THEN & NOW MANCHESTER CITY

Welcome to Then and Now, where each week we compare images of Manchester streets, landmarks and buildings from bygone days with how they look today

OUR main image this week shows striker Rodney Marsh making his debut for City in a First Division match against Chelsea in March 1972.

Marsh is first out of the tunnel at Maine Road to the cheers of the fans with goalkeeper Joe Corrigan right behind him.

It proved to a fruitful first outing as City, who were four points clear at the top of the table at the time, won 1-0 with a goal from Tommy Booth.

The team’s form slipped as the season progressed and they ended up in fourth position on goal difference with 57 points – just one point behind the winners Derby County.

City manager Malcolm Allison signed Marsh from Queens Park Rangers for a club record fee of £200,000. He joined the talented trio of Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee and Wyn Davies in attack.

He was City’s top scorer with 19 goals in the 1972-3 season, but went off the boil when Allison resigned as manager in March 1973.

Marsh, always something of a maverick, was so disappointed at losing the 1974 League Cup Final 2-1 to Wolves that he threw away his runners-up medal.

He made 118 league appearances for City, scoring 36 goals. He also won nine senior caps for England, scoring once.

Our modern image, from August 2016, shows another Blues legend making his debut for City – current manager Pep Guardiola.

He’s pictured at the Etihad Stadium directing affairs during the Premier League match against Sunderland. City won 2-1.

● City feature strongly in iNostalgia’s latest book, Manchester Then and Now, available for pre-order on inostalgia.co.uk for £12.99.

It’s a fascinating compilation of Then and Now articles and photos featured every Sunday on these pages over the past two years.