Manchester City Season Review- Ian Cheeseman

What an amazing time to be a Manchester City fan. 

 Completing the treble with the Champions League win in Istanbul completed the perfect season. The football was amazing for 90 per cent of the games, though the last two cup finals were full of nerves, but they got across the line, which is all that really matters.

My trip to Istanbul was fascinating. There have been long and challenging journeys for me. Over the weekend I flew to Bucharest in Romania, followed by a ten hour car journey, though Bulgaria, to Istanbul with my friend Val and his wife. Getting from the city centre to the stadium was challenging on public transport and refreshments were hard to find, but it proved worthwhile.

As a fan, my journey started back in 1970, when I attended my first game at Maine Road. City beat Schalke 5-1 to book their place in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, which they went on to win in Vienna. From the mid-70s, I was old enough to start going home and away and my obsession began. 

My first final was in the League Cup in 1976, where Dennis Tueart’s overhead kick helped beat Newcastle 2-1. My mum knitted me a blue and white scarf, which I wore with pride, though I later soaked it with happy tears as City lifted the trophy.

For the next 20 years I never missed a game. When I met my wife, I warned her of my obsession and that I planned my whole life around the City fixtures, turning down the role of best man to my boyhood friend because City were playing Birmingham City that day.

I missed a family wedding too, but my family and friends knew what I was like. Watching City was costing me a fortune so I wondered how I could turn my passion into a job. I joined hospital radio and did bits of football coverage. When City needed a volunteer commentator for the club’s videos, my hand shot up.

The opportunity to do Clubcall, a dedicated (premium rate telephone service) role reporting and commentating on City came along, I took it, though when I chose to pay to travel to watch City at Torquay in the League Cup, rather than get paid to commentate on Liverpool versus Spurs, they thought I was mad.

The chance to join the BBC was unexpected but offered the possibility to get my dream job of being their City correspondent. My friend John Gwynne urged me to take the chance and not live with regrets. I got the job, though initially not as the City reporter. I remember doing an early shift one day, 4am to 1.15pm, then driving to Southampton to watch City that evening, before resuming work at 4am again, just so I didn’t miss a match.

Of course I attended every game in the third tier, including that famous trip to York when City were at their lowest ebb.

Finally, my dreams came true on October 17 (my Dad’s birthday) 2001 when I commentated on my first City game for the BBC as their Blues’ correspondent. I was being paid to watch City from the best seat in the house alongside heroes like Peter Barnes, Andy Hinchcliffe, Shaun Goater etc. 

I was behind the microphone as City returned to the top flight, through the Taksin and Sheikh Mansour takeovers, the arrival of Robinho and the club’s return to Europe. I described the 6-1 win at Old Trafford and the FA Cup semi-final win against United.

I cried on air when I talked about my son wearing my mum’s scarf for the FA Cup Final against Stoke City.

Describing City’s first Premier League title against QPR in 2012 was the best experience of my life as a City fan. I’ve also seen the City heartbreaks, like relegation at Stoke and against Luton, to name just two, but my passion for City never wavered.

In 2017 I left the BBC and returned to being a fan, but I found a new way of combining my broadcasting skills with my passion for City. I launched a YouTube channel and an audio podcast called Forever Blue, to tell fan stories. I joined the fantastic Tameside Radio, where I currently present a weekly show called Break-a-Leg dedicated to another of my passions - theatre and musicals. The show has also been picked up by Bolton FM, Rossendale Radio and Ribble Radio, hopefully with others to follow.

Here we are in 2023 and to see City complete the treble, covering the game for Indian TV too, on this occasion, felt like the very satisfying end of a long journey. I was wearing my mum’s scarf again, she passed away in 1977, just a year after lovingly knitting it for me, so she was there in spirit.

I cried when the final whistle went in Istanbul, more from relief that the long journey was over. City had achieved everything, in my eyes. The ultimate treble included beating United in the FA Cup Final, which made it even sweeter. There’ll always be another goal, like doing it again or winning the European Super Cup and World Club Cup, but when the final whistle went in Turkey it felt like the journey was over and that all my efforts and sacrifices down the years had been worth it; I felt relief. I’ll be back next season, but I feel fully satisfied. 

It’s certainly great to be a Blue!