Mike “Tomos” Thomas

Why Blue?

For the last 16 years I have blamed my affliction on Peter Barnes against Hungary – seeing him shimmying down the touch line. Yes a wonderful sight, and Joe Corrigan and Tommy Caton and Paul Power all played for City and I didn’t want to support Nottm. Forest any more. But for Christ’s sake that’s 16 years ago, I am now a rational thinking human being, why do this to myself, ourselves every season?

Last night I watched Fever Pitch, having read the book, bought the t-shirt, seen the film, ate the pie, etc. A point is made that once Arsenal won the title the relationship changed and that he should support a crap side so that he doesn’t get let down. To me he was right, relegation from the Premier hurt – but we had people to blame (Ball, Horton, Swales, Maggie Thatcher for running down the inner cities, anyone called Harold, etc.) but then relegation from the First didn’t hurt as much. We had a proven manager who just couldn’t work it out – he pulled club behind the scenes around, put a lot of time into restructuring and the youth team. He agreed that he just didn’t spend enough time with the first team players. Then Big Joe came back and should have kept us up, they got a lot more points under him than in the same length of time under Big Frank apparently. We have to get a person with a normal nickname – something like “Honest and Hard Working Bill” or “Solid and Dependable with Sudden Flashes of Genius Jones”. This year we are going to struggle to get up, I know we are there or thereabouts and that a run of 7 or 8 matches will put us back in the hunt, but what if we go up and come back down – I would hope that Joe has a masterplan of sorts a 5-year plan.

At the moment people feel sorry for me, they pat me on the back and say that we will return. I have given myself a time limit before I get really annoyed with City. 5 years and us back at the top of the first or in the Premier. A lot has to be done – Eastlands might give us/them the kick we/they need.

Why Blue?

Because it would be too easy not to be – and who else could I really support with the conviction that no matter how crap or good my life becomes my team’s life is worse? All my mates would call me a turncoat as well – although they support unsuccessful sides they are nowhere near as unsuccessful as us.

CTICTOARNTB (City till I can think of another reason not to be)

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #454 on