A few weeks ago, Manchester City visited Leicester in the FA Cup Third Round. The team wore the third kit, which contains a red and a black stripe. Fans donned red and black scarves and raised them into the air on 24 minutes. The visiting support did ‘the Poznan’: they turned their backs to the pitch, linked arms and jumped along their respective rows in a celebration ‘borrowed’ from the fans of the Polish club Lech Poznan. The oddity was that this had nothing to do with James Milner’s equaliser, scored two minutes earlier.
No, instead, it was a tribute to one of City’s greatest ever players: Neil Young. He was the club’s top scorer in the 1968 First Division winning season. He was the scorer of two goals in the 4-3 victory over Newcastle that won that title. He was the opening scorer in City’s victory over Górnik Zabrze in the 1970 Cup Winners Cup Final. He was also fouled for the penalty for the winning second goal. He was also the scorer of the 24th minute goal that won the 1969 FA Cup Final for City against Leicester.
At the end of last year, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The FA Cup draw with Leicester was the only place a show of support and solidarity from the fans could be made and it was beautifully observed by both sets of fans that day.
And this week he lost his battle with the horrible disease, aged just 66.
He was the true City boy – he grew up a City fan in Fallowfield in Manchester. He joined City in 1959 as an apprentice and it didn’t take him long to force his way into the first team, aged just 17. But it was under the guidance of the formidable Mercer-Allison management that he flourished, becoming one of City’s main threats of the best team that has ever represented the club.
However, he never seemed to get the praise that his involvement deserved. Shy and quiet away from the pitch, he was never one to boast about his successes and he preferred instead to stay away from the media spotlight and let his feet do the talking. Joe Mercer, though, was adamant he was the best in his side: “He has got more talent than anybody else in the club. Six foot tall with a devastating left foot. His right foot works too! In fact he has got everything.”
Perhaps the biggest surprise of his career, though, was that he was never rewarded for his important role in the best attack in British football. Unlike his team-mates Bell, Lee and Summerbee, Neil Young never won an England cap and must have been one of the best strikers to have never been called up to represent his country. In fact, he only made one youth appearance for England, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 victory over The Netherlands, making his absence from the senior squad even more astonishing.
His vital part in the team, though, was recognised by Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, in that he played in all but one of City’s significant matches while they were in charge at Maine Road. The game he missed was the 1970 League Cup final and that was only for the fact that he had just become a father and the management felt his mind should be with his family.
As his career with City came to an end, the boardroom political battles at the club meant that Young was never given the testimonial he deserved. He moved on to Preston North End, before finishing his career with Rochdale. After retiring, he worked for a removals company, managed a sports shop, worked night-shifts in a supermarket, sold insurance and delivered milk.
The word ‘legend’ is used far too much in modern football, often erroneously so. Neil Young, however, is a true footballing legend. The only positive is that he passed away knowing how much he meant to the City fans.
Sleep well, Nelly. You’ll be sadly missed.
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