Roger Haigh

Why Blue?

I spent my first seven years living in Rusholme. We lived in a flat over the Nat West Bank (probably the District Bank in those days), about 50 yards from the Clarence on Wilmslow Road. Match days were memorable for the volume of Traffic at the junction of Great Western Street and Wilmslow Road. Most people had to use public transport, so Wilmslow Road was a procession of buses and coaches. We were close enough to the ground to hear the crowd noise. Football sounded very exciting.

My parents were both from the Huddersfield area, Dad was a lapsed Town fan, but I never wanted to watch anyone but City. My first visit to Maine Road was just after my eighth birthday. It was against Spurs at the start of the 56-57 season. City had won the Cup the previous season so there was a good turnout for the first match of the new season. The result was a 2-2 draw.

When I was in my last year at Junior school both City and the Rags used to give away tickets for reserve team matches, so every fortnight my friends and I crossed Manchester to visit the Academy. Once a Blue, always a Blue!

Memories

Come the 1959/60 season I convinced my parents that I was old enough to attend first team matches. City had about five years, each one like the present (94/95) season. Relegation was always a threat, but eventually the escape attempt failed and the unthinkable happened.

There weren’t a lot of high spots in those days. The 6-2 victory over the Spurs double winning side was one to remember. City had a string of big money signings but money definitely didn’t buy success. Denis Law cost over