dennishasdoneit
Well-Known Member
We signed him upI've never forgiven him for scoring for Swindon against City in 1965.
( we signed him up)
From Swindon Town
Shal -lal -Summerbee..
Little did we know he was England bound.
Shal- lal- summerbee
Loved singing the pre- amble to the more well known part of the song.
Buzzer as a player was well before my time ,but his legend lived on strongly all the way thru my 1st years as a match attender in the 80s
When the older Blues sang this song they did so full throttle....they meant it.This was at a time ,many veteran supporters I noticed had noticeable scars/ war wounds across their faces...obviosly watching Football in the late 60s/ 70s was a different ball game,esp away from home..
It was on away grounds such as Elland rd,Anfield, St James park and old Trafford that Bell Lee and Summberbee stood up and fought for City,winning many a battle on the pitch,whilst Blues did similar off it.
Buzzer wasn't scared to get stuck in and watching old footage of him from matches from this era tells the tale.he was game,more than up for it,and opposition players and fans knew it.
One of the frustrating things for me watching City in the early days was seeing plenty of players who could only perform well at Maine rd when the crowd was behind them....I noticed this confidence drain away at away grounds and it used to annoy me ...City were terrible away from home for years and after a bright start roared on by a vociferous packed away end ,in full voice and full of inflatable bsnanas etc etc..would fall away like a pack of cards as soon as the home team realised we were not up for a fight...and the home crowd upped the noise levels. The amount of times we,d nivk sn early gosl but lose 2-1/3-1 by fial l whistle used to p### me off.
Contrast this with Buzzer Bell Lee Doyle and Others at st James Park in May 1968 when we had to win to take the league title . 54k squeezed in with a rumoured 20 k Blues..the footage is grainy on You tube but the noise ,atmosphere and nerves are spine tingling.not a place for the faint hearted on or off the pitch.
Buzzer can be seen taking the game to Newcastle. He wanted that title...and he got it.
Opposition fans respected Our player.yes they would wind him up ,but loved the way he would take the banter and give it back with a smile on his face...and never shirk a tackle ...same at old Trafford by all accounts.
When talking about football players talent was so important, of course,but it's the character of the player which ,Imo,takes them onto another level..and turning up away from home for your team is a good indicator of the heart and fight you had for your team.
Champions have this in abundance and Buzzer was a true warrior for City..and i never heard a bad word about him in all my time ..from anyone.