WERDER BREMEN 8 CITY 0
Friendly
5th August 1981
attendance 20,000
Scorers Odstedde(10), Mohlmann(33), Meiar(34), Reinders(56), Branht(75), Gruber(80), Behrens(81), Jenk(89)
City Corrigan. McDonald, Ranson, Reid, Power, Caton, O’Neill, Gow, Boyer, Tueart, Reeves – subs MacKenzie(55), Henry(60)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 6TH AUGUST 1981
Manchester City left here today still visibly stunned by an 8-0 hammering that equalled their worst ever defeat.
But manager John Bond, his pride hurt by the most demoralising setback of his career, still declared defiantly: “I will get it right by the start of the season.”
Bond has 23 days to patch up the wounds inflicted by Werder Bremen, who cruelly exposed more back four failings. Now, defensive reinforcements could be drafted for the start of the season on August 29th.
Bond admitted: “We played better than against Rangers on Monday, but the Germans were just too good for us. In fact even at our peak last season, we would have found it extremely difficult to hold them,”
… Yet that cannot mask the deficiences and the totally inefficient way that City set about the task. “There was so much wrong. It was ludicrous,” said Bond, after squirming in agony on his touchline seat watching the slaughter of his innocents.
… Bremen were sharper in their methods, and far more lethal in front of goal, as they outclassed a City side destined to struggle in the months ahead.
… City have too many players who are not applying themselves sufficiently and Bond has already cracked the whip to try to put matters right.
… Bond will need every ounce of his managerial experience to lick City into shape by then and I feel he will need at least two more players to steady the boat.
Peter Barnes would hardly have been the answer last night, but at least he has the quality the Blues are sadly lacking.
Joe Corrigan, who has never before had eight goals knocked past him, summed up the feeling in the camp when he said: “Unbelievable.”
Nicky Reid and Tommy Caton never knew what hit them as Bremen poured in numbers through the middle, with eight different men sharing the goals. City’s only replies were four feeble shots, with only those from Paul Power and Martin O’Neill on target…