Kevin Keegan

NPBlue said:
The first season when he was our manager in the old second division will live with me forever. It was some of the most free flowing, attacking football I can remember, and was an absolute joy to watch.

There must have been a great team spirit that year, because I lost count of the games we finished with ten men, but it didn't seem to matter as the goals continued to flow. I think the final tally was 108.

It's one of my favourite seasons, and it gave us hope things were finally on the up after years of dogshit.

It didn't work out over the next few years for various reasons, but that's another story.

Nothing will take those memories away.
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One reasons it went a bit flat was that Ali B faded, he was getting on a bit.
I did like Anelka for us, though.
 
feedmpenzaandhewillscore said:
Remember when we twatted Ipswich town in the fa cup on a Sunday evening live on BBC 1 when they were a division above us.
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Just eight months or so after the infamous ‘YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK GOODBYE’ banner when they relegated us.

I hope we twat the fuckers about 0-6 when we go there in January.
 
Nebuchadnezzar said:
His first season was great. Really good stuff to watch and we took the piss in the Championship. Near enough all the games on a dodgy ITV Digital box. I went to one match that year and it was the one where Tiatto had a meltdown v Norwich and Berkovic scored a quality goal.
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That Norwich game was electric. Remember the Norwich player involved in the Tiatto incident approaching the family stand to take a corner and mimicking an elbow and getting hammered.

Amazing goal from Berkovic.

 
NPBlue said:
The first season when he was our manager in the old second division will live with me forever. It was some of the most free flowing, attacking football I can remember, and was an absolute joy to watch.

There must have been a great team spirit that year, because I lost count of the games we finished with ten men, but it didn't seem to matter as the goals continued to flow. I think the final tally was 108.

It's one of my favourite seasons, and it gave us hope things were finally on the up after years of dogshit.

It didn't work out over the next few years for various reasons, but that's another story.

Nothing will take those memories away.
Click to expand...

never thought in a million years we would have a better season than what we did that year
 
NPBlue said:
The first season when he was our manager in the old second division will live with me forever. It was some of the most free flowing, attacking football I can remember, and was an absolute joy to watch.

There must have been a great team spirit that year, because I lost count of the games we finished with ten men, but it didn't seem to matter as the goals continued to flow. I think the final tally was 108.

It's one of my favourite seasons, and it gave us hope things were finally on the up after years of dogshit.

It didn't work out over the next few years for various reasons, but that's another story.

Nothing will take those memories away.
Click to expand...
I'd argue the first two seasons were just as good as each other for different reasons.

Winning the Championship with free-flowing attacking football is one thing and a great achievement, but finishing 9th in the Premier League straight away while keeping that free-flowing attacking football central to the team's identity was another thing entirely.

Getting 4 points off United and winning the Maine Road derby, winning at Anfield and White Hart Lane, beating Newcastle and Leeds at home (bigger teams at the time), qualifying for the UEFA Cup/Europa League, and all as a newly promoted side, was absolutely huge.

Birmingham and West Brom came up with us in 2002 - Birmingham just about escaped relegation with a couple of games to spare and West Brom went straight back down in 19th. For us to finish so high up and secure European football for the first time in a generation was a major step forward for the future of the club.

It went sideways under Keegan basically as soon as we moved to the Etihad - we lost Foe (RIP), Schmeichel, Jensen, Howey, Horlock, Benarbia, Berkovic, Huckerby, and Goater in one summer and things were never really the same again. Once he had to rebuild the side - with almost no money - we suddenly went very stodgy.

But fair play to him, because that run from 2002 to 2005 was the first time we'd had proper top flight stability at City for about 10 years, probably 20 years, at that point. It obviously got a bit nervy during 03-04, especially at the end, but we stayed above the surface thanks to his buys (David James especially).

I think Keegan's just too human and too honest for football, ultimately. He cares a lot and it clearly gets to him, and his judgements get clouded by emotion sometimes. He doesn't know how to hide his feelings. But he lives and breathes the game and you could always tell. Whichever club he managed, he took them to his heart and absorbed as much as he could.

Got a lot of time for him.
 
KS55 said:
One reasons it went a bit flat was that Ali B faded, he was getting on a bit.
I did like Anelka for us, though.
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It went flat because we then was playing at a higher level. The first year in the prem at Maine Road wasn't flat though to be fair, think we finished 8th and was still exciting to watch. Bernabia then left and didn't play a league game at the new gaff. The move to COMS along with some poor recruitment made the buzz start to go away. To go from Bernabia, Berkovic, Huckerby type players to Sibierski, Bosvelt and such like didn't get the juices flowing, although Anelka and SWP was entertaining.
 
The 2001/2002 team was amazing and could beat anyone, if Ali B had been in the PL that year he'd have torn it up. When he first joined no-one really knew who he was. By the following year he didn't have that element of surprise any more and age had caught up with him a bit. He's my favourite player from the pre-takeover years.
 
jaiguruKun said:
The 2001/2002 team was amazing and could beat anyone, if Ali B had been in the PL that year he'd have torn it up. When he first joined no-one really knew who he was. By the following year he didn't have that element of surprise any more and age had caught up with him a bit. He's my favourite player from the pre-takeover years.
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Surprise element is irrelevant. Age may have caught up with him as well as playing a higher standard that first year in the prem. He still done ok but he took a while.
 
NPBlue said:
The first season when he was our manager in the old second division will live with me forever. It was some of the most free flowing, attacking football I can remember, and was an absolute joy to watch.

There must have been a great team spirit that year, because I lost count of the games we finished with ten men, but it didn't seem to matter as the goals continued to flow. I think the final tally was 108.

It's one of my favourite seasons, and it gave us hope things were finally on the up after years of dogshit.

It didn't work out over the next few years for various reasons, but that's another story.

Nothing will take those memories away.
Click to expand...
It was a great season but I think people forget just how inconsistent we were up until October. Our first 10 league games we won 6 and lost 4. But then it was a light bulb moment as from November to the end of the season we only lost 5 more games.

Just free flowing attacking football
Huckerby
Goater
Wanchope
Ali B
Berkovic
SWP

The goals just came from everywhere.

The game which really made me believe we were going to win the league was Burnley at home. Top of the table clash and we absolutely battered them. 4 up at HT
 
They day before his first home game i went to a supporters night at Platt Lane....KK turned up.

At the end there was a Q&A.

I said "Kevin,the refs bell has sounded for the teams to go out tomorrow evening, what are your final words to the team"

He smiled and said "sound the bugle and charge" .

He was true to his word !!
 
kippaxwarrior said:
It was a great season but I think people forget just how inconsistent we were up until October. Our first 10 league games we won 6 and lost 4. But then it was a light bulb moment as from November to the end of the season we only lost 5 more games.

Just free flowing attacking football
Huckerby
Goater
Wanchope
Ali B
Berkovic
SWP

The goals just came from everywhere.

The game which really made me believe we were going to win the league was Burnley at home. Top of the table clash and we absolutely battered them. 4 up at HT
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Brilliant game. We went with some of my mum's family who are Burnley, needless to say we were smug as fuck in the Claremont after.
 
kippaxwarrior said:
It was a great season but I think people forget just how inconsistent we were up until October. Our first 10 league games we won 6 and lost 4. But then it was a light bulb moment as from November to the end of the season we only lost 5 more games.

Just free flowing attacking football
Huckerby
Goater
Wanchope
Ali B
Berkovic
SWP

The goals just came from everywhere.

The game which really made me believe we were going to win the league was Burnley at home. Top of the table clash and we absolutely battered them. 4 up at HT
Click to expand...
One of my favourite games of all time. Wanchope, Goater and Berkovic all on the score sheet. Think Burnley were top of the league but we took them apart.
 
DWIFF said:
One of my favourite games of all time. Wanchope, Goater and Berkovic all on the score sheet. Think Burnley were top of the league but we took them apart.
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Yes it was brilliant. Shades of Watford in the 8-0 when we just went straight at them from the first minute and the game was over before half time.

As you say they were top and most people were expecting a much greater challenge.
 
thismeansfour said:
It went flat because we then was playing at a higher level. The first year in the prem at Maine Road wasn't flat though to be fair, think we finished 8th and was still exciting to watch. Bernabia then left and didn't play a league game at the new gaff. The move to COMS along with some poor recruitment made the buzz start to go away. To go from Bernabia, Berkovic, Huckerby type players to Sibierski, Bosvelt and such like didn't get the juices flowing, although Anelka and SWP was entertaining.
Click to expand...

One of the main factors for me was losing Berkovic. One of the best midfield performances I have seen was at Old Trafford in the 1-1 draw when Goatee and Ali B came on and created an equaliser.

Pretty sure the game was in Feb, Berkovic then got injured maybe a game or two after and sold in the summer. A few transfer mistakes later and the writing was on the wall.
 
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