What was the most toxic period at City?

[M23 Citizen]

Obviously the Stuart Pearce era was horrible to watch football wise, but overall was it really that bad? We had odd moments to enjoy and we didn’t get relegated.

I think we’ve had much worse seasons, more toxic anyway.

We're all waiting.

We were all feeling positive when the Pearce era started.

We finished his first season in 8th place, we had the best defensive record in the league outside the Sky Four, we were unbeaten in our last eight games of the season and were a penalty kick away from qualifying for the UEFA Cup outright (no Fair Play whatsanameit). Plus Shauny Wright was arguably in the top three players in the league that season.



Remember the atmosphere at Spurs away when they refused to sell alcohol to us in the away stand so we all went back to the seats and sang ‘when the Blues go marching in’ for the entirety of half time and carried on singing all second half despite losing. Remember the atmosphere at Villa away where we had the usual away end we get now plus the entire bottom tier adjacent to the away end (we must have had 5,000 there for a league game) when Shauny Wright (wonder goal!) and Kiki Musampa won the game for us?

It definitely wasn’t toxic then.

Even the next two seasons were more boring than they were toxic.

Blackburn away in the FA Cup was a toxic atmosphere, although more of a one-off… and saying that, Pearce did better in the FA Cup with two quarter final appearances than any manager for decades. But on the whole, rather than trying to break into the stadium to storm the boardroom or throwing things at the board members when they were leaving the stadium like we did a decade earlier, people just stopped turning up. We only had a 39,997 average attendance in his final season, compared to over 42,000 in every season around that for five years (although even 39,997 puts a lot of so called big clubs and great sets of fans to shame even today when you consider we didn’t score a goal for five months!).

We knew the situation was due to lack of funds so we were more forgiving to Wardle.

Even so, the Emile Mpenza winner at Newcastle and the ‘limbs’ in the away end is still one of the best goal celebrations I’ve ever been part of. We were safe from relegation and could look forward to the next season.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

We were all feeling positive when the Pearce era started.

We finished his first season in 8th place, we had the best defensive record in the league outside the Sky Four, we were unbeaten in our last eight games of the season and were a penalty kick away from qualifying for the UEFA Cup outright (no Fair Play whatsanameit). Plus Shauny Wright was arguably in the top three players in the league that season.



Remember the atmosphere at Spurs away when they refused to sell alcohol to us in the away stand so we all went back to the seats and sang ‘when the Blues go marching in’ for the entirety of half time and carried on singing all second half despite losing. Remember the atmosphere at Villa away where we had the usual away end we get now plus the entire bottom tier adjacent to the away end (we must have had 5,000 there for a league game) when Shauny Wright (wonder goal!) and Kiki Musampa won the game for us?

It definitely wasn’t toxic then.

Even the next two seasons were more boring than they were toxic.

Blackburn away in the FA Cup was a toxic atmosphere, although more of a one-off… and saying that, Pearce did better in the FA Cup with two quarter final appearances than any manager for decades. But on the whole, rather than trying to break into the stadium to storm the boardroom or throwing things at the board members when they were leaving the stadium like we did a decade earlier, people just stopped turning up. We only had a 39,997 average attendance in his final season, compared to over 42,000 in every season around that for five years (although even 39,997 puts a lot of so called big clubs and great sets of fans to shame even today when you consider we didn’t score a goal for five months!).

We knew the situation was due to lack of funds so we were more forgiving to Wardle.

Even so, the Emile Mpenza winner at Newcastle and the ‘limbs’ in the away end is still one of the best goal celebrations I’ve ever been part of. We were safe from relegation and could look forward to the next season.

Sorry Stuart, it wasn’t personal.

You did your best, that’s all we can ask.

 

[MCFC Wirral]

RE: Pearce. We didn’t score at home in the league that season after 1st January. The football was diabolical.

Barton imploded for the last time and we nearly went in to the next season with no manager and owners wanting to sell.

It was horrendous.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

RE: Pearce. We didn’t score at home in the league that season after 1st January. The football was diabolical.

Barton imploded for the last time and we nearly went in to the next season with no manager and owners wanting to sell.

It was horrendous.

Yeah yeah yeah but don’t you remember spurs away when the bar closed and we had a sing song? That more than makes up for the shite football, meltdown of the club and almost relegation don’t ya know

 

[MCFC Wirral]

Yeah yeah yeah but don’t you remember spurs away when the bar closed and we had a sing song? That more than makes up for the shite football, meltdown of the club and almost relegation don’t ya know

I generally did Spurs away when I was down there but don’t recall whether I was at that one or not. I think there was a defeat on the last day? The Sheffield United / West Ham / Tevez season.

At least Pearce did keep us up. I’m sure Thaksin Shinawatra wouldn’t have bought us as a Championship side and things now would be very different!

 

[Mifred]

Yes. The police weren't happy seeing City fans starving on the concourse and forced them back to watch the match.
Can't remember the result but I doubt we won.

Edit: Pretty sure it was a 2-1 defeat in March 2000 in whatever the real second division was called in those days.

I got a taxi to my car as it was kicking off outside

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

I generally did Spurs away when I was down there but don’t recall whether I was at that one or not. I think there was a defeat on the last day? The Sheffield United / West Ham / Tevez season.

At least Pearce did keep us up. I’m sure Thaksin Shinawatra wouldn’t have bought us as a Championship side and things now would be very different!

I’ve no idea mate it was a little jibe at the Pearce apologist above haha

 

[Damocles]

I was young, too naïve to really have wits about me on this sort of thing but going to the match with the old man in the Swales era felt pretty toxic. All I remember thinking is that everybody seemed very angry all the time; in the boozer beforehand, at the match outside, in the stands, after the game, etc.

 

[M23 Citizen]

Yeah yeah yeah but don’t you remember spurs away when the bar closed and we had a sing song? That more than makes up for the shite football, meltdown of the club and almost relegation don’t ya know

That’s part of the point about it not being a toxic time though.

There were no demonstrations from fans, no trying the storm the stadium, no fighting with Police, no attacking the board members as they left the stadium, no sit-ins, nobody slinging their season ticket on the pitch, nobody invading the pitch and sitting on it refusing to move, nobody singing ‘we’re shit and we’re sick of it’, no players scoring and angrily running after the manager pointing at his name in his back and looking like he was going to rip his head off…

If anyone thinks the Pearce era was toxic, they weren’t around in the previous decade.

Wardle was treated nicely and respectfully at that time. We all knew the situation and just got on with it.

Plus the nearest we got to relegation was only 15th in the league.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Yeah yeah yeah but don’t you remember spurs away when the bar closed and we had a sing song? That more than makes up for the shite football, meltdown of the club and almost relegation don’t ya know

It wasn’t toxic and we did have moments of enjoyment. Especially in the first season.