City dna #124: the staff

City DNA #124: The Staff

Name: Vicky Kloss

Joined City: June 4, 2001

Original job title: Press Officer

Job title today: Chief Communications Officer, City Football Group

Can you remember your first day at the Club? I arrived at the main reception at Maine Road stadium and there I saw the wonderful Mike Corbett who was on security and who had signed me in on the day of my interview some weeks before. He beamed at me, gave me a big hug and announced, in his almost unintelligible Glaswegian accent, ‘I knew you’d get the job lassie. I knew it. I’m delighted.’  It was the warmest of possible welcomes and I worked with Mike for many years after that. Chris Bird who’d recruited me also took me to the training ground at Carrington, where I remember trying not to be overawed on meeting Paul Dickov who, along with Uwe Rosler was my ultimate City hero.  I also recall Chris introducing me to Jeff Whitley and it felt like one big family, almost instantly.

Highlight: I feel privileged to have experienced so many highs both on and off the field, whether it was the 2008 takeover day which was surreal, but exhilarating, meeting Nelson Mandela on tour in South Africa, being squeezed almost to death by a bear hug from Garry Cook at Wembley on winning our first trophy, to watching some of the most breath-taking football possible that Pep and his magnificent teams have produced.

I’d left my seat in the directors box to go to the Press Box with about 10 minutes to go because I needed to gather my thoughts ahead of what looked like being the hardest press conference of my time at the Club and also because I wanted to be with Chris Bailey and my team who were mostly gathered there.  I sat on the dusty step with my head on Chris’ knee in utter despondency. We had shared many a low moment during our by then 10+ years of friendship and collaboration, but this was something else.

When Edin scored I’m ashamed to say I muttered some choice language about it just making the whole thing worse and kept my head firmly down on Chris' knee.  Moments later I was catapulted, like the other 47,000 or so people in that stadium, into unadulterated, almost indescribable euphoria. We’d never won a league title in my lifetime, so as a fan, the joy was just unmatched. As a member of staff, it was the culmination of years and years of incredible hard work and dedication from so many people that enabled us to get to that point and I was totally overcome by it. And by means of a happy post script, the next day, my husband took an unscheduled week’s leave from work, booked a flight and went to see his best friend overseas to get away from it all!

Low Point: There have been a fair few low points while I’ve worked at City. On the football front they’d include being the only City staff member in the tunnel at Old Trafford when Michael Owen scored his 96th minute goal to beat us 4-3, losing to Liverpool at Anfield in 2014 and thinking the title was over and the sickening realisation that Raheem Sterling’s last gasp goal against Tottenham in the Champions League was being overruled by VAR. I felt like locking myself away in a darkened room and not emerging for at least a week. 

Away from the pitch, I have felt real sadness when people with whom you form great bonds move on. Whether it’s particularly special players whose time has come to an end like Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott and of course Vincent Kompany, or managers that you work closely with and really want to succeed. Mark Hughes’ departure was particularly hard to deal with, personally and professionally. My lowest point though was the passing away of Marc Vivien Foe and many years later Bernard Halford.  In Marc’s case, the last I saw of him was his final game at City in May 2003, but on the night of his death I was asked to go to meet his wife who was at home in Manchester with their children. Her English was patchy and I had to explain in French to her how we were going to help her in the immediate aftermath of his shockingly sudden death.  It was devastating for her and for everyone who knew this gentle and warmhearted man. And Bernard Halford’s passing, while not as brutal or premature as Marc’s case, has left a hole for so many of us who had the privilege of working with him. I miss hearing his 'Agueroooooo' phone ring in the office every two minutes and his wealth of knowledge and stories.  I’m comforted though by some lovely memories of bringing Pep to see him and his wife Karen in hospital in his final days. Pep’s humanity and his admiration for Bernard, together with their chemistry as football men was absolutely palpable. It was moving to witness.

Thing you most enjoy: Winning matches and trophies is definitely enjoyable and on that measure we have been spoilt beyond belief over the past decade. But I also enjoy working with brilliant people many of them who are out of the spotlight. From John Wardle, David Bernstein and Matt Lowery back in my early days, to Brian Marwood, Simon Cliff and Danny Wilson in the present day to name but a few, I have had two decades of working with committed, humble people who simply want the best for this Club, its fans and its community. When you see that in action and you get to work with people who have that focus, it’s difficult not to love the work you do. The thing about working in football, is that you can genuinely make a difference to someone’s life. Whether that is giving a fan just a brief respite from a life limiting illness by having them meet their playing heroes, or a more lasting impact such as building a rooftop pitch in Harlem, New York, so kids can play in safety amidst one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in town, football has the power to help, heal and inspire and being part of that is pretty amazing.

What does Manchester City mean to you: It’s the Club I love. The place I went to as a child with my dad, as a teenager with my youngest brother and my mates and, now I’m a mum, with my own daughters (when I’m not officially working a match day, which is most of the time). It has been central to my life since I first fell in love with it, aged 7 in 1977 and I’d never have dreamt  back then when I first stood in the Family Stand holding dad’s hand, wondering if Joe Corrigan was a real life giant, that I would be doing what I do now.  It was from its inception, and should remain forever, a true institution in the context of this city - its use as a place of refuge for the grieving families after the dreadful events at Manchester Arena in 2017 and its current usage by NHS staff in the Covid-19 crisis are reminders of that. But it is also a place for our community of fans to come together every week for a bit of joy (and sometimes misery!) and an opportunity to have 90+ minutes time out from whatever else is going on in our lives at that time.

Name: Clare Marsden

Joined City: September 1, 1998

Original job title:  Assistant to Chairman’s PA (which was Sara Billington at the time).

Job title today: First Team Support Manager           

Can you remember your first day at the Club?  I vaguely remember, as I was really nervous and drove to the offices which were in a house on Hart Road near to the Academy at Platt Lane (these were quite big terraced houses and have now been knocked down and turned into flats!).  When you went through the front door the Chairman and CEO’s offices were at the front of the house and the PA/Admin staff were in the room at the back. 

Finance and Payroll were upstairs and they also had a new starter on the same day as me, which was the new Financial Controller, Alistair Mackintosh. 

What’s been your highlight so far? I’ve had a few. The first has to be the move from Maine Road to the Etihad Stadium, which was a big highlight for me. As much as I started my journey at Maine Road, I was involved in the project team that moved all staff to our new home and this was a great experience.

I got to work alongside Pete Bradshaw, which was amazing as his knowledge and enthusiasm were limitless.  I got to see a completely different side to what other departments did especially the Facilities/Maintenance/H&S/Security and really appreciated how much goes on behind the scenes to keep things going, that would be overlooked by most based in offices day to day. 

Along with the move to the Stadium came the great opportunities of holding concerts and I thoroughly enjoyed my time involved in them too.  My second highlight has to be the Premier League win in 2011-2012. It meant so much to the fans and the Club and it was amazing being involved in the day.

I know how much it meant to the team and how together the lads had been throughout the whole campaign. 

I definitely shed a few tears, tears of joy though and I remember looking up from the players tunnel to see my family in our season ticket seats. Seeing the waves and big smiles from Mum and Dad was very special.

Low point?   A hard one! I have been lucky to work in many areas of the business, but moving over to the football side to become PA to the Manager back in 2005 was a very surreal and a completely different experience.  I enjoyed the role immensely, however, the lows would have to be building good working relationships up with the relevant managers in place and feeling so sorry for them when their time came to leave us. 

Another low point for me was losing Mr Halford in 2019.  He was such a big character and his DNA ran through City. We always said if you cut him open his blood would run blue.  I was so very lucky to have been around him for such a long time and gained so much knowledge from him.

Thing you most enjoy about working for City? I feel lucky to have worked here in many different roles over the years and have been given some great opportunities career wise.  I have made some amazing friends, past and present who have shared the highs and lows the football club have gone through in different ways but mostly I feel very honoured and privileged to work alongside some amazing people (staff, players and football managers), some who are still here, some who have left for pastures new or are sadly no longer with us.  I will always be very grateful to Sara for taking a chance on a young 19-year-old and letting me grow and learn so much from her along with the many other people such as Bernard Halford, Pete Bradshaw, Alistair Mackintosh, Brian Marwood and many others throughout the Club in all different areas.

What does Manchester City mean to you? That’s easy, Manchester City means ‘family’ to me. I was lucky to be involved when we really were a local community club and the essence of this I feel is still here today. It may look different but this is and always will be home to me.