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Didsbury-born Mark Lillis (a life-long City fan and regular on the
Kippax) had two spells at Maine Road. His first ended as a disappointed
14 year-old schoolboy in 1974, and a 'transfer' that took him to then
Fourth Division Huddersfield Town. 234/8 games and 63 goals later he was
back at Maine Road for a second time, the subject of a £130, 000 fee,
on August 7th 1985. Equally at home in either defence or attack, Lillis
had scored for Huddersfield in their 3-2 win at Maine Road in April
1984, a fact no doubt filed away by manager Billy McNeill as he looked
to strengthen his recently promoted side. Following his debut on the
opening day of the 1985/86 season, Lillis missed just three of the 42
League games, scoring eleven times, a total that included three in four
games in November. These were against Ipswich (a penalty in a 1-1 draw),
Newcastle (a 1-0 win) and another penalty in a 2-1 defeat at Luton.
Added to this was a further one against Bury in the Milk Cup and three
more in City's progress to the final of the Full Members' Cup at
Wembley.
Having already scored against Leeds (won 6-1) in the first game
of the competition in October, Mark then scored twice in the Final
itself, a game City lost 5-4 to Chelsea. In total he scored 15 times in
the 1985/86 season (from 51 League and Cup games), a figure that made
him joint top scorer with another newcomer that term, Gordon Davies.
Despite these admirable statistics, and the fact that his apparently
boundless energy and enthusiasm had already endeared him to the City
faithful, McNeill somewhat surprisingly sold him to Derby County after
just one full season in City's colours. The deal - in August 1986 - was
valued at £200, 000, and included Trevor Christie and £100, 000 cash.
After Derby, Lillis later played for Aston Villa, Scunthorpe United and
Stockport County, his somewhat injury-hit career finally coming to an
end at Witton Albion in the 1992/93 season. (Ian Penney - author of The
Legends of Manchester City)
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