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When Brian Gayle led City out on September 23rd 1989 to face the old
enemy Manchester United at Maine Road, little could he have known he was
embarking on the greatest blue derby in living memory. With City's
youngsters overwhelming Alex Ferguson's collection of expensive talent
to the tune of 5-1, it must surely be Gayle's finest moment in his 18
months as a City player. His footballing career had started as a 17
year-old apprentice with Wimbledon in 1982. Prior to that he'd already
played football in New Zealand as well as showing great ability as a
junior basketball player. He went on to take part in 83 League games for
the Dons before a £325, 000 move to Maine Road on June 9th 1988.
Gayle
was one of four new faces in the side that summer, players paid for
largely due to the £1.7 million sale of Paul Stewart to Tottenham. His
debut for the Blues came on the opening day of the 1988/89 season in a
1-0 defeat at Hull. It proved to be a minor setback in a season that saw
City eventually finish second behind Chelsea to earn promotion back to
Division One. This ultimate success was due in no small part to Trevor
Morley's equaliser in the dying moments of the final game at Bradford.
Gayle missed just five of the 46 League games that campaign, forming a
solid central defensive partnership with the homegrown Steve Redmond,
and scoring three times into the bargain. These came in a 1-0 win at
Plymouth and in the home wins against Swindon (2-1) and Ipswich (4-0)
and proved to be the only goals he scored for the Blues.
In November
1989 new manager Howard Kendall secured the services of Colin Hendry
from Blackburn. The arrival of this new centre-half effectively marked
the end of Gayle's time with City. He could only manage a combined total
of 19 League and Cup appearances during the 1989/90 season, sixteen of
these appearances coming before Hendry arrived. After 66 games in a City
shirt he joined Ipswich on January 17th 1990 for £330,000 where he
stayed until the following September before a move to Sheffield United. (Ian Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)
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