This was only my second football match at City as I am newly converted.
It was crap.
Strangest thing is... I can't wait for the next match. Do they put some kind of drug in the beer to make you return?
I really enjoy watching the game and joining in with the crowd, but there seems to be a loyalty amongst the fans that will survive no matter what happens to the team.
I also went to see United a few months ago before my first City game. United won but I was surrounded by people I knew I didn't like. Mostly sounded like posh blokes from Wilmslow or Alderley Edge or Irish guys who were making a day trip, could have been to horse races or rugby, they were just on short holiday. And they had a rotten arrogance, like they expect to win and anything less is disaster. I could tell just by sitting with them that most of them would not go near the place again if United slipped down the league too far.
The fact that the City fans seem much nicer, more real and could not possibly be there because they expect glory was a massive attraction to me.
And to be honest, looking at the internet forums and even on this site I can see the same thing. United have loads of 'fans' who come from miles away from Manchester. They could only possibly support United (no doubt neglecting their local clubs) becuase of United's success. That turns me right off. It's like people who claim to be a big fan of The Smiths when it is cool, and probably have only heard about two of the songs.
So I can choose between supporting the team that wins loads of stuff or the team that doesn't (yet).
City win hands down. Manchester City. The real local team for real local people. United - the Jedward of football.
That is the biggest load of shite I ever read on this forum. It is typical of a Bertie Bitter Blue at his/her most bitterest. What the f*** are you talking about with this gem?
The fact that the City fans seem much nicer, more real and could not possibly be there because they expect glory was a massive attraction to me.
Of course they are expecting glory you f***in' knobrot! What would you expect from the richest club in teh world? You are obviously a teenager who has no idea what the average attendances were of the two clubs when they were both playing shite. For instance in the early 70's United were useless and were regularly fighting against relegation until the unthinkable happened in 1974. But guess what, muppet; United's attendances still averaged higher than any ones in the whole of the 4 divisions. Actually from 1970 until the present date, United have either been 1st or 2nd in the average attendances. Even when playing in teh second division we topped the attendances for the whole of the 4 divisions.
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/attendances.htm
City fans have only just recently crawled out of the woodwork and I can remember when they struggled to hit the 30,000 mark, not that long ago. City fans are a joke and always will be. Everybody in Manchester knows it.
Division One 1974-1975
Club Average
1 Liverpool 45.966
2 Everton 40.021
3 Leeds United 34.822
4 Newcastle United 34.614
5 Manchester City 32.898
6 Birmingham City 30.854
7 West Ham United 29.872
8 Middlesbrough 28.605
9 Arsenal 28.315
10 Chelsea 27.396
11 Stoke City 27.011
12 Derby County 26.719
13 Tottenham Hotspur 26.458
14 Ipswich Town 24.924
15 Leicester City 23.765
16 Wolverhampton Wanderers 23.405
17 Sheffield United 22.555
18 Queens Park Rangers 20.394
20 Coventry City 19.100
21 Luton Town 17.396
22 Carlisle United 14.530
I thought I'd post the attendances from the 1st division when United were in teh 2nd division. As you can see United still averaged more than Liverpool who were winning everything around this time. I could go on and on and on and paste all the attendance records, but the simple facts are that Manchester is RED and always will be. Of course we attract the 'day trippers' like poor old siddy do, but as for hard core United fans, we will NEVER be beaten, whether it be winning the treble or floundering in the second division we will always be supported by our die hard followers. So before you go posting nonsensical claptrap, I suggest you do a piece of research. Berties, ha ha ha! You've got to feel sorry for them!
