Tony Books late 70's team?

[Rascal]

I dont know whether its true or not, but i remember rumours of us being interested in Dalglish, but bought Channon instead. Think Dalglish cost £440,000 and Channon cost us £300,000 both huge sums at the time.

On think i do regret is us not signing Kaziu Deyna earlier, he was a fantastic player, but sadly by the time he signed most of our best players had gone and the ones around him were simply not on his wavelength.

 

[BluessinceHydeRoad]

I don't think that Book's City team was "great". It was unquestionably very good, but only won the League Cup. It never got anywhere near the FA Cup, and I think was never in with a realistic chance of finishing ahead of Liverpool as the '76-'77 season unfolded. In '76-7 Liverpool were comfortably better than City and won the league more easily than a one point margin suggests, won the European Cup and were beaten 2-1 in the FA Cup final by a wretched club which had two shots at goal all match, one of which was sliced and went in because of a freak deflection. Most posters are right, that if City had bought different players (the ones L'pool actually bought!) and had a different team, we may have overtaken them. Equally, had Colin Bell's career not been ended effectively in November 1975 we would have been a much better team, but perhaps not as good as Liverpool. City's policy in the transfer narket never seemed likely to bridge the gap: Channon was a good player but didn't gel with City's style of play and, anyway, was less than keen to leave Southampton and Deyna was a great player, but came to the club when he had turned 30 (he was past his best though still excellent) and the team was already struggling with the likes of the Futcher twins supposed to improve on Mike Doyle and Joe Royle! Replacements were necessary but ... City never again challenged for the title seriously before 2011-12. The team of 1975-7/8 was nowhere near as good as that of the mid-60s, and certainly not in the same league as the present team.

 

[WyongBlue]

That was a good side where we was good at Maine Road but rubbish at times when we played away ( That 4-0 hammering by Derby ended our league hopes ), plus also having Colin sidelined didnt help us in our challenge for the title that year..................

 

[CityEssex49er]

great team, really entertaining and Bell was world class

This - it was a great team and lot closer to Liverpool than some might suggest on here. Part of the problem was Liverpool were used to winning the league and in Europe it was difficult for any team to knock them off the top......but City were the nearest to do so from c. '75 until Allison came back.

After the team that should have won the title in 1972, the old guard - Lee, Summerbee etc. began to leave and were replaced by Tueart, Watson, Kidd, Royle and youngsters like Barnes, Owen, Keegan ( Ged; not Kevin ). Joe Corrigan came back from injury and a loss of form and was arguably as good as Ray Clemence or Peter Shilton.

The football they played was a delight to watch - get ' Match of the Seventies ' or ' The Big Match ' DVD - well worth it.

Dalglish was almost bought; as someone mentioned we were outbidded by Liverpool and got Channon who was suppose to be the final piece in the jigsaw but wasn't.

We were almost there but didn't quite do it then Swales brought in Alison and he sold most of the best players - he wanted his team. The writing was on the wall in '80/81 - dispite the cup final appearance where we should have won the first game - relegation followed in ' 83.

I remember the mid to late '70's team with great affection; a joy to watch and probably the nearest ( in respect ) to what we have today. I'm too young to remember the late '60s/early '70s team but some said at the time the mid to late '70's team was actually better - Bell played until getting injured in 1975 and returned 2 years later a shadow of the player he was before the injury.

Great team, though - especially to watch.....Barnes on the left and Tueart on the right; Kidd and Royle in the middle and Owen, Oakes ( until summer '76 ) - Asa Hartford was simply sublime - in the midfield and Watson and Doyle in the centre of defence who partnered each other for England as well. Corrigan got a few caps at the time of the mid '70's for England but was never going to replace Clemence or Shilton.

What a team they were.............

 

[Targetblue]

My first ever match was City Vs Birmingham in April 1977. I think we beat them 2-1 and Dave Watson had young Trevor Francis in his pocket all night long. If anybody has a programme from that game I would glady pay for it by the way!

As for Colin Bell, he was really nowhere near the team in that glorious season, as much as it saddens me.

The 4-0 defeat at Derby did us, make no mistake. As I remember it was a pig of a pitch and we just didn't turn up at all.

1976-77 was our last great team until the present.

 

[manclad]

Apart from only drawing at home and being beat away by Liverpool,the team which really cost us the League in 1977 was them red bastards from OT.
They beat us 3-1 at Maine Road and then by the same score at OT(this was the match where the black City lad was walked past the Scoreboard End Paddock with a dart sticking out of his head.)
The fact that they cost us winning the League in 77 made May 2012 even sweeter to us older blues.

 

[blue b4 the moon]

This team was close...I never thought we'd ever get as close again but that's for another thread.

This season I was on double/triple paper rounds to pay for away trips (yes kids it was that cheap to travel the country watching City) from what I can remember when we played Derby away we were almost down and out and that 4-0 beating by 12 men really took the stuffing out of us. I was at Coventry the final game on the back of the bottom tier for what was a nothing game.

Shame the season promised so much but faded away.

Would Colin have made the difference? He may have done.

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

somebody name the main 11 team players that season please...

Off the top of my head:

Corrigan,Ranson,Donachie,Doyle,Power,Watson, Booth,Tueart,Hartford,Royle,Kidd

Bit early for Ranson but can't for the life of me remember who was at RB. Oakes, Channon & Keegan were also part of the team.

Wasn't TC (Kenny Clements) the right back in that team?

 

[cibaman]

That was a good side where we was good at Maine Road but rubbish at times when we played away ( That 4-0 hammering by Derby ended our league hopes ), plus also having Colin sidelined didnt help us in our challenge for the title that year..................

To be honest I dont look back on that season with anything like the sense of disappointment that I did in 1972. Then I really expected us to win and was sickened when we let it slip. In 1977 I rarely thought we would win the league apart from briefly after Dave Watson's goal. I dont remember that many games where I thought we had the look of champions.

I think it was generally a poor league that year. We dropped plenty of points so to be within one point of Liverpool suggests it wasnt a vintage season.

 

[GeorgeHeslop'sTackle.]

Circa 71-72 season...... Off the top of my head, weren't we about 5 points clear of Derby Co, with 4 matches to go,- after beating West Ham 3-1 at Maine Road in early April,- but only managed to win a further one..... Ironically beatiing (I think) Derby Co in the last match of the season at Maine Road.

Not too sure how many points short we were when the season ended, but know we were crusin it, until Malcolm, inexplicably, decided to bring in Rodney Marsh and sell Wynn Davies to the rags