If you had a time machine......

chaddblue said:
An old guy I work with travelled up early to Newcastle that day. He said him and loads of Blues were just hanging around the ground for hours as they were too young to go boozing. In the end they bought a ball, broke into the ground and had a full size match on the pitch !!!
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First pint I had that day was at the Scotch Corner hotel on the way back! Got the round in, then a coach load piled in - made it 3 rounds before they started to order.
 
One game that I have always regretted not going to is the last game of the 88/89 season away at Bradford (13th May 1989). I had gone to loads of matches that season but could not get a ticket - I should have gone just to be in the vicinity. The article below covers the game well.

Scorers City Morley(86) Bradford Ellis(24)

Ref P Wright

City Cooper, Lake, Hinchcliffe, I Brightwell, Megson, Redmond, White, Morley, Moulden, McNab, Gleghorn – unused subs Oldfield, Taggart


By the time of the final match of the 1988-89 season, City were in second place in Division Two with a goal difference of 24, but Crystal Palace were only three points behind with a goal difference of 19. This meant the nervous Blues had to get a point from their last match at Bradford to be certain of promotion. The game commenced with City in typical 1980s big-match form, they conceded a goal from Mark Ellis after 24 minutes! Bradford pressed forward and the Blues simply panicked, although they did manage to get their act together a little before the interval.
At half time various scorelines filtered through from the delayed Palace-Birmingham match, with the most frequent rumour suggesting Palace were 4-0 up and in rampant form. City fans feared the worst, especially as, at times, it appeared likely Bradford would increase their lead despite considerable City pressure.
More whispers circulated that Palace had scored again. The tension was unbearable and for one fan, lvor McKenna, it was all too much. He ran on to the pitch to plead with the players for more effort, speaking with Paul Lake for a few moments before the police led him off the pitch. It later transpired he’d told the players Palace were leading 5-0.
With only four minutes remaining experienced goalkeeper Paul Cooper quickly threw to the unmarked Nigel Gleghorn, who passed to Paul Moulden. With David White racing down the wing it was inevitable Moulden would feed to the speedy attacker. Trevor Morley’s view of what happened next: “All l can remember is Whitey getting it on his left foot and clippirg it in. I got goalside of the defender. The ball bobbled and I got very good contact. As soon as l did I knew it was going in.”
City were level. The final minutes provided few further opportunities for either side to take the winner, and at full time Bradford officials wisely allowed the City fans onto the pitch to enjoy their celebrations. Following the awful Hillsborough disaster only four weeks earlier the sensible decision had been taken to keep the gates unlocked. On the pitch fans greeted their heroes and a few players lost their shirts to souvenir hunters. The Bradford supporters seemed equally delighted with the result and many celebrated with the men from Manchester.
AN EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE BY GARY JAMES PUBLISHED IN THE CITY PROGRAMME 14TH OCTOBER 2000
 
jamesha said:
The tension was unbearable and for one fan, lvor McKenna, it was all too much.
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I always wondered if he'd ever been 'named and shamed'!

jamesha said:
One game that I have always regretted not going to is the last game of the 88/89 season away at Bradford (13th May 1989).
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Given the events of 1989 and 2012 combined, 13th May should be henceforth known as 'City day'.
 
gordondaviesmoustache said:
I always wondered if he'd ever been 'named and shamed'!


Given the events of 1989 and 2012 combined, 13th May should be henceforth known as 'City day'.
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More like Heart-Attack-Day!!
Was in Bradford main stand that day the tension was definitely unbearable.not so bad before the game as our supporters side played a Bradford team in a morning k.o (beat them 13-1) so we had something to take our minds off the real match.I scored a powerful left foot blast from 3yards out that day so was buzzing...until the buzzing turned to butterflies, lol...ended up on the pitch at the final whistle,after weighing up if I should or not for ages..Didn't realize that match was only 4 weeks after Hillsborough...that may have been weighing on my mind.
Typical City leaving it so late.
 
chaddblue said:
An old guy I work with travelled up early to Newcastle that day. He said him and loads of Blues were just hanging around the ground for hours as they were too young to go boozing. In the end they bought a ball, broke into the ground and had a full size match on the pitch !!!
Click to expand...
I lost contact with the two mates that went that day many years ago, but I just remember one in particular banging on about it. Those days were pretty shit with all the fighting but ever since when I talk to lads that went they all say that was fucking brilliant. I'd never even met a Geordie but I knew I liked them.
 
gordondaviesmoustache said:
I'd love to know which game @Gary James would pick.
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I'd be tempted to go to the 1904 FAC final but I think it's the celebrations on the Monday night that would be a better bet. That was the biggest celebration Manchester had ever known and so I'd love to see it in all it's glory.

If I have to pick a game then maybe 29/4/1905 at Villa. The controversial game which led to the illegal payments scandal investigations. I think City was badly treated and that Villa's Leake should have been punished. Turnbull was dragged into the Villa dressing room and thrown out with cuts and bruises, yet all the punishments came City's way because Villa's Leake was an established England international - and therefore a gentleman - while we were captained by Welsh coal miner Billy Meredith. We'd won the FAC in 1904 and were seen as young upstarts. New money v Old (this is getting to sound familiar).

I'd love to have been there to see exactly how crooked it all was. Personally, I'd like the FA to reinvestigate but I doubt that will ever happen. Now, if I had a time machine I could gather new evidence!
 
Vienna_70 said:
1904 FA Cup final; City vs. Bolton. The first major trophy won by a team from Greater Manchester

That must have been some occasion, with thousands of Lancastrians invading London. And the homecoming parade apparently brought the whole of Manchester out to welcome the team back with the cup.

Also a chance to warn the club's officials about the impending illegal payments investigation.
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Not Greater Manchester - Bury had won FAC twice before City!
 
I did 99 wembley, did the promotion at blackburn, did QPR at home,

didn't do 6-1 at swamp, so that.
 
6-1 win at OT in Oct 2011 of games I wasn't at.

Of all the games I've been at Spurs at Maine Rd in Dec 1967, 4-1 to City and led me to predict we would win the League that season.
 
So did the crowd on the Kippax. We all sang "Joe Mercer, Joe Mercer, is it true what people say, we're going to win the football League", to the tune of "Excerpt From a teenage Opera" by Keith West, long before December.
 
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