The Alan Ball era

M18CTID said:
Ball wasn't first choice though.

It makes me fucking laugh how so many City fans hold Horton in such high regard. I like the bloke and backed him to the hilt when he was here. I never went down the "Brian Who" road that some fans did when he was appointed (partly because I knew exactly who he was unlike some). But the fact is that he had what effectively amounted to a decent few months in his time with us plus a largely unremarkable managerial career before and after his City tenure, and was doing nothing at Oxford to warrant getting the City job when he was offered it. In fact, his most notable moment at Oxford was some years previous when he booted the visitors dressing room door off it's hinges at Maine Road after we scored 2 very late goals to beat them 2-1! Also, while I appreciate that he speaks well of us to this day, his co-commentary on the Gillingham play-off game in the 1998/99 season review video somewhat bizarrely has a pro-Gillingham slant to it. Why that is I don't know but City didn't include the Sky commentary on the video presumably for copyright reasons so we ended up with some bloke I've never heard of along with Horton. Maybe it was from some Kent radio station which would go some way to explaining the bias.
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I thought he was buzzing when we scored, he kept saying I told you it wasn't over.
 
Keepingthefaithsince1976 said:
Bit off topic here but you got my old memories going. I seem to remember under Swales a few years before, reading a big headlined double page spread on the 3rd to last & 2nd to last pages of the evening news that we had all but signed Geoff Thomas from palace for 750,000 & Swales was quoting it was the start of City being back in to the "upper echolons of the 1st division". Of course the transfer didnt happen for whatever reason but my point is it was just one car crash after another. I remember it being news a priest singing, "we want swales out" in the old platt lane end. Then all our hopes of a bright future shattered before "forward with franny" even got going. Unrecognisable from what we have been watching the last 20 odd years.
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Wasnt Geoff a boyhood blue who was going to walk to Maine Road to sign for us, before getting tired in the midlands and signing for Wolves who were then a 2nd tier team. He was also then hampered by injuries whilst at Wolves.
 
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M18CTID said:
Ball wasn't first choice though.

It makes me fucking laugh how so many City fans hold Horton in such high regard. I like the bloke and backed him to the hilt when he was here. I never went down the "Brian Who" road that some fans did when he was appointed (partly because I knew exactly who he was unlike some). But the fact is that he had what effectively amounted to a decent few months in his time with us plus a largely unremarkable managerial career before and after his City tenure, and was doing nothing at Oxford to warrant getting the City job when he was offered it. In fact, his most notable moment at Oxford was some years previous when he booted the visitors dressing room door off it's hinges at Maine Road after we scored 2 very late goals to beat them 2-1! Also, while I appreciate that he speaks well of us to this day, his co-commentary on the Gillingham play-off game in the 1998/99 season review video somewhat bizarrely has a pro-Gillingham slant to it. Why that is I don't know but City didn't include the Sky commentary on the video presumably for copyright reasons so we ended up with some bloke I've never heard of along with Horton. Maybe it was from some Kent radio station which would go some way to explaining the bias.
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That commentary with Horton was indeed for their local TV.

“It’s not over. I said that” literally 3 minute after he said “That’s Gillingham in division one”
 
Didsbury Dave said:
That commentary with Horton was indeed for their local TV.

“It’s not over. I said that” literally 3 minute after he said “That’s Gillingham in division one”
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I remember when I was interviewing Brian Horton for the Northenden OSC branch some years ago and I pulled him up on that jokingly saying, "that was a bit of a contradiction wasn't it?" and he denied saying that. I remember thinking, "that's a bit bizzare."
 
Alan Ball (god bless is his soul) reminds me of my only hated Oasis song. Wonderwall.
 
From memory, he has managed to relegate every team he has ever managed barre Southampton. Pointless fact for everyone there.

I wasn't privileged enough to ever see him play but his mastermind tactical skills (Give the ball to Kinkladze) was something to behold.
 
ooh vonky vonky said:
Fuck me reading through this thread has put my therapy back a few decades.

My memories of Clough in a city shirt are thankfully limited to the game when someone ran on the pitch and literally told him how shit he was and then proceeded to try and rip the shirt off him. Happy days indeed!

To anyone who wasn’t around in those days … all I can say is that it was character building.
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Born 84, lived in Salford supporting city and England cricket in the 90s, I can take pretty much anything thrown at me. Fucking horrible.
 
A fantastic player, terrible manager. He wasn't wanted by the fan's, I remember thinking "Alan fucking Ball???" when he was appointed. That team, although not great by any means, had enough talent to stay up. As others have said our terrible start to the season left us a mountain to climb. Him saying he enjoyed watching the scouse bastards beating us 6-0 was bizarre to say the least. As for Nigel Clough one useless lazy waste of space.
 
Did any other members of the 66 World Cup winning team go on to have a managerial career as impressive as Ball ?
 
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