City fans have endured many dips in our proud, long history, but the 2006/07 season had, for some, been a new low.
There had been none of the rollercoaster of emotions that had defined so many thrilling campaigns over the years – the brushes with success and disappointment delivered in a way that few other clubs could match.
It was in the Manchester City DNA to do things differently, so the one thing our supporters couldn’t stomach was midtable mediocrity - and the 2006/07 had been all that and not much more.
Stuart Pearce’s side had managed just 29 goals all season, with just 10 scored at the Etihad.
The City of today can rattle 10 goals off in a couple of games – and often do – but Pearce’s side had recorded a new top flight low by just scraping into double figures on home soil.
The last eight home matches of that season had seen City fail to score a single goal as Pearce’s side limped to a 14th place finish.
In fairness to Pearce, there was little or no money to spend and the fact that midfielder Joey Barton had ended top scorer with seven goals spoke volumes for his team’s lightweight attack.
Pearce was sacked at the end of the campaign and not replaced as a boardroom takeover was negotiated, ending with Thai businessman Thaksin Shinawatra becoming the new owner some six weeks later.
Within a few days, Shinawatra had employed former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, with the Swede given a sizeable transfer budget to rebuild an ailing side.
Eriksson acted swiftly, with eight players sold and five more loaned out before the transfer window closed as he cleared the decks for eight new arrivals.
A £40million spending spree saw Elano, Valeri Bojinov, Rolando Bianchi, Vedran Corluka, Javier Garrido, Martin Petrov, Geovanni, and Gelson Fernandes all arrive within the space of a few weeks leaving City fans’ collective heads spinning.
Eriksson was criticised in the media, with suggestions he was signing anyone and everyone in a bid to change the Club’s fortunes. His response was uncharacteristically terse.
“It can only be stupid people who say I would sign players I did not know anything about,” he said.
“Okay, I haven’t seen all of them play nine or 10 times, but I have big scouting staff at the club, and I have as many videos as I need to watch. I’ve always signed good football players.
“And with these ones, some are young and for the future and some, like Petrov and Elano, are more experienced.”
A new owner keen to invest, a new manager – one of Europe’s most respected – and almost an entirely new starting XI – the excitement and expectation levels were off the charts and even though the first glimpse of an exciting new era had ended familiarly at the Etihad as City lost 0-1 to Valencia in the Thomas Cook Trophy (goal scored by the then relatively unknown David Silva), there had been flashes of creativity that kept the buzz of optimism going into the first game of the season away to West Ham United.
Upton Park was packed to the rafters with 4,000 City fans tucked at one end as the teams came out into bright, warm August sunshine.
Eriksson handed five of his new signings their debut as well as giving Academy graduate Kasper Schmeichel a first start in goal.
The remainder of City’s new arrivals started on the bench against a Hammers side who had lost 21 of their 38 games the season before – but this was a tricky hurdle for a side with so many new faces.
Yet there was a confident swagger to City’s play, often orchestrated by Brazilian maestro Elano who looked a steal at £8million.
Playing in a wonderful away kit of white shirts and sky blue shorts, Upton Park was a cacophony of noise and colour as the first half progressed and City grew into the task at hand.
The travelling Blues were buoyant, with that energy and enthusiasm channelled by the players who were playing fluent, incisive football.
With more than a hint of a samba style, it was City who broke the deadlock with just 18 minutes played.
Elano collected the ball midway inside his own half and drove forward with purpose.
The West Ham defence stood off him and he powered past Matthew Upson into the box before delivering a low cross to the far post that Kevin De Bruyne would be proud of for Rolando Bianchi to slide home and send the City fans wild at the opposite end of the ground.
Bianchi, the Italian striker signed from Reggina for just under £9million, wheeled away to celebrate with his long hair and headband oozing the kind of panache City fans had been starved of since Ian Bishop’s departure.
The Hammers, who offered little in the way of a response before the break, were much better after the restart.
But a mix of new and familiar in the City defence, where Micah Richards and Richard Dunne were complemented by Corluka and Garrido, held firm as the pressure grew.
Nedum Onuoha came on to replace Corluka on 68 minutes and new signings Geovanni and Bojinov were also introduced, bringing the tally to eight City debutants.
And it was the homegrown Onuoha who created the goal that would wrap up three points for the Blues as the game ticked towards full-time.
In his autobiography ‘Kicking Back’ Onuoha recalls what happened next: “The new signings’ impact was instant. Elano produced a glorious pass to set up Bianchi, while Geovanni scored thanks to what I’d say was an even better assist.
“Charlie Corluka started the game but had only been with the club just over a week, so on a hot at Upton Park he was tiring with about half an hour to go. I came on to replace him at right-back.
With three minutes left, Michael Johnson played me the ball. I was already inside the West Ham half and took it on the turn. I’d been on runs before, but you never remember the ones that don’t produce anything. This one is clear as day in my mind.
“I left one player for dead as he attempted a sliding tackle, then I powered away from two more. I always felt comfortable if someone was on my back shoulder or even slightly behind, as I was quite good at holding them off. I kept going but was running out of space on two sides: the byline was in front of me, as was a third West Ham defender to the left. Then in a flash I stopped to let one past me, nutmegged the second and in a typical fashion for me passed to Geovanni with a toe poke slide tackle just before the third defender arrived. He took a touch and drilled it into the far corner and the match was over as a contest, and it was hard to imagine a better start.”
Once a major signing for Barcelona, Brazilian forward Geovanni has lost his way somewhat and had arrived on a free transfer from Cruzeiro – but he looked immediately at home as he ran into the arms of the ecstatic City fans behind the goal.
The final whistle blew, and the City fans and players celebrated together and for Eriksson, it was the perfect beginning to his tenure.
"I'm delighted,” said the Swede after the game.
“My first match in the Premier League and three points
away - that's really good.
"We played some really good football - not for 90 minutes because we suffered as well - but we started well and the last 15 minutes we did
very well again.
"If we are talking about points then it was the perfect start, but we won't get carried away."
But after a stylish 1-0 win over Derby ended eight
months without a City goal at the Etihad, and then an electrically charged 1-0 win over Manchester United followed a few days later, it was hard not to get swept along by a tide of optimism.
And that momentum has never really stopped since…
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