Manchester City Considered Merging With Manutd In 1964

[theater of dream]

Untung ngga jadi yah...
Revealed: How Manchester
City considered merging
with United in 1964



Only a very brave madman would suggest it
these days – and even he would think twice
about it.
But back in the Sixties, United and City sat
around a table to think about the unthinkable,
and discuss the disgusting – a merger
between the two clubs.
The story of the moment when the Blues’
vice-chairman Frank Johnson mooted the
idea of the two clubs becoming one is told in
the excellent new history of City, written by
football historian Gary James.
The idea, which popped into Johnson’s head
in 1964, was given short shrift by United, and
was fiercely opposed by others at City – but
it was discussed more than once by the two
clubs.
With hindsight, such a move seems incredible
but the early 60s were very different –
indeed, James sees that period as perhaps
the lowest point in City’s history, even
eclipsing the dive into English football’s third
division, in the late 90s.
And relations between the two clubs were
also quite different. They were rivals on the
field, but off it, everything was amicable.
There was plenty of goodwill around from the
fact that City had allowed United to use their
Maine Road ground as Old Trafford was
being re-built following its World War Two
bombing.
City had also let United use their floodlit
stadium for European games in the mid-
Fifties, before the Reds got their own.
But they were still two clubs with proud
histories, and whose supporters – while
lacking the hatred which crept into some fans
in later years – were fiercely independent of
each other.
The merger was never likely to happen, and
perhaps the main significance of its proposal
was to illustrate the dark moments City were
going through at that time – and make all
the more brilliant the revival under Joe
Mercer and Malcolm Allison.
Between the two world wars, City had been
the glamour club, while United had struggled
both financially and on the pitch, before the
appointment of ex-Blues star Matt Busby as
manager had revived their fortunes.
They had struggled in the immediate
aftermath of the 1958 Munich air disaster but
by 1964 Busby had built a new team which
was heading for the league title, and a
merger would have done nothing for them.
“The idea was killed by both clubs before it
ever became public,” said James. “I spoke to
Eric Alexander whose dad Albert was
chairman at the time, and he said Frank
Johnson, who came up with the idea, often
came up with crazy ideas.
“Another of his plans was to make the entire
league regionalised into north and south.
“But City [under then manager George
Poyser] were at a real low in their history at
the time. In terms of league position, it
wasn’t as bad as 1998-99, but in terms of
general morale, atmosphere and support it
was by far the lowest point in the club’s
history.
“In the late Nineties, we still had over 30,000
going to games, and that meant the club still
had a high profile. In 1964-65 we were in the
second division, support had dropped to a
low of less than 15,000, and general interest
in the club had also dropped.
“I always believed in the Nineties that City
would come back, because of the strength of
the support, but in those days in the Sixties a
lot of people didn’t feel that way.
“At that time, a lot of the ‘town’ clubs like
Bolton, Burnley and Blackpool, who had all
been major powers, began to struggle, and
clubs like Accrington Stanley and Bradford
Park Avenue were dying. There was a feeling
that this could happen to any club. In fact, all
it needed at City was a plan and a vision,
and to bring in the right manager.”
Of course, that is exactly what happened.
Mercer was appointed, he brought in Allison
and their dynamic partnership saw City
promoted and lifting the league title within
three seasons, before going on to win the FA
Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners’
Cup.
The appointment of Mercer was not widely
hailed at the time, said James.
“When they brought Joe in, he had suffered a
stroke while he was Aston Villa manager, and
had been sacked by them. It was a major
gamble that could easily have backfired, and
I sometimes wonder where the club might
have been had that happened.
“Bringing in Allison was a major catalyst, but
the whole episode just shows that when
things look bad for any club, it sometimes
just needs a bit of faith and patience.”
James originally penned Manchester: The
Greatest City, a definitive history of the
Blues, but he decided to bring out a fresh,
revised and updated history of the club in the
wake of the 2008 takeover which transformed
the fortunes of the club. Like many City fans,
James is irritated by the mutterings of fools
who talk about City having ‘no history’, when
in fact theirs is a story rich in glory as well
as failure, populated by great characters, and
illuminated by beautiful moments. But while
he was writing the new history, Manchester:
The City Years, the Blues provided him with
the happy ending which his previous tome
had lacked.
“When I started writing it, we hadn’t won the
FA Cup and the Premier League, so the book
could have ended without success, but what
unfolded meant I had a nice finish,” he said.
“I like my books to be as up to date as
possible, so I even started to write a chapter
about Euro 2012, and the Olympic Games – I
suddenly thought ‘What am I doing?’ In
previous books I had been desperate for
positive stories, and now I had been given the
perfect ending"

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...united-in-1964

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[rondwisan]

Kmrn dah di post Oom Andi tuh di sebelah ....

Ini dah kayak solusi mengatasi tawuran pelajar yaa ..., dimerger gitu

[theater of dream]

United kacau secara financial dibanding City pasca perang Dunia kedua, walaupun rival tapi United sempat juga memakain fasilitas milik Mancity saat Old Trafford di.renovasi akibat kena bom..
Ps : opa @rondwisan, kalo udah ada merge aja trit nya hehe maklum via hape

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[rondwisan]

Woles Bro ..., ntar'an yaa, ini juga pake hape sih ....
_______________________

United dan City Nyaris Merger pada 1960-an


RP27 | Seorang pakar sejarah sepak bola Inggris, Gary James, menungkap sebuah fakta menarik terkait Manchester United dan Manchester City. James menyebut United dan City nyaris melakukan merger di era 1960-an.

Gary James menyatakan ide penggabungan dua klub asal Manchester itu dilontarkan oleh Chairman The Citizens, Frank Johnson, pada 1964. Saat itu, kedua rival sekota tersebut masih berhubungan baik dan City sedang mengalami masa-masa kelam.

City bahkan meminjamkan Stadion Main Road sebagai markas sementara United kala Old Trafford sedang direnovasi setelah mengalami kerusakan selama Perang Dunia Dua. Namun, setelah Setan Merah mampu bersaing memperebutkan titel liga usai tragedi Muenchen 1958, maka opsi penggabungan tersebut dibatalkan.

"Saya diberitahu oleh Albert Alexander, anak chairman United saat itu, Eric, bahwa chairman City, Frank Johnson, mengusulkan ide penggabungan kedua tim. City saat itu sedang terpuruk, dari prestasi di lapangan hingga merembet ke moral tim secara keseluruhan, termasuk menurunnya dukungan suporter," kata James kepada Daily Mail.

"Johnson juga mengusulkan agar Liga Inggris di bagi menjadi dua wilayah, yaitu utara dan selatan. Namun, Usulan tersebut dimentahkan kedua belah pihak sebelum diumumkan ke publik," pungkas James.

© BOLANEWS

[hendrikYP]

wah klo segitu banyak pada tawur bisa heboh banget tuh ya...

[febza]

merger 3:-) akan kah ada merger di indonesia

[hendrikYP]

liga2 nya tu perlu di merger biar g banyak versi...bikin bingung