Sounds fantastic @RichardG! Best of luck getting it published. As with East_Stand_Always, happy to contribute to funds.
Thanks East_Stand_Always. My most pressing matter at the moment is trying to contact local businesses to see if anyone would sponsor the book (two or three sponsors would probably cover all the costs I need). If that plan doesn't work out then it will be done through advance subscriptions. I'l exhaust option A before going down option B though. But thanks a lot for the offer!
I'd initially been looking at trying to get it out for that, but then a handful of players said - quite correctly - that that decade isn't all about that one game and releasing it then would perhaps give that impression. That decade is about about Super Kev, Justin, Brabs and that first play-off run. It's about that optimism when Brian Little went crazy spending money. It was about the optimism (mark two) under Jan Molby, bringing in Ash, Elliott, Greeny. It was about moving from Boothferry Park to the KC. It was about the feeling that anything could happen when we beat Hartlepool. It was about the Swansea 1-0, the Donny 3-1, the Swansea 3-2, Ash and Yeovil... It was about Nick Barmby signing. It was about 4-2 at Hillsborough, 6-1 v Tranmere, Elliott's late winner against Donny, the 3-1 at Tranmere, 4-0 at Bournemouth, taking Bradford's home stand and all but achieving promotion with the 2-0 win. It was about the celebrations after ***an's missed penalty. It was about Jon Parkin's first few games. It was about that 1-0 win against Leeds. It was about the optimism under Phil Parkinson. It was about the 4-1 win against Cardiff that got us all believing in Phil Brown, Deano coming back, that late equaliser against Stoke and then what was surely to be Deano's final great moment in a City shirt against Cardiff. It was about Phil Brown's self-belief. It was about Adam Pearson leaving having rebuilt City as a force in English football. It was about Duffen, the first million-pound City player, Jay-Jay Okocha! It was about Matt Duke's return after his cancer scare. It was about Fraizer and Turner's brilliance. It was about the wins at West Brom, Leicester, Colchester, Barnsley. The 5-0 at home to Southampton. Ash's late winner against Palace. 2-0 up at a boiling hot Vicarage Road. Myhill's saves. That sickness, horrible sickness, when Henderson scored. The relief when Barmby equalised. The sheer, tear-inducing jubilation when Folan sealed things. The celebrations on the pitch. The surreality of City at Wembley. Yes, it was about Deano's goal, but it was also about Turner's block. Rickett's clearance, Wayne Brown jumping on Boaz. Tears of joy. More tears for those who weren't there. Fear and excitement. The Premier League bell. Folan's winner v Fulham. Newcastle away. ****ing Arsenal! Geo v Tottenham. Being joint top of the league. Man United fans screaming for the final whistle at Old Trafford. Being 2-0 up at Anfield. The half-time team-talk. Seeing Ryan France on the pitch at Stamford Bridge was we drew 0-0 with Chelsea. Manucho! Craig ***an scoring the most important forgotten goal in the club's history. Survival and singing on the pitch... Sorry, but I ****ing love typing all that, even if I do well up at certain points. And I love reliving all that. How lucky were we to witness it? And in case you were wondering, immersing yourself in it for a book is a wonderful thing to be able to do.
Part of my motivation behind doing the book - aside from wanting to raise as much money as possible for a cause that is very important to me - is to help remind people who just how good it was when it was really good. Sadly, I know too many people who feel alienated from a club they would follow round the country with no real prospect of getting anything in return. The book is being written for them, to remind them that the bad times will pass and the good times are always worth sticking the bad times out for, as much as it is being written for anyone.
Thank you for reminding me (not that id ever truly forgotten) why I support City and I will not let the Allams ruin that. You've made me feel quite emotional with all, that they really were the glory days Please take me back! I will certainly be buying a copy, cant wait
