Manchester City fans will keep up their inflatable banana antics for the rest of the season, according to a supporter who was part of the away end's celebrations at Anfield.
City travelled to face Liverpool on Sunday with the shadow of their financial charges verdict looming large. Just 12 days before the game, an independent commission had found the club guilty of 114 financial breaches from 2009 to 2018, though City fiercely dispute the findings and have lodged an official appeal.
In what was a spiky affair, City were not bruised by their unfriendly pre-match greeting and won 3-0 thanks to second-half goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki. The visiting City contingent was sent into raptures by each strike.
Origins of the inflatable banana trend
But the group of just over 3,000 away supporters made headlines by waving around roughly 1,000 inflatable bananas. Some were scattered around the Etihad Stadium too, during Wednesday's 4-2 defeat to PSG. The bizarre act has telling origins, and a fan has opened up about the antics and future plans ahead of City's clash against Ipswich Town.
Nick Clarke, chair of the Citizens Trust and co-founder of MCFC Fans Foodbank Support, told the Manchester Evening News: "It boils down to just one man. One man in the late 1980s, a grown man, took a massive four-foot, five-foot inflatable banana to a game.
"Everyone's like, 'What is that nutter doing?' And then for some reason it just stuck. It's a nod to history and one of the clearest examples of City fans' gallows humour."
Revival led by 1894 group
That fan was Frank Newton, who arrived banana in hand at a second-tier match against Plymouth Argyle at Maine Road in 1987. The humour helped fans cope with lacklustre performances on the pitch and the trend stuck for some time.
Now, it's back, as fans send a message in unprecedented times. And Clarke insists the fruity celebrations are here to stay: "The revival was primarily organised and led by the City atmosphere group, 1894.
"They [the bananas] were dropped around various supporters club branches and in pubs before the [Liverpool] match on the day. But it was completely fan-led and funded. Then some people ended up bringing their own.
"I've just been in town today and I've bought a couple during my dinner break. Not bananas and from a shop in town. I'm going to take them to Villa away.
Fans plan to keep it going
"It's just having fun. We genuinely don't have a clue where we're going to be in six months' time but we absolutely know that whatever happens, we'll be there together and we may as well enjoy it.
"I'll be honest, me and a couple of my mates will probably be taking inflatables to every single game for the rest of the year. And definitely more away games.
"There would have been so many fans watching that away end at Liverpool, wanting to be part of it and they'll bring their own themselves, I'm absolutely certain of it. There's definitely more bananas to come."
