Peter Swales

[BTH]

Ian Niven doesn't come out of this particularly well; he comes across in the City! documentary as a Swales sycophant, a yes man.
When we won the League in 2012 I was fortunate enough to be at the reception at the Town Hall. I chanced upon Niven - whom I had met previously, though many years before - and asked him about the documentary, asked him why he just went along with Swales.
His response was somewhat surprising. He claimed he had an interest in amateur dramatics when he was younger and that what was filmed and subsequently broadcast was, as far as he was concerned, a run-through and he was just hamming it up for the camera before the real take.
Only it wasn't a rehearsal; it was the take and in the can. I'll leave it to you to decide why anyone would expect anything different in a documentary.
Needless to say I didn't ask about the Capes Dunn intrigue.

 

[Boris Becker’s Backhand]

He made huge mistakes, i dont hate him though, i never did and never will.

He wanted the very very best for City, that will do for me. Citys failures hurt him, hurt his family and yes they hurt us as fans. But we all hurt together.

Under Swales in the late 70s we were a fantastic team, we qualified for Europe regularly, we had players such as the likes of Hartford, Tueart, Barnes, Watson, Channon. We were the big four then alonside the rags, Liverpool and Everton. No London team was close.

One year we got within 4k of the rags average attendance, we have broke it since we moved to the etihad.

If he was guily of anything it was over ambition and it fucked us up for years, but he got close without any money

This is exactly how I feel. For all the daft things he did I always felt he was one of us. He’s part of the fabric of the club and his name evokes memories of a time when despite our relative lack of success it was fucking brilliant fun following City

 

[bluemanchester]

Ian Niven doesn't come out of this particularly well; he comes across in the City! documentary as a Swales sycophant, a yes man.
When we won the League in 2012 I was fortunate enough to be at the reception at the Town Hall. I chanced upon Niven - whom I had met previously, though many years before - and asked him about the documentary, asked him why he just went along with Swales.
His response was somewhat surprising. He claimed he had an interest in amateur dramatics when he was younger and that what was filmed and subsequently broadcast was, as far as he was concerned, a run-through and he was just hamming it up for the camera before the real take.
Only it wasn't a rehearsal; it was the take and in the can. I'll leave it to you to decide why anyone would expect anything different in a documentary.
Needless to say I didn't ask about the Capes Dunn intrigue.

One of the conversations I had with Ian Niven was that he told me, his was the deciding vote that ousted Swales. While I " liked" a previous post about Swales my own personal protest was, near the end of his tenure I stopped attending matches and said I would not return to Maine Road until he left.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

This is exactly how I feel. For all the daft things he did I always felt he was one of us. He’s part of the fabric of the club and his name evokes memories of a time when despite our relative lack of success it was fucking brilliant fun following City

Swales was never "one of us". There is no evidence that he was ever a blue. He was a self-serving narcissist who saw getting involved with us as a way to boost his own profile. He was the Donald Trump of his day. You couldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth.

As an example, he told the story of getting involved when he went into a pub and saw two directors, Sidney Rose and someone else, having a drink discussing the boardroom split. He claimed he went over and said "I can sort out your problem". I got to know Sidney well about 20 years ago and asked him about that story, He said it was nonsense and that his recollection was that they approached Swales, as him and Noel White had been successful at Altrincham.

 

[plattlanebenches]

Twat - end of. Solely responsible for our demise!

 

[Boris Becker’s Backhand]

Swales was never "one of us". There is no evidence that he was ever a blue. He was a self-serving narcissist who saw getting involved with us as a way to boost his own profile. He was the Donald Trump of his day. You couldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth.

As an example, he told the story of getting involved when he went into a pub and saw two directors, Sidney Rose and someone else, having a drink discussing the boardroom split. He claimed he went over and said "I can sort out your problem". I got to know Sidney well about 20 years ago and asked him about that story, He said it was nonsense and that his recollection was that they approached Swales, as him and Noel White had been successful at Altrincham.

He was no Donald Trump - a big success in business and in office

Being an ambitious self serving narcissist doesn’t automatically preclude Swales from being a blue nor does telling a few tall tales. I always sensed a genuine pride in him at being a City fan at certain moments - signing Trevor, the resurgence under Bond, getting to the 81 final etc. Had he not been a blue he would undoubtedly have made fewer insane decisions.

 

[BringBackSwales]

He was no Donald Trump - a big success in business and in office

Being an ambitious self serving narcissist doesn’t automatically preclude Swales from being a blue nor does telling a few tall tales. I always sensed a genuine pride in him at being a City fan at certain moments - signing Trevor, the resurgence under Bond, getting to the 81 final etc. Had he not been a blue he would undoubtedly have made fewer insane decisions.

The post prior to yours is the accurate one. He was an arrogant and incompetent twat

 

[Mayhem]

This is exactly how I feel. For all the daft things he did I always felt he was one of us. He’s part of the fabric of the club and his name evokes memories of a time when despite our relative lack of success it was fucking brilliant fun following City

 

[Gordyola]

He was no Donald Trump - a big success in business and in office

Being an ambitious self serving narcissist doesn’t automatically preclude Swales from being a blue nor does telling a few tall tales. I always sensed a genuine pride in him at being a City fan at certain moments - signing Trevor, the resurgence under Bond, getting to the 81 final etc. Had he not been a blue he would undoubtedly have made fewer insane decisions.

He was very good at charming people clearly you were one of them

 

[OffertonBlue]

Me and my brother were arrested away at Villa in 1990. Before our court case I wrote to lots of people and organisations trying to get help or support. The only two that replied were the then Football Supporters Association and Swales. He replied with a handwritten letter giving his support and he arranged for his fellow Director Ian Niven to meet me and give me any help that he could. I really appreciated the help from Swales and Niven at the time. Yes he made lots of mistakes, but he genuinely wanted the best for City and the fans.