Paul Dickov exclusive: Man City and the Gillingham game that nearly broke us!

The Citizens were victorious at Wembley in a match that will go down in City folklore as a momentous triumph, possibly even more significant than winning their fourth Premier League title. This victory will be cherished by all who were present on that unforgettable day.

Can you imagine Manchester City playing in the third tier of English football? It’s tough, innit? But in fact, it is only 25 years since the club that sealed their fourth Premier League title on the bounce back in May secured promotion from the Second Division. AdvertisementAdvertisement

City found themselves down 2-0 with five minutes left on the clock before an almighty drama unfolded. When Tribalfootball talked to former City chairman David Bernstein about his book on those years, “We Were Really There”, he stated about the game; “nothing has lived up to that in my sporting life since”, while goal-scoring hero Paul Dickov describes the match as “the craziest game I've ever been involved in or watched”.

“Every club we played that season wrote it up as if it was a cup final and probably put 25 percent more effort in because ‘we're playing against Manchester City’! For the first half of the season, we struggled to cope with that expectation and going into Christmas we were 12th in the table and just at the lowest point,” Dickov tells Tribalfootball in an exclusive interview. Then manager Joe Royle made a shrewd bit of business.

“He brought in Andy Morrison and made him captain. He had a huge influence on the team, he was a leader of men which we were missing at the time. We were all a bit delicate confidence-wise.  The turning point came between Christmas and New Year when we played at home and went in 1-0 down at half-time. We got booed off by 28,000 fans and rightly so. In the changing room, it just kicked off. It properly kicked off.

“Joe Royle didn't say anything. He just let us get on with it. And at the very end, before we went back out, he said; ‘why don't you just go out there and show these fans the passion you've just shown me in these 15 minutes?’ We ended up winning 2-1 and never looked back.”

Not part of the script

At least not until finding themselves 2-0 down against Gillingham which was certainly not part of the script for the City players, who went into the final high on life.

“We were super confident; we'd been in such a great run. The whole media coverage surrounding it and the fans' expectations was huge for us. So, to be 2-0 down, well… Then Kevin Horlock scores and I genuinely remember the Gillingham players still sort of celebrating and high-fiving each other, even after that goal. 

“I just thought to myself, they've just conceded a goal. There's still time left and they've switched off. There's still time for one more chance. Then, thankfully, in the 95th minute, I've got that chance and managed to put it away,” says Dickov, who experienced every possible emotion during that game.

“I've never known a game like it. From the expectation of the game to the devastation of being 2-0 down to Kevin scoring and then obviously the ecstasy of me equalising,” Dickov remembers before pouring praise on the City fans.

“That season they were unbelievable. It was the lowest point in the club's history so to see them winning four Premier League titles in a row, it's the fans I'm the happiest for after the years of rubbish we put them through”.

During six years with Manchester City Paul Dickov managed 155 matches and as well as praising the supporters he also credits David Bernstein with steadying the club in tumultuous times.

“David's got to take a lot of credit for the success the club had at that time. I know he won't take it because he's such a humble guy, but the club wasn't in a good place, there was no real stability with too many players and too many changes of managers. There was a really bad atmosphere within the training ground and in the stadium. David came in and really turned it into a stable club.”

From the brink to a power house

David Bernstein describes the win as the most important match in City's history, but Dickov and his fellow players didn’t know how poor the financial state of the club was going into that final in 1999.

“It was probably just as well that we didn’t quite know how important a win was. The move to Etihad Stadium could have collapsed, there was the possible threat of going into administration. It would have been really tough for the club to recover and have another season in the Second Division. 

“But what I will say; City would have been back at some point. How quickly it would have happened, I don't know, but there would definitely be the fan base, the support, and the history of the club. They would have bounced back at some point.”

Dickov and a few other Manchester City legends, Shaun Goater for one, has filmed an entertaining little celebration of the jubilee with even Pep Guardiola adding a few lines. How aware was he about the famous game?

“Well, he once stated “I’ll bring back Paul Dickov,” Dickov laughs, clearly a fan of the Catalan boss.

“He's not just a wonderful manager, he's a wonderful person and really takes an interest into the history of the club which is great for the fans and great for former players like myself. When we are on tour, I try not to get in his way too much because I do realise he's working, but he always makes time to come and chat and say hello. He's a pretty cool guy, but an absolutely exceptional manager as well.”

Paul Dickov was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of William Hill