The long journey from Scunthorpe to wonderland...
WHEN I was Manchester City manager in the 1990s, I talked about Cityitis. Just when you thought nothing else could go wrong, something normally did. I arrived in 1998 with 12 games to go. We won 5-2 at Stoke on the final day but still went down to the third tier because other results went against us. The fans stood by us in the third tier of English football, when we still averaged gates of 27,000. Those who suffered back then are now in wonderland. The turning point came in 1999 in the play-off final against Gillingham at Wembley. We came from 2-0 down with three minutes left to win on penalties. I have to be honest, I turned to Willie Donachie sitting next to me and said: ‘It looks like Scunthorpe next year, Will.’ Who knows if the fans would have stuck with us for a second year in that division. They put up with a lot and still chant now: ‘We are not really here.’ It is the gallows humour from away games at York, Wycombe and Macclesfield. Never mind United, Macclesfield was our local derby that season! The club was cash-strapped. The fans wondered when it would ever turn. Now look at them. City were outstanding at Tottenham on Saturday and made it look easy. The brand of football is the best in City’s history but don’t take away from people like Colin Bell, Asa Hartford and Peter Barnes, who were brilliant players. I have been close friends for 50 years with Brian Kidd, who now works with Pep Guardiola. I spoke to him when Everton played City a few weeks ago and he had nothing but praise for Pep. You can see the team play for him and take real joy from it. Yes, City have spent hundreds of millions and the recruitment has been outstanding. But Guardiola’s coaching and style have elevated City to a new level. We all looked and wondered why he spent £100m on full backs in the summer, but you can see the impact of Kyle Walker (below), while Benjamin Mendy looked equally promising before his injury. Guardiola can create his own dynasty and go on to do what Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United. He has the vision and the resources to do that. For those supporters,
I so hope he stays.