Memories of the Pink Final

[LongsightM13]

Bottom left of the paper has results from the central league, oh those memories. Did we ever win the central league?

I'm sure we did one season. I can vaguely remember a picture with 'reserve team captain' Ged Keegan holding the trophy.
For younger mooners, this was the days of only one substitute and so the reserves was basically everyone after the first 12.
They played in the Central League at 3pm on a Saturday, at Maine Road when City were away, and vice versa.
You had players like Ged Keegan, my dad's mate Noel Bradley (the original Rory Delap long-throw expert), Tony Henry, Gary Buckley and Gary Bennett, who probably made hundreds of reserve appearances between them but only a handful for the first team.
Used to go the reserves at Maine Road a lot as a kid, they used to get decent crowds (Main Stand open only) and you'd get the scores from the 'big' match and selected other fixtures displayed on the North Stand scoreboard.

 

[mcfc2112]

Couldn't wait for it to be delivered to the boozer at tea-time on Saturdays.
The 'SEAFOOD' man always arrived 2 minutes later.

Was he the fekker that used to creep up behind you and shout "CARE for any Seafood, y'all?"

 

[ob]

Me and mate used to get football special from Belfast to home games

Friday overnight ferry Belfast-Liverpool
train Sat morning to Manchester - couple of pints - then game

straight back to Liverpool for Saturday overnight ferry home

for ages my mate and me got chased through Lime Street every fucking week and could never understand why - (no colours on) thought maybe scallies watching us come off Manchester train then bus driver told us it was because we were carrying Pink Final

 

[stonerblue]

Couldn't wait for it to be delivered to the boozer at tea-time on Saturdays.
The 'SEAFOOD' man always arrived 2 minutes later.

Was he the fekker that used to creep up behind you and shout "CARE for any Seafood, y'all?"

Your crabstick seller must've been a bit posh. Ours had the advertising slogan, 'See-fooood'

 

[mcfc2112]

Couldn't wait for it to be delivered to the boozer at tea-time on Saturdays.
The 'SEAFOOD' man always arrived 2 minutes later.

Was he the fekker that used to creep up behind you and shout "CARE for any Seafood, y'all?"

Your crabstick seller must've been a bit posh. Ours had the advertising slogan, 'See-fooood'

He wasn't posh!!

Think it was Kershaws...he used to pop up in every pub in town on Saturday nights...

Mmmm - crab's dicks!

 

[stuart brennan]

Interested to hear all the memories of the Pink - I used to leg it round to the paper shop to get one for my dad when I was a kid.
And weddings - someone would sneak out of the reception and buy ten or 20, and then sell them on to the blokes.

My first day at the MEN was a Saturday, in 1998, working as a sub-editor on the Pink. I thought it would be a mental day, but we ended up in the City Arms for a three-hour session in the afternoon, and then back for 4pm for the craziest hour of sub-editing you can imagine, with match reports, results and other stuff flying in from all angles. Then back to the boozer, obviously.

I interviewed John Hollins when he became Rochdale manager a few years back, and when he found out I was from the MEN he mentioned how the Chelsea boys, when they played at City or United, used to travel by train, and would all buy a Pink at Piccadilly as they waited for their train home.
I had a vision of Chopper Harris, Peter Osgood, Alan Hudson and the rest all sitting on the train, devouring the Pinks.

PS the reason it was Pink, and other sports papers were green, was because it was printed on recycled newspapers, I believe. Because of newsprint, the paper would be a nasty grey, so they solved the problem by chucking in some coloured dye.

 

[stevecity]

The Bolton version was called The Buff!

 

[awest]

Interested to hear all the memories of the Pink - I used to leg it round to the paper shop to get one for my dad when I was a kid.
And weddings - someone would sneak out of the reception and buy ten or 20, and then sell them on to the blokes.

My first day at the MEN was a Saturday, in 1998, working as a sub-editor on the Pink. I thought it would be a mental day, but we ended up in the City Arms for a three-hour session in the afternoon, and then back for 4pm for the craziest hour of sub-editing you can imagine, with match reports, results and other stuff flying in from all angles. Then back to the boozer, obviously.

I interviewed John Hollins when he became Rochdale manager a few years back, and when he found out I was from the MEN he mentioned how the Chelsea boys, when they played at City or United, used to travel by train, and would all buy a Pink at Piccadilly as they waited for their train home.
I had a vision of Chopper Harris, Peter Osgood, Alan Hudson and the rest all sitting on the train, devouring the Pinks.

PS the reason it was Pink, and other sports papers were green, was because it was printed on recycled newspapers, I believe. Because of newsprint, the paper would be a nasty grey, so they solved the problem by chucking in some coloured dye.

Nice story Stuart. I do believe there is a blue out there who has still got every single copy of the pink. Is it anybody on here?

 

[BillCarlisle]

That's quality!! Must be worth a few quid to?

I've got one of those too, somewhere up in the loft with a load of old programmes. It'll be with the one following the Luton match headlined (as I recall) 'Down ! City fall off Tightrope'.

When I was kid we had a newsagent shop in Failsworth and we got the Evening News Green, Evening Chronicle Pink, and the Oldham Chronicle Green Final. All used to arrive before 6pm Saturday. Happy Days.

 

[Maintainin]

When we lost the headline was always City Crash!

...when we won the headline was always City Slickers !

Best one i got from the truck on the forecourt were the 5-1 n' the 10-1

Other than that, prefered later edition once back in town by the Wimpy bar :)