quentinA Manchester Affair!!!!!! Carling Cup Style
January 28th 2010 00:05
Today I'd like to focus on a battle which has suddenly increased in bitterness over the past 12 months. I would be talking about the Manchester Derby and more appropriately the semi final of the Carling Cup between Manchester United and Manchester City.
The past 12 months have seen some alarming changes in the Manchester scene with Manchester City being acquired by some Arab owners while Manchester United have slipped some $1.3 Billion into debt because of the Glazers. This summer saw some real bitterness creep in with Manchester City's provocative "Welcome to Manchester" banner for Carlos Tevez (former United player). Add that to the drama of the league match when Fergie Time saw United come away with a thrilling 4-3 win over City. This was football at its finest but unfortunately bitterness has really got into this.
Last week saw the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final at Eastlands. It was a very controversial night. Played on a backdrop of comments by City Chief Executive Garry Cook that "City were going to become bigger than United" not to mention some alledged stinging comments from United captain Gary Neville saying that "Fergie was right to get rid of Tevez," it promised to be a big night. What it delievered was nothing short of dramatic.
Ryan Giggs put United into the lead with a well taken goal but United's frailties at the back saw Carlos Tevez score a double and lead Man City to a 2-1 win. It was a hostile atmosphere and United fans let off flares, not to mention the arrests score finished up at 18 people. Add to that Gary Neville giving Carlos Tevez the finger and player tensions are a reason why United and City fans no longer get along.
This atmosphere of tension wasn't helped in the days that followed after some of the most bizarre comments possible. Garry Cook kicked it off again by saying "it was a matter of when, not if, City made it to Wembley." The Tevez vs Neville spat turned worse after Tevez labelled Neville a "boot-licker and an idiot" while having the nerve to say that he shows respect to his fellow professionals. Excluding the fact that Neville's quotes were taken out of context, calling someone a boot-licker doesn't show respect at all. In fact, it's a pretty low remark for someone to preach respect but not show it themselves.
So the second leg came at Old-Trafford this morning and my god, what a dramatic game it was. It was a very cagey first half with no goals scored and at half-time it looked like Man City were going to get one over United and head to Wembley. After half-time the game changed dramatically. There was an incident where Man City's Craig Bellamy got hit with a coin and nearly a beer bottle but ater that midfield warrior Paul Scholes scored and then Michael Carrick made it 2-0 to United and 3-2 on aggregate. United for all money were on their way but in poetic justice, Carlos Tevez bobbed up to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate. Extra-time was now the more likely and at the 90th minute, 3 minutes of stoppage time were announced. United needed only one minute to score through Wayne Rooney and book a trip to Wembley.
Manchest United 3 defeated Manchester City 1
I just gotta say that it's hard for me to get involved in the derby drama and passion being almost 17000km away from Manchester (in Melbourne) but I'll tell you what, the passion shown over the 2 legs is what football is all about. The goals, the drama, the comments, the controversies, these 4 things make football so addictive and amazing to watch. Even 17,000km away, I still feel that passion from reading the Daily Mail website and it's amazing. I've never felt more bitterness about Man City in my entire life and I gotta say, bring on the next Manchester Derby. The only downside from 2 nights of high drama has been the behaviour of select fans and it's up to the clubs to sort this issue out and prevent flares and things being thrown at players.
Besides that, what an affair
The past 12 months have seen some alarming changes in the Manchester scene with Manchester City being acquired by some Arab owners while Manchester United have slipped some $1.3 Billion into debt because of the Glazers. This summer saw some real bitterness creep in with Manchester City's provocative "Welcome to Manchester" banner for Carlos Tevez (former United player). Add that to the drama of the league match when Fergie Time saw United come away with a thrilling 4-3 win over City. This was football at its finest but unfortunately bitterness has really got into this.
Last week saw the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final at Eastlands. It was a very controversial night. Played on a backdrop of comments by City Chief Executive Garry Cook that "City were going to become bigger than United" not to mention some alledged stinging comments from United captain Gary Neville saying that "Fergie was right to get rid of Tevez," it promised to be a big night. What it delievered was nothing short of dramatic.
Ryan Giggs put United into the lead with a well taken goal but United's frailties at the back saw Carlos Tevez score a double and lead Man City to a 2-1 win. It was a hostile atmosphere and United fans let off flares, not to mention the arrests score finished up at 18 people. Add to that Gary Neville giving Carlos Tevez the finger and player tensions are a reason why United and City fans no longer get along.
This atmosphere of tension wasn't helped in the days that followed after some of the most bizarre comments possible. Garry Cook kicked it off again by saying "it was a matter of when, not if, City made it to Wembley." The Tevez vs Neville spat turned worse after Tevez labelled Neville a "boot-licker and an idiot" while having the nerve to say that he shows respect to his fellow professionals. Excluding the fact that Neville's quotes were taken out of context, calling someone a boot-licker doesn't show respect at all. In fact, it's a pretty low remark for someone to preach respect but not show it themselves.
So the second leg came at Old-Trafford this morning and my god, what a dramatic game it was. It was a very cagey first half with no goals scored and at half-time it looked like Man City were going to get one over United and head to Wembley. After half-time the game changed dramatically. There was an incident where Man City's Craig Bellamy got hit with a coin and nearly a beer bottle but ater that midfield warrior Paul Scholes scored and then Michael Carrick made it 2-0 to United and 3-2 on aggregate. United for all money were on their way but in poetic justice, Carlos Tevez bobbed up to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate. Extra-time was now the more likely and at the 90th minute, 3 minutes of stoppage time were announced. United needed only one minute to score through Wayne Rooney and book a trip to Wembley.
Manchest United 3 defeated Manchester City 1
I just gotta say that it's hard for me to get involved in the derby drama and passion being almost 17000km away from Manchester (in Melbourne) but I'll tell you what, the passion shown over the 2 legs is what football is all about. The goals, the drama, the comments, the controversies, these 4 things make football so addictive and amazing to watch. Even 17,000km away, I still feel that passion from reading the Daily Mail website and it's amazing. I've never felt more bitterness about Man City in my entire life and I gotta say, bring on the next Manchester Derby. The only downside from 2 nights of high drama has been the behaviour of select fans and it's up to the clubs to sort this issue out and prevent flares and things being thrown at players.
Besides that, what an affair
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