Former Man City winger Roy Cheetham has sadly passed away at the age of 79. He attended the Manchester derby at the weekend before passing away in his sleep on Sunday night.
The tributes to a man who held a special place in the club’s history have been flying in ever since it was announced and these supporters took to social media to pay their respects.
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Very sad to hear this, I was fortunate to play golf with him when we were in the doldrums and his fierce passion for life, football, and City shone through. Rest in peace.
— Jonathan Aitken (@DrJonAitken) December 9, 2019
Had the pleasure of watching him play. RIP Roy
— Peter D (@PeterD43178834) December 10, 2019
Sad, lovely man. Met him a few times, his son Dean used to work for me.
— grandad (@dave_grandad) December 9, 2019
RIP ?????? very tragic to hear and I send my condolences to the relatives and friends of the 79 year old…
— Angus Walsh (@WalshAngus) December 9, 2019
R. I. P ROY CHEETHAM ??
— Manchester City in Pidgin (@mancityinpigin) December 9, 2019
Rest in power?
— Teiko (@thefanchoco_) December 9, 2019
What do we think?
Roy Cheetham was Manchester City’s first-ever substitute. They were introduced into football in 1965 and he replaced Mike Summerbee on August 30th at Wolves after he suffered a head injury. He also went on to have spells at the Detroit Cougars, Charlton Athletic, Chester and the Windsor Stars.
Formerly the treasurer of City’s Former Players’ Association, Cheetham was much respected by a long-list of City legends. The fact that the Manchester Derby was to be his last game is as sad as it was fitting – one of his first appearances for the club came against United in 1958 in front of a crowd of 63,000 spectators at Maine Road.