Back in the 1980s, I remember, along with about another 50 fans, receiving a certificate from the Manchester City Chairman Peter Swales for attending three long away games in a week.

On the first Saturday the Blues were at Ipswich Town, and as I remember it, the journey had been made more difficult by the weather, which had seen several roads, en route, closed by fallen trees.

The following Tuesday I was on board the travel club coach to Plymouth for a Full members Cup tie at Home Park, but as we passed Taunton, in pouring rain, we found out that the game had been called off, so we came off at the next junction and returned to Manchester.

We arrived back at Maine Road at just after midnight to be told by travel organiser, Howard Yeates, that the game had been rearranged for the following night. This was before mobile phones so none of us were aware of this possibility.

Fortunately, I’d booked the Wednesday off work from my job as a bank clerk, so I signed up for another attempt to get to Plymouth the following day. The game was played successfully at the second time of asking, but then on the Saturday, just three days later, we were at Plymouth again for a league game.

All of us who made it to all three games received a certificate from the Chairman. We were certainly obsessed fans, but we were surely also a bit daft to spend so much of our free time travelling up and down England’s motorways to watch football.

It seems I haven’t learnt much in the intervening years because during the last seven days I’ve flown to Cologne in Germany before driving across the country to Leipzig.

I arrived home from that expedition at about 10.30pm on Friday night, so after briefly reacquainting myself with my family, I snatched a few hours sleep before driving down to Bournemouth to watch City return to Premier League action.

On Tuesday I was underway again, this time to watch City at Bristol City in the FA Cup, getting home at 2.30am.

I’m sure most people reading this must question my sanity, particularly for this latest set of games, because all three of them were shown on TV so I could have sat on my sofa and watched them without having to use any energy, or money. Why did I go? Why have I been doing this sort of thing all my adult life? It’s a question I have asked myself many times and of course my wife has asked this repeatedly too.

Everyone has a passion and mine is watching football in stadiums and Manchester City games in particular. Back in 1988, City lost 1-0 at Ipswich, but won both games at Plymouth, the first 6-3, so overall it was quite a successful week, but even if City had lost all three games I’d still have been at the next game, which was a 0-0 draw, at Maine Road, against Birmingham City.

For this latest trio of long distance games City drew at Leipzig, but won at Bournemouth and Bristol City.

City’s form has been improving of late, just in time for that stage of the season when the major trophies are won and lost. On Saturday the Blues face Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium and I’m hoping that City will also go one better in that game than they did against Birmingham City back in 1988, but one thing that hasn’t changed is my passion for watching the Blues, home and away.

You can’t beat being at the game, in the stadium. For me, it’s always, fresh air not arm chair!   

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