chipping the ball over Southampton goalkeeper Dave Beasant. The goal won BBC programme Match of the Day's "Goal of the Month", and placed second in the programme's "Goal of the Season" competition. On the final day of the season, Manchester City were relegated to the First Division, prompting transfer speculation linking Kinkladze to a number of clubs including Barcelona, Internazionale, Liverpool, and Celtic. However, he opted to stay at Manchester City, where he had been named Player of the Year for 1995–96. The 1996–97 season proved a turbulent one for Manchester City, and over the course of the season, Kinkladze played for five different managers. With Keith Curle no longer at the club, Kinkladze became the main penalty taker, and also scored a number of goals from free-kicks, including a 35-yard (32 m) effort against Swindon Town described by English newspaper Manchester Evening News as "like a missile". In the First Division, Kinkladze frequently had two or even three opposing players assigned to man mark him. Several teams chose to combat Kinkladze's playmaking skill with robust tackles; in one such match on 11 January 1997, against Crystal Palace, Kinkladze had to be stretchered off following a challenge by David Hopkin. Manchester City finished the season well below the promotion places, and again, there was speculation that Kinkladze would leave the club. At the final match of the season on 3 May 1997, a 3–2 win against Reading, Manchester City supporters campaigned to keep Kinkladze at the club, even though he was not playing in the match, due to injury. The campaign even extended to the half-time advertisements on the scoreboard, the "adverts" being messages from supporter groups who had paid to display them. Kinkladze was named Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, and one month after the season ended, he announced his intention to stay at the club by signing a new three-year contract. Kinkladze used the proceeds from his new contract to buy a Ferrari, though the car caused consternation among club officials. Their fears were realised on 29 October 1997, when Kinkladze lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a motorway bridge in Hale. Kinkladze received back injuries requiring 30 stitches, and missed two matches as a result. Manchester City's downward trajectory toward the Second Division continued in the 1997–98 season, and on 17 February 1998, manager Frank Clark was sacked. His replacement, Joe