We Were Really There The Rebirth of Manchester City

We Were Really There is the story of how Manchester City was saved from oblivion - told by the man who oversaw the rescue operation.

Twenty-five years before City's historic Treble, they were a national joke, relegated to English football's third division. The only trophies the Citizens were likely to win, said chairman Francis Lee, were 'cups for cock-ups'.

Enter David Bernstein. When he succeeded Lee as chairman in March 1998, City had just been relegated from the Premier League and were about to be relegated again. During their season in the third tier, City fans sang choruses of 'We're not really here!' in mocking disbelief at how far their club had fallen.

Without Bernstein's work in five critical years as chairman, it is impossible to see how City would have been an attractive proposition to the investors from Abu Dhabi, whose takeover in 2008 paved the way for the Pep Guardiola era and unprecedented success.

This is the tale of the rebirth of a football club, told from the inside.

David Bernstein is a lifelong Manchester City fan who was chairman of the club from 1998 to 2003. He was non-executive chairman of French Connection and Ted Baker, and chairman of Wembley Stadium. David was appointed chairman of the FA in 2011, and was awarded a CBE for services to football in 2014. He has teamed up with football reporter and William Hill Sports Book of the Year-shortlisted author Tim Rich to tell his story.

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