*FAN SUBMISSION by Jason Bardwell. He will be The Sports Column’s Futbol Analyst coming soon.*
I am sick and tired of United fans talking it up about our latest acquisition. ‘He only came to City for the money’. If it wasn’t about money, he would have gone to United where they have the history, right?
Well let us analyze their history and where it came from. Where did the mighty Manchester United’s first ’glory’ come from?
Answer City.
That is correct. Back in the 1904-05 season, City had already enjoyed an FA Cup win and a second place league finish when in the last game of the season City played Villa. We lost 3-2 but that was minor compared with what happened next. The Villa game was full of incident and gave the FA enough reason to investigate City.
They had already expressed concern as to how City managed to win an FA cup so soon, after promotion from the second tier. To City’s bemusement ,the FA chose to ignore other aspects of the game, Turnbull of City was allegedly dragged into the Villa dressing room after the game and reappeared later with cuts and bruises (this was verified later by neutral journalists). City, and other clubs, felt that the investigations were biased went in favour of a group of players considered part of footballs more aristocratic sides.
The Football League (who actually ran the league as the FA’s role at that time was to merely select the England side) supported City’s attempts for fairness and keeping in mind that this all happened in a league game and not an FA one it seemed strange the League was not in charge of the investigation.
Courtesy: Zimbio
Unfortunately for City the accounts were gone over with a fine tooth comb and once they were done the Manchester City Football Club was barely alive. Their manager was banned for life and fined, as was the chairman. Meanwhile two other directors were banned for seven months and the FA Cup winning squad decimated. Billy Meredith, Turnbull and all the other City stars were encouraged to leave and with the players having roots where they lived would join struggling neighbours Manchester United.
It was those players, forced to leave City, which lifted United’s first FA Cup in 1909 and won the league the season before and after that triumph. It is true that Manchester Citys books were irregular but the consensus of opinion is that any club would have fallen foul had they been investigated.
It is fair to say that had the FA not forced the players to leave City then United, financially struggling at the time, would probably have fallen into oblivion. Meanwhile City’s rebuilding was interrupted twice by the Germans in a little thing called WW1 and WW2. It was during the first war that the lives of City players Jimmy Conlin and Sandy Turnbull were both taken in 1917, a month apart, at Flanders and Arras respectively.
The 1946-47 season saw City regain their rightful position in the top flight.
City spent only three seasons out of the top flight before Joe Mercer came in 1966. In that time they won the FA Cup twice, which was the same amount as cross town rivals United.
In 1957 United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup. Chelsea would have held that honor but were persuaded to withdraw from the competition by the Football League and the FA before it started.
It is only within the last 20 years or so that United have actually pulled away from City on the trophy count, winning 12 of their League titles, all of their league cups and four of their FA Cups since 1991! Up until 1991 they had just the lone European trophy also, winning the European Cup in 1968.
Before that run, back in the 1989/90 and 1990/91 seasons United finished next to City and who can forget the 5-1 hammering handed out to you boys in 1989, in the Maine Road massacre. My point is simple, Ferguson was on the brink of the sack before going on the silverware rampage of the past twenty years. City have always been better, City have always been there.
City have overcome more adversity than United will ever know. We are still here, we are still proud, we were sleeping giants. It’s time for us to be loud. Talk about history Mr Beckham and Co in another twenty years. Maybe then we will be talking about United getting promotion from the third tier of English football. Maybe we will be amazed and in awe of United supporters filling away day trips to lowly clubs.
Maybe, but I doubt the followers will follow. City have been there. City have that loyalty. It has been tested over and over again and Blue Moon still rang out across the terraces. However prawn sandwiches do not taste as good on a rainy evening away at Colchester. Food for thought.
