I always liked this man and now I know what he really did for our club.
'I was Man City chairman who rejected Wimbledon merger and Rangers feeder club offer'
David Bernstein was the Manchester City chairman who turned down an offer to merge the club with Wimbledon and also rejected a proposal from Rangers
David Bernstein, the legendary chairman who saved Manchester City, recalls the club's darkest hour when it nearly died.
He was the man who ultimately rejected a proposal to merge the club with Wimbledon prior to the south London club being dissolved in 2004. And when Scottish giants Rangers wanted to make City their feeder club, Bernstein's response was just as firm.
It's safe to say that Bernstein is the man who rescued City during their most challenging times in more ways than one. He also played a crucial role in the deal that moved the club to the City of Manchester Stadium and made the Blues an attractive investment for Sheikh Mansour.
Bernstein celebrated his 80th birthday last May, the day before the team he has supported all his life were awarded their seventh Premier League title. 68 years earlier, on the day of his bar mitzvah, he had been glued to a black and white TV as City won the FA Cup.
Bernstein's contribution to the Manchester City story is just as significant as the Abu Dhabi prince who transformed the second-best team in town into European champions. Perhaps even more so. When he took over as chairman from Francis Lee in March 1998, the Blues were just a couple of months away from being relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.
But the only way wasn't up. City trailed Gillingham 2-0 going into injury time of the Second Division play-off final when a miracle happened. Kevin Horlock and Paul Dickov became legends for Manchester City when they scored goals that changed the club's fate. Bernstein reckons those goals were even more crucial than Aguero's epic 2012 title-winner.
City won that day on penalties, and it led to big things like moving to a new stadium. This move was a big deal when Sheikh Mansour decided to buy the club in 2008. Bernstein told the Mirror: "I'm not sure too many of City's younger fans understand the significance of Paul Dickov's equaliser - or, for that matter, Kevin Horlock's goal.
"Manchester City wouldn't have died if we hadn't been promoted, but it would have been a long way back because I would have had to oversee huge spending cuts. The move to the new stadium probably wouldn't have happened - and that was a key element in Sheikh Mansour's decision to buy the club in 2008. It was a tough time to be a City fan. The club was extremely vulnerable."
He also spilled the beans on some wild ideas that were floated back then, like merging with Wimbledon or becoming a feeder club for Rangers!
Bernstein said no way to those opportunities. He knew City fans would have been furious. He gets it because he's a City fan himself. And Bernstein thinks maybe it was good he was in charge, as someone else might not have got how special City are as a club.
He continued: "There was an offer to take a short-cut back to the Premier League by merging with Wimbledon. A month after we beat Gillingham came a letter from Rangers chairman David Murray that would have turned us into their feeder club.
"Both proposals got short shrift, of course. City fans would have torn Maine Road down! I understood that, because I was one of them. Looking back, perhaps it was fortunate I was chairman because someone who didn't understand the club may have been tempted."
Bernstein's tenure as chairman came to an end in 2003, just before City moved from Maine Road. He stepped down after key shareholders John Wardle and David Makin succumbed to manager Kevin Keegan's demand to sign Robbie Fowler. Bernstein was worried that City were stretching their finances too thin. His reputation in football was so high that he later became the chairman of the FA
Bernstein has penned a book about his time at City. 'We Were Really There' is a gripping read for both City supporters and those who argue the club had no history before 2008. He stated: "Some people don't like what City have become but, in my opinion, football is big business. What I don't understand is why investors from the Middle East get a level of criticism that owners from the United States and Russia seem immune to.
"City's owners have not just built a football club. They have helped to redevelop a large area of East Manchester. Of course, City have 115 charges hanging over them - and if they are found guilty their achievements will be tarnished.
"But I have nothing but admiration for Pep Guardiola. If City win a fourth successive Premier League title and retain the Champions League this season, you would have to say he has built the best club team English football has ever seen."
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