Ron Healey
Saturday 20th October 1973, Bramall Lane, Sheffield DIVISION ONE SEASON 1973 – 1974
Sheffield United 1 CITY 2 (Dearden) (Law, Dearden own goal) Att. 25,234
A new dawn for City, with a brand new ‘keeper and a first away win of the season. After dropping Joe Corrigan and replacing him with Ron Healey for the previous three matches, ailing manager Johnny Hart then replaced Healey with Motherwell’s Keith MacRae, making the unknown Scot the second most expensive goalkeeper in British football history. Unhappy at his treatment, Healey was to put in a transfer request soon after, while Corrigan plodded on in the reserves, regaining confidence for the happier times that lay ahead for him at City.
Blues fans did not know it at the time, but Healey had played his last game for City the previous week on Tyneside and would never again appear in the MCFC ‘keeper’s shirt for a first team outing.
The win in South Yorkshire moved City up to 9th place in the table and the players that secured it were as follows: MacRae; Pardoe, Donachie, Doyle, Booth; Oakes, Summerbee, Bell; Law, Lee, Marsh – Sub. Tony Towers.
In a strange game United’s Billy Dearden managed to score at both ends and MacRae was kept busy on his Blues debut. Although the Sheffield United programme contained the start of season City line-up with a smiling Corrigan and Healey both present, the pen pictures and back page line-up both mentioned the new Scottish signing.
To cap an odd tale of goalkeepers, Tom McAllister broke a leg during the game and had to be replaced by striker Alan Woodward, thus scuppering the home side’s hopes of a positive result. Young City fan Graham 
Ward had travelled across the Pennines to the match from Bury with his father and remembers: “It was an eventful game for the Sheffield centre foward, Billy Dearden, as I’m sure he scored very early on, but he did the same for us as well. Denis Law got City’s other goal. Sheffield were above us in the First Division going into the game, and this was City’s first league away win of the season after two draws and four losses….”
The Sheffield United goal came so early, fishing it out of the back of the net became MacRae’s first meaningful action in English professional football. United’s ill luck was underlined when Denis Law scored City’s winner whilst McAllister was writhing on the floor with the injury which turned out to be the above-mentioned broken leg.
Michael Carey’s report in The Guardian:
no repartee 
My uncle is Tom McAlister. The family remembers this as no accident. Marsh went in hard and broke his leg. The sad part is that Tom was tipped to go to the 1974 world cup with Scotland and this scuppered his chances.
Marsh had an occasional nasty streak, Craig. I remember Tom McAlister being talked about as a contender for West Germany. What a shame he missed his big chance.