Stumbling to a crisis in drinking culture

He began the season talking about Europe but when Joe Royle flies to Magaluf today it will be far removed from the circumstances he had envisaged in those heady autumn days when he was guilty, perhaps, of allowing his heart to rule his head.

Back then, as Manchester City took a deep gulp and prepared to acclimatise to life in the game's highest and most demanding tier, Royle could not help but ooze misguided optimism about their chances of a top-six finish. "I'll be very disappointed if we fail to qualify for the UEFA Cup," he told anyone willing to listen.

It seems a long time ago. This morning, having been unceremoniously deposed from Maine Road yesterday, Royle will be taking off with a few friends for a break in the Spanish sunshine with his P45 stuffed in his suitcase.

In the end he departed with an air of defiance. "I am proud of my record at City," he said, and it is undeniably true, as he pointed out, that the club are in a stronger position than the mess he inherited just over three years ago.

Yet, even if City's board have left themselves vulnerable to criticism by retracting their public support for Royle of the past two weeks, it was difficult to take issue with any of the chairman David Bernstein's caustic observations.

In particular, Royle must concede he has presided over some ghastly errors of judgment in the transfer market. George Weah, the former world player of the player, came and went in acrimonious circumstances, citing Royle as the cause for his unhappiness.

The bewildering Paulo Wanchope was transfer-listed after a number of disagreements with the 52-year-old, most seriously when the two had to be pulled apart during the interval of a defeat at Chelsea, and in total Royle has spent £17 million sterling on eight players in the last year. Of those, only Steve Howey and Carlo Nash have emerged with any credit.

There are other questions, too. Why did he persist with Nicky Weaver for so long when it was clear the young goalkeeper had lost all his form and confidence? Is it true Charvet is the French for nightmare? And what about the supposed drinking culture?

Royle will be stung by the suspicions of ill discipline off the field, but he can hardly deny it. Bernstein has certainly heard all the stories; that there is a hard core of eight or nine players whose drinking exploits have become infamous around the Cheshire-set villages.

One player said they would usually meet up three nights a week for lengthy drinking sessions, followed more often than not by an Indian meal. He described the team's week-long break in Spain, just before the end of the season, as a "marathon in boozing really".

"A lot of us smoke, too, but if I'm being honest I don't think we would allow it to affect our performances on the pitch. At the end of the day we are professionals," he said. Maybe so, but it is difficult to imagine the same happening at Manchester United.

So, like two old friends, City have been reunited with the word "crisis". Somehow it fits so well.

Everyone has a favourite story about this emotive old club and its unsurpassable talent for taking a 12-bore to its toecaps. Francis Lee, for instance, will never forget how one of the items at his first board meeting concerned repairing a boiler that had left the players sometimes showering in cold water - for the previous four years.

Royle himself can remember that shortly after succeeding Frank Clark as manager in February 1998 a letter appeared in the Manchester Evening News telling him that managing City was like "trying to nail jelly to the ceiling".

As he packed his belongings yesterday he will have tidied up a coaster from his desk that was sent in by a supporter at Christmas. It has a grey background with a red switch in the middle and the words: "Panic button".

The time to press it could be now although Bernstein remains a calming influence. "People look at our history and think `typical Manchester City' but this is anything but a knee-jerk reaction," he said.

"We have a preliminary shortlist of potential managers and we believe it will be the most sought-after position. We have worked very hard at bringing some professionalism to the club and there is an incredible amount going for us.

"We've got a magnificent 50,000-capacity stadium to look forward to in 2003, a huge fan base and we're still in a good financial position despite losing £15 million through relegation. There is money to spend and, without flattering myself, we are a much more attractive proposition than we used to be."

On Thursday he will have to explain that again at a potentially tempestuous end-of-season fans' forum. "I think most people will agree this is the right decision. It would have been much easier to do nothing. The fans weren't crying for a change. But we're aiming not just to get back in the Premiership but to be a real force at the top end of the English game.

"The last thing we want to be is a yo-yo club and, to ensure that doesn't happen, we need a fresh set-up. I haven't had a holiday for two years and I won't be having one this summer until this thing is put to bed."

Royle has never responded to criticism well. Hence journalists who campaigned for him to be named manager of the year last season have been cold-shouldered at times for daring to criticise him over the last nine months.

He still refuses to speak to the Liverpool Echo after accusing them of instigating his departure from Everton in 1997. This time, however, he may reflect that he has only himself to blame.