Freeman's Wharfer Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 O'Neill backed the wrong side in the boardroom battles of the late 1990s for his own rather selfish reasons. He supported the Elsom/King faction because he knew that they would spend money. Unfortunately this was money that the club couldn't afford to spend. The so called 'Gang of Four' were demonised at the time (by myself as much as anybody else), accused of not having the nest interests of the club at heart. It turns out that they did. They wanted to cut spending to secure the long term future of the club. O'Neill was quite clear in public about which boardroom faction he favoured. This is because he knew the fans adored him and would side with him. Facing the vitriol of the vast majority of our fans, the Gang of Four could never win. We paid for it in the end. O'Neill buggered off (which was fine in itself) and the victorious board members pissed away millions on Peter Taylor's list of low quality transfer targets. O'Neill has a track record for not giving a toss about the clubs he has managed. He left Norwich for us because Robert Chase refused to part with cash for Dean Windass. And he left Villa in the shit because Randy Lerner wouldn't reinvest the incoming transfer fees in the playing squad. These two men, plus our own Gang of Four, wanted to run their football clubs like businesses. O'Neill didn't give a toss about that and for me has to take a share of the blame (along with the board, who take an even bigger share of the blame, and Taylor, who can be blamed for a little) for our eventual administration. I don't completely disagree with you but I certainly do aspects. Wasn't the main issue between the two sides about the stadium move? O'Neill always wanted the new stadium to press on to the next level and often talked about finding it difficult to sell Filbert Street to potential new signings. I think although ultimately the payments on it have burdened us I think we're in a better position with having the stadium now than we would have been had we been relegated after MON left and still had Filbert Street. I don't agree that he has a track record about not giving a toss. He certainly did care a lot about Leicester, and I think at Villa he was a little hard done to in the sense that most of the players he signed were later sold for a profit. Look at where they've ended up since he left.
Corky Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Taylor's home form was very strong for several months. Our away form was probably the worst in the club's history, 12 straight defeats after a promising start.
okie fox Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 1.Total disbelief and bewilderment at losing the 1963 Cup Final This was my worst moment too. We were supposed to win, but had an off day.
Pegosteve Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Every time we have a lead and throw it away. 4-3 to Newcastle and Wolves after being 3-1 and fvcking 3-0 up were bad days. How about 3 - 1 up going into injury time at Middlesboro and drawing 3 - 3 that combined with the Wolves defeat probably sent us down!! The Wycombe result was the start of the down hill spiral culminating in my all time low in 45 years of relegation to the third tier. Strangely though this re kindled my passion!
Pegosteve Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 That was mine too, outside the ground we were being taunted by the spurs fans, shouting "fak arf bak u narf, you norvun kants" I Couldnt help mesen, I just smacked the **** on his hooter in temper, went down like a sack of spuds he did....wasnt proud of it afterwards, but felt good at the time Just shows their mentality when they think Leicester is "Up North" Bet you didn't knock any sense into him!!!
Pegosteve Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Was going to say going into Administration, but that's a very good call. Though maybe Harlow Town. 8th January 1980. Deep shame. I was at the Harlow game and this was total embarrassment, especially as I had tried to get away before the end and ended up getting caught up on the front row by the tunnel as the players came off. I think their ground was no more than a Sports Centre!!
Ash Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 5-1 Forest!.....Watching that little shit Earnshaw net his 3rd killeddddddddd me!
Raw Dykes Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Just shows their mentality when they think Leicester is "Up North" Bet you didn't knock any sense into him!!! Well it is up north to a southerner. Being a midlander is a bit like being mixed-race. The southerners only see the northerner in you, and the northerners only see the southerner in you. I used to live in the south, and got used to being called northern, then I went out with a girl from Wigan, and all of a sudden I'm a southerner. No! I'm neither and I'm both!
Raw Dykes Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Got to be losing at Wolves after being 3-0 up at half time. My best mate at the time was a Wolves fan, so I was winding him up something rotten, sure that we already had the win. I felt like I'd been dealt an extremely physical discourtesy that day.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Wycombe - Nothing will come close to how shit I felt after that! It was bad for me too. I live there, and can remember all the laughs, for months after, when wearing my City shirt.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Losing 2-0 t0 Spurs in the FA Cup semi final in, i think, 1981. Being young and expecting us to win made it worse. Over the years i have just come to expect the worst,so it's not quite as bad! No, that was the F.A.Cup Final. I was there as a lad. Still feel gutted, to this day. Ten men versus eleven. No subs. for injuries.
Ron Combo Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Hearing that Jimmy Bloomfield had died. A real gentleman.
Stay Positive Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 That's an easy one - I got married on the opening day when we lost 5-0 to Bolton. Then again, if I HADN'T got married on that day, I would have been there to see it, so maybe I was lucky.
Pegosteve Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 No, that was the F.A.Cup Final. I was there as a lad. Still feel gutted, to this day. Ten men versus eleven. No subs. for injuries. We did play them in cup semi final the weekend the Falklands conflict broke. Played at Villa Park we were second division at the time. I was there too but not really expecting to win so was good day out!
Burmesefox Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 No, that was the F.A.Cup Final. I was there as a lad. Still feel gutted, to this day. Ten men versus eleven. No subs. for injuries. No, that was April 1982. Garth Crooks and Ian Wilson own goal.................ask Youngy he'll remember it well after we beat Shrewsbury 5-2 and he went in goal!
LJS Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 I don't completely disagree with you but I certainly do aspects. Wasn't the main issue between the two sides about the stadium move? O'Neill always wanted the new stadium to press on to the next level and often talked about finding it difficult to sell Filbert Street to potential new signings. I think although ultimately the payments on it have burdened us I think we're in a better position with having the stadium now than we would have been had we been relegated after MON left and still had Filbert Street. I don't agree that he has a track record about not giving a toss. He certainly did care a lot about Leicester, and I think at Villa he was a little hard done to in the sense that most of the players he signed were later sold for a profit. Look at where they've ended up since he left. The stadium was certainly an issue. But it's worth remembering that the move was agreed by the time he left, so to say it was the main issue is probably stretching it. It's hard to know without being privy to the conversations/arguments, of course. But in terms of club finance he left us in a bit of trouble with the club unable to shift some of the players of his era because of their astronomical wages. When we needed to get rid of players we simply couldn't. Villa are were certainly better off on the pitch under O'Neill. But then they should have been with the money he spent. I'm still a great fan of his. I can just see his shortcomings is all. In terms of caring about Leicester, I doubt he did. And why should he have? Just another job to him and I wouldn't expect anything different. He still went to Sunderland matches when the opportunity arose while he was our manager, and Celtic was an obvious choice for a catholic Ulsterman. We were his third favourite club at best and that was only because City were paying his wages. He always had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about the fans following the post Sheffield United furore. I think that left him with mixed memories about the club to say the very least. Although that's just supposition on my own part, obviously.
Freeman's Wharfer Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 The stadium was certainly an issue. But it's worth remembering that the move was agreed by the time he left, so to say it was the main issue is probably stretching it. It's hard to know without being privy to the conversations/arguments, of course. But in terms of club finance he left us in a bit of trouble with the club unable to shift some of the players of his era because of their astronomical wages. When we needed to get rid of players we simply couldn't. Villa are were certainly better off on the pitch under O'Neill. But then they should have been with the money he spent. I'm still a great fan of his. I can just see his shortcomings is all. In terms of caring about Leicester, I doubt he did. And why should he have? Just another job to him and I wouldn't expect anything different. He still went to Sunderland matches when the opportunity arose while he was our manager, and Celtic was an obvious choice for a catholic Ulsterman. We were his third favourite club at best and that was only because City were paying his wages. He always had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about the fans following the post Sheffield United furore. I think that left him with mixed memories about the club to say the very least. Although that's just supposition on my own part, obviously. How did he leave us in financial trouble?! Rubbish! The players on astronomical wages that we couldn't shift were either Taylor's signings or players from the O'Neill era who were given massive new contracts after he left. I have obviously got a great fondness for players like Savage, Elliott, Izzet and Lennon but they knew when O'Neill left they could take the piss a little in asking for massive contracts and the club was stupid enough to give them to them. I can't imagine that had MON still been about those players would have dared push for such massive contracts because he'd of had them out the door (I don't think would have let the club give those contracts out). I think that this article proves your supposition about him not caring unfounded: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Martin-O-Neill-heart-soul-club-club-baby/story-12051933-detail/story.html As does the fact he turned down Spurs, Leeds etc. who would certainly have been able to pay him more.
melrose Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 No, that was April 1982. Garth Crooks and Ian Wilson own goal.................ask Youngy he'll remember it well after we beat Shrewsbury 5-2 and he went in goal! Yes It's still the worst one for me, they let that cockerel on the pitch & the sunday papers slated the city fans for singing anti Ossie Ardiles songs.... Argy tw@
Kitchandro Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Yes It's still the worst one for me, they let that cockerel on the pitch & the sunday papers slated the city fans for singing anti Ossie Ardiles songs.... Argy tw@ Not surprising since they are a London Club. And I've heard their fans were chanting 'Argentina! Argentina!' ?
Jollie Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 The last game I ever saw at Filberts St we got battered by Derby...horrible.
melrose Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Not surprising since they are a London Club. And I've heard their fans were chanting 'Argentina! Argentina!' ? That's right, soon after that Ardiles started spouting shite about the "malvinas" in the press, mind you, I heard somewhere that his cousin or some relative of his went down with the belgrano.
LJS Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 How did he leave us in financial trouble?! Rubbish! The players on astronomical wages that we couldn't shift were either Taylor's signings or players from the O'Neill era who were given massive new contracts after he left. I have obviously got a great fondness for players like Savage, Elliott, Izzet and Lennon but they knew when O'Neill left they could take the piss a little in asking for massive contracts and the club was stupid enough to give them to them. I can't imagine that had MON still been about those players would have dared push for such massive contracts because he'd of had them out the door (I don't think would have let the club give those contracts out). I think that this article proves your supposition about him not caring unfounded: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Martin-O-Neill-heart-soul-club-club-baby/story-12051933-detail/story.html As does the fact he turned down Spurs, Leeds etc. who would certainly have been able to pay him more. His actions in the boardroom battles of the late 1990s were part of the reason we ended up in financial trouble down further down the line. O'Neill backed the boardroom faction that went on to dish out the cash. He knew what he was doing and he had little regard for what happened to the club after he left. As I've now said twice, there is no reason why he should have had any regard at all for the club beyond his own tenure. I don't blame him for that. I just refuse to hero worship the man. I enjoyed his time at the club. But I recognise that he isn't infallible. And that article proves nothing. So he said nice things about the club? What else would you expect him to say to the Mercury. O'Neill is an intelligent man. He knows how to use the media. In fact you have provided the evidence of that yourself by bringing up the Leeds/Spurs links. He waited until the last minute to commit his future to City on both occasions. Do you honestly believe he did that out of love for the club? Of course he didn't. He did it to strengthen his own position within the club. To let the board know that he was in charge of his own destiny and would leave if he wanted. He was making them sweat. He encouraged the media fever. Brian Clough did the exact same thing to Forest in the 1980s when he expressed an interest in the vacant Wales position. If anything that article demonstrates the arrogance of the man: "I felt as if it was my club". I am not anti O'Neill. I just don't look back through rose tinted spectacles. I don't believe for a moment that O'Neill was the biggest factor in our later financial woes. But his actions did play a role. I've argued nothing more than that.
Tielemans63 Posted 23 August 2011 Posted 23 August 2011 Worst feeling I've had watching City was when Juninho scored the first goal with about 20 mins to go for Atletico Madrid at Filbert Street in 97. We were bloody brilliant in that game. I was 17 at the time and I swear we haven't played that well since. They had one of the best sides in Europe that year and we totally outplayed them for 70 minutes. I remember the Atletico players started to take the piss with their challenges in the box when it became obvious we weren't going to get anything from that ref. Everytime we got into the box someone was grounded and that bastard let them get away with it. Then Juninho scored against the run of play and everyone knew that was it. Still hurts just thinking about it!
Guest Basildon Fox Posted 24 August 2011 Posted 24 August 2011 The night we were blatantly cheated out of a place in the 2nd round of the then UEFA cup by a dirty cheating twat of a referee. 3 blatant penalties and Parker getting sent off for taking a quick free kick. I had been ill all day dragged myself off my sick bed, spewed up, got in to the Victory and sunk a few pints to try and feel better. Didn''t work and the way the game went left me mightily pissed off. Also when we got murdered by Man City in the FA Cup in 94 at Maine Road. We were absolutely ****ing atrocious that day. Edit: 7-1 against both Newcastle and Sheff Wed in the same season. Went to both of those at it was just embarrasing.
Karljohn Posted 24 August 2011 Posted 24 August 2011 Obvious ones like Bolton 0-5, Admin, Stoke away, Wycombe but one that really grips my shit is Chelsea away Fa Cup the night that Erland Johnson got shot by a sniper from the shed end and fell down in our penalty box with not a city player within 3 yards of him, the infamous Mike Reid awarding a spot kick and Lebouef scoring to knock us out, I thought our name was on the FA Cup that year. I was within inches of landing one on Lebouef aswell at the end as he walked down the tunnel, but I think MON beat me to it bless him.
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