On this day - Swales became chairman

[paulchapo]

Yes I have to agree he became obsessed with being bigger than United and tried to outdo them. I think the time both clubs started to go in opposite directions was the transfer of 2 million pound players from the west country. We got Daley, they got Robson.
The funny thing is United are now falling into the same trap as City by trying to copy us now

I remember the headlines on the back of the tabloids and MEN, " Swales fetches back big Mal with massive war chest to usurp United." or words to that effect. I remember being ecstatic as we had a decent side at the time and I thought we would go on to dominate football. We all know what happened next.....

 

[spiny]

That interview was an absolute embarrassment. When Swales turns to one of the directors and asks him what he thinks of john bond and the reply was along the lines of 'whatever the chairman wants to do'. I can only imagine Swales was a tyrant in the boardroom and surrounded himself with yes men
BTW who was the director who uttered those cringiest of replies

Swales as a tyrant is hard to believe. More a small time hustler.
I am more inclined to believe the Board were recipients of largess from Swales at the expense of Manchester City.
They did not wish to be implicated so rubber stamped rather than rocking the boat.

Swales was more preoccuppied with the prestige of his position within the FA. He fell out with Noel White who had been his business partner who also rose up the ranks of the FA as well as being on the Board of Liverpool. Swales big mate was Ian Stott of Oldham, also a prominent member of the FA Board and the Football League management committee.

This was the age of cash through the turnstyles and brown envelopes at motorway service stations. I am sure there is a story but we will never know.

 

[spiny]

I have honestly never ever believed Swales was ever even a City fan.

What he was, was a vainglourious narcissistic charlatan who was emblematic of the sort of blazered twat who had ruled English football for a century who saw City as his keys to the kingdom and a place on the FA board.

A place the FA were only too happy to give him.

I hope he is burning and screaming in hell.

Worth repeating.

 

[BertTrautmann'sParachute]

A dark day for the club when this **** took over, 2 year after my first game. Many a time over the years I'd thought about where we'd be had he not rocked up. Still can't forgive him.

 

[Blue and still suffering]

Swales as a tyrant is hard to believe. More a small time hustler.
I am more inclined to believe the Board were recipients of largess from Swales at the expense of Manchester City.
They did not wish to be implicated so rubber stamped rather than rocking the boat.

Swales was more preoccuppied with the prestige of his position within the FA. He fell out with Noel White who had been his business partner who also rose up the ranks of the FA as well as being on the Board of Liverpool. Swales big mate was Ian Stott of Oldham, also a prominent member of the FA Board and the Football League management committee.

This was the age of cash through the turnstyles and brown envelopes at motorway service stations. I am sure there is a story but we will never know.

Bernard Halford knew all the stories but he took them all with him.

 

[paulchapo]

Bernard Halford knew all the stories but he took them all with him.

His story would have been fascinating but he would never tell it unfortunately.

 

[mount pleasant blue]

Please, someone, tell me this isn't true. Many years ago, a good friend who worked for the Club said "do you know why the attendance figures never seem to tally with what you see in the ground?". He went on to tell me that there was some sort of mechanism in the ticket office linked to the turnstiles that counted the number of people entering Maine Road - it was there mainly for safety reasons. He told me this was turned off at 2.50 pm.

 

[BertTrautmann'sParachute]

Please, someone, tell me this isn't true. Many years ago, a good friend who worked for the Club said "do you know why the attendance figures never seem to tally with what you see in the ground?". He went on to tell me that there was some sort of mechanism in the ticket office linked to the turnstiles that counted the number of people entering Maine Road - it was there mainly for safety reasons. He told me this was turned off at 2.50 pm.

It was a running joke in the 70s among the fans that the official crowd was always 5-10 thousand lower than actually attended. Don't know if what you've been told is true, though.

 

[paulchapo]

It was a running joke in the 70s among the fans that the official crowd was always 5-10 thousand lower than actually attended. Don't know if what you've been told is true, though.

When you think back to those days, all cash, no computers and CCTV lots of people must have filled their boots.

 

[JGL07]

I had moved away from Manchester by the time that the impact of Swales had really been felt.

The appointment of Ron Saunders was the only decision which rankled with me. I know he got results with Norwich before and with Villa afterwards but he was an awful choice for City.

I did have experience of an earlier dispute with the club under the chairmanship of Alan Douglas and the the management of George Poyser. I recall a meeting at the Lesser Free Trade Hall organised by the Forward City Group. Many of the issues raised back then came back in the later Swales era.

Things eventually worked out well when Albert Alexander replaced Douglas and Joe Mercer came in as manager.