wish the media would remember one basic truth that older City fans remember clearly!
It never works if you are constantly reacting to your neighbours and rivals actions! There is a clear parallel between the later Swales days and what United are doing today! Peter Swales was obsessed with overtaking Man United and the sanctioning of the Daley, Reeves and Francis signings in particular was a forlorn attempt to close the gap not just in success but in prestige! Maybe the Francis signing has most similarities to Ronaldo! Great player, scored on debut, City top of league at Christmas, injured second half of season, City faded, left soon afterwards, short term fix, expensive and no long term planning! But Swales never sorted out the core issues to get City back to the success of the late 60's and early 70's. He employed a succession of poor managers and although there were brief periods of hope e.g. getting to FA cup final under Bond, nothing ever really got sorted. A washed out Malcom Alison returned briefly in an attempt to recreate former glories and was a disaster. But the real issue was that the ownership of the club at the time was really poor and reactive and this is what always seemed to bring us down! Does this story remind you of anywhere? Perhaps an intelligent journalist might note the lessons of history! My only hope would be Samuel's!