Dennis TUEART

 Most City fans of a certain vintage will remember Dennis Tueart scoring the spectacular winning goal in the 1976 League Cup final against Newcastle United. Indeed, many football mad schoolboy Blues had a newspaper photograph of that overhead kick adorning their bedroom walls for months afterwards. And yet that wasn't the first time Tueart had tasted success at Wembley. Three years earlier he'd been a valued member of Bob Stokoe's hugely unfancied Second Division Sunderland side who had beaten the might of Leeds United by a solitary goal in the FA Cup Final.

Tueart was born in Newcastle on 27th November 1949 and joined Sunderland as a junior in August 1967. He eventually played in 173/5 League games for Sunderland before joining City in March 1974 in a joint deal that saw Mick Horswill come with him and Tony Towers travel in the opposite direction. Tueart's debut came just 48 hours after signing in a fiercely contested goalless 'derby' at Maine Road, a game that saw City's Mike Doyle and United's Lou Macari given their marching orders by referee Clive Thomas.

It took Dennis until his fifth appearance to register his first goal for City (in a 1-1 draw at home to Everton) and his debut season finished with eight appearances in total, including one at Old Trafford on the last day, a game Denis Law will never forget (he scored the goal which relegated United; his former club). Having finished 1973/74 in a mid-table 14th position, City faired much better next time out and completed the season six places higher.

Tueart scored on the opening day (a 4-0 win against West Ham) and the last (a 1-1 draw at Luton) and his combined tally of 14 goals for the season was bettered only by Colin Bell who's hat-trick against Scunthorpe United in the League Cup took his total to 18. Perhaps the highlight personally for Tueart that term was his own hat-trick against his hometown club Newcastle in a 5-1 home win in January. (Ian Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)

By the time the 1975/76 season started City fans had taken to Dennis Tueart in a big way and they loved his direct attacking approach. Again Tony Book's City finished 8th and again Dennis scored on the opening day; this time twice in a 3-0 home win against Norwich. They were the first of what turned out to be 14 goals from 37/1 appearances in the League (including doubles against both Newcastle and Derby), a figure added to by two more in the FA Cup in a convincing 6-0 romp against Hartlepool.

Yet it was in the League Cup that season that both club and player prospered further. After three attempts to dispose of Norwich (the Blues eventually managed it 6-1 in a second replay at Stamford Bridge thanks largely to Tueart's hat-trick) they progressed all the way to Wembley and the aforementioned 2-1 success over Newcastle in the final. Tueart's contribution was eight of City's 25 goals in the competition, one that was marred by the serious injury to Colin Bell in a 4-0 defeat of Manchester United in Round 4. As way of at least some compensation, Dennis took personal revenge with two goals on the night.

Under former skipper Tony Book's guidance, City built a formidable side in the mid 1970s, one that almost matched the efforts of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison's sides of the previous decade. In 1976/77 they missed out on the First Championship by a single point to Liverpool and Dennis Tueart was a key figure of an attack-minded side that now included Brian Kidd alongside Tueart, Joe Royle and Peter Barnes. Dennis scored another 18 goals (beaten only by Kidd's 23) and for the third successive season scored on the opening day; this time in a 2-2 draw at Leicester. City's title ambitions fell away slightly the following campaign although they still finished in a highly respectable fourth position and Tueart found himself beaten again only by Kidd in the goalscoring stakes.

His 12 in the League included a remarkable three hat-tricks; against Aston Villa away (won 4-1), Chelsea at home (won 6-2) and Newcastle on Boxing Day (won 4-0), a game memorable also for the return at half-time of Colin Bell from his knee injury. Dennis added three more in Cup games but in February he decided on a complete change of scenery and a fresh challenge; he was transferred to the glamourous New York Cosmos of the NASL for £250,000. (Ian Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)

By the time Dennis Tueart returned to Moss Side at the end of January 1980, Malcolm Allison had replaced Tony Book in charge of first team matters (even though it was never meant to be that way) and the Blues had been humbled out of the FA Cup by Fourth Division Halifax Town. This was the time of Allison's much chronicled 'clear out' of senior players and Tueart now had to play alongside a variety of youth and unknown players instead of his former team-mates (and seasoned internationals) Dave Watson, Asa Hartford and Mike Channon.

Not surprisingly during these changing times City stuttered, finishing 17th in Division One and the return of Dennis was undoubtedly the highlight of a hugely disappointingly season which saw them go 18 games without a win between December and April. Tueart made 11 starts at the end of the season and scored five goals (Michael Robinson was top scorer with just nine), including both in a 2-2 draw with Bolton. Things started no better the following season with City failing to win until their 13th game of the season (on 22nd October), when finally Spurs were beaten 3-1 at Maine Road. Tueart had scored twice already up to that point but then broke his wrist and missed five League games.

This disappointing start meant the end of the joint managerial partnership of Allison and Book and in October John Bond was brought in to take charge. The arrival of three new players seemed to revitalise City who, at least for the time being, put their League worries behind them and progressed all the way to Wembley and the 100th FA Cup Final against Tottenham. Tueart meantime was an infrequent starter in John Bond's line up.

The maximum number of games he started consecutively was five (and that was only once) and he only managed a substitute appearance (for Bobby McDonald) in the Cup Final replay. In total Tueart made 28/2 appearances in 1980/81 and scored 12 times, a more than adequate return for a 31 year-old whose main job now was to provide rather than score. In 1981/82 he played even fewer games (19 in all competitions) and yet still managed a double figure goal total of 11. It was the sixth time he had managed to reach double figures for the Blues.

His most prolific period was October and November when he scored eight times in seven games, including doubles against Swansea in the League and Northampton in the League Cup. City finished 10th in 1981/82 but had a dreadful 1982/83 campaign and were ultimately relegated. They finished in 20th place with only bottom placed Swansea scoring fewer goals; 38 against City's 47. Following a 4-0 defeat at Brighton in the FA Cup in January manager John Bond was replaced by his number two John Benson but it was all to no avail. With only three wins out of 16 games, City needed a point to stay up from their last game at home to Luton whilst the visitors needed a win.

With four minutes to go Alex Williams in the City goal was beaten by a deflected shot and City were down. Dennis Tueart had played his last game for City and left in the worst possible circumstances, even admitting to a confrontation with Luton's Brian Horton (a future City manager) in the tunnel afterwards. In his last season as a player at Maine Road Tueart managed seven goals from 35/7 starts. In total he made 265/10 appearances for City, scored 109 goals and won all of his six England caps whilst a City player.

Aged 33 he moved to Stoke in July 1983 where he played just two games before finishing his career at Burnley at the end of the season. Away from playing Tueart opened his own travel agency in Cheadle and then later a sports hospitality and management company. He was back again at Maine Road in 1997, this time as a director. (Ian Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)