
It is probably a very bad idea to write about all this just 15 hours after it’s all just happened.
I thought going to bed, trying to attain a few hours kip, and starting a fresh in the new morning…would work. It normally works every time.
Not today.
Manchester City are the newly crowned champions of this country. And being honest…worthy champions. After our miserable defeat to them at the Etihad, I hadn’t expected anything else. But just for a few seconds yesterday we had won the league. It would have been the sweetest of titles. But just as we were about to sip that gorgeous elixir, it was ripped from our hands by a pesky Argentine genius.
It’s easy to reflect on 6-1′s; on allowing Evertonians to mug you off; on tactical failures at crucial times…but I want to focus on the last five minutes of this most brilliant of Premier League seasons…cos frankly I can’t stop thinking about it.
I had a feeling QPR might pull off something. Especially when at 1-0 down the Bolton news had filtered through. The reason why we love football is because anything can happen. I felt they could equalise but I had no intention with flirting with the idea. Before you know it, they’ve nailed two and they are leading at Eastlands. Even then…no chance…Im not thinking about this in terms of being successful. I proceeded to watch the clock like i have never done before. In my head I thought ‘I wonder how long it will be before City turn this around? I wonder how long we could say..well we were champions with fifteen minutes to go…with eight minutes to go…with four minutes to go’
Still I refused to believe. A pessimist is never disappointed. (More …)
A J Khan 16:41 on May 19, 2012 Permalink |
A very interesting article and a different way of looking at the present United plight. I have been supporting United long enough to fully understand your point of view and the value of United history not only to United fans but to English football as a whole. Only this week, David Gill was talking about United history when a player is choosing between United and another team. The commitment of the Neville brothers, Butt, Beckham, Scholes etc to United cause has been unbelievable throughout their United career and it is interesting that foreign players joining United are given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the club history. However, it will never replace the local player who has supported the club since childhood. I listen to Evra both on English and French media and he is always on about the history of the club and expectations from United players. Unfortunately, he’s an exception to the rule. Pogba is a typical case and I’m of the view that if a young player hasn’t got United in his soul after spending three years at the academy he’d better leave. Liverpool is suffering the same fate and only Carragher would give his life on the pitch for the club. Having said that, I don’t think we can linger on the past. Football has changed dramatically and unless a club brings in foreign internationals it would be very difficult to compete and it is part of the package that the foreign players will never have the same sense of belonging as the local lads. As Fergie once said about Ronaldo: If you can get six good years from a foreign player then it’s not bad. At the end of the day a combination of local and foreign players is a good compromise to maintain players commitment and a winning side. What should never be done is what Arsenal did recently when they didn’t have a single English player in their team. I think United have had some good foreign acquisitions in Park, Evra and Chicharito ( just to name these three ) both in terms of ability and club commitment but players like Tevez typifies exactly the opposite. It’s a matter of choosing the right ones.