John Roughton

Why Blue?

Look, the point is, we are City till we die. My 66-year-old father, my 6-year-old daughter and I went to watch City play Crewe and beat them 4-0 in one of the most entertaining and one-sided games I have ever seen. Frankly, I was delighted, because my daughter is still at an impressionable age, and I need all the help I can get to persuade her that there is only one football team worthy of her support! For me, it was the fulfilment of an ambition I hadn’t realised previously, as I hadn’t appreciated the possibility of the three of us being at Maine Road together, given my father’s poor health and my daughter’s interest in small animals, giving sufficient opportunity for my ambition to be realised. But for anyone in the Main stand (block HR) you may have noticed the collective hug (and flag waving on my daughter’s part) as each goal was scored, albeit you may not have appreciated the collective significance for me.

26 years since City lost to Wolves at Wembley in the League Cup final (me and my dad in tears). 18 years since my father’s first heart attack. 9 years since my wife’s first miscarriage, less than 12 months since City nearly finished us all off against Gillingham. The point is, had we lost last May, we would now be near the top of the 2nd Division, with 30,000+ fans turning up each week. Frankly, because we have no choice – it is our birthright, or our choice through some bizarre set of circumstances or other, to be City fans. And come mid August, whether we are playing Sunderland or Stockport, we’ll still be there, regardless. Let’s hope it’s Sunderland (and let’s hope we beat them) but if it’s not, let’s not forget why we support City, and it’s not because we are glory seekers. Tranmere, Portsmouth, Birmingham and Blackburn stand in our way, and if they stop us, they won’t stop us, because what is important is our support, not our apparent success (our support is our success, if we want it to be). Blue Moon, I saw you standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.

Come on City! Come on City! Come on City! Come on City! but if you lose, we’ll still be there.

First printed in: MCIVTA Newsletter #598 on