Football Dynasty-Chapter 42: Office Day

Prior to the end of 1988, City fans watched as their star striker, Paul Stewart, succumbed to the lure of the First Division, joining Tottenham for £1.7 million.

The transfer fee gave the Blues the funds to strengthen their squad. They swapped strikers with Sheffield Wednesday, with Carl Bradshaw arriving at Maine Road while Imre Varadi headed over the Pennines to join the Owls.

In defense, Bill Williams was signed from Stockport County for around £50,000.

Manager Mel Machin continued bolstering the squad for the promotion push, bringing in Gary Megson from Sheffield Wednesday for £250,000.

Additionally, youngster Andy Milner was signed from non-league side Netherfield for £7,000. To cap off their recruitment efforts, City extended an invitation to Justin Fashanu—who had previously retired due to injury—to train with the squad in an attempt to resurrect his career.

New Year's Eve saw City claim a 2-1 victory at Swindon, closing out 1988 on a high.

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Next, they kicked off 1989 with a goalless draw at home against Leeds, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leicester at Maine Road in the FA Cup Third Round.

The new signing, Gary Megson from Sheffield Wednesday, made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut in a crucial 1-0 win at Oldham, keeping City just three points behind league leaders Chelsea.

Their momentum continued with a dominant 4-1 home victory over Hull. However, their FA Cup run came to an end in the Fourth Round, as Brentford handed them a disappointing 3-1 defeat.

Despite the setback, City stayed focused in the league. A gritty 1-0 win at Portsmouth propelled them into second place in Division Two, just a point behind Chelsea.

The Blues then extended their winning streak to five consecutive league matches with a commanding 4-0 home triumph over Ipswich, followed by a solid 2-0 win at Birmingham.

Their fine form continued with a 2-0 victory over Plymouth at Maine Road, pushing them to the top of the table with a third of the season remaining. Manager Mel Machin's impressive run didn't go unnoticed, as he was named Barclays Manager of the Month for February.

Moving in to March and City could only draw 1-1 at home to West Brom and then they lost 1-0 at Watford.

With promotion in sight, City seemed to get the jitters as they suffered their biggest defeat of the season—a crushing 4-0 loss to promotion rivals Blackburn. This was followed by a 2-1 home defeat to Barnsley and a 3-2 loss to Chelsea at Maine Road. It looked like they were pressing the self-destruct button.

It was time for Mel Machin to dip back into the transfer market, and he did so by signing David Oldfield from Luton for £600,000.

'The good ship Promotion' was steadied then slightly with a 4-2 victory at Oxford, followed by a hard-fought 1-1 home draw against Crystal Palace. City were relieved to secure a point, especially after Nigel Gleghorn was forced to step in as goalkeeper for half the game following an injury to Andy Dibble.

After reading the reports, Richard closed them and let out a long breath.

Initially, he wanted to find faults with manager Mel Machin, but it seemed City's promotion was already within sight. He didn't know exactly how the rest of City's season would unfold, so all he could do was wait.

After finishing the internal reports, Richard shifted his focus to external updates—everything happening across English football.

The most striking news was Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards agreeing to sell the club to Michael Knighton for £10 million. Richard hurled the glass in his hand, breaking it into pieces.

The name "Glazer" carried such hatred that it seemed to overshadow Manchester United's rich history, clouding everything else.

Because of that, he had completely overlooked an opportunity—one he should have seized.

Though the sale fell through in he end, and instead of taking over the club, Knighton joined the board of directors.

The next page covered the news of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed, winning 5 gold, 10 silver, and 9 bronze medals.

You might be wondering—why was the Olympics even mentioned in the report, right?

Well, Manchester City's board had plans to build a new stadium as part of the city's bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics.

This time, the board was particularly shrewd, forming Manchester City's council from internal stakeholders, local government, and all related parties while deliberately excluding him from the project.

That very council had already submitted a bid, which included plans for an 80,000-capacity stadium on a greenfield site west of Manchester city center.

Finally, on the last page, the most pressing issue was the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

The latest report contained the findings of an inquiry into the causes of the tragedy, which had now been officially published.

The inquiry concluded that the primary cause of the disaster was the failure of police control. Particular attention was given to the decision to open the secondary gates, which led to overcrowding in the terraces. Additionally, it was noted that the match should have been delayed—something that had been done at other venues in similar situations.

At the end of the report, a new law was recommended, stating that all major stadiums should be converted to an all-seater model.

This meant that all ticketed spectators would be required to have assigned seats rather than standing in designated areas. Other recommendations from the report included regulations on the sale of alcohol within stadiums, the installation of crush barriers, and the removal of perimeter fences.

Nonetheless, the government decided that no standing accommodation should be allowed. The Football League in England and the Scottish Football League mandated that clubs in their top divisions comply with this requirement by August 1994.

Richard was already feeling a headache coming on because of this.

Most English football stadiums had large standing terraces where thousands of fans stood close together.

Maine Road was no exception—its Kippax Stand was one of the biggest standing areas in England. The problem was that after the stadium was converted to an all-seater, capacity dropped to just 35,150.

This was especially true for the legendary Kippax Stand, where the atmosphere had once been electric for every match. According to expert consultation, the stand could not be expanded any further, making the loss of capacity permanent.

Maine Road Stadium was located in a densely built-up residential area in Moss Side, Manchester, surrounded by houses, roads, and businesses. There was no room for large-scale expansion.

Even after the last rebuild of the Kippax Stand, any further expansion would have required demolishing nearby homes, which simply wasn't feasible.

Now, with the final verdict in place, it meant the terraces had to be completely demolished and rebuilt as an all-seater stand.

Beyond that, City also had to brace for fan backlash and a drop in matchday revenue, as the stadium's capacity would be reduced from over 80,000 to around 35,000.

This was why the City board was so adamant about moving to a new stadium—and they saw the Olympics as the perfect catalyst to make it happen.

Well, for Richard, moving to a new stadium made sense.

The stadium had been built in 1923 and was now outdated compared to modern football grounds—but only if City's cash flow was stable.

The cost of rebuilding the Kippax Stand alone was around £16 million, according to the financial statement he read. Now, according to expert estimates, converting Maine Road into an all-seater stadium—including modifications to other stands—would cost £20–25 million.

This was a significant expense for City, who were not financially strong to begin with. Now, they faced a dilemma—should they continue investing in Maine Road or focus on building a new stadium?

Richard had already given his recommendation: if City wanted to move forward with a new stadium, there was no point in upgrading Maine Road. The worst-case scenario?

The club might need to rent another stadium for two or three years while the new one was built. But the board was stubborn and resistant to change.

It became clear that Maine Road would never be a long-term solution for City. However, the board was also reluctant to lose their own stadium, fearing it would be seen as an embarrassment in front of City fans.

Letting out a tired sigh, Richard could already imagine the struggle ahead. The club's on-field problems, combined with the costly stadium upgrades, made this transition period even tougher.

At the end of the day, it all came down to a vote.

Richard lost—and he lost badly.

The final count was 1 vs. 6.

With only seven seats on the board, this result meant that not a single person supported his decision. He had been completely outvoted, his argument dismissed without hesitation.

What else could he say?

Nothing.

He was no longer involved in day-to-day management, as he had already been kicked from his position. His power was now limited to giving advice as one of the largest shareholders, nothing more.

Since they had already made their decision, so be it.

Back to the First Division Battle

Liverpool triumphed in the FA Cup final with a 3–2 victory over their Merseyside rivals, Everton. It was the second all-Merseyside cup final in four seasons, and just like in 1986, Ian Rush delivered on the big stage, scoring twice for Liverpool. With this win, they lifted their fourth FA Cup title.

But the celebrations were short-lived.

Not long after, Arsenal stunned Liverpool at Anfield, clinching the First Division title in the most dramatic fashion possible. With the final game of the season hanging in the balance, Michael Thomas broke Liverpool hearts, netting a last-minute goal that sealed the championship.

This victory secured Arsenal's ninth league title, ending an 18-year wait to be crowned champions of England. Their triumph not only secured glory for themselves but also shattered Liverpool's hopes of a domestic double.

On the City Side

With just two games left, Manchester City sat six points clear of Crystal Palace, though the Eagles had a game in hand.

At Maine Road, the atmosphere was electric as fans had already started celebrating promotion at halftime in the penultimate game of the season. City were cruising with a 3-0 lead over Bournemouth at the break.

But as any City supporter knows, nothing is certain when it comes to supporting the Citizens, and sure enough, in a shocking turn of events, Bournemouth staged a dramatic comeback, equalizing in the sixth minute of injury time to make it 3-3.

Despite the setback, City still had promotion in their hands. Heading into the final game against Bradford, they knew a single point would be enough to secure their return to the top flight.

The travelling City supporters endured a nerve-wracking afternoon at Valley Parade, as their team trailed 1-0 late into the game. But with just four minutes left on the clock, Trevor Morley stepped up as the hero, scoring the crucial equalizer to send City back to the big time.

Off the pitch, Neil McNab was named City's Player of the Year, while Gerry Taggart claimed the Young Player of the Year award.

Thousands of City fans flooded the roads, singing, cheering, and waving scarves in celebration. There was no open-top bus, but the fans, players, and management team basked in the glory of their hard-fought promotion.

Beer splashed through the air as chants of "City's Going Up! City's Going Up!" echoed all around.

But Richard did not join in. It wasn't bitterness toward City or anything like that—he simply had more pressing matters to attend to. An appointment awaited him.

On that very day, while the city buzzed with celebration, the World Wrestling Federation was making history, hosting its first UK event at the London Arena.

And Richard? He was sitting across from a McMahon Jr.

As someone who knew what the future held, he was determined to secure his place in WWF's success for decades to come.