Smashing Preston at home was a highlight for me, was on a Sunday if I remember rightly as it was on TV.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
Sheffield Wednesday away one of the biggest highlights. We absolutely ripped them to shreds. Ali B was immense.
Alistair Mann's commentary can't be forgotten in the story of that season either. He captured so much of it so perfectly for ITV Digital and City's own coverage, and his words against Burnley are among his best while working for City. "And Burnley, the league leaders, are humbled at Maine Road" is one of his best from that year.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
Our team that year was an absolute joke. Packed full of Premier League quality players like Huckerby, Berkovic, Wanchope, Howey, Horlock, Tiatto etc. and eventually Jensen. And that's not mentioning lads like Shauny Wright and Dunney who were almost there. It was always going to gel and get firing.Ali's debut against Birmingham. No more needs to be said.
Our team that year was an absolute joke. Packed full of Premier League quality players like Huckerby, Berkovic, Wanchope, Howey, Horlock, Tiatto etc. and eventually Jensen. And that's not mentioning lads like Shauny Wright and Dunney who were almost there. It was always going to gel and get firing.
And then after a few weeks of the season we just nabbed a guy who'd been playing in the top division in France (with, believe it or not, Anelka, Jay Jay Okocha, Distin, Laurent Robert, Mikel Arteta and Pochettino). He just walked straight off the plane and waltzed through Birmingham like he'd already seen the match in his head.
That's how the story goes isn't it? We signed him on the Thursday afternoon on a free transfer, registered him on the Friday night just in time to name him in the squad, we flew him over from Paris to Manchester on the Saturday morning, and just sent him out there in the afternoon to see what he could do.
Ran the game from the word go and the Birmingham lads didn't have a clue what they were watching, hahaha. There's that moment just before the first goal where he has it with his back to goal and there's six Birmingham players like statues because none of them know which way he's gonna go. In three seconds it's in the net, lol.
And before the second goal where he gives the short corner to Tiatto and shapes like he's going to cross, and all the Birmingham lads step out expecting the ball over, and he just backheels it to Tiatto on the left wing who whips it in for Dunne to make it 2-0. Remember watching it as an 8-year-old and laughing my head off.
I don't even think our lads were on Ali's wavelength that day either. The amount of times he was pointing to them, telling them where to go, then passing it to them, then moving to receive it so they had a nice easy pass back to him. Controlled the other 21 players on the pitch on his own - only Aguero's debut comes close.
Yes you're right. He'd been here, we signed him, we sent him back to Paris to collect his things, and then he flew back in on the Saturday morning. A different time, lol.IIRC he had a trial at Sunderland and came to Carrington on the way back to meet Alioune Toure who he played with at PSG. Keegan signed him the same day and the rest is history.
Yeah me and my old man were at that Norwich game. The atmosphere was electric, especially with the added element of beating them with 10 men.Alistair Mann's commentary can't be forgotten in the story of that season either. He captured so much of it so perfectly for ITV Digital and City's own coverage, and his words against Burnley are among his best while working for City. "And Burnley, the league leaders, are humbled at Maine Road" is one of his best from that year.
That last goal, Huckerby's, was brilliant as well. Literally one end of the pitch to the other in about four passes. Horlock to Tiatto, to Berkovic, down by the Platt Lane scoreboard. Sucked Burnley in. And then Berkovic just spotted Huckerby on the halfway line and popped it in front of him to run on and score.
There was a run of games over the Christmas and January period that made it obvious how much better we were than everyone else in the division that year. The 5-1 over Burnley at home, the 3-2 Preston one that's been mentioned as well, but the 3-1 win over Norwich (who finished 6th) despite us having 10 men for 80 minutes was unbelievable.
Norwich were right with us at the time if I remember rightly. We were jostling for 1st and 2nd and Norwich were a bit behind trying to get into the top two. That win for us started a bit of a collapse for them and put us in the driving seat. Finished a good 10 points clear of everyone else in the end.
Amazing to look back at the full table knowing that our big promotion rivals that year were actually Wolves, who finished 3rd and didn't even come up. Burnley collapsed and fell to nowhere. West Brom came up with us automatically but it never really felt like we were really up against them at any point.
Yeah me and my old man were at that Norwich game. The atmosphere was electric, especially with the added element of beating them with 10 men.