Rodney Marsh and Dennis Tueart

NPBlue said:
As Joe Mercer said after we had thrown the title away in such glorious fashion, '£200,000 is a lot of money to spend to lose the title'.

We were 6 points clear at the top of the table when he arrived, when it was 2 points for a win with only a few games left to play. Lee and Davies had been working well together, and his arrival derailed everything.

Not only at the end of the 71-72 season. It carried on into the next. I don't think we won a game until November.

We had the title sewn up, he came in, and it all went to pot after that.

I don't blame Marsh, as he has said on numerous occasions he wasn't the right player for City and he wasn't fit enough when he joined. He was a special individual to watch when the ball was at his feet, he weaved his magic when he wanted, but I put the blame on Allison for bringing him in.

49 years later, it still rankles we lost the title in 1972 in such fashion, but it has to be said Gordon Banks had a huge part to play in our freefall that season as well.
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Before he came City were a team of direct pace. The opposition could have a corner and City could score from it seconds later due to Buzzer and Franny’s pace.
Rodney arrived and breaks turned into platforms for his poncing about with the ball, the taking the piss that some on here seem to value.
Yes he scored some wonder goals, the casual side foot from outside the area at the swamp, the goal against Newcastle where he beat most of their defence to score and even their players applauded, but he did cost us the title.
 
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denislawsbackheel said:
Before he came City we’re a team of direct pace. The opposition could have a corner and City could score from it seconds later due to Buzzer and Franny’s pace.
Rodney arrived and breaks turned into platforms for his poncing about with the ball, the taking the piss that some on here seem to value.
Yes he scored some wonder goals, the casual side foot from outside the area at the swamp, the goal against Newcastle where he beat most of their defence to score and even their players applauded, but he did cost us the title.
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Have to disagree. HE didn't cost us the title, it was the people who signed him and built the team around him that cost us the title.
My first time seeing him "live" was the first home game of the 73/74 season v Birmingham City. Will always remember him putting their right back on his arse and floating a lovely cross to law, who seemed to float/hover and put the ball away with a great header.
I was too young to understand the politics of the day, but he certainly was a magical performer and I for one loved watching him play !
 
City_Shirts said:
MCMWS Page caught up with former blues superstar Rodney Marsh during March for a 'Tales of Blue' Q&A on his City memories......A real straight talker who simply tells it as it was !!

NEW SUB-SCRIBERS TO THE CHANNEL WELCOME

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Brilliant mate, thanks for posting.
I remember his first season with us, he was a bit chubby and slow, but very classy player.
 
BigJoe#1 said:
Have to disagree. HE didn't cost us the title, it was the people who signed him and built the team around him that cost us the title.
My first time seeing him "live" was the first home game of the 73/74 season v Birmingham City. Will always remember him putting their right back on his arse and floating a lovely cross to law, who seemed to float/hover and put the ball away with a great header.
I was too young to understand the politics of the day, but he certainly was a magical performer and I for one loved watching him play !
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How do you build a team round a player you sign in March with 6 games left?
We were clear and walking the league. He arrived and City’s game changed.
Franny, Buzzer and Bell all said so.
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
Broke my 12 year old heart when he left in 1975 to Tampa Bay Rowdies....
He is still in Tampa and so am I!
Asked him (via a friend who has a mutual friend who knows him) to be the President of the Tampa Bay City supporters club.
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did he agree to become President
 
iv asked him twice on twitter if he cost us the league in 72 and both times he has said yes

one time i asked him i had said something like " i was a young kid but my dad always says you cost us the league"
he replied
" tell your dad he is right "

i was 7 in 1972 and Rodney was a real hero for me and i guess other young kids at that time

i always remember one game ( correct me if i'm wrong ) he was taking the mickey out of an opposition player by dribbling and teasing him repeatedly,it got that bad he just sat down on the ball for a second or two teasing the player even more,I'm sure i witnessed that.

alwayd remember him falling to his knees when he crossed the ball into the box for i think Colin to equalise for us v wolves in the 1974 league cup.final

what a showman he was.
 
blue44 said:
iv asked him twice on twitter if he cost us the league in 72 and both times he has said yes

one time i asked him i had said something like " i was a young kid but my dad always says you cost us the league"
he replied
" tell your dad he is right "

i was 7 in 1972 and Rodney was a real hero for me and i guess other young kids at that time

i always remember one game ( correct me if i'm wrong ) he was taking the mickey out of an opposition player by dribbling and teasing him repeatedly,it got that bad he just sat down on the ball for a second or two teasing the player even more,I'm sure i witnessed that.

alwayd remember him falling to his knees when he crossed the ball into the box for i think Colin to equalise for us v wolves in the 1974 league cup.final

what a showman he was.
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Yes blue44 I was also there when he started showboating by sitting on the ball.I have a feeling it was a night match and he actually scored a worldie towards the Scoreboard End/North Stand when he bent the ball around three players into the bottom corner.
No doubt about it he had unbelievable talent but a player you didn`t need on a wet Tuesday night at Stoke.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
How do you build a team round a player you sign in March with 6 games left?
We were clear and walking the league. He arrived and City’s game changed.
Franny, Buzzer and Bell all said so.
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Agree except he didn't buy himself and pick the teams.... did he? Who slotted him into the team? Thats where you need to look for someone to blame no?

I cannot deny his arrival had an impact, negative impact even but I find it hard to lay the blame at his door.
 
VOOMER said:
I was told by an ex member of the board who is named as a good friend of big Mal in the book "Allison in wonderland", that it was infact Tueart, who was despised by the rest of the team.
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why was he despised?
 
Tueart was the bollocks. Worked hard, played hard and gave everything in every game. Marsh was a fucking two bob show pony who’s dined out on being a bird-pulling, night-club visiting tool. He won fuck all. All mouth, no medals. Dennis would knock the **** out in no time.
 
Met Dennis several times and was the perfect gentleman. Signed pictures, took photos, happy to chat with me at all times. He was the bollocks as a player too. Marsh isn’t fit to lace his boots.
 


In this he states that no city players blamed him for the 71-72 title loss 'to his face', but found out later that '2 or 3' had stabbed him in the back to the chairman and manager. I'm guessing Tueart might be one of these and Rodney admits in the same interview that the squad was split 50/50 on his signing / place in the team.
 
I should start off by saying I don’t know either of them but I did have a couple of interactions with Dennis Tueart, one of which, in particular, made a big impression on me.

I had a series in the City programme in the early 1980s where I would do an illustration of a player and the fan who wrote in with the best poem or verse about that player would win the original artwork. The club invited me to training one day so that the players could each sign a print copy of the art for me. A few of the players liked the art and asked if I would recreate an original for them and we agreed a price. A couple of weeks later, I took the new originals in to training and the players all paid up and seemed pleased with their pieces … with one exception. A Scottish international wanted the art but didn’t want to pay me. It was pretty uncomfortable because he was well known and was trying it on in front of a few of the other players and basically trying to embarrass or bully me into giving it him fo free. I was trying to be polite and keep it light but I was really uncomfortable … until Dennis Tueart stepped in and told him not to be a ****, that I had obviously spent hours working on this commission and didn’t deserve to be fucked about. The player shut up and grudgingly paid up.

I’d briefly met Tueart once before when I presented him with a piece I did for my series in Match Weekly and the magazine set up a photo op, but other than a minute or two of pleasantries, that was the sum total of my previous interaction with him … so there was no reason for him to go to bat for me in the dressing room that day.

I saw him a handful of times after that, sometimes in the Blue Room after a game and once or twice at a wine bar in St Annes Square. I was always amazed that he even remembered me … but he would always make the first move, come over and offer a handshake and ask how work was going, etc. He even remembered my name.

So I have no insight other than, in the few interactions I had with him, he always came across as a really friendly and pretty decent bloke.

Having said that, the story about Marsh and Alf Ramsey and the half-time ritual still makes me laugh out loud!
 

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johnnytapia said:
Tueart was the bollocks. Worked hard, played hard and gave everything in every game. Marsh was a fucking two bob show pony who’s dined out on being a bird-pulling, night-club visiting tool. He won fuck all. All mouth, no medals. Dennis would knock the **** out in no time.
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That's how I see it. Bit of a clash of personalities with Tueart being a big (strong) character and Marsh as you say a show pony in comparison.
 
Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese said:


In this he states that no city players blamed him for the 71-72 title loss 'to his face', but found out later that '2 or 3' had stabbed him in the back to the chairman and manager. I'm guessing Tueart might be one of these and Rodney admits in the same interview that the squad was split 50/50 on his signing / place in the team.
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Tueart didn’t join until March 1974
 
Met Dennis in the club shop about 3 years ago when I was behind him in the queue. Got chatting and told my lad that me and my dad were at Wembley together in 1976 when Dennis scored the winner with an overhead kick (which I had showed my lad many times on video). Dennis straight away said to my lad 8 or 9 at the time to come with him and stood with him in front of the pic on the stadium wall with his overhead kick on. Also he was in the shop buying a load of City shirts which he said he did every year for a local children’s charity. Proper bloke, proper Blue; couldn’t see Rodney doing the same
 
Met them both, albeit I don’t know either personally.

Their personal animus has no effect on the fact that I loved BOTH of them when they played for City.

Tueart was an exciting, run at defenders, quick shot, winger who cut in to great effect.

Marsh was the consummate show man, with dazzling skills and the kind of languid movement not found in players his size.

As for their impact on City, behind the scenes, I’m not going to speculate. However, they were two fan favourites during their time here and electrified the crowd, in their own way, on more than one occasion.

I’m not going to let their personal feelings for each other detract from my admiration of what they both brought to the field.
 
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