What was the most toxic period at City?

[Brooklands Blue]

Yeah. The worst end I was at for infighting was the Blackburn one that has been frequently mentioned.

But the whole end of Swales era was awful. Death threats to Swalea, protests before and after games. I remember playing Wimbledon at home towards the emd of the season and losing one nil...the atmosphere was horrendous, bordering on mutinous. Some guys set fire to stuff (?!) in the Main Stand as the match was going on (I rarely went in there as a kid, but me and my dad got free tickets from his mate) and Swales Out chants were very loud and aggressive.

Really think Rick Holden can be credited with stopping some serious shit going down that day with his jammy late equaliser!

If memory serves me right there was a candle lit protest in the Kippax and some clown then set fire to a bundle of chip paper he had collected from the bins. It caused a fire and made the tabloid papers the following day. My friend and I were stood just behind the idiot that set the bloody fire!!

 

[ufo]

since 2008 and on going ….

 

[pace89]

Blackburn away felt the worst. Everyone arrived with a decent amount of optimism and the City end was in great voice but the performance was abysmal. Looking back it was the final straw for people who'd invested so much in the club as it seemed that sun was setting on another false dawn. I don't think I've seen such concentrated vitriol directed at the team before and that's taking into account 96/97 and the 97/98 relegation season.

In terms of the atmosphere at Maine Road it's only really 97/98 that competes. People were almost willing City to fuck-up so that they could turn on the Manager, Chairman or favoured boo boy - that was truly a toxic atmosphere. A lot of the fans hated a lot of the players and I suspect the feeling was mutual.

There's still a paranoia amongst fans of my generation and older (40 plus) that something will go wrong, everything that's been achieved in the last 15 years will unravel and we'll find ourselves skint and in the Championship again. That paranoia is a direct result of the catastrophic miss-management of the club under Swales and Ball when quite often the worst case scenario did play out.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Who did Mark Hughes play for in Italy? Without Googling it, I believe he only played for Barcelona and Bayern Munich overseas.

Above anything else, he was never the Sheikhs man and they wanted their own appointment. We could’ve handled his departure better but he got another job.

Think he Rushed his post.

 

[MCFC Wirral]

Think he Rushed his post.

Of course.

Wasn’t it “Playing in Italy is like being in a different country” or similar? Possibly a misquote but think that was Rush.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

Wasn't of an age to really remember the Swales years but fuck me that away end at Ewood Park when we got knocked out of the Cup under Pearce was horrible.

 

[henrythedogcity]

Remember being outside Maine road after we lost to Southampton after being in front.
I'd been sat in the north stand with a mate.
Tickets were complimentary from Swales who my Dad was friends with!!!!
My old man was in the directors box.
After the game about 3k fans gathered in front of the main stand shouting fuck off swales.....I could see my Dad standing behind the metal bars at the front and asked a police man if he would let us in only to be told to fuck off.
Spent the next half hour joining in shouting fuck off swales then after the crowd cleared was let in.
If I remember correctly Swales wasn't even flustered by any of it.

 

[dickie davies]

Blackburn away felt the worst. Everyone arrived with a decent amount of optimism and the City end was in great voice but the performance was abysmal. Looking back it was the final straw for people who'd invested so much in the club as it seemed that sun was setting on another false dawn. I don't think I've seen such concentrated vitriol directed at the team before and that's taking into account 96/97 and the 97/98 relegation season.

In terms of the atmosphere at Maine Road it's only really 97/98 that competes. People were almost willing City to fuck-up so that they could turn on the Manager, Chairman or favoured boo boy - that was truly a toxic atmosphere. A lot of the fans hated a lot of the players and I suspect the feeling was mutual.

There's still a paranoia amongst fans of my generation and older (40 plus) that something will go wrong, everything that's been achieved in the last 15 years will unravel and we'll find ourselves skint and in the Championship again. That paranoia is a direct result of the catastrophic miss-management of the club under Swales and Ball when quite often the worst case scenario did play out.

In the D2 play off season when we were going through the very rough spell first half of the season, we played Reading at home early October. We were getting beat 1-0 and Tiatto had been sent off
The atmosphere was at a turning point. It was a dreadful performance and it was dawning on supporters that promotion was not a given, no matter how big the club was
Whichever of the Whitley bros that had been voted POTS the season before, tried to knock a throw in back directly to the thrower. The ball ballooned off his shin into the Kippax and the Kippax totally lost it
The look on Whitley's face was of someone who was utterly terrified as cups of bovril, pies, programmes and anything else that had at the time been held, was rained down in his direction along with the verbal abuse

 

[East Level 2]

I remember we were all well up for before the game, everyone was so deludedly optimistic. Blackburn were a decent outfit back then so it was no surprise we lost in hindsight

Blackburn were a decent outfit as you say, but the anger aimed at Pearce was because we were losing (against ten men IIRC) and the useless fucker didn't bring on an additional attacker when we needed a goal.

 

[levets]

As a match going supporter since 71/72, the Swales out campaign by a mile.