20 YEARS AGO, CITY WERE 1-0 DOWN TO CHESTERFIELD IN THE THIRD TIER!
For a generation, it will seem unfeasible that the following six words were used: ‘Manchester City are trailing at Chesterfield.’ In this week in 1999, City went behind against Chesterfield in a League match. A third- tier League match.
City were fifth at kick- off and were about to drop to sixth. They were the 50th best team in England, playing in what was known as Nationwide Division Two. Twenty years on, as Dave reeves says: ‘Big Man City were losing to little Chesterfield.’
reeves was a 32-year-old striker from Merseyside. He had been a ‘late starter’, spotted at Heswall by Sheffield Wednesday as they scouted Ian Woan. reeves’s twin brother Alan played for Wimbledon in their Premier League days in the 1990s.
Dave reeves signed a £75-aweek contract in 1986 and made his debut for Howard Wilkinson in a Wednesday victory over Arsenal two years later. Nigel Pearson and Gary Megson scored for the owls. Then, via Bolton, Notts County, Carlisle and Preston, reeves was down the road at Saltergate scoring past City goalkeeper Nicky Weaver.
City, says reeves, ‘were expected to romp away with it’. He is talking about the League, not this game. There is still amazement in his tone that City were in the same division.
‘Chalk and cheese,’ reeves says of the contrast with today, although chalk and diamonds might be more appropriate.
City then were a fallen club. In 1996 under manager Alan Ball, they had been relegated from the Premier League, and two seasons later City went down to the third tier for the only time in their history.
Steve Coppell had succeeded Ball at Maine road, only to leave after a month. Frank Clark came in and stayed for 14 months before Joe royle replaced Clark in February 1998.
There had also been spells under caretakers Asa Hartford and Phil Neal. City were spiralling downwards, out of control.
And here they were in the third tier facing derbies against Macclesfield, while losing at Lincoln, Wycombe and York. Because they were Manchester City, the expectation was that they would coast it.
But the 1998-99 season began with the Blues 14th after four games and that only after a 90thminute Shaun Goater goal earned a point at Notts County. By late February, when many had assumed City would be stretching clear, they were fifth and about to travel to Saltergate for a League game for the first time since 1951. It was Fulham, invigorated by Kevin Keegan in the dugout and Mohamed Al Fayed’s money, who were streaking away. Even having played two games more, City were 12 points behind. They were eight points adrift of Walsall.
‘ Everyone hated going to Chesterfield,’ says reeves (right). ‘We had a great pitch actually, but it was not a nice stadium for visitors.
‘Having City in the same division was great for teams like us. We got to go to Maine road and we made a day of it. It was more like an FA Cup tie.’
reeves had put Chesterfield one up at Maine road in September. Lee Bradbury — a £3million signing from Portsmouth — equalised for City. There were 27,500 fans there.
Chesterfield went down to 10 men but Andy Leaning saved a penalty from Goater. ‘It ended 1-1 but City should have beaten us 10- 1. They were all over us,’ reeves says.
‘It was different at ours. It was 1-1, too, but it was a more even game. I think my goal was another tap-in. I do remember catching Gareth Taylor and breaking his nose — by accident.’
This time Lee Crooks scored City’s equaliser. Crooks was a promising player who later joined the rAF. This was his first goal for the club, direct from a corner.
‘City must have had as many fans there as we did,’ reeves says, but the support did not bring them a second goal. Manager John Duncan had assembled a good team at Chesterfield.
After Saltergate, City drew 0-0 at home to Northampton and lost to oldham at Maine road.
royle did coax them to a third- place finish — behind Fulham and Walsall — but they had to beat Wigan and Gillingham, famously, in the play-offs to get up. Saltergate and Maine road are memories. Chesterfield are in the National League. City do not go to Wembley for play-offs any more, they go for trophies. It may be a while until the clubs meet again.