant to be the signing that took us from nearly a title-winning side to one that actually could land the big prize, and you're right - it was considered a big deal at the time. He was an England regular, though he only earned one more cap after joining us because Ron Greenwood had taken over as manager and didn't seem to fancy him.

At the time, as a kid, I was delighted that we'd bought Channon, but in retrospect he was the wrong acquisition. We already had Tueart, Barnes, Kidd and Royle to play in the forward positions and we quite regularly played only three up top anyway: if we went with a 4-2-4, that left us with only Hartford and Owen in midfield, which was rather lightweight. So instead Paul Power quite often played in a midfield three and one of the forwards missed out.

In effect, Channon's arrival meant the end for Joe Royle at Maine Road, with Royle predictably shipped out less than three months into the new season. But we still had the same conundrum: we either went with all four forward players, which made us a free-scoring side but one which was far too open defensively to challenge for the title, or we left one out.

That wasn't an easy choice in the autumn of 1977. We'd just spent a club-record fee on Channon, Kidd was the best leader of the line, Barnes was in superb form that had earned him full England selection, and Tueart had a brilliant start to the season. A further problem was that Tueart and Channon weren't, at least in the former's view, all that compatible - Channon liked to drift wide into the areas that Tueart liked to occupy, and they tended to get in one another's way.

In his autobiography, Tueart suggests that we should have rejected the chance to buy Channon and instead should have gone for a really top-class midfielder. The name he put forward was Graeme Souness. I've said this to a few Blues since and the usual response is that we wouldn't have had a chance of signing him, but I think Tueart's right and I also believe it would have been a realistic option at the time.

Souness wanted to leave Boro after Jack Charlton's departure in the summer of 1977. Though the Teessiders were reluctant to sell him, they indicated that they would for the right fee, but it had to be a big one (he eventually joined Liverpool for £350K six months later, when fees were starting to rise markedly, so £300K in the summer could easily have tempted them in that market).

And why wouldn't City have been an attractive destination for him? We had a team full of internationals that had just run a great Liverpool side close for the title. We were one of three sides in the country averaging over 40K for home league games and had a stadium that regularly hosted semi-finals and representative matches. In short, we were a proper big club at the time and would have offered him an excellent stage for his talents.

After Colin Bell's injury, we were always just a little short of quality across the midfield three and definitely needed the right acquisition to address that. The likes of Jimmy Conway and Colin Viljeon on the cheap were never likely to do so, while Deyna predictably found the physical demands of a midfield role in the First Division too much for him - all his good moments with us were when he was used up front.

Tony Book says he wanted to buy Alan Ball from Arsenal in the summer of 1976 but that Swales wouldn't sanction a fee of £100K for a 31-year-old. Ball was still playing in the First Division six years later, so would have been worth the money and might have made the difference in 1976/77. But in Ball's absence, I find the prospect of a move for Souness rather than Channon in the summer of 1977 another intriguing 'sliding doors' MCFC moment.

I always like reading your comments Petrusha as we are obviously of the same generation & suffer similar wounds from the disappoinment of City's demise from 1978 through the dark years. Tueart was my big hero at the time but having bought and read his book I wonder how reliable he is as a source of info. Some of his comments about being left out of the team hardly match up with records of line-ups and he might be said to come across as somewhat self-serving in some of his accounts. Also - never seems to miss a chance to fall out with someone. I think it might be a more accurate recollection of City in the 70's to say where they were gonna finish was never very clear and runners-up might possibly have been an anomaly rather than an indication of real potential. Certainly, no-one in the team Allison dismantled really hit major heights after leaving City and the whole year of 1978 (after the winter) seemed to be one where the team was going nowhere under Tony Book. You may recall the incredibly bad weather of 1978-80 as well, which explains to some degree our famous Cup exits on an ice rink and mud-heap and perhaps also the faltering of Allison's kids in the winter (with better results in the Autumn and Spring). If I'd been Book I'd have been looking to bring in maybe Burley and Butcher and that young Robson at WBA. Whether big Mal's kids would have blossomed is hard to say but some did OK and I wonder what would have happened if they had player the Robinson-Reeves version of the Toshack/Keegan front two Allison had in mind at the start of 1979, but ultimately never did at Robinson needed to be sold (I think) by the time we finally got Reeves.

 

[Bluesince1979]

Some excellent posts here that have educated me a lot! My first game as a 5 year old in 1979 so that part of our history has always been only what i read in books