Manchester City legends promise to stay in touch after mass gathering of ex-players

Granada Reports sports correspondent Mike Hall was invited along to the ex-players' reunion.

More than 60 ex-Manchester City players have gathered for their biggest-ever reunion.

They met for a special celebration in Manchester's El Rincon tapas restaurant - among them club legends like Mike Summerbee, Joe Corrigan and Denis Tueart.

A very popular attendee was 77-year-old former defender Dave Watson, who now lives with dementia and was accompanied by his wife, Penny.

Penny Watson was with husband Dave - the former City defender who has dementia Credit: ITV Granada

Penny said of the ex-players' party: "It helps him remember things. In any kind of field, getting back together with your peers, talking and reminiscing is very important.

"Not just people who've got memory issues but for anyone who's actually retired, they need to get together and stimulate the brain."

Many of the City greats made a bee-line for Watson, to hug him, shake his hand and show him how much he is treasured.

Mike Summerbee was just one of the City legends keen to shake Dave Watson's hand Credit: ITV Granada

The event marked a reboot of City's Former Players' Association and was a chance to catch up and to reminisce.

All those who attended were all given a "legacy number" - calculated by ex-City and England midfielder David White, who with the help of former teammate Ian Brightwell, created a spreadsheet containing a list of names and dates of each player's debut.

All the City legends present said the party would definitely not be the last.

Paul Lake, who graced City's former Maine Road ground between 1983-96, said: "Some of them have played in front of 90,000 fans years ago and yet they may be living by themselves or they may have become a carer or they may be struggling with their own health.

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"So we can connect with them. We can provide signposting to the support provided by the PFA(Professional Footballers' Association). We can ensure all of our family of former City players are reconnected.

"Everyone's been made to feel special. If you've played one game for Manchester City or over 600, no-one gets forgotten; everyone's going to be celebrated and everybody is going to be made to feel important."