Paul Power - Tales of Blue

[Berts Neck]

One of my all time fav City players,great name, great energy,
That goal he lofted over the Everton keeper at Goodison in the 81 fa cup run was special..he d already lobbed the Norwich keeper in the 4th round during our 6nil win and of course went onto score the winner at Villa Park v Ipswich with that majestic left footed free kick..

I was absolutely City mad as a kid and I have to thank PP for the Fantastic memories....the best was imo,the San Siro 78 solo run and goal..picking the ball up after a Milan attack broke down and starting a journey deep inside his own half,surging the length of the pitch on the counter attack,running full pelt on the right hand side before cutting in and scoring with his left..the Italians were stunned..an absolutely amazing goal which did not get the credit or attention it deserved.it was Brilliant.it annoys me that it's never spoken about
I can still remember the 10 o clock news headlines on tv..on the evening of the match
" Manchester City nearly became the 1st team to beat Milan at home in European competition " they showed his goal and Brian Kidds adroit header in the 2nd half...Fantastic exciting stuff for an out of town Blue

Thank you Paul Power ,in my eyes,a True Blue Legend.

That is strange how people remember such small details.. I remember seeing that on the news too..I could have sworn I saw it on the six oclock news and was quetioning my sanity after seeing your post, then seeing that the game was postponed and played earlier the next day..so possibly right..a long time ago..the fact it was on the news was amazing though. Was living in Leeds at the time and used to just about catch Piccadilly Radio with some giant plastic T shaped ariel up on the wall...

 

[City_Shirts]

One of my all time fav City players,great name, great energy,
That goal he lofted over the Everton keeper at Goodison in the 81 fa cup run was special..he d already lobbed the Norwich keeper in the 4th round during our 6nil win and of course went onto score the winner at Villa Park v Ipswich with that majestic left footed free kick..

I was absolutely City mad as a kid and I have to thank PP for the Fantastic memories....the best was imo,the San Siro 78 solo run and goal..picking the ball up after a Milan attack broke down and starting a journey deep inside his own half,surging the length of the pitch on the counter attack,running full pelt on the right hand side before cutting in and scoring with his left..the Italians were stunned..an absolutely amazing goal which did not get the credit or attention it deserved.it was Brilliant.it annoys me that it's never spoken about
I can still remember the 10 o clock news headlines on tv..on the evening of the match
" Manchester City nearly became the 1st team to beat Milan at home in European competition " they showed his goal and Brian Kidds adroit header in the 2nd half...Fantastic exciting stuff for an out of town Blue

Thank you Paul Power ,in my eyes,a True Blue Legend.

Thank you very much CS.Thats made my day.

Here’s Paul’s reply mate

 

[dennishasdoneit]

Going back to that 1981 FA Cup run,....at a time when domestic cups meant everything to Football fans up and down the land..

Power scored in a 4nil thrashing of Crystal Palace at Maine rd,before scoring again in the 4th round as City smashed Norwich 6nil,racing clear and lobbing the keeper from distance.The Palace match was John Bond against Big Mal,and the 4th round was Bond against his former club..

The 5th round took us to Peterborough utd and a very late Tommy Booth goal took us through 1nil,shades of the 1969 Semi final win at Villa Park v Everton....I can still remember BBC radio announcing Booths goal and I recall being shocked that a central defender had popped up with the winning goal! Speaking to older Blues over the years it seems there was a lot of trouble that day, a fact I was oblivious to following City by transistor radio...City had not yet conceded a goal in the FA Cup and John Bonds army were on the march,in a season where we had already progressed to the semi finals of the League cup,only to be robbed by ref Alf Grey v Liverpool......


The FA cup quarter finals took us to Goodison Park.David Coleman is the excited commentator for the BBC highlights and he really captures the moment for both City goals in the 2-2 draw.Everton score 1st and Coleman sounds deadpan( you get the impression he really liked City)
Before Gerry Gow scores for us just before half time...Coleman screams " Gow!!! Just when it mattered most !!"

Indeed.

Again I had no idea( at the time) of the violence off the pitch before,during and after this particular match,altho you can feel the brilliant,brutal cup atmosphere watching the brief highlights on YT...of all people to stand up for City in such difficult circumstances.Gerry Gow.. a player up for a battle more than most.

Everton then take the lead 2nd half,Peter Eastoe,turns Tommy Caton in front of the Away end,then clearly dives,dropping to the floor as tho he,d been shot..not one Everton player appeals for a pen but the ref is adamant..Coleman actually says " What's the ref given here,was Caton held?"

As Trevor Ross steps up to take the pen, Coleman hopefully remembers that he missed one of two pens the week before against Palace( Steve McMahon missed the other..) and Coleman is again deadpan as Ross slots the ball past Corrigan...

Then comes one of Paul Powers finest moments in Blue ..Steve McKenzie,in an attacking midfield position advances menacingly towards goal in the final seconds of the match, the ball is crossed to an unmarked Power who has made a trademark unchecked run from deep and he ever so carefully lifts the ball over the keeper.

Coleman shouts " Power!!!, City have equalised!!!

The celebrations in the packed -to- the- rafters old standing away section at Everton are absolutely riotous ....cue pitched battles after the match according to those Blues who went....

Incidentally I noticed Imre Varadi ,Asa Hartford and I presume Steve Mcmahon all turned out for the home side that day

Paul Power had scored in every round bar 1 so far in a glorious cup run culminating in his superb semi final winner against Ipswich ( after we had despatched of Everton 3-1 in the replay at Maine rd ,in front of 52k fans...what a night that must have been!)

That 80/81 season will always live long in the memory despite the defeat by Spurs in the cup final replay. John Bonds transformation of City from the embarrassing Malcolm Allison years with the superb domestic cup runs was,imo,outstanding and maybe,just maybe,Paul Powers most enjoyable season for City.

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Brilliant interview Mark.
Just watched the Mark Halsey one and now binged this....
It was great that this must be your longest one I've seen - easy to understand given Paul's career was early 70's to mid 80's.
Very interesting about his move to Everton and the financial details involved and his bollocking from Kendall for his non celebration of his goal v City.
A true City legend.

 

[City_Shirts]

Brilliant interview Mark.
Just watched the Mark Halsey one and now binged this....
It was great that this must be your longest one I've seen - easy to understand given Paul's career was early 70's to mid 80's.
Very interesting about his move to Everton and the financial details involved and his bollocking from Kendall for his non celebration of his goal v City.
A true City legend.

Cheers mate and could have easily listened to Paul for a further hour. As blue as the come and another top fella who's enjoying his retirement in France these days.

 

[Uncle Wally One Ball]

I watched this last night. My favourite one yet. What an engaging thoughtful bloke with so much interesting stuff to say. Great watch that