The day Man City hit rock bottom - and the players had to 'run the gauntlet' back to their cars
19.12.2023 - 09:29
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A day Manchester City fans will never forget saw the team hit their lowest ebb. It was December 19, 1998 - exactly 25 years ago today - and things were about to get really bad for City.
Nowadays, City fans might only go to York for shopping or fun before Christmas. But 20 years ago, 2,000 of them went there feeling worried. City were in the third tier, which had never happened before, and they were losing games they should have won.
Looking back, we can smile about what happened at Bootham Crescent, but it wasn't funny then. Gareth Taylor, who played for City then and now coaches the Manchester City Women's team, said: "People won't believe this story now if they've only recently started following City."
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York, who would be relegated to the fourth tier at Maine Road on the final day of the season, took the lead within two minutes thanks to Gordon Connelly. Craig Russell managed to level the score for City in the first half, but Andy Dawson's late goal secured a memorable victory for York and a notorious defeat for City. This left City in 12th place in Division Two, the lowest they had ever been in their 118-year history.
"It felt like it couldn't get any worse so it was a chance to draw a line under it and start afresh," recalls Nicky Weaver, who was just 19 and playing his first season of first-team football.
Dave Wallace, editor of the King of the Kippax fanzine, was there with his wife Sue. "We were waiting for the resurgence of Manchester City," he said. "We thought we'd stroll through that division, but it was City so that was never going to be easy."
As City's players left the pitch, the