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mike_baker's review
4.0
Rambling but enjoyable account of Manchester City at their chaotic worst.
By happy coincidence I moved to Manchester in early 1994, happened to fall in with a bunch of City fans rather than those of United and ended up going quite often to Maine Road. Perhaps they were the more appropriate choice for me. Being a Middlesbrough fan I don't think I could have handled the constant successes enjoyed at Old Trafford, whereas there was something deluded, resentful and charming about City, which really appealed. I remember going to Crumpsall Labour Club (£1 for a pint) with a new mate to watch the Derby. He reckoned they were going to win. It ended 5-0 to United. My main experiences of Maine Road were of the Alan Ball and Frank Clark eras, an almost relentless succession of horrors. Common parlance was that Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze was a better player than Eric Cantona - that might have been true in a purely technical sense, but Eric the King wasn't lazy, understood teamwork and could work off the ball, whereas Kinki was, didn't and could/would not.
For a long time City were pretty much my second team. It helped that they regularly collapsed against Boro, which not many sides did, but I always looked out for them and wished things would improve. Eventually they did, but there were further spirals of hell to descend before it started getting better, which are chronicled in this book. Mostly I can recall how busy Maine Road was. City were crap, undiluted Grade A crap, most of the time, especially under Ball, but the ground was always full, crammed with Mancunians swearing and bollocking the players. And then it occurred to me - Maine Road was where you went to vent all your frustrations, somewhere you could get it off your chest entirely guilt-free. God knows where they do it now the team is brilliant.
Reading Tim's book brought back a lot of memories of the time, more than anything the club's fall into dire financial straits under Francis Lee. They survived, obviously, but the book illustrates how close a run thing it was, several times. There are illuminating interviews with many of the individuals involved, and a wealth of little football tales. These are sprinkled throughout the text, tangential anecdotes before the narrative returns to the main thread, and it's for this reason I think the book has been criticised for being a bit all over the place. But, looked at another way, this sums up the club at the time.
I consider what Manchester City has become and what it was then and there's no similarity. They are to all intent and purposes different set-ups entirely, which is just a consequence of the modern, corporate sport. However, City will have fans who possess no recollection whatsoever of the shabby times. I'm sure it's just about unimaginable to square the Behemoth they support now to the shambles that City used to be, but it was a team I rather liked and, in a lot of ways, following them - like watching a black comedy with no end in sight - was just as enjoyable.
By happy coincidence I moved to Manchester in early 1994, happened to fall in with a bunch of City fans rather than those of United and ended up going quite often to Maine Road. Perhaps they were the more appropriate choice for me. Being a Middlesbrough fan I don't think I could have handled the constant successes enjoyed at Old Trafford, whereas there was something deluded, resentful and charming about City, which really appealed. I remember going to Crumpsall Labour Club (£1 for a pint) with a new mate to watch the Derby. He reckoned they were going to win. It ended 5-0 to United. My main experiences of Maine Road were of the Alan Ball and Frank Clark eras, an almost relentless succession of horrors. Common parlance was that Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze was a better player than Eric Cantona - that might have been true in a purely technical sense, but Eric the King wasn't lazy, understood teamwork and could work off the ball, whereas Kinki was, didn't and could/would not.
For a long time City were pretty much my second team. It helped that they regularly collapsed against Boro, which not many sides did, but I always looked out for them and wished things would improve. Eventually they did, but there were further spirals of hell to descend before it started getting better, which are chronicled in this book. Mostly I can recall how busy Maine Road was. City were crap, undiluted Grade A crap, most of the time, especially under Ball, but the ground was always full, crammed with Mancunians swearing and bollocking the players. And then it occurred to me - Maine Road was where you went to vent all your frustrations, somewhere you could get it off your chest entirely guilt-free. God knows where they do it now the team is brilliant.
Reading Tim's book brought back a lot of memories of the time, more than anything the club's fall into dire financial straits under Francis Lee. They survived, obviously, but the book illustrates how close a run thing it was, several times. There are illuminating interviews with many of the individuals involved, and a wealth of little football tales. These are sprinkled throughout the text, tangential anecdotes before the narrative returns to the main thread, and it's for this reason I think the book has been criticised for being a bit all over the place. But, looked at another way, this sums up the club at the time.
I consider what Manchester City has become and what it was then and there's no similarity. They are to all intent and purposes different set-ups entirely, which is just a consequence of the modern, corporate sport. However, City will have fans who possess no recollection whatsoever of the shabby times. I'm sure it's just about unimaginable to square the Behemoth they support now to the shambles that City used to be, but it was a team I rather liked and, in a lot of ways, following them - like watching a black comedy with no end in sight - was just as enjoyable.
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