Tonight's football thread

[Danbert Nocurry]

In the meantime they will have to carry on with their "banter" which to me is often a form of inverted snobbery and be happy to be making up the numbers. If they ever arrive at the top level, I wonder if they will look at their new found fans and politely ask them to bu**er off or start bragging about how many followers they have worldwide?

No. You've not got it there Witton.

Let me use the words of the great Paul Morley who explains it all far better than me with his ''CITY OF LOST SOULS''


To support Manchester City is to believe that God might have trouble running things on this planet, but he's in control of the next world. He has to be. The Devil rules this world and always will, because his team are Manchester United, and they are world famous and monolithic.


Manchester City, who's name travels the world about as well as Gracie Fields or Pulp, are on the side of the angels; the poor, sapped, unfortunate angels who still believe in quaint antiquated notions of earthly good.


To support Manchester City is to accept with heroic willingness the dead-flat that the universe is cold and hostile, and nothing good will become of it.


To support City is to tackle head on the crushing pointlessness of existence and to attempt to make something of it. It is hard work. So why do it? Because somehow this seems ultimately more dignified and fulfilling than taking the easy way out and supporting the lulling and obnoxious United.


To support United is too easy. It's convenience supporting. It makes life too easy. There is no challenge. It is a cowardly form of escapism, a sell-out to the forces of evil.


United fans have no soul and will spend their eternity neck deep in boiling vomit. City fans retain their soul and will spend their eternity forever reliving the moment their team beat Newcastle 4-3 away from home to win the League Championship in 1968, beating United into second place. Surely we will have such eternal bliss again, for why do we spend so much time suffering in this life watching our team climb to the summit only so that we can watch them dive, dive, dive to their pitiless bottom of the heap while United, of Manchester, but nothing really to do with it, float every more triumphantly skywards?


Heartless United are the incarnation of shamelessness and to support them is heroism in a can. Cavalier City, however awry their football, however dire their straits, glow with something mystical and transcendental. City have soul. United do not.


When they are great again, City will have shown that they are worth their extraordinary fans. To this day these fans will walk a million miles for one of Joe Mercer's smiles. They'll sing a million songs waiting for some new Mercer-like magic. Because they are City, and Christ do they know they're born.


Paul Morley
November 1998

:thumbup:

[Witton Park]

Danbert - you sound like the Metallica fans who claim they had sold out when they had a success with the album named after them in the 1990s.

It sounds to me that you will wash your hands of them if they ever have a run of success and receive the plaudits.

I think I actually have got it.

[Alf]

Spurs 1 Arsenal 2 after 12 minutes !

[Alf]

Spurs 1 Arsenal 2 after 12 minutes !

3-3 in the end. Great game!

[Witton Park]

I caught bits of the game on the TV in the pub last night at the Bunny Run Relay presentation and then highlights later at home.

That must be one of the most one sided Champions League semis ever. It's hard to say if Shalke were totally rubbish as Man Utd dominated so much - it really could have been knocking on 10.
Bearing in mind Shalke have put out Inter and Valencia in the last 2 rounds though they can't be that bad.

So I'll say a thoroughly class job by MU last night and so long as they finish it off properly at Old Trafford it should make for an interesting final.

[Stagger]

Watching this spanish cr@p is like watching 2 dozen Tom Daleys. What a load of rubbish.

[Witton Park]

When Mourinho had his outburst last week I had a tinge of sympathy for him, as the decisions clearly were a little against Real, but he went over the top claiming Barcelona could influence the officials.

I bet he was sat in the stands last night thinking "I told you so" - that disallowed goal was unbelievable and if allowed would have put the cat amongst the pigeons.

[Muddy Retriever]

When Mourinho had his outburst last week I had a tinge of sympathy for him, as the decisions clearly were a little against Real, but he went over the top claiming Barcelona could influence the officials.

I bet he was sat in the stands last night thinking "I told you so" - that disallowed goal was unbelievable and if allowed would have put the cat amongst the pigeons.

Maybe. But on the other hand Carvalho could easily have been sent off. Referee was very lenient.

[IanDarkpeak]

When Mourinho had his outburst last week I had a tinge of sympathy for him, as the decisions clearly were a little against Real, but he went over the top claiming Barcelona could influence the officials.

I bet he was sat in the stands last night thinking "I told you so" - that disallowed goal was unbelievable and if allowed would have put the cat amongst the pigeons.

rumour has it that he wasn't even at the game!

The next week could be interesting. Should United win both Premiership and Champions league I can see Fergie retireing along with Scholes and Giggs. But a sneaking suspicion is they'll lose the Premiership. They're also "resting" some big names tonight to save for Chelsea.........!

Could they blow it again like last year........?? Answers on a post card to TFT c/o the FRA Forum....

[IainR]

I don't think blowing it is right..

Chelsea should have romped it. The way the fixture list is we had a good run of games but now have Arsenal away and Chelsea. Losing at Arsenal wasn't great, but the big game is Saturday.

Last season we were too reliant on Rooney and he was tired and injured by March, his poor form and early season troubles may work out to our advantage this year as he's looking fit and sharp at the right time of the season.

Some shocking reffing decisions recently though, when you see the decisions Chelsea got you do wonder if the PL/FA do tell refs what results they want to keep the league alive. They HAVE to go goal line technology, it's now impacting on too many games.