Tonight's football thread

[IainR]

I wouldn't say its incomparable.

New manager after a supposed legend retires.

Young back four Kopel Burns James Edwards Greenhoff to replace and ageing defence Brennan Foulkes Stiles .

'Promising ' forwards Kidd Gowling Sammy Mac ,Sartori.

World class player George Best.

Crerand, Law, Charlton almost finished.

It's only hindsight that tells us the so called promising players weren't good enough, and the club at the time definitely didn't invest in top class players, and the manager didn't survive.

It's funny how history has a canny way of repeating itself.

Tick tock.



Spot on Crowhill, spot on.

You know what the big difference is? Those young players hadn't won much... ours have been there and done it. The average age is lower, we have a far stronger squad,

Jones, Januzaj, Smalling, Rafael, Evans, Zaha, Welbeck, Cleverly, Powell, De Gea.. most of those players have won trophies.

Best wasn't world class by the end, he was sporadic and the drink finally caught up with him.

I think we learnt well from the post busby years, no chopping and changing, Fergie has stepped clear.

Maybe history will repeat itself... I'll take one relegation.. 20+ years no title then another 13 titles... will you take successive relegations and ?

TBH I think you are the next Blackburn, teams built on money, no togetherness... they plummet when things go bad, Leeds, Blackburn..

[Richard Head]

TBH I think you are the next Blackburn, teams built on money, no togetherness... they plummet when things go bad, Leeds, Blackburn..

Don't think you can compare City with Blackburn. Despite their history Blackburn don't have the fan base of City, they're not even the biggest club in East Lancs. This was epitomised in the Jack Walker funded title year by the chant 'you wanna buy some supporters' they heard at many grounds

[IainR]

Don't think you can compare City with Blackburn. Despite their history Blackburn don't have the fan base of City, they're not even the biggest club in East Lancs. This was epitomised in the Jack Walker funded title year by the chant 'you wanna buy some supporters' they heard at many grounds

Look if Danbo can make those comparisons it must be National Wild Comparisons Day....

United are incomparable now to 1971-1974.. anyone who knows about football, even a city fan, knows that.

The fan base, infrastructure, recent success, average age of the team, its all good..

We do have debt but we get stronger as a business and as you say City have a fan base.. which is what owners exploit.. so say the glazers default, new owners step in.. our Fanbase is many times that of City's.

I know Danbo thinks Man U struggle the fans dissapear.. do they? year on year our attendances, even when relegated, eclipse that of City...
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/wp-...Attendance.JPG

"Interesting facts
- United have had a higher average attendance than City EVERY SINGLE SEASON since 1947.
- When City won the league in the 1968, they had the 6th highest attendance in the country. United had the highest average attendance of 57,552, more than 10,000 higher than any club that season.
- When United were playing in Division 2 during the 1974-1975 season, they still had the highest average attendance of any club in the country, including Division 1.
- City have had a higher average attendance ranking than they have average league position every decade.
- Between 1946 and 1949 United played at Maine Road whilst reconstruction work was being done on Old Trafford after the bombings in the war. In the first season, when City won the league, United had an average attendance of 4,662 more than City at their own stadium. In the second season, United had an average attendance of 12,165 more than City at their own stadium. In the third season, United had an average attendance of 10,109 more than City at their own stadium.
- United have a higher average attendance than City for every decade since the 1940′s.
- Between 1947 and the year before the Munich Air Disaster, there was an average of almost 7,000 more United fans attending games than City.
- City were a more successful club on the pitch than United in the 1970s, yet there was a difference of over 13,000 in our average attendances, with United the best supported club of the decade."

The clubs like United and Liverpool have a secure future. It is labelled as arrogance but the club as a whole is worth more than it possibly could be stripped down, other clubs didn't have that... only a few clubs in World football have it.

City dont and never will. they have big crowds now because they are winning.. all clubs have their share of glory supporters, but I think the scousers have shown many actually do stick around...

[Danbert Nocurry]

We are a club with class..

It seems United are the only club with any class...

You keep talking about class. The fact is that most rags, know absolutely nothing about the 'classless' treatment of the Munich survivors and families by this most classy of football clubs. That's because it's been carefully airbrushed out of the clubs official club history. All the time of course this most classy of clubs have been milking the tragedy for commercial gain ever since.

Class don't talk to me about class.

[Richard Head]

I know Danbo thinks Man U struggle the fans dissapear.. do they? year on year our attendances, even when relegated, eclipse that of City...
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/wp-...Attendance.JPG

But United have a completely different fan base now compared with 74. In those days if you supported a club you got a glimpse of them on Match of the Day till you were old enough to go to matches. Now United have a generation most of whom know nothing but success, always have to have the latest shirt, rarely miss a game on Sky but have never been to Old Trafford. This lot will soon be offski when it all goes tits up under Moyesy

[Danbert Nocurry]

But United have a completely different fan base now compared with 74. In those days if you supported a club you got a glimpse of them on Match of the Day till you were old enough to go to matches. Now United have a generation most of whom know nothing but success, always have to have the latest shirt, rarely miss a game on Sky but have never been to Old Trafford. This lot will soon be offski when it all goes tits up under Moyesy

[luxinterior]

But United have a completely different fan base now compared with 74. In those days if you supported a club you got a glimpse of them on Match of the Day till you were old enough to go to matches. Now United have a generation most of whom know nothing but success, always have to have the latest shirt, rarely miss a game on Sky but have never been to Old Trafford. This lot will soon be offski when it all goes tits up under Moyesy

I went to Old Trafford many moons ago with Villa. The biggest abuse for the home fans was for the large number with banners saying “Midland Reds”! (The other abuse was for the poor lady that looked like Vera Duckworth and spotted by the away fans!!)

Never understood why they didn’t support a midlands team????

[that_fjell_guy]

I really can't see Man U slipping much below the top six in the next decade. As IainR says, the game has changed far too much. If I'm honest, as a 'Dirty' Leeds supporter, of course I'd love to see them fall to the depths we did, but it just isn't going to happen. There are far to many monied people out there that would take the club on because at the end of the day its a money machine! We on the other hand have much the reverse, we will now always struggle to maintain a position in the PL (...if we ever get back there!?) due to the glass ceiling of the four big clubs blocking the way. Spurs are more likely to fall than man U and I also doubt very much that they will. It cost a fortune to finish just mid-table, Man U will always now have the cash to at least do that.

[noel]

Which midlands team ever gets into the Champions League?

You're right of course, but that's not the way modern football fans seem to think.

[Richard Head]

I really can't see Man U slipping much below the top six in the next decade

But that won't be good enough for the prawn sandwich brigade, they aren't like the old football fans as we know them, they need constant success or they will be f**king off quick style.

The hard core fans will remain, i've not got a problem with them, it stands to reason that out of a home crowd of 70,000 by the law of average there must be some decent fans but the majority are undoubtably c*nts