Yes, I’ll get it out of the way – I remember this historic match so-very well…
‘THAT’ game in November 1987…
Usual bus into Manchester and then it was either a bus from Piccadilly Gardens up Oxford Road / Wilmslow Road and then a ‘walk through’ OR a Finglands bus from Manchester City Centre to Upper Lloyd Street and then a shorter walk to the hallowed ground, Maine Road. I can’t quite remember which one it was on that occasion…
It was an overcast, chilly November afternoon and a little misty, I seem to recall – a perfect Manchester day for a game of footy in mid-Autumn.
Our visitors came out in a changed top that was later described as a beer mat or having the look of a bruised banana. It was an unusual, striking top at the time but I recall thinking around that same period that if you swapped the yellow for red, then it was very similar to an away top that we had around that era also.
Huddersfield brought a fair number of away fans with a few flags draped over some of the seating but I remember them-looking a little lost in the large, old-looking Platt Lane end, which still had wooden benches as opposed to plastic seats before its redevelopment.
The official attendance in the old second division / now Championship was 19,583 but I remember the NOISE, at least, towards the end of the game - and most-certainly around the stadium afterwards - making it feel like there was a fair-few thousand more for sure.
Generally speaking, I think I was stood fairly central in the Kippax Stand in those days but as we were 9-1 up, with former City player Andy May having pulled one back from the penalty spot before-then acknowledging the home fans in that very-same stand; I’d shuffled over to the right-hand-side in readiness to exit via the most appropriate gate. What a position I was in, therefore, to see goal-number 10 hit the back of the net!
David White, assisted by Paul Simpson, burst clear, quite likely offside I have to add, and although at one stage it looked like he’d dragged his shimmy around their keeper a little too wide; the pacy right-winger slotted home to make footballing history. A hat trick each from 3 players in the same side in one game. The stadium erupted!
There was a REAL buzz outside the ground after the match too as I made my way behind the North Stand and towards the Finglands buses that lined up ready to take jubilant City fans back into Manchester’s centre. I recall constantly shaking my head in utter disbelief as I made my way to where the buses were situated.
“10-1. TEN!”, I think I kept muttering to myself.
We went on a short run of 3 wins and a draw after that match too but still only finished 9th and ‘stayed down’ that season.
I was SO buoyed by the 10-1 result that I just couldn’t resist adding Huddersfield Town away, in the return league fixture, to my future plans. I went…and we lost 1-0. Typical City…and quite-typical of most of my away trips in those days too. But, still, I have fond memories of their old ground, Leeds Road, which had their own, Kippax-like stand down one side.
Now, I don’t know whether back then my mum & dad had a regular Sunday newspaper on order for delivery – I don’t recall either of them regularly nipping out to the local shop every Sunday morning – OR whether I decided that I wanted to re-live every moment of the match by reading, in detail, any & every report about the game. However, what I DO recall was having a Sunday paper in my hands sat in my mum & dad’s living room eager to see what had been written about my side’s amazing, high-scoring league win the previous day.
Back page? No. Fair enough – I suppose I had to accept that we were in the second tier of English football and not in the ‘top flight’.
First, inside back pages? NO?! What the…
Surely, then, the next pages in. Nothing. Now my previous day’s glee was slowly starting to be replaced by irritation.
No, it took a THIRD turn of the back pages to find ANYTHING about our goal-filled, record-breaking match. Clearly I’d have to wait for Monday night’s Manchester Evening News to get a proper report.
And some people wondered why we started to sing, “We’re not really here”. For me, at least, this was just one example of why I sang it…
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| Etihad Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 11/11).
A very fluid 4-2-3-1 / 4-5-1 (perhaps occasionally 3-6-1):
____________________Alvarez____________________
Grealish___________________________________Bobb
____________________Foden_____________________
____________Kovacic_________Lewis______________
Gvardiol__________________________________Walker
_____________Ake____________Akanji______________
____________________Ortega______________________
Subs: Ederson, Gomez, Alleyne, Dias, Susoho, De Bruyne, Wright, Doku & Hamilton.
A change of keeper for the F.A. Cup sees Stefan take the gloves for this one.
A back-4 of Josko, Nathan, Manuel & Kyle, is my guess.
A fluid but largely twin-defensive midfield I reckon, which consists of Mateo & Rico; with Jack, Phil & Oscar ahead of those with more attacking duties.
Julian continues ‘up front’.
Ederson retreats to the bench, while Sergio, Max & Ruben provide defensive cover from the side. Mahamadou, Kevin & Jacob could be our midfielders in ‘the 9’ waiting to get the call, while a-possible returning Jeremy & Micah make up our reserve wingers / forwards on the bench.
Notable absences:
- Scott Carson – Suffering with an illness that appears to be sweeping through our squad at the moment, by all accounts.
- John Stones – Not yet training with the rest of the squad following his recent ankle injury but getting better, we are told. An unknown return date was also the message from our manager on Friday.
- Kalvin Phillips – Out with the same virus that’s going around the camp.
- Rodri – Back home in Spain following the death of his grandma.
- Bernardo Silva – Out also with the same virus.
- Matheus Nunes – Out with the same illness too.
- Erling Haaland – Erling returned to training last Thursday but our manager informed us that there’s still some doubt about a return for both this and our following league fixture on 13th January.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
But, all things considered, that’s a good side against a struggling Championship outfit…as long as we don’t get bullied and/or overrun in midfield we should be fine.
Result? Another 10-1’er? Well, at the risk of sounding arrogant there is every possibility. Our visitors have played 26 Championship games, won only 5, drawn 10 and lost 11; scoring just 26 in those-same 26 matches whilst conceding 44. Not good.
They currently sit 1 place and 3 points above the ‘drop zone’ and their last 5 league games looks like this: D L W L L.
10-1? At home, having had a week’s rest with top players returning from injury to give a good-feel-boost to the camp? Huh…why not?
NB: Those were the words I prepared in this longer-than-usual, pre-match blog-posting BEFORE ‘Part 1’ of Pep’s pre-match press conference; where he informed us that we had at least seven players out either injured, ill or dealing with a death in the family.
The picture has changed significantly - I can no longer envisage a 10-1 scoreline, if it was ever a possibility that is. Regardless, I just can’t see anything other than us-progressing to the 4th round.
It’s a City win for me.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game: Finally! A match without rain…or even wind! Winter as it should be, for me. Dry, sunny intervals and cold. 5C is the match temperature and there’s barely a breeze to speak of. Wrap up and enjoy!
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| Solidarity |
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