That was special. It looked for all the world as if United would walk away with this one in the first 25 minutes. How poor was Dimitar Berbatov's finishing? Rooney, resplendent in white warm-up jumper, looked on in agony as his Bulgarian replacement for the day managed to scoop over the bar from two yards out. It was about at this point that a customer came in to look at a few vehicles (2010 Dodge Ram Laramie edition, completely kitted out, just a wonderful vehicle. Shame her credit barely scraped 500, though). I returned from an hour of negotiation to find the score where it finished, and with United a man down. Brave, brave Mike Riley, I thought, to send off a United player in a match of such importance. Turns out it wasn't a decision that required courage, just a pair of eyes. Paul Scholes always seemed a decent fellow, and it surely wasn't malicious. He apparently just closed his eyes and went in hoping for the best, missed badly, and almost broke Zabaleta's legs.
It's a milestone for the new City regime. Since the Arabs showed up, they'd failed to beat United in a competitive match (unless you count the league cup semi-final first leg from last year, and I try not to) until Saturday. It will give City the chance to forcibly remove the banner that is seemingly brought up every time City visit Old Trafford, or, at least, re-set it to zero. It was pretty special, and United reacted exactly as you'd expect them to, with indignant rage that Mario Balotelli may have gestured towards the United end of the stadium. Nothing was going to take away from the magnitude of the victory, however. Manchester City...
Well, not quite yet, because there's still the winner of...
Stoke City 5-0 Bolton Wanderers
Is he? Yeesh. How many people from Bolton want their money back this morning? Just a yucky game. Good for Tony Pulis. He's managed against Manchester City at Wembley before. It didn't go too well. You feel for the guy. Look at the :14 mark of the video. He's still wearing the same clothes. If Stoke win the FA Cup, it'll be a great achievement, whilst also being a hammer blow to City. It's exciting to see an FA Cup final without Chelsea/Liverpool/Manchester United. It's fresh, new, and exhilarating for the two fan bases.
How long until City become one of those "boring clubs" that are always there or thereabouts i ask you.Manchester City have lost everything that was goos about that once great club. The atmosphric staium, the passionate hardworking players like Uwe Rosler,Paul Dickov,Georgi Kinkladze all pulling together for a common cause.Sooner or later the £££££ will talk and Utd will become the "little brother" that everyone cheers for.
ReplyDeleteMoney ruins the beautiful game-simples.
Here's what I'd liken it to. I'm playing a manager mode with St Mirren on FIFA 10. My first season, my only signing was Michael Stewart from Hearts, and we finished 5th and won the Scottish Cup, which was cool. It got me into Europe, and Stewart Gilmour found more cash for me. I was able to sign Erik Nevland, Stephen McManus, Chiek Tiote, and Clint Dempsey (unrealistic), and I won the league, Cup, and UEFA Cup. Now I got even more cash, signed Schweinsteiger, Matthew Upson, Brad Guzan, Landon Donovan, and Miralam Pjanic. Now, I'm bored. I beat Chelsea, and that was cool, but I don't even recognize the players, there's been so much turnovers. I imagine that the honeymoon will soon wear off for any neutral who sympathizes with City once they win a few titles and establish themselves.
ReplyDeleteSomething City need to take from United is developing an identity, and acquiring players to personify that identity long-term. Not necessarily Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes, but players like Darren Fletcher who are always there to provide a recognizable background and support for the world-class talent they will no doubt continue to bring in.