MCIVTA was started in 1994 as an internet newsletter for followers of Manchester City. It is usually issued two or three times a week and covers match reports, news, questions and personal views. In this piece, Paul Howarth revisits a time when fans were desperately in need of some silliness. We certainly got it….

The inflatable bananas craze

At a time when English football was at a bit of a low ebb, banned from Europe following the Heysel disaster, continuing hooliganism and the threat of a national identity card scheme being imposed by the government, there came a craze which brought a smile back to fans’ faces and gave football some long-awaited good publicity.