Surreal Moments at City Games

[Johnny Mars Bar]

Mario going off at half time due to an allergy to grass.

But when he plays he's fucking class

 

[DD]

1 - 1982 - City 0 Birmingham 0, and a dog running around on the pitch for a full 15 minutes before it got caught, which was the highlight of the game. A month later, a dog strayed onto the pitch v Brighton but the novelty had worn off, this time.

2 - Alan

3 - After about 9 home league games without a goal, we got a penalty at home to Villa and Joey Barton nearly hit the roof with it. Nobody moaned, we just fell about laughing. The next week Vassell missed one to equalise against United. Nobody laughed. By the time we did score, we'd gone 8 months without a home league goal.

4 - Arsenal fans somehow finding a plastic chair to throw at Adebayor after his goal against them.

5 - City changing kits after about ten minutes of a home game against Spurs in 1985, and then seeing out the game in a red and black striped shirt, black shorts and sky blue socks.

6 - Wearing navy blue at home to Middlesbrough and then sending David James up front when we needed the win to qualify for Europe, followed by Fowler missing the last gasp penalty to win it.

7 - The inflatable era, playing Sheffield United at home in the League Cup, and seeing this bloke carrying an inflatable dinosaur about the size of a bona-fide T-Rex.

8 - Having 26 shots to 0 against Middlesbrough but losing 1-0 thanks to a Sun Jihai own goal.

9 - Having 20 shots to 0 against West Brom and drawing 1-1 after Richard Dunne whacked in an own goal from about 35 yards right near the end.

10 - Playing Charlton at home in 2000-01, and when 3-0 down, Richard Dunne booted the ball in a challenge at the half way line. It hit their player and careered backwards 50 yards and over Nicky Weaver's head into the goal. I was literally punching the floor with laughter.

11- Barry Conlon coming on for his debut aged 19 at a time when nobody had heard of him, let alone seen a picture of him. When he came on, we realised he was bald and the poor lad was greeted with laughter all round.

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Fair play to Vinny there for protecting his teammate.

Which is more than what John did to his brother.......

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

There's a bit of doom and gloom around the world at the moment so let's try and lighten things here (for a few moments at least). I saw the thread about the Chicken Man (see: https://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/threads/an-audience-with-the-frozen-chicken-man.322795/ ) and it got me thinking about other surreal moments at City. I'm thinking about odd things that have happened which have lightened the mood or been a bit of a distraction from negativity. Obviously, there's the banana craze and fancy dress games but what about other moments that maybe some of us remember and others think 'surely that didn't happen?'

I'll start with one: Norman Wisdom on the pitch in full City kit plus flat cap (and yes, those of us on the Kippax did genuinely think it was Peter Reid wearing a flat cap for some reason when he first came out!). Norman was promoting a golf competition and he basically larked around on the pitch for a bit. He took a penalty and of course fell over.

20 years ago when I was writing Farewell To Maine Road an elderly fan told me about a character she called Hoppy. The nickname is not very PC BUT the story is that 'Hoppy' had one leg and before many home games in the inter-war period he used to hop around the pitch. He'd do a full lap of the pitch and be cheered all the way around it. She thought that he'd lost his leg in WW1 and thinks he may have been doing it to raise money for a charity, but apart from her memory I've never managed to find any other evidence of Hoppy.

So, go on, what other surreal or odd moments can we think of?

I was there for that Norman Wisdom game. He looked half decent with the ball to be fair.

Also remember the Nail Quin Penalty save. That was a bit surreal. I fact there have been quite a few surreal goalkeeper moments - Andy Dibble 'losing control' of the ball, David James coming on as a striker, Joe Hart running the full length of the pitch to save a shot after going up for a corner. Probably loads that I've missed.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Last game of the 2008/9 season v Bolton at The Etihad. The pigeon sat in Joe Hart's area for ages that wouldn't move (Pigeon, pigeon, give us a wave. Pigeon do the Poznan, etc.) then Glauber Berti coming on for his only appearance in the last 10 minutes.

 

[ONTHERUNWITHTHAKSIN]

The pissed up fans at Blackpool in the FA cup (80s) having a kick about at half time on the pitch was funny as fuck

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

1 - 1982 - City 0 Birmingham 0, and a dog running around on the pitch for a full 15 minutes before it got caught, which was the highlight of the game. A month later, a dog strayed onto the pitch v Brighton but the novelty had worn off, this time.

See page 8 ;)

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Game v Birmingham City at Maine Road 1982
The Match is stopped as a dog runs on the pitch. It pissed on a goal post in the North Stand and sprinted in front of the Kippax to Platt Lane where it cocked its leg up on a goal post there.
It gave the aged stewards a right run around with scenes out of Benny Hill and the crowd roaring with laughter and then a load of lads jumped on the pitch from the Main Stand to catch it.
It was left to Joe Corrigan to entice the dog to come and get the match ball before he caught it.
The game was an awful 0-0 and the dog got man of the match!
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That was a fucking dreadful game, with the dog being by far the highlight.

I also think it was that game where it was getting a bit foggy later on. The little lad sat behind us in the North Stand said "Dad, dad, it's getting foggy". To which his dad replied "Yes son. It's so god doesn't have to watch this bleeding rubbish".

 

[Jam Tomorrow]

The abandoned league game v Ipswich Jan 93-94, City were 2-0 up at the time, also surreal cos a couple of coach loads of Cardiff fans were sat in the North Stand comfortably outnumbering the Ipswich fans above them, they cheered when City scored their goals! Cardiff were due to play in the North West and their game was called off due to a waterlogged pitch which would curtail our game on 39minutes.

 

[Jam Tomorrow]

Also this one….Norwich away Feb 91, just as the game kicked off, the corner pen for the City fans was getting seriously overcrowded, Norwich decided to open up another pen alongside the pitch but to get to it you had leave the ground and come back in, inevitably as we trooped out of the ground City scored…