Wembley 99 Play Off final - 25th Anniversary

[uptheblues]

I was there, seem to remember Millwall fans outside trying to get at us on the way back to the tube, anyone else remember that?

 

[Vienna_70]

I was there, seem to remember Millwall fans outside trying to get at us on the way back to the tube, anyone else remember that?

Are you sure they weren’t Littlewoods fans, or the SAS?

 

[Wretched Vengeance]

Watched it in the Runnymede Hotel surrounded by knobhead cockney cunts.

What a day.

 

[Debaser]

My abiding memory is that old Wembley was a fucking shithole and smelt of piss but it felt like the biggest game in the world.

The singing on Wembley way was mint

I was sat behind of the fella who used do the interviews on the stage outside the club shop, mike something, he was on Nickelodeon UK in the 90s, Mike something?

 

[ESP Blue]

Living in Maidstone and working in Gillingham I realised the only way of seeing this was to get tickets in the Gills end. I queued up for 4 hours each on 2 separate days to get 8 tickets. A couple were for me and my boy two others for city mates the rest for mates who just wanted a day out including a Sussex F A councillor. Amazingly on the tube met two Gills fans from Manchester who had city tickets, how they had them i just dont know. So two of us swopped and got in with City Fans. The rest as they say is history.
Incidentally Gills got back to a Wembley play off in the following season and took over 50000. Wigan had about 6000 !

 

[Zapcity]

Still the greatest day

Agree, quite a few on this forum need to get a grip. We lost to today to a shit rags team having not played well . We won the Premier League last week for the 4th time in a row. Today was very frustrating and annoying, next season we are still in the Champions League Had we lost to Gillingham that day who knows what the fuck would have happened to our club!!!??

 

[WestGorton]

Agree, quite a few on this forum need to get a grip. We lost to today to a shit rags team having not played well . We won the Premier League last week for the 4th time in a row. Today was very frustrating and annoying, next season we are still in the Champions League Had we lost to Gillingham that day who knows what the fuck would have happened to our club!!!??

In a nutshell

 

[IBlameTTowers]

Where was I? - Wembley
What did you think at 2-0? - OMG I am not sure I can face another season like this one, Lincoln/York/Stockport/Macclesfield et al AGAIN!!
Did you think it was too late at 2-1? - It's not over 'til the Fat Lady sings.
How wild did you celebrate the Dickov equaliser? I just stood there feeling like a man delivered from his worst nightmare.
Did you think we’d win the shoot out? Yes - But Typical City had to put us through the shredder first
This game was my one and only visit to the "Old Wembley" and I remember being shocked at the condition of the place - for the National Stadium it was a dump.
I also remember having to queue all day at Maine Rd for a ticket.
God knows where we would be had we lost, talk about looking into the abyss.
Agree totally with the need for perspective on the Cup Final

 

[IBlameTTowers]

I was there, seem to remember Millwall fans outside trying to get at us on the way back to the tube, anyone else remember that?

I seem to remember a Midweek trip to Millwall and being kept in the ground while the home fans kicked off outside. A "charming" old lady telling me later to F***k Off back to Manchester - What a place !!

 

[uncle fester]

This seems to be creeping out. No fanfare or publicity. Really looking forward to reading it on holiday.

There's a 3 part interview he did with Cheesy a month or two back where he talks a fair bit about it

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

 

[uncle fester]

One of the few things City that I've managed to keep hold of over the years
Cost me £150 at the time (about £300 plus in todays money) from some cockney wide boy
I remember bricking it on the way in in case they refused me entry as it was a junior's/OAP ticket

 

[Tbilisi]

Division Two Play Off Final

Manchester City 2-2 Gillingham - 30th May 1999

Manchester City won 3-1 on penalties.

The Play Off Final represents an era when we were at our lowest but also an era when our support was arguably at its strongest and the Dickov equaliser and celebration remains one of the most memorable and iconic moments in the history of the club. For many this game respresents the resurrection of Manchester City.

Winning that game didn’t just lead to back to back promotions, it meant we agreed to become tenants to the future commonwealth games stadium. Just over a decade later and the land and potential for growth around that stadium meant we caught the eye of a certain Sheikh Mansour. The rest as they say is history.

Where were you?
What did you think at 2-0?
Did you think it was too late at 2-1?
How wild did you celebrate the Dickov equaliser?
Did you think we’d win the shoot out?
Any photos you’d like to share?

Felt sick at 2-0 as also had not slept at all the night before.
Tried to go to the toilet when penalties started to just sit it out in there but my mate sussed out what I was up to and wouldnt let me past. Glad he didnt.

Two Blues in front of me who were knocking shit out of each other 5 mins before were hugging each other after Dickov scored.

 

[inthenextlife]

Said to my mate because Gillingham were pressing near the end " if they score again we're leaving". They did. Walking out at 0-2 City fans kicking the bins over, angry and despondent. Not another season v Lincoln et al.
We'd parked at the ground so straight in the car and pulling out loads of fans rushing past us. Wound down the window..."what's happened lads?!" "We've fucking equalised" Dumped the car and sprinted up the steps. Fair play to them letting us back in. Eddie Large red faced and panting to get back in too.
ET and penalties but my biggest regret as City fan was I'd not had the faith.
Rest is history.
Keep the faith Blues

 

[feedmpenzaandhewillscore]

Said to my mate because Gillingham were pressing near the end " if they score again we're leaving". They did. Walking out at 0-2 City fans kicking the bins over, angry and despondent. Not another season v Lincoln et al.
We'd parked at the ground so straight in the car and pulling out loads of fans rushing past us. Wound down the window..."what's happened lads?!" "We've fucking equalised" Dumped the car and sprinted up the steps. Fair play to them letting us back in. Eddie Large red faced and panting to get back in too.
ET and penalties but my biggest regret as City fan was I'd not had the faith.
Rest is history.
Keep the faith Blues

I was similar to you, exited when the second went in. Heard the cheers of Horlock going in and cursed City for why they started playing when it was too late. Was at the top end of Wembley way when another big cheer happened which I thought was the final whistle, some Blue had a wireless radio with him and shouted its two all. Wembley way stopped for a moment and then a slightly confused cheer went up and then realising we needed to get back into the ground.

Some copper was stood on the way back into Wembley telling all of us running back in to calm down but was a pissing in the wind exercise.

One thing I do remember from the day was the private boxes that used to sit in the roof of Wembley stadium, the perspex of one kept flexing during the game. It was Liam Gallagher banging on the windows, if he’d hit it any harder he could have ended falling out of it a long way down.

 

[Vienna_70]

Said to my mate because Gillingham were pressing near the end " if they score again we're leaving". They did. Walking out at 0-2 City fans kicking the bins over, angry and despondent. Not another season v Lincoln et al.
We'd parked at the ground so straight in the car and pulling out loads of fans rushing past us. Wound down the window..."what's happened lads?!" "We've fucking equalised" Dumped the car and sprinted up the steps. Fair play to them letting us back in. Eddie Large red faced and panting to get back in too.
ET and penalties but my biggest regret as City fan was I'd not had the faith.
Rest is history.
Keep the faith Blues

Obviously, everyone around me was very despondent, when the Gills' second went in, as was I, obviously.

When SuperKev MK I scored, the lad next to me refused to celebrate, though I suspect he wasn’t the only one.

When Dicky's went in, it was bedlam, and from then on, I was convinced we’d go on to win, even after Dickov fluffed his one-on-one with Bartram.

I was staying with some friends in Freiern Barnet, and on the Tube journey back to their place, I was feeling completely drained, both mentally and physically.

The next day, we went to Enfield motor vehicle fair (or something like that). I kept singing, "You can stuff your fucking treble up your arse!" Eventually, my mate - an Arsenal supporter - asked me, "Aren’t you tired of singing that yet?. I responded by asking him if he was tired of hearing it.

"No, not really," was his reply.