CITY stars of yesteryear have had their exploits chronicled in a new book, but at the launch of Colin Shindler's 'George Best and 21 Others' at the City of Manchester Stadium, all talk turned to the plight of the current Blues.

George Best, predictably enough, didn't make it for the launch party. But European Cup winner David Sadler from Manchester's red half was present, along with City stars from the past - including Dave Connor, John Clay, Chris Jones, Phil Burrows, Alf Wood and Alan Ogley.

M.E.N. Sport canvassed opinion on Kevin Keegan's team's battle to to stay in the Premiership. And Connor, who lives in Heald Green and now manages a sports centre, said: "The situation is dreadful. I want them to survive but unfortunately we are not winning games. The Leicester game is crucial."

Clay, who lives in Swinton and now spends much of his spare time playing golf, said: "We'll survive but the bottom line is Kevin Keegan has not got enough quality players. Those he has got don't seem to have gelled."

Ogley, who works with the Academy at Barnsley FC, said: "The problem is that Leeds are scoring goals, while City are struggling up front. I'd love them to stay up but my gut feeling is they won't."

Creative

Wood, who now lives in the West Midlands and runs a promotions company with his daughter, said: "I feel very sorry for Kevin Keegan because he is a manager who likes to play a creative exciting game.

"I don't think they'll be relegated because Anelka can always get a goal. The meeting they had with the manager earlier this week, when the players said they wanted to work harder in training, was interesting. It shows they care."

Burrows, a quantity surveyor from Stockport, said: "If the players today showed the commitment that players showed in the past then City would not be having these problems. I like to be entertained and there is a problem generally about a lack of talent."

Chris Jones, now a teacher living in York, said: "City will stay up. The club has always had it's ups-and- downs. We are an attractive side but we don't seem to be able to defend. We used to always try to defend collectively. I'm sure we'll get out of this, but there again I am an optimist."

'Terrifying'

Author Shindler, the former Bury Grammar School boy who also wrote `Manchester United Ruined my Life' and `Fathers, Sons and Football', had his say on City's relegation battle.

"I find the position we are in terrifying," he observed. "Financially, it's approaching meltdown. We don't seem to be able to scrap like other teams in trouble, such as Leicester, Leeds and Wolves."

Shindler's book looks back to Spring 1964 when 50,000 fans turned out to watch the two-legged semi-final of the FA Youth Cup between City and United. He investigates what happened to those players - which of them became fully fledged pros and what happened to the rest.

Best is the most famous player from those matches, but the City team boasted the likes of Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe.

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