STOKE CITY 1 CITY 0
League Division 1
7th September 1968
Attendance 22,015
Scorer Conroy
Ref B Homewood
City Mulhearn, Kennedy, Connor, Doyle, Heslop, Oakes, Lee, Bell, Summerbee, Young, Coleman – Sub Bowles(unused)
Stoke Farmer, Lacey, Bentley, Allen, Bloor, Stevenson, Conroy, Mahoney, Dobing, Vernon, Eastham – Sub Bridgwood
FROM THE PRESS BOX
ON THIS SHOW CITY ONLY SCARE MERCER
Malcolm Allison, Manchester City’s assistant manager, probably had something with his now famous (or should it be infamous?) view that “We will terrify Europe!”
I do not know about the Continent, but they terrify me, in fact, I am sure they terrify manager Joe Mercer and Allison, too.
Before the game at Stoke, Mr M viewed that “The difference between the top and bottom is a thin line,” That might be so, but it must look a lot thicker now after that 1-0 defeat.
Even if the goal was offside any team that cannot beat a side that is without six regulars and has a shaky goalkeeper deserves to be second bottom.
City are undoubtedly missing skipper Tony Book, and against Stoke his injured full-back partner, Glyn Pardoe, too; Bobby Kennedy was completely outpaced.
In the first half, George Heslop was surer, but by the last quarter the entire defence was ragged, with the exception of goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn.
The inside forward trio have so lost confidence that seeing the whites of the goals must be a nightmare to them. Tony Coleman was the most productive forward with the other winger, Francis Lee, who hit the bar, the only other one who looked like scoring.
Was Terry Conroy’s goal offside? It looked it from my position, well back on the halfway line, and the players had the feeling that the referee thought so too. But the linesman did not flag.
VERNON ADDISON WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 9TH SEPTEMBER 1968