Johnny Crossan

[xgorton]

Think it was Johnny who got our equaliser at Blackpool in the FA Cup january 1966. Thousands of Blues on the open end going wild. In those days replays were during the following week so we played them on the Monday night. winning 3-1. Another 50000 gate. Malcolm's warning to Busby about us overtaking them were starting to bear fruition

Spot on over 52,000 on the Monday night,and JC did make it 1-1 away Green with the Blackpool goal.

 

[nellyonthewing]

He was a great player for City. I was knocking around with a girl who had the hots for Johnny Crossan . She said I looked a bit like him which paid rich dividends.

 

[Gone for a Burton]

We did indeed play Moscow Dynamo in a friendly that season. The Southampton home game was a bit of a damp squib, in that we were both promoted and we were champions, they runners-up. Oddly enough the first game of 66-67 we were at Southampton. I was there on one of Paddy's coaches. Any of you lads remember those days?

Went all over in the promotion season,including Palace away in a monsoon when every other match in London was off...
0-2 City,Doyle & Pardoe.

66/67 played red scouse away after Soton I think.

Played well but lost 3-2.

Struggled a bit after that but a great win away at Burnley settled things down and we had a good cup run before being robbed at Leeds after outplaying them for 85 minutes on a quagmire.

 

[Howard Croft]

Yes, I remember being part of the pitch invasion at Burnley after the victory. Went to both the games at Leeds at the back end of the season, losing the cuptie after a wonderful performance but then a 0-0 draw with the inclusion of a certain Tony Coleman.

 

[lunebleu]

Fabulous player, one of my all-time City heroes. There is a case to be made that he singlehandedly willed us to promotion in 1965-66, such was his importance to that side in Mercer-Allison's first season.

He had an incredibly quick brain, always trying to catch the opposition out at free-kicks and corners. And it's no exaggeration to say that he was as good as David Silva in getting himself out of tightly marked situations to deliver a killer pass behind the defence to set 'Buzzer' Summerbee or Neil Young in on goal.

My favourite memory of Johnny Crossan in action was during the home game with promotion rivals Huddersfield Town on a wintry New Year's Day 1966. We took the lead with Mike Doyle's flying header in the first half. Huddersfield came back at us very strongly and threatened to at least equalise on several occasions. Whenever we did get possession in the second half, it was Crossan who calmed the play, holding on to the ball and allowing us to get into formation.

But his killer moment was when we were awarded a penalty at the Platt Lane end where I was sitting with The Old Man. I think it was Glyn Pardoe who'd been fouled and required treatment* from the trainer (* that's 'treatment' as in he ran onto the pitch with a pail full of freezing water and drenched the injured part of Pardoe's leg with an equally frozen sponge as the snowflakes fell from the even more equally frozen Manchester sky!)

Crossan was our penalty taker and he placed the ball on the spot, seemingly ready. But as the trainer made to run off, Johnny beckoned him over and made him place the bucket on the pitch so he could wash the mud off his left boot. And all of this in front of Huddersfield's goalkeeper, who went back onto his line. Crossan shaped to take the penalty with his left foot but at the last second shifted his balance and scored with his right foot! Absolute genius! We saw the game out at 2-0 for a statement win in the promotion title race and pretty much never looked back for the rest of the season.

Johnny Crossan - a truly glorious footballer who'd be worth quite a few bob nowadays!

I agree he was the catalyst for that promotion year. Fantastic player .

 

[JGL07]

We did indeed play Moscow Dynamo in a friendly that season. The Southampton home game was a bit of a damp squib, in that we were both promoted and we were champions, they runners-up. Oddly enough the first game of 66-67 we were at Southampton. I was there on one of Paddy's coaches. Any of you lads remember those days?

I used to travel on Paddy’s coach back then.

If it was a match in the North or Midlands, it would be an early morning start.

If it was in the South, we would leave at midnight from Aytoun Street or earlier from the City Social Club.

The coach would return at Midnight. We could go drinking in London, Bristol, Plymouth. We would arrive back in the early hours on Sunday morning and usually had to walk from Parrs Wood to Cheadle Hulme.

 

[TShed]

My first ever hero
Although not from Dublin but who cares this was my favourite chant of the 60s
In Dublins fair city
Where the girls all love City
I first laid my eyes on Johnny Crossan
As he wheeled his wheel barrow
Through the streets broad and narrow
Singing we hate scousers and cockneys and man United

 

[KS55]

The attendance at Leeds Road shortly after the Swindon match was 14,405 according to this site.

It was much higher at 31,876 the following season when Huddersfield and City were fighting it out for promotion. It was 47,171 in the subsequent New Years Day match at Maine Road when Crossan and Doyle scored in a 2-0 win.

Ah, memory again. Wrong game. I was thinking of the second game you mentioned. Can’t believe only 31,876 though. I was away for the MR match on New Years.