Kendals first game in charge was everton away on a sunday.0-0 draw,alan harper at sweeper,clive allen dropped to sub.. neville"wheres yer wife?" southall in everton netsI'm not sure. It may have been a little later as I think we were in limbo for a little while. Looking back at the fixtures, the Liverpool game was on the 2nd December and I think Kendall's first game in charge was Norwich at home on Boxing Day, although upon reflection I do remember him going to watch us at the Dell on the 9th before he was appointed so it doesn't make sense (even for Swales!) offering the job to Joe (which was on a Friday night iirc) after the Liverpool game, so you're probably right. I remember Joe citing the reaction of the tea ladies at Oldham as a reason for him staying - how times change!
As to your all too kind comments about my delivery, I'm not sure you're entirely right. My oral style has (thankfully) developed a little more finesse since 1989!
I'm pretty sure Machin's last game was at the Valley v Charlton, mate. You are correct about Everton though, upon further reflection although he sat in the stand during the game iirc.Kendals first game in charge was everton away on a sunday.0-0 draw,alan harper at sweeper,clive allen dropped to sub.. neville"wheres yer wife?" southall in everton nets
machins last game was at selhurst park..can,t recall if it was palace or wimbledon.
still remember the leics and rugby branch secretry dave kelly whispering in my ear that freddy pye had told him earlier" machins gone if we dont win here today" as i was leaving selhurst park terrace in the final minutes.it was a dramatic moment for a teenager to be told, by someone in the know,that the boss was getting sacked in a few minutes.I'm pretty sure Machin's last game was at the Valley v Charlton, mate. You are correct about Everton though, upon further reflection although he sat in the stand during the game iirc.
As to your all too kind comments about my delivery, I'm not sure you're entirely right. My oral style has (thankfully) developed a little more finesse since 1989!
did charlton ever play at selhurst for a while?
Thanks pal. Sorry @dennishasdoneit . Age is starting to catch up with me :-(A well-directed broadside peppered with earthy Anglo-Saxonisms can be just as effective at the right moment as a more grandiloquent option. Often even more so. ;)
They played at Selhurst Park between 1985 and 1991, and then briefly at West Ham before returning to The Valley in 1992. This is Machin's last game: http://bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/History/Matches/Match.aspx?id=3849 - fairly sure it was played at Selhurst.
It was always comical at Maine Road in the 80s when the attendance was announced towards the end of the game and the whole crowd would start laughingA couple of people have mentioned "where the bodies are buried". Could you explain what this means? I followed City from 89 when I was 7 but obviously I was too young to understand the stuff going on behind the scenes then.
Stan does have a very interesting life and story to tell. I interviewed him the other year for the MCFC match programme and wrote a three page feature on him, covering his career, the racism he received in the dressing room (at Villa) and at games. He played for Joe Mercer at Villa and was both theirs and City's first known black player (I say known because back in 1890s and early 1900s no one saw colour as something to differentiate football players by and occasionally research in recent years has identified ethnic origins of some-I wouldn't be surprised if we don't uncover other black players from pre WW1 as time moves on). Stan's also a really nice man but.... And this is the issue... Publishers rarely want the stories of nice men.i would like to see a book from Stan Horne, the first black player to play for City,a regular in the 1966-67 season,and who played his part,however small, in the title win the following season.
Very little is said about Horne , and i have seen team pics from the 1965-68 era without him on,altho admittingly, most pics are from 1967 onwards, and maybe,due to his limited involvement in the title year he couldn,t have been expected to be included.
maybe..
An account of his struggle to break into the first team,how he felt about being a regular in the old first division,on the back of the countrys world cup win, and his thoughts on the title winning season,from his role as a squad player..he must have first hand knowledge of the rapid rise in team spirit and quality,under Mercer and Allison..and when we sing "we went to Rotherham(and won!!)"
we should remember,Stan Horne was playing,seeing Bell score,to ensure," we were back into division one"
Less than 12k were there that night,Stan was one of them.