Sud off with your caustic response
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My cousin (once removed) Peter Donoghue almost took over City but the deal fell through at the last second
- Thread starter Mad Eyed Screamer
- Start date
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
Thanks Gary - and @petrushaI think I’d have preferred a fridge magnet to Swales!
I will back up the story of Peter Donaghue (spelt Donoghue in the MEN and so that’s how it appears in my books). He set up a group that wanted changes in the boardroom and his determination to change things increased when it was revealed that City’s vice-chairman had gone to Old Trafford to ask for a merger!
I‘ve covered all of this in a few books (probably Farewell To Maine Rd is the best for the story). Ultimately pressure from Donaghue and his backers killed off the merger talks BUT (and this is where there’s a sliding doors moment which in this case may still have led us to where we got with Swales) two of Donaghue’s group were Michael Horwich and Chris Muir. They were two of the key figures who in 1970 (after we’d won the ECWC & League Cup that year) launched a takeover claiming City was not as successful a club as it ought to be. The takeover was bitter at times and ultimately broke up Mercer & Allison; ended the Alexander family direction; brought Swales in and (apart from 76) killed off our successes! Horwich & Muir (plus Ian Niven) were very much Allison fans and one of those three even had a superior tone and the audacity to tell the 21 year old me when my first book came out about City that Joe Mercer had ’done nothing for Manchester City. It was all down to Allison, so why do you even have a photo of him in your book?’
That man also pushed Swales to bring back Allison in 79.
Maybe if Donaghue had succeeded though those others would have been supporting figures rather than leaders. I’d love to know why Donaghue didn’t form part of the 1970 takeover. He seemed to have a good grasp of things.
I went to games with my uncle (mum's brother) in the mid 80's / early 90's and he mentioned every now and then that his cousin once tried to take over City and I just thought he was winding me up so I never questioned him about it.
Sadly my uncle passed away in 2003.
There was a thread a few years ago on here about this issue and when Peter's name came up I realised this is who my uncle was talking about. I asked my mum about it and she was like "oh yes I knew about that" and I said "and you never mentioned this to me once ever?" And she shrugged her shoulders thinking it was no big deal!
She gave me the number of her only remaining cousin Ken, also a cousin of Peter, and he told me about Peter being in the laundrette trade and owning properties and that he had passed away in the 80's. Didn't mention if he had any children - I could give Ken a call, haven't spoken to him for 4 years when I called to say my mum had passed away.
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Thanks Gary - and @petrusha
I went to games with my uncle (mum's brother) in the mid 80's / early 90's and he mentioned every now and then that his cousin once tried to take over City and I just thought he was winding me up so I never questioned him about it.
Sadly my uncle passed away in 2003.
There was a thread a few years ago on here about this issue and when Peter's name came up I realised this is who my uncle was talking about. I asked my mum about it and she was like "oh yes I knew about that" and I said "and you never mentioned this to me once ever?" And she shrugged her shoulders thinking it was no big deal!
She gave me.the number of her only remaining cousin Ken, also a cousin of Peter, and he told me about Peter being in the laundrette trade and owning properties and that he had passed away in the 80's. Didn't mention if he had any children - I could give Ken a call, haven't spoken to him for 4 years when I called to say my mum had passed away.
Judging from what @Gary James said, it sounds as though City at the very least have Peter to thank for making Alan Douglas and his mates forget about the nonsense of moving to the Swamp or merging with our out-of-town neighbours. That allowed the board to focus on how best to drag us out of the mire we were in, which they thankfully did successfully.
I hadn't appreciated until Gary poster earlier in this thread that some of those involved in the 1970 attempted takeover were also involved in Peter's efforts. It's also interesting that Peter didn't go back and try again to become involved at that later stage. If the reason was that he thought everything had gone startlingly well over the past five years and what wasn't broken didn't need fixing, that would also be to his credit.
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
I'm going to email City about having a statue of Peter put up in the laundry room.....Judging from what @Gary James said, it sounds as though City at the very least have Peter to thank for making Alan Douglas and his mates forget about the nonsense of moving to the Swamp or merging with our out-of-town neighbours. That allowed the board to focus on how best to drag us out of the mire we were in, which they thankfully did successfully.
I hadn't appreciated until Gary poster earlier in this thread that some of those involved in the 1970 attempted takeover were also involved in Peter's efforts. It's also interesting that Peter didn't go back and try again to become involved at that later stage. If the reason was that he thought everything had gone startlingly well over the past five years and what wasn't broken didn't need fixing, that would also be to his credit.
Things might need to be ironed out first.I'm going to email City about having a statue of Peter put up in the laundry room.....
Gary James
Well-Known Member
I‘ve mentioned it before on here so I’m happy to do so again. It was Ian Niven.Anyway, it all worked out rather well for us in the end, even though Joe Mercer must have been a high-risk option given the way he'd suffered a stress-related illness at Villa. City was arguably a more nerve-racking job at the time! The comment mentioned in your other post by that director about Mercer doing nothing for our club is disgraceful. I can guess who it probably is, but if you prefer not to say, fair play. I won't post my conjecture on here.
There's no doubt that Mercer had it right in a video I've previously seen but that I've not managed to find just now on YouTube. As I remember, the comment was to the effect that he (Mercer) certainly needed Allison, but Mal needed Joe every bit as much. And Allison proved as much when at City without Mercer, both in 1972/73 and at the end of the decade. Pretty pathetic, but revealing, that a club director couldn't see that.
The significant thing when people talk about Mercer and Allison both before and after City is that they both found success elsewhere. Mercer achieved promotion and the League Cup at Villa before his health issues and then started to make good progress at Coventry after City (manager of the month etc.) before England came calling. Allison won Portuguese double.
However, together at City it was near perfect until those hungry for power following City’s ECWC got involved.
I‘ve mentioned it before on here so I’m happy to do so again. It was Ian Niven.
The significant thing when people talk about Mercer and Allison both before and after City is that they both found success elsewhere. Mercer achieved promotion and the League Cup at Villa before his health issues and then started to make good progress at Coventry after City (manager of the month etc.) before England came calling. Allison won Portuguese double.
However, together at City it was near perfect until those hungry for power following City’s ECWC got involved.
I was practically certain that it would be Niven. He was a dedicated City fan, but his blind adherence to the cause of Malcolm Allison ultimately did City no favours.
You're right about Joe and Mal - both extremely talented men and each did have success without the other (though, that season at Sporting Lisbon aside, Mal had a vary patchy CV after the end of his first spell at Maine Road - Joe generally fared better alone, IMO). But there was some sort of alchemy when they were together and they were a wonderful pairing that was even more than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, the 1970 attempted takeover was the catalyst for them to split.
East Level 2
Well-Known Member
Might take a while even though it's a pressing matter.I'm going to email City about having a statue of Peter put up in the laundry room.....
Hopefully one or two of the broad sheets will come come clean about it.Might take a while even though it's a pressing matter.
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
You can guarantee one of the journos will put a spin on the story thoughHopefully one or two of the broad sheets will come come clean about it.