Ian BISHOP

Ian Bishop was a creative midfield player with great passing ability who went on to become one of the most popular players ever to don the sky blue shirt in his two spells at Manchester City, being instrumental in helping the club to recover from the lowest point in it's entire history. Born in Liverpool on May 29th 1965 he joined Everton straight from school in 1981, but following a short spell on loan at Crewe three years later he was released by boss Howard Kendall after making just one substitute appearance for the club and he joined Carlisle United, where he would spend the next four years. He was transferred to Bournemouth in July 1988 and one year later manager Mel Machin paid a reported fee of £725, 000 to bring him to newly-promoted City, having appeared in all four divisions of the football league.

His debut could not have been any tougher, a 3-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on the opening day of the 1989/90 Division One season, and after only six games of the new campaign the team were still coming to terms with life in the top-flight and were joint-bottom of the table with only four points. The opposition in the next game were Manchester United at home, and in a never-to-be-forgotten encounter Bishop notched his first goal for the club with a diving header as they dished out a 5-1 hammering to their local rivals. Things improved even more the following week when Ian was once again on the mark in a 3-1 home win over Luton Town, but the elation was not to last. Despite wins in the League Cup over Brentford (5-3 on aggregate) and Norwich City, where Bishop was once again on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win, a run of only one league win over the next two months (which included a 6-0 humiliation at Derby County) had left the Blues in the relegation zone by the end of November.

After a week which saw a 1-0 loss at home to Coventry City in the League Cup and a 1-1 league draw at Charlton Athletic the club decided to part company with manager Machin, and he was replaced by Bishop's old boss at Goodison Park Howard Kendall. It was ironic that his first game in charge was an away game at Everton which ended in a 0-0 draw, Ian being relegated to the substitute's bench after being an ever-present all season. He was, however, named in the starting line-up a week later for the Boxing Day clash with Norwich City at Maine Road. With rumours circulating that he was to be allowed to leave the club the fans let their displeasure be known when he was substituted in a 1-0 victory, and two days later their worst fears were confirmed when, along with striker Trevor Morley, he was transferred to second division West Ham United in a straight swap for winger Mark Ward. He had scored 3 goals in his 23 league and cup appearances in his five months with the club, but what nobody could have foretold was his return to the club nine years later when he would have a much bigger impact, albeit in different circumstances. (David Redshaw)

Ian Bishop was a creative midfield player with great passing ability who went on to become one of the most popular players ever to don the sky blue shirt in his two spells at Manchester City, being instrumental in helping the club to recover from the lowest point in it's entire history. Born in Liverpool on May 29th 1965 he joined Everton straight from school in 1981, but following a short spell on loan at Crewe three years later he was released by boss Howard Kendall after making just one substitute appearance for the club and he joined Carlisle United, where he would spend the next four years. He was transferred to Bournemouth in July 1988 and one year later manager Mel Machin paid a reported fee of £725, 000 to bring him to newly-promoted City, having appeared in all four divisions of the football league.

His debut could not have been any tougher, a 3-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on the opening day of the 1989/90 Division One season, and after only six games of the new campaign the team were still coming to terms with life in the top-flight and were joint-bottom of the table with only four points. The opposition in the next game were Manchester United at home, and in a never-to-be-forgotten encounter Bishop notched his first goal for the club with a diving header as they dished out a 5-1 hammering to their local rivals. Things improved even more the following week when Ian was once again on the mark in a 3-1 home win over Luton Town, but the elation was not to last. Despite wins in the League Cup over Brentford (5-3 on aggregate) and Norwich City, where Bishop was once again on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win, a run of only one league win over the next two months (which included a 6-0 humiliation at Derby County) had left the Blues in the relegation zone by the end of November.

After a week which saw a 1-0 loss at home to Coventry City in the League Cup and a 1-1 league draw at Charlton Athletic the club decided to part company with manager Machin, and he was replaced by Bishop's old boss at Goodison Park Howard Kendall. It was ironic that his first game in charge was an away game at Everton which ended in a 0-0 draw, Ian being relegated to the substitute's bench after being an ever-present all season. He was, however, named in the starting line-up a week later for the Boxing Day clash with Norwich City at Maine Road. With rumours circulating that he was to be allowed to leave the club the fans let their displeasure be known when he was substituted in a 1-0 victory, and two days later their worst fears were confirmed when, along with striker Trevor Morley, he was transferred to second division West Ham United in a straight swap for winger Mark Ward. He had scored 3 goals in his 23 league and cup appearances in his five months with the club, but what nobody could have foretold was his return to the club nine years later when he would have a much bigger impact, albeit in different circumstances. (David Redshaw)