Bernstein had become chairman just over a year earlier and despite taking over a club on the fast-track to a first-ever season at this level, he saw only opportunity. The club he took over was in a “terrible state”, as he recalled, but the extent of the problems created possibilities as well. They would have become impossibilities had City become stuck in a division they should never have been in in the first place.
As Bernstein looked across Wembley and saw the Gillingham fans waving their dark blue flags, his mind was whirring. ‘What are we going to do now?,” he thought. ‘This is going to be really hard next season, much tougher than this year we’ve just been through’.
The rest, as they say, is history, recounted by Bernstein himself in his book We Were Really There, looking back on his stewardship of City between 1998 and 2003. That promotion set the wheels in motion for a period that is key to where the club now finds itself, at the pinnacle of European football, with Pep Guardiola in charge and a team of world-class players dazzling in a stunning stadium.
“It was the most tense, nerve-wracking sporting experience I’ve ever had, or ever will have. The scale of the importance of the result was huge,” Bernstein told the Manchester Evening News.
“Had we not gone up, it is possible that we could never have done the new stadium deal and if we hadn’t done the stadium deal then I don’t think the Abu Dhabi people would ever have come in and history would be totally different.
“So that much was vital, then of course to be two goals down with one minute to go and then to win the match was just quite extraordinary, I’ve never quite recovered from it. I think that is without question the most important match in the club’s history.”
Bu hikaye Manchester Evening News dergisinin February 29, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Manchester Evening News dergisinin February 29, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
DON'T PANIC
KOVACIC CONFIDENT BLUES CAN OVERCOME SLUMP
Zlatan not ruling out Vic switch
AC MILAN advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic has refused to rule out the possibility of United centre-back Victor Lindelof joining the Italian club next summer.
Carsley gives respect to Ireland after Greece win
INTERIM boss Lee Carsley says celebrations are on ice as England look to follow up their impressive win in Greece by sealing promotion back to the Nations League top tier by beating the Republic of Ireland.
Young Heskey aims to step out of dad's shadow with Blues
\"IT'S the normal,\" says one of the latest City academy strikers catching attention in describing his upbringing.
Safety pledge for Brits going overseas for ops
THE Health Secretary has said he will work to improve safety for Britons travelling abroad for cosmetic procedures in the wake of several deaths.
£15m 'wasted' on migrant camp site
THE Home Office spent £15m buying a derelict prison contaminated with asbestos amid political pressure to stop housing migrants in hotels, according to Whitehall's spending watchdog.
Experts: Climate talks 'no longer fit for purpose'
THE process of UN climate negotiations is no longer fit for purpose and requires a comprehensive overhaul, leading experts have warned.
McCall reveals tumour diagnosis
CELEBRITIES have flocked to wish Davina McCall well after she revealed she has been diagnosed with a brain tumour, with fellow TV presenter Amanda Holden sending \"so much love\".
'Revenge' shooting teen faces years behind bars
BOY BLASTED AT CLOSE RANGE WITH SHOTGUN IN PREMEDITATED AND PRE-PLANNED' ATTACK
'It was dark, the waves were very high - it was very, very hard'
THE M.E.N. SPEAKS TO ASYLUM SEEKERS WHOSE HOUSING AT A HOTEL HAS DIVIDED A TOWN
