All profits from the book ‘We Were Really There – The Rebirth of Manchester City’, written by David Bernstein CBE, will be donated to Level Playing Field.
President of Level Playing Field, Bernstein, tells the story of how Manchester City was saved from oblivion, from his perspective as the man who oversaw the rescue operation.
The modern day Manchester City now play at a ‘Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence Award’ holding stadium and recently marked ‘Unite For Access’ by celebrating the relaunch of the disabled supporters’ association.
Links to purchase the book from various retailers can be found here. Further details on the book are below:
Twenty-five years before City’s historic treble, they were a national joke, relegated to English football’s third division. The only trophies the Citizens were likely to win, said chairman Francis Lee, were ‘cups for cock-ups’.
Enter David Bernstein. When he succeeded Lee as chairman in March 1998, City had just been relegated from the Premier League and were about to be relegated again. During their season in the third tier, City fans sang choruses of ‘We’re not really here!’ in mocking disbelief at how far their club had fallen.
Without Bernstein’s work in five critical years as chairman, it is impossible to see how City would have been an attractive proposition to the investors from Abu Dhabi, whose takeover in 2008 paved the way for the Pep Guardiola era and unprecedented success.
The book takes readers into the boardroom, dressing room, training ground and dug-out. It’s an access-all-areas account of one of the great sporting rebirths. Read and you will discover:
· How what is now the Etihad Stadium came to be built and became the lifeboat that would take City from years of underachievement at Maine Road to the club that is now a treble-winning colossus
· How a great sporting institution was fundamentally changed and modernised
· How Wimbledon and Glasgow Rangers tried to take control of Manchester City
· The triumphs and the tensions of working with two very different managers in Joe Royle and Kevin Keegan
· How the transfer of Robbie Fowler destabilised the club, brought about David Bernstein’s resignation and ultimately contributed to the sale of City to former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
· How City tried to sue Roy Keane and United after Keane’s premeditated assault on Alfie Haaland in the Manchester derby (using boardroom minutes and legal documents)
· The thoughts and views of directors Dennis Tueart, Alistair Mackintosh and Chris Bird, plus centre-forward Shaun Goater
David Bernstein is a lifelong Manchester City fan who was chairman of the club from 1998 to 2003. He has had an extensive professional and business career including chairing French Connection, Ted Baker and Vanarama. David was appointed chairman of the FA in 2011, and was awarded a CBE for services to football in 2014. He has teamed up with football reporter and William Hill Sports Book of the Year-shortlisted author Tim Rich to tell his story.
Links to purchase the book from various retailers can be found here.