Let's make this horrible picture a thing of the past
United fans can make excuses, believe me I’ve got a degree in them, about Manchester City’s title win last season, Nemanja’s injury, ditto Cleverley, Scholes retirement, but the fact is as hard as it is to take, ‘the best team won’
City deserved the title, as I’ve told countless moaning Gooners, Chelsea fans and even the odd Liverpool fan following their brief flirtation with a Premier League title race, over the years, “the table doesn’t lie.”
United weren’t good enough, if we were, the Premier League trophy would be adorned with its usual red and black ribbons now and not its blue and white ones.
There’s plenty of reasons City lifted the trophy but the overriding factor that cannot be ignored is they we’re the better side over the course of the season- that’s exactly how leagues are won and lost.
Roberto Mancini recently noted in the Mirror:
“We were the best team last season because we played the best football, we scored the most goals and we conceded the fewest goals.
“We beat United twice and we dominated those two games against them. We are very proud of this because to beat United is a fantastic thing, because they are a great team.”
For once, I’m fully in agreement with the diminutive Italian, United had ample chances to win the league, Everton at home, City away being prime examples but we fell short and now is the time for cold admissions as we look to a new campaign.
Making excuses and acting as though we were simply ‘unlucky’ is exactly how you end up going backwards as a football club, we need to look forwards on how we can stop the ‘noisier than ever neighbours’ from crowing so loudly next May.
Of City’s dramatic title win the Belfast telegraph noted Paul Scholes stating:
“It’s always a motivating force when you lose the league,” he said.
“It’s not nice to see another team celebrate winning the title on the last day of the season. That picture stays with you.”
United as a club need to acknowledge we’re not the current title holders for a reason, and if we address that we’ll bounce back as we always have following the challenges of Leeds United, Blackburn, Arsenal and Chelsea.
The signings of Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell are a step in the right direction, as is the alledged pursuit of other players to bolster the squad.
City are the title holders because they were the best. Let’s make ‘were’ the operative word.
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/roberto-mancini-tells-manchester-united-1185059
Follow me on twitter for Red nonsense @RFFH
Point is clear: Utd lost the league not because City were that better over-all but Utd were that worse over-all. Utd’s defence was shambolic and SAF failed to address that. His purchases last summer were just bizarre. Instead of a decent defender and a good midfieder, he bought Young whom Utd didn’t need and Jones who was not ready.
This time around, same follies again…talking up stuff of big names but ignoring hard reality. Sorry Utd fans ( I’m a very sad but long-time one ), if nothing realistic takes place before start of the season, results will be the same as last one. League will be won by Chelsea or City. Utd will be in 2nd tier along with Spurs and Arsenal for 3rd / 4th place. With Evans, Evra, Ferdinand, Rafael et el at rear guard, that would be quite good then…and oh, Europe? Better not mention.
Pre-Munich Red – A massive bulk of your money came from floating on the stock market under Edwards combined with general global popularity. The ’92 squad included many players bought for near record fees at the time; Schmeichel, Bruce, Irwin, Pallister, Ince, Kanchelskis, Webb, Cantona, Dublin, Hughes, McClair, Wallace…
Reds do this all the time and forget that a massive chunk of their money bought the majority of every squad they’ve ever assembled and this money WAS NOT SOLELY GENERATED BY THE CLUB!! (No argument here about the quality of these squads by the way. The last 20 years have been unbelievable and fairplay to the Trafford club).
Like it or not, the only way to get success is through money. Murdoch started all this with SKY tv and what great coverage it is, it rescued the English game – fact. United’s success depends on buying players through previously generated cash on the stock market and now by the Glazers – you’re trying to raise more money now on the NYSE apparently. Success in football depends on money, simples.
Besides, I think it’s great that the English game now has a huge amount of world class players – more so than in La Liga? I used to watch Serie A in the 90s and wonder why those sorts of players weren’t coming to the Prem. Now they are and for the first time in years 4 teams can win the league. Surely this is what it’s all about, the best talent on our shores? United fans (not all) need to stop complaining and start supporting a team which isn’t likely to be as successful in the future – this is what real fans do, support teams that aren’t always successful. Suck it up and get on with it!!
A GREAT ARTICLE BY THE WAY, HONEST, OBJECTIVE AND MAGNANIMOUS. Not traits usually associated with reds.
And don’t forget, you now do what you’re told!
Martin Edwards, was unwilling to sanction the level of spending that Ferguson had expected when he came to the club. Interviews from the time illustrate his frustration: “I came here thinking I would have the luxury of buying players. I have done a lot of hard work at youth levels but to win the League we need to buy. I’m disappointed I haven’t had that kind of money. Liverpool has bought the best and what sticks in my gullet is the difference between “them and us”. He (Martin Edwards) is now facing two very tough choices between having a very good team and balancing the books” (Crick and Smith 1989). An illustration of the financial straightjacket Ferguson found himself in came in the summer of 1988 when he tried to sign Paul Gascoigne but was refused permission by Edwards.
Things changed in the summer of 1989. Between July and September Ferguson was allowed to go on a spending spree. He bought five players: Gary Pallister, Neil Webb, Paul Ince, Mike Phelan and Danny Wallace for somewhere in the region of £8m an astronomical outlay for the time……still didnt win the leage for 4 years mind!
Good article for a red, but from the comments you can tell the knowledgable fans to the idiots, United will obviously win the league again be it next season or the one after, but so will City, we’ve had to put up with you lot gloating for 20 years, now you should learn to put up with us, can’t take it, don’t follow football.
Proves the point that you’ve always spent money from the moment Sir Alex arrived. The club needed to spend big at the time, they did, and started to win things. A simple and successful equation. The rest is (painful) history!
We got our ‘real’ money 3 years ago and have now won the FA Cup and the prem. Hopefully (but doubtful) we’ll have your level of success.
I still don’t understand the problem reds, with really short memories, have with injections of cash. It really smacks of double standards and the moniker of bitter blue berties could soon become yours.
You’re now entering a similar phase to Chelsea in that your best players are getting on a little and you need to renew and spend big again. Embrace it, focus on your own club not ours and support your team. By the way, what a signing Gascoigne would’ve been. What a player he’d have been at Man U. I bet that keeps him awake at night.
I also feel compelled to say how pleasantly surprised I am with Gary Neville. Unsurprisingly I’ve held him in contempt for decades (always respected his ability though). He now, albeit because it’s his job, had adopted a really refreshing attitude to all his hated former opponents. Good on him.
I bet, like Scholes, it hurts him to see us start on the winning path!
It is not just short memories but a lack of knowledge about their own club and how it could have gone out of business several times over it’s life time but for large injections of cash and the time City stepped in and allowed them to use our ground after the war.
I agree that City will struggle to have the success United have had because United have a free run for much of the last two decades and we will have much more competition
I predict in 10 years time with the stadium expanded, effectively a new stadium, the amazing training ground built, the land around the stadium developed, a few titles and cups under our belt and all barely a mile from MANCHESTER CITY centre City will be the big club and destination in the area and worrying about how many titles United have will be like worrying that Sunderland have more than us now.
This popped up on newsnow so i thought i would see what another red was talking about and found a fantastic article which was humble and realistic. We can all mention injurys or cheated suspensions but thats football. As fans we can also see where the problems are in our teams. We lost Kompany and yaya and we looked vulnerable even losing. You lost vidic and didnt win. cleaverly imo was a bad loss too as he changed the charity shield outcome. Some players you cannot replace some you dont even notice have been. This season we was very nervous and did crumble but so did utd when they thought they had it won 8 points clear. Winning the league in fergie time was class and we thank utd for teaching us never give up till the whistle blows, maybe next season you will do the same.Come on start the season and let the next round begin.
“Following some heated discussions with UTD fans and supporters “ref:we bought our position” here are some facts.
City Starting 11 £184.1 million
City subs (used) £42 million
City subs (unused) £63.5 million
…
United Starting 11 £138 million
United subs (used) £31 million
United subs (unused) £37 million
They also realised two things that pissed them off no end
1)uniteds back 5 cost £71.5 million and citys cost £41.6 million.
2)Given that united had 7 homegrown players in their match squad and city only one, the average cost of the players purchased by united is £18.7 million and for city its £17.0 million.
I rest my case????See More”
And City had to pay well over the odds for players just because we have rich owners instead of skint ones
By the way these stats ref: the last Derby game
Utd BOUGHT second spot.
I don’t think that any red who knows their stuff can disagree that the best team won the title last season. When I see United fans trying to clutch at straws as to why we were the better side, I’m embarrassed for them – we used to be a lot more gracious than that, whoever the opposition.
As for the spending argument – I think it’s fair to say that whereas we’ve spent a lot of money, as have City – we’ve done so over a longer period of time – bringing in a small number of players each season on a (contentiously) respectable wage structure, whilst balancing the side with players coming through the ranks. City have bought in high numbers, in a short space of time, with a inflated wages.
Can’t complain at that…but as we’ve seen in previous years, with other teams – when something goes wrong one year, perhaps because the players aren’t hungry for success – wholesale changes are made and you start again.
All respect to City – they may prove otherwise and go on to win the title year after year after year…but I’d rather have had what United have had for the last 20 years, in the knowledge that we’ll still be up there as the winner or main contender for the foreseeable future, than the “who knows what happens if…” scenario that our neighbours are likely to encounter.
A sensible voice.
However when United spent smaller amounts of money on players like Andy Cole they were still breaking the transfer record to do it and whilst they may have had a “respectable wage structure” it was still bigger than everyone else.
City’s is now the biggest wage structure but they can afford it so whats the problem? The FFP? designed to keep the big clubs big and little clubs little?
Of coarse you would rather have had what United had over the last 20 years but City fans have had a good ride as well, being where we are now is all the sweeter because of the last 20 years.
People love to say what happens if….. about City, they said it about Chelsea 10 years ago and they won the champs league this year.
Take a drive around City’s stadium, visit City square, have a look at the huge training ground and you will see the owners are here for the long term but even if they go tomorrow we have won the League and FA cup.
Whilst you are driving around the training ground that will have up to 400 apprentices, it will take a while, think of a few of your own what if’s…..