 | | Then and now: 1969 & 2003 |
My name is Neill Buckley and the photographs show my oldest friends: (L-R) Phil Windsor, Tim Worthington, Tony Boardman - and me. We were all born and bred in Ashton-under-Lyne and were taken to our first game back in 1962 by Tony's dad, Cliff. City were relegated at the end of that season. Despite what others might think, I've always been extremely thankful that Cliff took us to City and not United. It is "our City" as the slogan now goes and I'm always so proud to tell folk who I support - even though I now live in the Nottingham area. The photosThe first photo was taken on the train on our way down to Wembley in 1969 with our home made rosettes. Memory of that day, the 1969 Cup Final which was our first trip to London even though we were 15, was "asparagus soup" being served on the train. What on earth was asparagus? I've still got the menu along with 600 odd programmes and scrapbooks back to the Mercer/Allison era and before.  | | The boys of '69: in the City programme |
The second photo taken in 2003 was deliberately staged to copy that day back in 1969. It was December and we were at home to Middlesbrough at our new home, the City of Manchester stadium when Phil treated us to a meal before the game to celebrate his 50th birthday. I was awestruck to meet Colin Bell, so the lads said. (I thought I was pretty cool about the whole thing!) I got the 1969 photo put in the 'Boro programme (the attachment) though the other lads didn't know until one spotted it before the meal. Maine Road memoriesWe all went to Smallshaw Junior School together with our fifth member Dave Aldred, though we went to different schools from aged 11. | "Forty years on, and we are all, of course still mad City fans... CTID: it never leaves you" | | Neill Buckley, Man City fan |
We all lived through the Bell, Lee, Summerbee era so have all our fantastic memories from then. We progressed from young lads in Platt Lane to joining the hoards in the Kippax, ending up in the corner of the Kippax by the North Stand. The best memories were the night matches at Maine Road. There was always a special atmosphere then. The European Cup Winners Cup semi v Schalke 04 was particularly special. An obvious one was the City win at Old Trafford in 1974. We couldn't possibly have imagined that in 2007 we'd still be waiting for the next victory at Old Trafford. We were inseparable and followed City usually by coach to away games. Many years on we still keep in touch and meet up in Ashton for drinks. City 'til We Die...We are all, of course still mad City fans even though we live in Hadfield, Ashton, Stourbridge and Nottingham respectively, with Dave and Tim still season ticket holders. I'm a City Card holder with my son Matthew and will be there at the Aston Villa game when some of us will meet up for a drink before the match in the Squash Club. As for CTID - it never leaves you and we feel such loyalty to the club through the good times and the bad. | 
