Manchester City have a habit of scoring memorable goals against QPR, as Sergio Agüero will testify. For many City fans though, the Argentinian’s title-clincher still sits second to Jamie Pollock’s elaborate own goal in 1998, which almost certainly doomed the club to relegation to the third tier for the first time in their history.
Like Agüero, the combative midfielder showed great composure and skill to bypass a couple of players before precisely heading the ball over his own goalkeeper, leaving a packed Maine Road silent. The goal made it 2-1 to the visitors and, although City would equalise, the draw meant Joe Royle’s side needed a minor miracle on the final day at Stoke a week later. Despite a 5-2 victory, they went down.
Gallows humour has always been a trait of City supporters but even they struggled to comprehend what they witnessed when Pollock decided to sum up five years of struggle in one moment. The culprit fears the fault for the goal may lie in his DVD collection.
“It was funny because on the Friday – and I’ve never done this before – somebody had got me a video for Christmas of own goals and gaffes, and I said: ‘I am not watching that.’ But on the Friday, for some reason, I put it on and my wife Linzie came in and said ‘I can’t believe you’re watching that before the game’, but I was like ‘nah, I’ll be alright’ and then I actually did one. I don’t know if it was something subconscious in my mind from watching the DVD but I’ll try to blame something, it was just crazy,” Pollock says.
“I watched it on the Friday and on the Saturday I tracked my runner, the ball bounced, I’ve actually knocked it over Mike Sheron’s head and then I’ve looked and Martyn Margetson was on his line so I’ve headed it back towards Martyn. As I’ve headed it, he comes running out and the ball’s beaten him and gone into the goal. Then it was like: ‘My God!’ It was horrendous and you felt the silence from the crowd; the anxiety grew from there, we kept battling on but couldn’t get the win we needed.”
Many would have expected Pollock to be vilified for his moment of madness but the dressing room was understanding, aware that their predicament was not down to the midfielder’s overzealous plan to clear the danger but rather a season of poor performances.
“I can remember going into the dressing room and saying: ‘Sorry lads, I can’t believe I’ve done that.’ The support was fantastic; Joe and Willie Donachie were obviously frustrated and alarmed at our plight but at no point did they point the finger of blame and I think that’s a great credit to them. It was tough walking into that dressing room knowing you’d done something like that but the lads were fantastic.”
For many an event like that was enough for a club to be relegated in an instant, but Pollock had arrived late in the season as the newly-installed manager, Joe Royle, tried to form a blueprint for safety. Royle had more than 40 professionals at his disposal but few were of the relevant quality to get City out of the mess they had created for themselves. A sports psychologist was brought in and the team warmed up for matches at a nearby primary school to avoid the angry glare of fans before matches at the 32,000-capacity Maine Road.
“The threat of relegation was a big worry to everybody; it was a real burden on our shoulders going on the pitch because nobody wanted to be part of a relegation of that nature for a club as big as City. I went in for 10 games and absolutely loved my time at the club. It was really good, even though City was a club which was in a lot of ways in a load of turmoil, you could still tell it was an absolutely fantastic club with a fantastic fanbase.
“Joe decided at the time it was best to warm up away from the ground before matches, so we used to shoot off to a little school around the corner, we’d have a little warm-up, back into the changing rooms and out on to the pitch, so that was very different. The thinking at the time was, as a lot of players were getting a lot of stick, to protect players from that because it was a big burden playing for such a big club like City.”
Although the relegation was a horrible experience for fans and players alike, it galvanised the club and Pollock, in particular, as they fought to bring City back to where they felt was their rightful place. The dramatic play-off final win against Gillingham at Wembley would potentially not have happened were it not for Pollock’s comical intervention. The shootout win against Gillingham gave the club sufficient momentum to earn a second consecutive promotion and return to the Premier League in 2000.
“The own goal and the relegation were City’s lowest point and to be involved in that wasn’t ideal for me but in many respects it was the start of something new and I think that was the lowest point and from that things started to change; Joe did a fantastic job getting a lot of footballers and wages so the club got to a more sensible financial footing, David Bernstein came in as chairman, he had a vision for the club and it just seemed like the club was heading the right way but from my point of view I didn’t have all the pain of going down and down, as in the 10 games we put up a bit of a fight for it, we had a go and everything from that season onwards was all positive in trying to get promoted and then again. It was a great achievement – in my time at City we had one relegation and two promotions and it was a great experience for any footballer.”
Pollock, who now runs a football academy in his native north-east, is constantly reminded of his glorious failure but will be a permanent reminder of how things have changed for City, a summation of the struggle they have gone through, providing permanent perspective for those who now live through the most glorious days.
“I’ve got five kids and you can imagine they’ve all had a bit of stick in the playground and I am forever being reminded of it. I have a massive amount of respect for City and I think it’s a fantastic club. At the time I was absolutely horrified but I think, after a bit of time, even the most hardened of City fans can look back and laugh at how it happened. On the day it was horrendous but, moving on, if you didn’t laugh, you’d crack up.”
