Pep stars can match Mercer’s ’68 heroes
PEP GUARDIOLA and Manchester City would love to lift the Premier League trophy next year – on the 50th anniversary of the club’s 1968 title triumph.
Manager Joe Mercer and his champagne-sipping assistant Malcolm Allison went to Newcastle on the last day of the season needing to win – and they did in a 4-3, Sergio Aguero-style nail-biter.
That was the first silverware in the most successful period in City’s history, with Mercer and Big Mal winning a further three trophies in the following two seasons, including the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
It is hard to imagine now that Mercer spent what, in modern day terms, was a meagre £191,000 assembling his all-English team, which starred Colin Bell, Francis Lee and Mike Summerbee.
Lee was City’s record buy from Bolton at £60,000 but £47,500 Bell was the heartbeat of the side with a Yaya Toure-like powerhouse role in midfield.
Fast forward to City’s current squad, valued at a whopping £600million, and the difference in transfer values is eye-watering.
But skipper Tony Book believes most of his ’68 side would fit comfortably into the current Etihad superstar set-up – and Bell, Lee and Summerbee would have been class acts under Guardiola.
Book said: “We had a real value-for-money team with four or five local lads who cost nothing. You could see the pride when they pulled on a blue shirt.
“Then we had Bell, Lee and Summerbee – the main men. Bell was outstanding, consistently great week-in week-out and a real pro.
“Franny was always going to score goals with his habit of popping up in the box. And Summerbee, well I have never seen a winger since then cross a ball like Mike did.
“Those three would have sat comfortably in the current side. Most of us would who played that season and beyond, after winning the title at Newcastle.
“What a day that was. Amazing. We scored, they scored, we scored. It went on and on until we won and then I remembered the journey back by coach. Thousands of fans followed us all the way back down the A1.
“Then when we got back to Maine Road we went straight to the City social club and had a drink or two with the fans. The new champions and the fans drinking together.” Total Total Total Next season is all set to be t he most f righteningly expensive title race ever. Champions Chelsea, runners-up Tottenham, title favourites Man City, Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool could be set to splash an astonishing £ 1BILLION PLUS between them in a a bid to be crowned the 2018 kings of England.
City, United and Liverpool have already flexed their financial muscles and brought in the first of their new s ignings.
The wealthy London clubs are biding their time, making final plans and will this week start dipping into their funds before the title chase begins in just 41 days’ time.
By next May we will know if bookies’ favourites City will be throwing boss Pep Guardiola in the air for the trademark celebration he enjoyed in charge of serial title winners Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Guardiola will be only too aware that expectations are sky-high for him to return to the glory days in Spain and Germany, after a first season of potless misery.
Despite a flying start, City never came close to challenging champions Chelsea.
But Guardiola has already splashed £78million on Bernardo Silva and Ederson, and will not be afraid to snap up other mega-money buys.
Chelsea were deserved winners in a fantastic first season in English football for boss Antonio Conte – but they had no European distractions.
Th e r e t u r n o f the Champions League t o Stamford Bridge could impact on their domestic f o r m but Conte has a possible £125m transfer budget to make sure that does not happen.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will have to improve on his buys