Andreas Larsson

Why Blue?

Just like Matthew Knowles in MCIVTA 685, I sometimes feel that people who call themselves hard-core Man City fans and establish the main criteria as either living in Manchester and/or having a season-ticket, want to exclude us non-Mancunians – or even, anyone not living in Manchester anymore (for whatever reason).

I have no connection with Manchester whatsoever but started supporting the team in the late ’70’s. I’m not sure why anymore but later I have reasoned with myself, and come up with a possible explanation. I think it’s down to the fact that they played in sky blue and white back then, just like my favourite Swedish team (Malmo FF). Oh, and Malmo was the “local” team where I lived then.

Also the word “City” in the name may have had something to do with it, as it sounded cool for a 10-year-old schoolboy in Sweden. Aahh, life was easy when you were a kid, wasn’t it?

Back in those days we didn’t have the comfort of the brilliant service of MCIVTA (thanks guys – and contributors – it’s invaluable to us foreigners!) and I often had to wait until Tuesday for a 50-60-word-long match report in the Pools Mag “Vi Tippa”. Midweek results often simply weren’t reported in the daily papers etc.

I can’t claim to have been present at any of the 5-1’s (Charlton and Man Utd.) nor the 10-1, but I have a rather annoying memory of the latter. As I’d just moved to a new apartment I was holding a small party on the Saturday evening and as the guests arrived they politely enquired about City’s whereabouts on the afternoon, knowing of my obsession for Man City. They all supported the “traditional clubs” to support in Scandinavia, i.e. Liverpool, Tottenham, Man Utd or Arsenal. When I, bursting with joy after spending the afternoon glued to the radio listening to BBC World Service, announced that City had won 10-1, they simply didn’t believe me! Comments like “those results don’t exist in modern day football” and “perhaps you shouldn’t have tasted your aperitif in such quantities” were made and that was the end of the discussion!

My first game watching Man City live was in March 1982 when they played a friendly vs. IFK Gothenburg, who were preparing for a quarter-final in the UEFA Cup (the Swedish season runs from April to October). The game ended 1-1 with City’s goal scored by Steve Kinsey, a favourite player of mine and also the president of the Sweden Branch of the Supporters’ Club. A great talent who never took off. I nowadays can’t believe how I managed to get my parents to drive four hours one-way, partly in a snow blizzard, for a midweek friendly!

In 1984 they were back in Sweden and lost to the just relegated IF Elfsborg (yeah, them!) and a game arranged to celebrate the Swedish government controlled pools company 50th anniversary. 1-2 with City’s goal scored by Jamie Hoyland. Though the result was embarrassing, I got to enter the players’ coach and talk to Mick McCarthy. I was bursting with pride and holding the full autograph book (the Official Man City Autograph Book, of course, ordered by mail order) close to my chest on the long drive back (no, I wasn’t driving myself, and yes, it was about the same distance as the last time, on a very wet midweek evening again).

I have spent many evenings in my youth studying statistics against the particular team that City were to play on the Saturday to come, and even drawing a schemes with complete line-ups, the teams’ crests, the five latest years’ results etc. to be fully prepared for the Saturday afternoon. The afternoon itself was spent in front of either BBC World Service on the radio or, in the winter, in front of the telly as they broadcast a live English game. Saturday evenings were usually spent sulking after yet another disappointing result. After all, when I started to get into City for real, they reached the semi final of one cup and the final of the other, and also beat Man United every now and then, so in those days I was expecting some sort of success. Not so anymore.

For a long period of time I even started to think that my presence was the factor that stopped City from winning. My first league game, travelling with the Scandinavian Branch of the Supporters’ Club, was Aston Villa at home in 1986, with Villa equalising to 2-2 with only minutes left, and that was followed by 0-2 vs. Liverpool (Barry Siddall made his début). A year later I went by myself for the first time, took a cab from Stansted to Selhurst Park for the pricely sum of