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If you had a DeLorean...


awbb

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Saw someone mention "getting the DeLorean" in another thread as well as me mentioning the Summer of Akinbiyi, Thorpe and Andersen signing in some transfer thread about Luke Freeman and it got me thinking that if I could go back in time to any point since I have been following City (90/91) and make a single change regarding a transfer, what would it be?

Stopping us from signing Thorpe would be pretty much the best thing I can think of.

Before I go on. Let me clarify something. I always liked Thorpe. Natural finisher, lazy as hell but would always give us a chance to win if the rest of the team gave him a chance to score. But in 98/99? We did not need him, he cost a lot of money that could have been better spent elsewhere and made a huge difference to our fortunes since then.

My understanding is that summer we really wanted Akinbiyi and paid Scally our club record fee that he was probably worth. We then went after Andersen but Aalborg played mega hardball over him and we backed off and signed Thorpe instead for another million quid... then Aalborg said we could have Andersen for some knock down price of £400K so we said yes and had no money left to go get the Keeper, Right-back, 2 centre backs, and central midfielder (IMHO!) that we needed to stay up that season. Not that I would be allowed to make those specific signings, since the rule is that only 1 thing can be changed!

That million quid could have gone a long way to making a difference, certainly enough to keep in us up that year and bearing in mind we were just coming up to the bonkers money in the Prem, us being in Div 1 for all or a period of, might have made a difference, rather than the 9 seasons we spent slogging away under Pulis, T3WM, Wilson,Tina and GJ in Div 2/League 1.

So, if you had the DeLorean what would you do if you could change one thing that happened at City since you have supported us?

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Dropped Cheesley for the first home game against Stoke in 1976 when he got clattered by Peter Shilton effectively ending his career.

Either that or take an orthopaedic surgeon back to 1976 to do a modern repair on his cruciate and have him back playing in 3-4 months.

One of the biggest "what ifs" in the club's history. Who knows what we might have achieved if he had been able to play for us in the old 1st Division. Certainly wouldn't have been struggling all that season, or probably the subsequent ones.

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10 minutes ago, hodge said:

Get Johnson to bring Maynard in during January in our play off season. May have cost a bit more but by adding him 6 months earlier could it have been what we needed to put us over the line for promotion....

Bradley Orr not getting knocked out in the Play off final is another one of those major "what ifs". Elliott stays in midfield & LJ stays on the bench.

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1 minute ago, Dr Balls said:

Bradley Orr not getting knocked out in the Play off final is another one of those major "what ifs". Elliott stays in midfield & LJ stays on the bench.

On the note of the play off final, Frazier Campbell being loaned to us instead of hull being another :grr:

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28 minutes ago, JamesBCFC said:

The point was to make things better.

He's made things better for Cardiff.  They were 2nd bottom of the table with 8 points when he took over.  They are now 3 above us.  He's taken 22 points from 14 games.  Do you know how many we've taken in the same period? 7 (and we've played a game extra).

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2 hours ago, Dr Balls said:

Bradley Orr not getting knocked out in the Play off final is another one of those major "what ifs". Elliott stays in midfield & LJ stays on the bench.

This.

Also if I had a time travelling Delorean, chances are I'd have an invisibility cloak so I'd run on the pitch and stick my leg out to old windy ass...

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Just now, cityloyal473 said:

He's made things better for Cardiff.  They were 2nd bottom of the table with 8 points when he took over.  They are now 3 above us.  He's taken 22 points from 14 games.  Do you know how many we've taken in the same period? 7 (and we've played a game extra).

At the time of Johnsons appointment is when you said though.

Warnock never intended to stay at Rotherham and was planning on that being his last job (from interviews done last year)

So what would have happened is he would have brought in some of his typical expensive wages signings, tore up any background work we were doing and left in the summer, meaning we had to start all over again.

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6 hours ago, awbb said:

Saw someone mention "getting the DeLorean" in another thread as well as me mentioning the Summer of Akinbiyi, Thorpe and Andersen signing in some transfer thread about Luke Freeman and it got me thinking that if I could go back in time to any point since I have been following City (90/91) and make a single change regarding a transfer, what would it be?

Stopping us from signing Thorpe would be pretty much the best thing I can think of.

Before I go on. Let me clarify something. I always liked Thorpe. Natural finisher, lazy as hell but would always give us a chance to win if the rest of the team gave him a chance to score. But in 98/99? We did not need him, he cost a lot of money that could have been better spent elsewhere and made a huge difference to our fortunes since then.

My understanding is that summer we really wanted Akinbiyi and paid Scally our club record fee that he was probably worth. We then went after Andersen but Aalborg played mega hardball over him and we backed off and signed Thorpe instead for another million quid... then Aalborg said we could have Andersen for some knock down price of £400K so we said yes and had no money left to go get the Keeper, Right-back, 2 centre backs, and central midfielder (IMHO!) that we needed to stay up that season. Not that I would be allowed to make those specific signings, since the rule is that only 1 thing can be changed!

That million quid could have gone a long way to making a difference, certainly enough to keep in us up that year and bearing in mind we were just coming up to the bonkers money in the Prem, us being in Div 1 for all or a period of, might have made a difference, rather than the 9 seasons we spent slogging away under Pulis, T3WM, Wilson,Tina and GJ in Div 2/League 1.

So, if you had the DeLorean what would you do if you could change one thing that happened at City since you have supported us?

My memory is a bit hazy. When did we sign Sebok, Testimitanu and Sorensen?

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As I recall, by Back To The Future II the DeLorean could go forward in time too.

I would go forward 10 years and pick up the future Lee Johnson and bring him back here, thus achieving universal approval from all sides on OTIB by a) not changing the manager, but b) no longer having to deal with an inexperienced experimental manager learning on the job. Everyone happy?

(I'd also pick up that Sports Almanac with all the results, so we can make millions of transfer funds betting on sports, thus guaranteeing LJ will be a success. If there's time left I'd ask Doc Brown to take us to the UWE stadium, but I don't think he ever got the DeLorean to go that many years forward).

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1 minute ago, WarksRobin said:

My memory is a bit hazy. When did we sign Sebok, Testimitanu and Sorensen?

Soren Andersen was signed by John Ward at the start of the season along with Akinbiyi.

Lennartsson signed Sebok, Testimitanu and that goalkeeper Bo Andersen mid-season.

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6 hours ago, awbb said:

Saw someone mention "getting the DeLorean" in another thread as well as me mentioning the Summer of Akinbiyi, Thorpe and Andersen signing in some transfer thread about Luke Freeman and it got me thinking that if I could go back in time to any point since I have been following City (90/91) and make a single change regarding a transfer, what would it be?

Stopping us from signing Thorpe would be pretty much the best thing I can think of.

Before I go on. Let me clarify something. I always liked Thorpe. Natural finisher, lazy as hell but would always give us a chance to win if the rest of the team gave him a chance to score. But in 98/99? We did not need him, he cost a lot of money that could have been better spent elsewhere and made a huge difference to our fortunes since then.

My understanding is that summer we really wanted Akinbiyi and paid Scally our club record fee that he was probably worth. We then went after Andersen but Aalborg played mega hardball over him and we backed off and signed Thorpe instead for another million quid... then Aalborg said we could have Andersen for some knock down price of £400K so we said yes and had no money left to go get the Keeper, Right-back, 2 centre backs, and central midfielder (IMHO!) that we needed to stay up that season. Not that I would be allowed to make those specific signings, since the rule is that only 1 thing can be changed!

That million quid could have gone a long way to making a difference, certainly enough to keep in us up that year and bearing in mind we were just coming up to the bonkers money in the Prem, us being in Div 1 for all or a period of, might have made a difference, rather than the 9 seasons we spent slogging away under Pulis, T3WM, Wilson,Tina and GJ in Div 2/League 1.

So, if you had the DeLorean what would you do if you could change one thing that happened at City since you have supported us?

It's the one season that frustrates me the most too. And I agree with your points.

John Ward and SC are my least liked managers for this Club...both won us promotion from League 1, then both screwed up. They were similar in many ways. Both said they couldn't do any better with what they had. Both complained it was the boards fault and didn't get the backing they wanted. Both sulked and got in a strop.

We had some great players that season, and even though we went down, it was one of my most fondest years following City.

Benny was a great coach imo...he was dropped in at the deep end though. It was backs to the wall stuff...and I remember the fans really getting behind Benny and the lads, even though we struggled most match's. The West Brom away game that season epitomised the whole sorry affair.

I remember talking to our CM Carl Hutchings in Po Na Na's one night...he said he was out of his depth, and felt like a headless chicken some games, as it was such a big step up for him.

I still to this day wonder how things would have been different if we had stayed up and kept Benny on as a Coach...not manager.

Some good players in that team... Bell, Brennan, Tinnion, Murray, Doc, Testi, Akinbiyi, Andersson, Seebok, Thorpe, Taylor.... Just needed a few more in the positions you stated and that would have kept us up.

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Would never have appointed Russel Osman. Seemed easy option at the time and although initially had a modicum of sucess (kept us up, Liverpool win) the style of football became dour and conservative. Fell out with Jackie and filled the side with cloggers such as Dave Martin and Glenn Pennyfather. Took thr club along time to get over that. Fans stayed away in droves. Still seems like a bad dream

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Just now, tinman85 said:

If Warnock had been appointed and given the money LJ has thrown away we would now be top 6. 

 

4 hours ago, JamesBCFC said:

 

Warnock never intended to stay at Rotherham and was planning on that being his last job (from interviews done last year)

So what would have happened is he would have brought in some of his typical expensive wages signings, tore up any background work we were doing and left in the summer, meaning we had to start all over again.

 

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6 hours ago, hodge said:

Get Johnson to bring Maynard in during January in our play off season. May have cost a bit more but by adding him 6 months earlier could it have been what we needed to put us over the line for promotion....

This, any goal scorer signed in that January window would have surely seen us go on to clinch automatic promotion. Gary Johnson's biggest mistake by far, and he made plenty thereafter.

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Just now, tinman85 said:

He left Rotherham because they are hardly an exciting project! He is at Cardiff for the long haul and has already hoisted them above us with no money. 

He left Rotherham because he was retiring.

He has spoken in interviews about "coming out of retirement" for the Cardiff job.

 

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2 minutes ago, tinman85 said:

If he had been offered the city job he would have taken it 

You seem to think we are a far bigger draw than we actually are.

 

Even then, the point was improvement.

Warnock is a great short term manager.



Personally I'd prefer the club had a longer term plan than "**** it, shit or bust"

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