During last weekend's Premier League match, where Liverpool lost 0-3 at home to Manchester City, visiting Manchester City supporters created a memorable scene by waving inflatable bananas to show their support for the team. Recently, Manchester City's official website presented the history of bananas and the club, explaining why supporters chose this celebration accessory.

Tracing back to Manchester City's away match against Stoke City the day after Christmas in 1988, the unique tradition of Manchester City supporters bringing inflatable bananas to watch the match became a defining moment. Despite the team's 1-3 defeat, the festive atmosphere created by supporters was unforgettable.

By the late 1980s, inflatable bananas had attracted the attention of national, European, and even worldwide media to Manchester City supporters. Several plausible theories exist about the origin of this trend, but it is difficult to determine who founded what may be Manchester City's—or perhaps any football club's—most endearing and amusing custom over the years. The defunct Manchester City fanzine "Blue Print" appears to have played an important role in popularizing this accessory, and if so, Bill Borrows and Frank Newton deserve considerable credit. Another theory suggests that former Manchester City striker Imre Varadi played a significant role, with theorists believing that some Kippax Stand supporters sang "Imre Banana" as a variation of his name. The timing worked out, so it's plausible, but it's equally possible that the adaptation of Imre's name came after the bananas arrived—we may never know for certain.

Match days during the 1988-1989 season were vibrant, especially on the Kippax Stand and away, as the loyal Citizens earned well-deserved praise from the media for bringing much-needed humour during a generally bleak period for the club and football in general. With English clubs banned from European competitions from 1985 to 1990 and hooliganism becoming a major problem, Manchester City supporters, known for their dark humour, sought alternatives to gloom and doom. While bananas were a popular choice, many inflatable toys quickly appeared—in fact, anything went!

Who can forget the battle between the inflatable Frankenstein and the green dinosaur? And the giant mallets and a hundred other variations. The pink pterodactyl was particularly impressive (ahem!), but I can't imagine who owned that one...

The craze spread, and supporters of other clubs adopted their own different themes, the best including Stoke City with its Pink Panthers, Grimsby Town with its "Harry Haddock," and Norwich City with its yellow canaries. It was a colourful and fun spectacle, and it all started with Manchester City.

Kevin Cummins, a lifelong Manchester City fan and regular contributor to club magazines and one of Britain's finest photographers, was invited by the iconic magazine "The Face" to document this fascinating craze. Cummins said: "The man with the Frankenstein monster was called Eli, a mate of mine, who always brought a fully inflated 'Frank' to every match. We were often stopped by police on the way to away matches because he had a 1.8-metre 'monster' on the back seat, sometimes through the sunroof." "It was a battle every week to get him past the turnstiles, and local police would demand to see his ticket, then argue about whether he should be allowed in without one, as it might take up a seat." "Watching football back then certainly wasn't like today, but Manchester City supporters, with this mad idea, helped lighten the dark atmosphere of the game." "It spread incredibly quickly and reached its peak when Manchester City's team came out the day after Christmas at Stoke City with giant bananas, delighting more than 12,000 Manchester City supporters waving bananas." "It's brilliant to see that the banana craze has also been passed on to different generations of Manchester City supporters."

So let's return to the day after Christmas 1988. Manager Mel Machin had built a decent young Manchester City side that was fighting for promotion. The Citizens were unbeaten in eight matches before the festive period, and the tough encounter at Stoke City's Victoria Ground the day after Christmas was the flagship match of the holiday programme—in fact, it was the only match during the two-week period from 17 to 31 December. The match quickly became highly anticipated, and it was one no one wanted to miss. Stoke City generously increased our away ticket allocation until approximately 12,000 tickets were sold. A Stoke City supporter recalls: "I've always liked Manchester City supporters, and my brothers and I met a few of them before the match at the Cabin pub, and we had a friendly chat. A lot of them came that day, 12,000 people down the M6, many with their giant bananas, while Stoke City supporters brought their Pink Panthers." "Manchester City players came out before the match and threw inflatable bananas into the crowd, and they also had a paddock area to accommodate their many supporters."

Paul Lake was in the starting lineup for Manchester City that day. Our elegant midfielder and lifelong Manchester City fan wrote in his autobiography "I'm Not Really Here": "The fancy dress rental shops were ransacked, women's wardrobes were turned upside down, and Manchester City's hardcore supporters were about to light up the football world once more with their unique brand of madness."

"As our team bus headed toward the stadium that day, it wasn't the usual sea of fans in blue shirts, but a swaying crowd of Draculas, Nazis, Mr. Blobbys, Super Moms, Tommy Coopers, a pantomime horse, Bernie Clifton's ostrich and numerous furry cross-dressers—absolute chaos. Organizing a giant fancy dress party in the Potteries was quite audacious; Stoke City could be a dangerous town on match days, famous in the 1980s for its particular 'hospitality' toward visiting fans."

"In the party atmosphere, the club allowed us to run onto the pitch with our own inflatables and throw them into the away stand. We weren't entirely keen on the idea; I remember Neil McNab muttering a stream of Scottish expletives when handed a giant inflatable banana, but we did it."

"If our poor performance is any indication, we Manchester City players should have dressed up that day. Eleven clown costumes would have been enough for the farce that ended in a 1-3 defeat, a result that undoubtedly spoiled the festivities in the stands." "There was a deep sense of embarrassment on the team bus on the way back down the M6, and we all lamented our mediocre performance."

"Twelve thousand excellent supporters made enormous efforts to create a carnival atmosphere, and our response really spoiled their party."

Nigel Gleghorn tried to spark the party by giving the Citizens the lead, but Stoke City responded forcefully, scoring three goals in nine minutes, with brilliant performances from Peter Beagrie and Chris Kamara for Stoke City. Kamara equalized for the home side, and debutant Dave Bamber forced in a second goal shortly after. Manchester City's misery ended when Brian Gayle clumsily fouled the electrifying Beagrie, and George Berry converted the penalty. Stoke City won 3-1, and despite the disappointing defeat, the Citizens went on a nine-match unbeaten run, getting their promotion objective (ultimately successful) back on track. If Lake was right—our players didn't perform the day after Christmas 1988—the fact remains that the supporters absolutely did.

Traduit par IA.

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