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MANCHESTER CITY FAQ 1994/95
CONTENTS
- 1994-95 Results
- 1994-95 Final Standings
- 1994-95 Appearances & Goalscorers
- Transfer Activity Since 1993-94 Season
- Squad for 1994-95 Season
- Key Players
- Unknown Players
- Basic Details
- Fanzine Information
- Internet Information
- Club Honours
- Recent History
- Last Season
- Expectations for the Season
- Expectations Review
Date Opponents Result City Goalscorers Attendance 20 Aug Arsenal A L 0-3 (0-2) 38,368 24 Aug West Ham United H W 3-0 (2-0) 13' Walsh 42' Beagrie 55' Rösler 19,150 27 Aug Everton H W 4-0 (0-0) 56' Rösler 61' Walsh 63' Walsh 19,867 80' Rösler 31 Aug Chelsea A L 0-3 (0-1) 21,740 10 Sep Crystal Palace H D 1-1 (1-1) 18' Walsh 19,971 17 Sep Sheffield Wednesday A D 1-1 (0-1) 45' Walsh 26,776 21 Sep Barnet (CCC2) A L 0-1 (0-1) 3,120 24 Sep Norwich City H W 2-0 (0-0) 53' Quinn 62' Rösler 21,031 1 Oct Leeds United A L 0-2 (0-1) 30,938 5 Oct Barnet (CCC2) H W 4-1 (0-0) 56' Quinn 67' Walsh 77' Summerbee 11,545 88' Quinn 8 Oct Nottingham Forest H D 3-3 (1-1) 41' Quinn 54' Quinn 70' Lomas 23,150 15 Oct QPR A W 2-1 (0-0) 56' Flitcroft 58' Walsh 13,631 22 Oct Tottenham Hotspur H W 5-2 (3-1) 16' Walsh 41' Quinn 45' Walsh 25,473 53' Lomas 80' Flitcroft 25 Oct QPR (CCC3) A W 4-3 (1-2) 37' Summerbee 46' Curle (pen) 11,701 54' Beagrie 59' Lomas 29 Oct Coventry City A L 0-1 (0-0) 15,804 5 Nov Southampton H D 3-3 (0-1) 50' Walsh 61' Walsh 79' Beagrie 21,589 10 Nov Manchester United A L 0-5 (0-2) 43,738 20 Nov Leicester City A W 1-0 (1-0) 16' Quinn 19,006 26 Nov Wimbledon H W 2-0 (1-0) 7' Flitcroft 89' Rösler 21,131 30 Nov Newcastle Utd (CCC4) H D 1-1 (0-1) 69' Rösler 25,162 3 Dec Ipswich Town A W 2-1 (2-0) 21' Flitcroft 43' Rösler 13,504 12 Dec Arsenal H L 1-2 (0-2) 81' Simpson 20,500 17 Dec West Ham United A L 0-3 (0-2) 17,286 21 Dec Newcastle Utd (CCC4) A W 2-0 (1-0) 11' Rösler 80' Walsh 30,156 26 Dec Blackburn Rovers H L 1-3 (1-2) 21' Quinn 23,387 28 Dec Liverpool A L 0-2 (0-0) 38,122 31 Dec Aston Villa H D 2-2 (1-0) 14' Rösler 52' Rösler 22,513 2 Jan Newcastle United A D 0-0 (0-0) 34,437 8 Jan Notts County (FAC3) A D 2-2 (1-2) 27' Beagrie 68' D.Brightwell 12,376 11 Jan Crystal Palace (CCC5) A L 0-4 (0-0) 16,668 14 Jan Coventry City H D 0-0 (0-0) 20,632 18 Jan Notts County (FAC3) H W 5-2 (3-1) 7' Rösler 39' Rösler 45' Gaudino 14,261 56' Rösler 81' Rösler 25 Jan Leicester City H L 0-1 (0-0) 21,007 28 Jan Aston Villa (FAC4) H W 1-0 (1-0) 7' Walsh 21,177 4 Feb Southampton A D 2-2 (1-1) 30' Kernaghan 88' Flitcroft 14,902 11 Feb Manchester United H L 0-3 (0-0) 26,368 19 Feb Newcastle Utd (FAC5) A L 1-3 (1-2) 29' Rösler 33,219 22 Feb Ipswich Town H W 2-0 (0-0) 68' Quinn 71' Rösler 21,430 25 Feb Leeds United H D 0-0 (0-0) 22,892 4 Mar Norwich City A D 1-1 (0-0) 86' Simpson 16,266 8 Mar Chelsea H L 1-2 (1-1) 4' Gaudino 21,880 15 Mar Everton A D 1-1 (1-0) 26' Gaudino 28,485 18 Mar Sheffield Wednesday H W 3-2 (1-2) 37' Rösler 52' Walsh 83' Rösler 23,355 21 Mar Wimbledon A L 0-2 (0-0) 5,268 1 Apr Crystal Palace A L 1-2 (0-1) 57' Rösler 13,312 11 Apr Tottenham Hotspur A L 1-2 (0-0) 49' Rösler 27,410 14 Apr Liverpool H W 2-1 (1-1) 18' Summerbee 73' Gaudino 27,055 17 Apr Blackburn Rovers A W 3-2 (1-2) 32' Curle (pen) 57' Rösler 27,857 70' Walsh 29 Apr Newcastle United H D 0-0 (0-0) 27,389 3 May Aston Villa A D 1-1 (0-1) 63' Rösler 30,133 6 May Nottingham Forest A L 0-1 (0-1) 28,882 14 May QPR H L 2-3 (1-1) 26' Quinn 80' Curle 27,850
Pos Team P W D L F A Pts 1. Blackburn Rovers 42 27 8 7 80 39 89 2. Manchester United 42 26 10 6 77 28 88 3. Nottingham Forest 42 22 11 9 72 43 77 4. Liverpool 42 21 11 10 65 37 74 5. Leeds United 42 20 13 9 59 38 73 6. Newcastle United 42 20 12 10 67 47 72 7. Tottenham Hotspur 42 16 14 12 66 58 62 8. Queen's Park Rangers 42 17 9 16 61 59 60 9. Wimbledon 42 15 11 16 48 65 56 10. Southampton 42 12 18 12 61 63 54 11. Chelsea 42 13 15 14 50 55 54 12. Arsenal 42 13 12 17 52 49 51 13. Sheffield Wednesday 42 13 12 17 49 57 51 14. West Ham United 42 13 11 18 44 48 50 15. Everton 42 11 17 14 44 51 50 16. Coventry City 42 12 14 16 44 62 50 17. Manchester City 42 12 13 17 53 64 49 18. Aston Villa 42 11 15 16 51 56 48 --------------------------------------------------- 19. Crystal Palace 42 11 12 19 34 49 45 20. Norwich City 42 10 13 19 37 54 43 21. Leicester City 42 6 11 25 45 80 29 22. Ipswich Town 42 7 6 29 36 93 27
1994-95 APPEARANCES & GOALSCORERS
League F.A.Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Peter Beagrie 33(4) 2 4 1 6 1 43(4) 4
David Brightwell 9 - 3(1) 1 1(1) - 13(2) 1
Ian Brightwell 29(1) - 3 - 6 - 38(1) -
John Burridge 3(1) - - - - - 3(1) -
Tony Coton 21(1) - 1 - 1 - 23(1) -
Keith Curle 31 2 2 - 4 1 37 3
Andy Dibble 15(1) - 3 - 5 - 23(1) -
Richard Edghill 14 - - - 3 - 17 -
Garry Flitcroft 37 5 4 - 5 - 46 5
John Foster 9(2) - 1(1) - 1(1) - 11(4) -
Maurizio Gaudino 17(3) 3 3 1 1(1) - 21(4) 4
Carl Griffiths -(2) - - - -(1) - -(3) -
Andy Hill 10(3) - - - 3 - 13(3) -
Alan Kernaghan 18(4) 1 3 - 2 - 23(4) 1
David Kerr 2 - - - - - 2 -
Steve Lomas 18(2) 2 1 - 6 1 25(2) 3
Steve McMahon 6(1) - - - 1 - 7(1) -
Adie Mike 1(1) - -(1) - - - 1(2) -
Terry Phelan 26(1) - 1 - 3 - 30(1) -
Niall Quinn 24(11) 8 1(3) - 4(2) 2 29(16) 10
Uwe Rösler 29(2) 15 4 5 3(1) 2 36(3) 22
Fitzroy Simpson 10(6) 2 -(1) - - - 10(7) 2
Nicky Summerbee 39(2) 1 4 - 6 2 49(2) 3
Scott Thomas -(2) - - - - - -(2) -
Simon Tracey 3 - - - - - 3 -
Michel Vonk 19(2) - 1 - 1(1) - 21(3) -
Paul Walsh 39 12 3 1 6 2 48 15
TRANSFER ACTIVITY SINCE 1993-94 SEASON
In: Nicky Summerbee (Midfield) From Swindon Town (£1,500,000)
Uwe Rösler (Striker) From Dynamo Dresden(Ger) (£500,000)
Ray Kelly (Striker) From Athlone(Ire) (£30,000)
John Burridge (Goalkeeper) From Dumbarton(Sco) (Free)
Out: Alfons Groenendijk (Midfield) To Sparta Rotterdam(Neth) (£75,000)
David Rocastle (Midfield) To Chelsea (£1,300,000)
Mike Sheron (Forward) To Norwich City (£800,000)
John Burridge (Goalkeeper) To Falkirk(Sco) (Free)
Steve McMahon (Midfield) To Swindon Town (£100,000)
Loans: Fitzroy Simpson (Midfield) To Bristol City
Alan Kernaghan (Defender) To Bolton Wanderers
Kåre Ingebrigtsen (Midfield) To Lillestrøm(Nor)
Mike Quigley (Midfield) To Wrexham
Steve Finney (Midfield) To Shrewsbury Town (Trial)
Martyn Margetson (Goalkeeper) To Luton Town
Simon Tracey (Goalkeeper) From Sheffield United
John Burridge (Goalkeeper) From Falkirk(Sco)
Maurizio Gaudino (Midfield) From Eintracht Frankfurt(Ger)
- Note:
- Rösler was initially on loan and was finally signed over the summer. Ingebrigtsen is unlikely to play in England again. Burridge (non-contract) and Tracey (loan) were signed when all three of City's goalkeepers were unavailable, either through injury or suspension (youth team 'keeper David Nurse was not considered worthy of a place on the bench at the time). Burridge ended the season back at City, on loan from Falkirk as cover for Dibble and Margetson. McMahon is now player-manager of Swindon. City paid Frankfurt £200,000 for the services of Gaudino until the end of the season.
1. Tony Coton (Outstanding English goalkeeper) 2. Andy Hill (Defender) 3. Terry Phelan (Irish international left back) 4. Maurizio Gaudino (German international midfielder) 5. Keith Curle (England international centre half) 6. Michel Vonk (Dutch centre half) 7. (Was David Rocastle, sold to Chelsea) 8. Paul Walsh (Hard-working and tricky striker) 9. Niall Quinn (Extremely tall Irish international striker) 10. Garry Flitcroft (Very promising English midfielder) 11. Peter Beagrie (Winger with a nice line in celebrations) 12. Ian Brightwell (Son of Olympic medallists Robbie and Ann Packer) 13. Martyn Margetson (Welsh U21 international goalkeeper) 14. Carl Griffiths (Welsh U21 international striker) 15. Alan Kernaghan (Irish international central defender) 16. Nicky Summerbee (Midfielder, son of Mike) 17. Mike Quigley (Tough-tackling young midfielder) 18. David Brightwell (Defender, brother of Ian) 19. Fitzroy Simpson (Erratic young midfielder) 20. (Was Alfons Groenendijk, sold to Sparta Rotterdam) 21. Steve Lomas (Northern Ireland international midfielder) 22. Richard Edghill (Defender) 23. David Kerr (Striker, has been known to play at right-back) 24. Adie Mike (Striker) 25. Andy Dibble (Reserve goalkeeper) 26. (Was Mike Sheron, sold to Norwich City) 27. Rae Ingram (Defender, City's current Young Player of the Year) 28. Uwe Rösler (Popular German striker) 29. John Foster (Defender) 30. Steve Finney (Midfielder) 31. Paul Lake (Talented injury hit midfielder) 32. (Was Simon Tracey, on loan from Sheffield United) 33. John Burridge (Very experienced goalkeeper, on loan from Falkirk(Sco)) 34. Scott Thomas (Exciting young winger)
A squad picture is also available on the WWW server.
- Tony Coton (Goalkeeper)
- Tony has been City's first choice in goal since his £1 million transfer from Watford in 1990. His form three seasons ago earned him an England "B" cap. He made a sensational start to his League career, saving a penalty for Birmingham against Sunderland in 1980. He moved on to Watford in 1984. Tony is widely regarded as one of the best English keepers to never receive a full England cap.
- Keith Curle (Defender)
- Keith became Britain's most expensive defender when he left Wimbledon for City in a £2.5 million deal in 1991. He was soon in the England 'B' side and in 1992 played three times for the full England team. Keith scored on his League début for Bristol Rovers against Chester in 1981 and was transferred to Torquay two years later. He remained at Plainmoor only a few weeks before linking up with Bristol City. Reading payed £150,000 when signing him in 1987, then received £500,000 when he moved on to Wimbledon a year later.
- Niall Quinn (Striker)
- Niall began his career at Highbury, making his League début for Arsenal in 1985. He enjoyed one full season (86/87) in the Gunners side and earned a Littlewoods Cup medal before dropping out of the side. In March 1990, he was transferred to City for £800,000. In 1990/91 he was City's top scorer with 22 goals. Unfortunately, Niall picked up a cruciate ligament injury in November '93 causing him to miss the World Cup finals.
- Richard Edghill (19)
- A pacy, cool young defender, Richard made his League début against Wimbledon and won 2 England U-21 caps before the campaign was out.
- Steve Lomas (20)
- Steve plays in the centre or on the right of midfield and progressed from the reserves to a full Northern Ireland cap last season.
- Uwe Rösler (25)
- Former East German international Uwe was initially signed on loan from Dynamo Dresden when apparently not fully recovered from a knee injury obtained whilst playing for Nürnberg, and subsequently signed for a bargain £500,000. Uwe's arrival was summed up excellently by Richard Donlan in the King of the Kippax fanzine, '..brought in on loan on a Monday, grabbed two goals against Burnley reserves in midweek, and was thrust right into the first team at QPR on the Saturday'. Uwe is strong and good in the air. He scored 5 goals at the end of last season ensuring City's survival in the Premiership. Uwe is already a crowd favourite and hopefully his reputation will continue to grow.
Club Name: Manchester City Football Club
Formed: 1887 (as Ardwick FC)
Nickname: The Blues
Chairman: Francis Lee
Managing Director: Colin Barlow
Team Manager: Brian Horton
Club Sponsor: Brother (Manufacturers of typewriters, computers etc.)
Club Crest: Yellow ship on a blue background above a red rose on a white background.
Club Colours:
- Home Kit
- Light blue shirt with a white and dark blue striped collar. Umbro design on stripe around each sleeve. Umbro logo on left upper chest. Club crest on large white badge on right upper chest. Brother logo in black lettering across chest. White shorts with blue vertical hip stripes. Club badge on left front side; Umbro logo on right front side. Blue/white socks.
- Away Kit
- Red/black vertically striped shirt with white meshed triangular areas on either shoulder. White Umbro logo on left upper chest. Club crest on black background with white border. White Brother logo on black background across chest. Black shorts with white/red/black stripes. Club badge on front left side; white Umbro logo on right front side. Black/red/white socks.
- Third Kit
- White shirt with thin black vertical stripes. White shorts. White socks.
Address: Maine Road, Moss Side, Manchester M14 7WN.
Telephone: 0161 226 1191/2
Facsimile: 0161 227 9418
Ticket Office Telephone Numbers:
General Enquiries : 0161 226 2224 Dial-A-Seat : 0161 227 9229 Ticketcall : 0891 12 15 91Other Relevant Numbers:
City Supporters Travel Club : 0161 226 5047 Manchester City Social Club : 0161 226 3330 Football in the Community : 0161 226 1782 Manchester City Prize Line : 0891 12 10 20 City Clubcall : 0891 12 11 91 Souvenir Shop : 0161 226 4824
Ground Capacity: Maine Road's capacity is currently around 31,000
though this will rise to around 32,500 when the top tier of the Kippax Street Stand is opened
at the start of next season. Future developments may see the capacity rise to approximately 45,000.
Current Ticket Information: A membership card may be required to buy tickets, which
are available up to kick off. Membership costs five pounds and cannot be obtained on
the day of a game. Contact the ticket office to find out whether any particular game is
restricted to members only.
- King of the Kippax
- Edited by Dave & Sue Wallace of 25 Holdenbrook Court, Leigh, Greater Manchester, WN7 2HL (Tel: 01942-515739). KK is around 40 typewritten A4 pages with no adverisements and is City's best-selling fanzine. Regular features include a very substantial part of the 'zine given over to readers' letters, brief match reports of the games played since the previous edition, a look forward to forthcoming games, short stories with characters based on well-known local football figures, comment & opinion by a number of regular contributors and interviews with celebrity City fans. Sue's illustrations of away grounds are widely copied by other clubs' fanzines. Subscriptions cost £7.00 for 5 issues in the UK, £9.00 elsewhere. Please state which issue you wish the subscription to start with. Cheques payable to 'King of the Kippax'. All back issues are available, though many are reprints.
- Electric Blue
- Edited by Noel Bayley of EB Towers, c/o 8 Pentwyn Grove, Wythenshawe, Manchester M23 1BU. EB is usually 28 or 32 typeset A4 pages with no advertisements, using a small but clear font in navy blue ink. Regular features include a long-ish editorial, some amusing press cuttings relating to City or United ('Rubber News'), comment & opinion by a number of regular contributors, a feature on the fortunes of one City fan's Fantasy Football team, Pastiche Notes (a mickey-take of the Guardian's Pass Notes) and a letters page; Noel usually prints all the letters he receives. Subscriptions are available at £1.40 per issue up to the end of the current season. Small stamps, giant cheques, IMOs and Postal Orders accepted, made payable to 'Electric Blue'. A few back issues are available, at discounted prices.
- This Charming Fan
- Edited by Phillip A Gatenby, PO Box 4, Manchester M40 9AP. TCF is around 20 A5, word-processed pages which appears occasionally, although it appeared as a section of Blue Print during the 1993/94 season. The 'zine consists mainly of editorial comment and a few jokes at United's expense. The few back issues are sold out but the editor will photocopy them if you really want them for £1.00 per issue. Phillip Gatenby has also produced 'Standing Ovation - A Tribute to the Kippax', a 32-page A5 pamphlet containing reminiscences of various people of their experiences of the Kippax, plus some photographs and news clippings. This costs £1.40 including P&P.
- Blue Print
- Blue Print was City's first fanzine but, although still listed in When Saturday Comes' fanzine listing, has not appeared this season and only appeared three times last season. Apparently, all but one of the editorial staff got married! The exception is Bill Borrows, who writes for various magazines including 90 Minutes and Vox. If you think it's worth the risk, issues cost £1.00 from 'Blue Print', Room 408, Ducie House, Ducie Street, Manchester M1 2JW
The other City fanzines that have been and gone (some only lasted one edition) were:
- Singing The Blues
- Main Stand View
- Cityzen (Official Supporters' Club magazine)
- The Fightback
- Blue Murder
- Rodney, Rodney! (not really a City 'zine actually)
- Wigout!
- One for the Road
Michael Holden, who used to produce Singing The Blues, is apparently considering starting up a new fanzine.
The Manchester City mailing list, Man City Info Via The Alps is run by Ashley Birch (birchaw@oci.unizh.ch) in Switzerland.
The Manchester City Supporters' Home Page (http://www.service.uit.no/mancity/homepage.html) on the World Wide Web is run by Svenn Hanssen in Norway.
League Champions: 1937, 1968
Second Division Champions: 1899, 1903, 1910, 1928, 1947, 1966
FA Cup Winners: 1904, 1934, 1956, 1969
FA Charity Shield Winners: 1937, 1968, 1972
League Cup Winners: 1970, 1976
European Cup Winners Cup Winners: 1970
FA Youth Cup Winners: 1986
Biggest League Win: 11-3,v Lincoln City(H), Div.2, 1895
Heaviest Defeat: 9-1,v Everton(A), Div.1, 1906
Record Goalscorer: 178 by Eric Brook (1928-39)
A more complete list of club records can be found on the WWW honours page.
The history at Maine Road has been chequered throughout its past but recently the club has suffered more than most. The managers at Maine Road seem to become casualties quite easily. Since the Second World War City have gone through something like 18 managers which is quite ridiculous, but in the last 10 years it's 6 managers and people wonder why City have failed to produce any success. Cohesion is needed at a club to produce success, but with this sort of managerial merry-go-round it's little wonder City have failed. The recent history at Maine Road is one of little success which hasn't helped to encourage the fans but still we turn up. City were in fact relegated twice during the '80s.
In 1983 an 86th minute goal by Radi Antic secured Luton's survival at the cost of sending City into Division two. This was quite a remarkable turn-around as City were leading the First Division up until Christmas.
It took two long hard seasons before City emerged back into the big time, however true to form City tried to make life hard for themselves and it took a 5-1 thumping of Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season before promotion was guaranteed at the expense of Portsmouth.
City couldn't build on the promotion and survived for 2 seasons before being relegated by West Ham on the final day of the season, this time though it would have taken a miracle to survive. Again City plugged away for two seasons before they finally struggled to get back into the first division. Once again City conspired to nearly throw it all away. The final home game of the 1989 season against Bournemouth saw City leading 3-0, a victory meant City would have been automatically promoted in second place. However City felt they needed a challenge and allowed Bournemouth back into the game and the result was a 3-3 draw. Everything hinged on the final game, City needed to travel to Bradford City and get at least a point to guarantee promotion at the expense of Crystal Palace. City once again made hard work of the game. Palace were banging in goals against Birmingham City and were leading 4-0; in the meantime City had conceded a goal and trailed 1-0. With time running out it looked like City would have promotion snatched from their grasp. In the 86th minute though everything changed, Trevor Morley finally managed to score and this goal, late as it was, secured promotion.
The first season back saw City struggle to match the First division clubs and somehow City managed to scrape into 17th place only one place behind United. The highlight of that season must surely have been the 5-1 thumping of rivals Man U at Maine Road.
The following four seasons have provided City fans with little to cheer; the managerial upheavals have continued with Machin, Kendall and Reid all going. Kendall arrived at Maine Road when the club was struggling near the foot of the table; he replaced the sacked Machin who had successfully got City promoted. Kendall worked hard with his ex-Everton based players and succeeded in keeping City afloat. The following season saw him build on the team and City got to a creditable 5th place. Again the following season saw City get to 5th place and everything started to look promising. However Kendall decided he'd had enough and moved back to his 'beloved' Everton leaving City in the lurch. However, on the crest of popular support Peter Reid was installed as player manager. He continued the work started by Kendall but again failed to find real success. All City had to show was a home FA Cup 6th round exit at the hands of Spurs, which will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Then the axe fell on him at the start of last season (93/94). He was a victim of boardroom politics, he'd opened his mouth to critcise the Chairman (Peter Swales) and was sacked. He was replaced by the then Oxford manager Brian Horton, which was not exactly the big name manager the fans were hoping for. However he did his job admirably under immense pressure from the boardroom battle for control of the club and the fans initial hostility. He managed to keep City up once again, but it was a close run thing. Right up until the final week City could have been sunk, however the fighting spirit shone through and City managed to survive.
So the recent history at Maine Road shows upheaval and a lack of success, which the loyal hardcore of fans have had to endure. In fact it's 18 years since City last achieved a Cup success, a 2-1 victory over Newcastle in the League Cup, which in all honesty is far too long for a club of City's size to accept. Hopefully with the recent boardroom changes things will settle down and City can start on the road to full recovery.
If I was forced to give two words that described last season, I think it would have to be those that echoed around the Kippax approximately two seconds into the first home game of the season against Leeds United - the immortal 'Swales Out!'. By the way, the game was one of the most one sided one-all draws ever witnessed by humanity, mainly due to an outstanding display by the magnificent Tony Coton.
Three losses later, a certain John Maddock was appointed as 'general mananger' to act as a liaison between the lovely Mr Swales and the manager, Mr Reid. The relationship was sort of a dangerous liaison as Peter Reid and Sam 'Route One' Ellis were sacked almost immediately. Tony Book took charge for a home draw against Coventry whilst the fans awaited the appointment of a well known successful manager.
'Is it Terry Venables?' 'Nope.' 'Is it Steve Coppell?' 'Nope.' 'Is it Rosemary,the telephone operator?' 'Nope.' 'Brian Horton?' 'Who?'
Ex-Oxford United manager Brian Who's first two games resulted in a 3-1 away win at Swindon and a 3-0 win against QPR at home.
Meanwhile, the crescendo of opinion against Lord Swales continued to rise. At home games, placards were placed around the pitch saying 'Support Your Team' or some such thing. Somewhere along the line, it became apparent that a consortium led by ex-City star Francis Lee and including Colin Barlow was interested in taking over the club. This gave the fans the impetus to bring the anti-Swales campaign to a new level as demonstrations were staged and new independent supporters associations formed. A home Cup game against Reading was boycotted resulting in the lowest but one ever attendance for a first team match at Maine Road. Various allegations were made by each party regarding the others cheating techniques although Swales and company sank the lowest when they accused some fans of aggravating his elderly mother in an old peoples home. Much was made by the media at the time although the allegations proved to be completely unsubstantiated. Strange, unsubstantiated media stories.:) The takeover was to take six months and reached a climax in February.
Horton's honeymoon period ended with a 2-3 home defeat by you know who. City lead 2-0 at half time courtesy of two Niall Quinn goals but City's inability to defend a lead reared its ugly head...... In November, Quinn picked up the cruciate ligament injury that would force him to miss the rest of the season and USA '94. Teamwise things appeared to be brightening near Xmas with the swap of the sadly off form long term City fan/player David White for David Rocastle of Leeds United.
The next interesting occurence was the rather wet Saturday in January that had been deemed the day when City would meet Ipswich Town at home. The game began on a waterlogged pitch; Ingebrigtsen and Vonk gave City a 2-0 lead on but the game was subsequently called off just before half time because of the state of the pitch. Strange. At least it was good to see Coton and Phelan argue vociferously with the referee. It was nice to know they cared.
I don't think I'll mention the fourth round FA Cup game at Cardiff City. Ooops.I just have :(
February 5th. Ipswich Town. Home. Swales is out. Franny is in. And City are losing due to an appalling Garry Flitcroft backpass. Thankfully, a Carl Grffifths flick and a Garry Flitcroft short range strike resulted in a win in what will hopefully be regarded as the new beginning.
Early March saw the arrival on loan of two German strikers; Uwe Rösler and Steffan Karl. Rösler's début appearence game against QPR at Loftus Road will be sadly only remembered because of poor Andy Dibble's deflected clearance. Karl and City's other new signing, Paul Walsh, made their débuts at Maine Road against Wimbledon in a forgettable one nil loss. Late March marked the last minute arrival of Peter Beagrie from Everton whose début was against Oldham in a terminally exciting nil nil draw.
Early April progressed with a 3-0 victory over an apparently uninterested Coca Cola Cup winning Villa side, a 1-0 away win at Southampton secured by an 88th minute Steffan Karl thunderbolt and a 2-1 win over Newcastle at Maine Road in what turned out to be the most exciting game of the season. Scott Sellars put the Geordies ahead with a tap in from a Ruel Fox cross, Andy Cole beat Andy Dibble to hit the crossbar, Paul Walsh put City on level par with a superb 33rd minute header and David Brightwell got the winner early in the second half.
The final home game of the season against Chelsea marked the last day of the Kippax terrace. Maine Road was in a party mood with a calypso band and former City players on the pitch and the Kippax wishing Chelsea well in the forthcoming FA Cup Final :( Chelsea led 2-0 at half time thanks to contributions from Robert Fleck and Tony Cascarino only for Uwe Rösler and Paul Walsh to equalise for City by full time. And that's the way it stayed.
The final game of the season against Sheffield Wednesday resulted in a 1-1 draw with goals by Gordon Watson and Uwe Rösler. It was fitting that Uwe should score as he'd become something of a hero and his name echoed around Hillsborough on that afternoon thanks to a magnificent away support. Terry Phelan and Andy Dibble were also on form to allow a relatively happy end to the season.
To sum up, I suppose last season was dominated off the pitch by Franny's takeover although the situation on the pitch wasn't helped by almost all the senior players picking up injuries at one time or another. The season ended hopefully with the signings of Beagrie, Walsh and Rösler and a run of 10 games with one loss.
After last season, this season will probably seem pretty dull. I think many City fans would be happy to see our beloved neighbours win absolutely nothing and for City to ensure Premiership survival.:)
The start of the season was greeted with a little optimism with the summer signing of Nicky Summerbee, who will hopefully follow in his father's footsteps, and the return of Niall Quinn. Hopefully the Walsh/Quinn/Rösler forward line will be successful although the departure of David Rocastle may, if injuries occur (which they will), lead to midfield deficiencies.
With the new signings, a hopeful top 10ish place as well as decent cup runs is not too much to ask, is it? However, there's Barnet away from home this evening. Here we go again.......
The primary objective of staying up was achieved with only one match to spare, but many City fans drew solace from the failings of our Red friends. The top ten place proved elusive once more, though a win on the final day of the season against QPR would have seen us finish 12th rather than 17th, such was the closeness of the bottom half of the table. City reached the 5th Rounds of both Cup competitions but our first semi-final since 1981 once again failed to materialise. Against the pre-season expectations, it doesn't look too bad a season, but expectations grew during the course of the season and to finish 17th after being 6th in early December was a bitter pill to swallow.
The rot set in as a result of a combination of injuries, suspensions and tactical blunders, leading to a depressing second half of the season. The club were unwilling or unable to strengthen the squad, apart from the loan signing of German international Maurizio Gaudino, who showed his City pedigree by being extremely inconsistent, brilliant in one match, inconspicuous in the next. No review of the season would be complete without mentioning the derbies: played 2, lost 2, for 0, against 8 (eight!). Things must surely improve next season!
In summary, it was bad but it could have been worse.
Thanks to Anthony Johnson, Martin Ford and Ashley Birch for contributing to this FAQ. The information was obtained from various match programmes, long memories and the King of the Kippax and Electric Blue fanzines. Blue Moon.
This FAQ is maintained by Paul Howarth (paul@city-fan.org) and Martin Ford (mford@fs1.li.umist.ac.uk).
Paul Howarth, paul@city-fan.org