The rise to prominence of Manchester City in recent years has been one of the biggest stories in English football. Money has been pumped into the club and accusations of buying success were inevitable, but it can also be argued that their success has led to a more competitive time in English football. I think I speak for everyone when saying that four potential champions is a more interesting state of affairs than a one horse race. Dont let the astronomical rise fool you though; Manchester City have a long, storied history and of course hidden within that history is a myriad of facts and interesting titbits, 10 of which Ill outline here. Maybe you know these, maybe you didnt.
10. They Have Only Held The British Transfer Record Twice
Despite being accused of buying their success, Manchester City have only held the British Transfer Record on two separate occasions, some 30 years apart. In 1979 the club paid £1.45million to Wolverhampton Wanderers for Steve Daley, a midfielder from Yorkshire. This transfer couldnt be described as a success in the slightest however, with The Observer referring to it as the biggest waste of money in football history. Daley only spent two years at Maine Road, scoring four goals in 48 appearances, before heading out to the United States. He retired from the game in 1986, to move into the pub trade. The second occasion was the moment Manchester City went from club spending a lot of money to a serious proposition, although this wasnt down to the performances of the purchase. Robinho was bought from Real Madrid for £32.5m, on the same day that the Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club. His time at City isnt really remembered as being anything fantastic, but it is easy to forget that he was actually the fourth top scorer in the league in his first year, with 14 goals. Less than 18 months after moving he found himself heading back to Brazil on loan, and six months later he was transferred to AC Milan for less than half of his original fee.
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
