City's Asterix

On the 26th May, 1999, Manchester United were 1-0 down at the Nou Camp (Camp Nou, whatever it’s called) having been completely outclassed by Bayern Munich, with the dream of a historic treble slipping away. 90-minutes were on the board when United won a later corner. An inswinger from Beckham aimed toward Schmeichel (who’d gone up) followed by a failed clearance from Effenberg, which dropped to Giggs who miskicked it but nonetheless toward goal and ultimately Teddy Sheringham’ whose scuffed shot hit the back of the net – United were level with 91-minutes up and extra time looming. However, 2-minutes (101-seconds) later, United won another corner and this time Beckham found Sheringham, who in tidy Teddy fashion flicked it on to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who instinctively poked it into the top corner – 2-1!! ‘The Treble’ was achieved and history was made; “Manchester United have reached the promised land!”, screamed good ol’ Clive Tyldesley – his one liners from that night will forever make the hairs on the back of my neck stand-up and bring a lump to my throat.

4-days later, back in England, this time at the ‘old’ Wembley, United’s local rivals Man City were taking on Gillingham in the 2nd Division play-off Final (now known as League 1), in a bid to climb to English footballs 2nd tier of football; ‘The Championship’. The game was tied at 0-0 until Gillingham went 2-0 up scoring in the 81st and 87thminute. Another season in the old 2nd Division loomed for City. 90-minutes were on the clock again for the blue half of Manchester now, until Kevin Horlock scored to give City a lifeline; 2-1. Many City fans will say what happened next was the start of a very long road for City. Years before anyone in the Middle East or even Southern hemisphere had even heard of them. This was a time when City fans could never even imagine that the World’s best players and Coaches would even entertain going anywhere near them. At that time they weren’t even the 2ndbest club in the Manchester area, as nearby Bolton Wanderers were flying in the Championship above them. 95-minutes now on the clock and City’s striker Paul Dikov (not the most proficient striker but arguably perhaps the best at making a nuisance of himself in the box) scored to bring the game level. Extra time was played and City prevailed victorious in the subsequent penalty shoot-out winning 3-1 with Micky Weaver saving the decisive penalty.

Despite these momentous events occurring only 4-days apart, the gulf in class was huge. ‘The Gulf’ however, would slowly not only play a part in the uprising of Man City but also close the gap (and some), which was no more relevant than some 24-years later, on 3rd June, 2023 at the ‘new’ Wembley in the first all Manchester F.A. Cup Final.

Since that monumental week in May 1999, United went onto enjoy another 15-years of success, lifting more Premier League titles, another Champions League and several domestic cups. They would also appear in 3 out of 4 Champions League finals between 2008 and 2011, winning 1 and being beaten in the other 2 by none other than Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. City would return to the Premier League at the start of the 2000/01 season and after another relegation returned for the 2002/03 season where they would remain a Premier League mainstay. Although City were back in top flight, they weren’t top 4 or even top 6 contenders; Just your average Premier League side who were generally a safe bet to remain there. They inherited the Commonwealth Games stadium for the start of the 2003/04 season, (Eastlands as it was then) before an unknown Thai businessman called Thaksin Shinawatra bought them in 2007. Owning a football club was something that had started to become a trend in the ‘noughties’, especially with foreign ownership, with Chelsea’ former Owner Roman Abromovich starting that trend in the summer of 2003. What typically follows is a transfer window of purchasing half decent to near marquee players who fall just below the elite level. City did sign an unknown Vincent Kompany during this time but this was long before they were able to sign established players, such as Aguero, Haaland and Grealish to name a few. Also ‘Frank Sinatra’ (as Thaksin was better known as), wasn’t a Roman Abromovich either. His ownership didn’t last long and in September 2008, out of nowhere came the acquisition of Man City by a company oddly called the ‘Abu Dhabi United Group’, owned by the now well known but hardly seen Sheikh Mansour. The takeover also arrived with the unveiling of a marquee player; one Robinho who had been a target for Roman’s Chelsea until City likely made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Rumour has it Robinho wasn’t aware there were 2 clubs in Manchester, mistakenly signing for City instead of the better known United…who knows…he’s currently exiled in Brazil (no extradition) avoiding a prison sentence in Italy for the gang rape of a Woman during his time at AC Milan after leaving City.

The following initial years saw City bolster their squad with more big names; Tevez (who made the short trip from United), Adebayor, Silva and Aguero to name a few. They also brought in more trendy Coaches in Roberto Mancini and ‘that scarf’ and although City were getting closer to United and other top clubs around the top 4, they still weren’t in that bracket, falling just short, thanks to Peter Crouch in 2010. During the 2009/10 season City lost arguably the best Manchester derby (depending on if you’re a red of a blue) to United in a 4-3 thriller at Old Trafford, with Michael Owen scoring extremely late on in the 97th minute…”Giggs, threads one to Michael Owen…OH THIS IS INCREDIBLE!”. More spine tingling commentary.

It was in May 2011 when United would have to remove the ’35-years’ banner from the Stretford End in reference to the number of years City had gone without a trophy, as City won the F.A. Cup. However, this was small fry to United. It was the following May in 2012 when that bloody ‘Blue Moon’ really rose and shone very bright (again in the 95th minute), as Aguero rifled the ball home to give City a late win against QPR to win the title on goal difference. As a United fan, it still haunts me to this day. Had United won the title that year, Ferguson would’ve retired, but as is the nature of the man and his winning mentality, he went again another season, signing Robin van Persie who fired United to regain the title the following May. Fergie finally retired and this opened up the road block for City to start an era of dominance. They won the title again in 2014, which oddly United fans were happy about given Liverpool were the other option. Gary Neville said of this “it’s like trying to decide, which bloke you want your Missus to run off with”. City then took a 4-year title hiatus as Chelsea (twice) and Leicester City (once) enjoyed title success.

Between 2012 and 2017 City were a great team, but competitive and still only as good as others around them. Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and even Spurs were all on level terms. United less so at this stage as the sacking of Managers and signing of ‘names’ and ‘has-beens’ on high wages, which was the ethos of the non-football men owning United, created an era of decline and rot. City on the other hand had been building a ‘football model’. Yes, they were signing some marquee players to tie them over, but a bigger project was going on. Coaches were being brought in, a scouting and player development program was created with state of the art training facilities and an entire footballing complex was built around ‘The Etihad’, as City’s stadium became known. On from this, the ‘City Football Group Limited’ was created, which is a consortium of football teams across the globe designed for the purpose of finding and nurturing the best players around the World. All this was being assembled with one overarching goal in mind; ‘Project Pep’. City had seen what Pep had done at Barcelona and long been an admire of the ‘Barcelona way’. Finding the best young talent around and raising them through the ranks at Camp Nou, starting at La Masia’. Messi, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta and Pique all came through here. To quote Pep, "The player who has passed through La Masia has something different to the rest, it's a plus that only comes from having competed in a Barcelona shirt from the time you were a child.” It’s arguably the same philosophy Ferguson had in 1986 when he joined United and demanded that they acquired the best young and local talent around (give or take the odd David Beckham), who they could place in ‘digs’ in Manchester and develop through the Youth Teams. United’s ‘Class of ‘92’ came long before Barcelona’s ‘Class of 2011’, which Fergie himself said was the best club side he’d witnessed, after their 3-1 defeat of United in the 2011 Champions League Final.

As a United fan, we actually envy City’s football model, perhaps in-part because we (United) started it, albeit in a much reduced format when global rule on the Football Landscape was unheard of. It was of course still the ‘working mans game’ back then. However, you can’t deny the success of this model, especially when our own Owners (The Glazers), have proven time and time and again they are completely inept. United have matched and even outspent City in recent years, often having the higher wage bill, when in hindsight, they could’ve spent half if not less had they been more savvy and engaged footballing people to do football tasks. Scouting, development, training facilities and transfer policies have all been operated by financial stuffed suits. City of course hired a team of actual football experts, which they built around Pep to enable him to have a tailored platform with the intent of making City the finely-tuned football Giant they are today, which brings me to last Saturday’s F.A. Cup Final.

So 3rd June, 2023, 24-years on from that week in May 1999 and United take on City, Blue versus Red, the ‘has-beens’ versus ‘New Money’. It took just 13-seconds for City to lay the first glove on United, opening the scoring with clearly a rehearsed move. Gundogan played the ball right back to Ortega who hits it long. Lindelof lets it bounce before making a half-hearted clearance, which falls straight to Gundogan who hits a worldy right past De Gea who clearly wasn’t ready. At this point I’m having unnerving memories of the 6-3 or 6-1 hidings City have dealt us in recent years. Although City were far superior pretty much all afternoon, United did well to contain them and keep the score at 1-0. Just after the half-hour mark, United (on a rare attack) won a fortuitous penalty after Grealish ‘handled’ the ball. I’d have been annoyed had it been the other way around but given we’d conceded after 13-seconds I felt this was some form of divine intervention to let us back in the game. Bruno did what Bruno does and hit a clam as you like penalty, sending Ortega the wrong way; 1-1…Game on!

It was a bit longer than 13-seconds into the 2nd half when City re-took the lead, Gundogan again, this time mishitting an edge of the box volley, which bounced twice and went through about 10 defenders before finding the bottom of the net; 2-1, although it had been coming. Gundogan had a potential hat-trick ruled offside and Haaland on another day would’ve had a goal but for De Gea’s excellent trademark leg save. It wasn’t an onslaught from City but they were always in control and United were controlled. Aside from a good cameo from Garnacho who was really the only candidate on the United bench who could influence change and a late McTominay header, which scuffed the crossbar, United never really laid a glove on City. The full-time whistle went and City passed step 2 of 3 on their way to their ‘Treble’.

Although I was of course gutted, I wasn’t mad at United. I felt we exceeded expectations, we didn’t make an a*** out of ourselves, we kept it to a single goal deficit and given the injuries to key players (Martinez, Martial, Antony), the lack of quality in-depth, no top-class striker and of course the superior opposition, I think the outcome was almost commendable. United, like most (if not all other teams) no longer take to the pitch with City on a level playing field. United needed a miracle and City to have an off-day, which is rare. Real Madrid were annihilated 4-0 by City. Arsenal led the league for circa 80% of the season but you always felt the pressure of City in their rear-view would get to them and they were equally thrashed 4-1 by City in that ‘must-win’ game a few weeks ago at The Etihad. Only Liverpool have really rivalled City in recent years, winning their first Premier League title in 2020 and taking it to the final day in both 2019 and 2022. However, the drop-off of Liverpool after that title success in 2020 and again this last season was huge. That endurance to keep up with City takes it toll. Liverpool only just made top 4 in 2021 and this season finished in 5th outside the Champions League places. It also feels like this season was a ‘one-off’ for Arsenal who will likely not compete to the level they did this season, with City still finishing 5-points clear with the title wrapped-up with 3-games to spare…hardly close fought in the end.

I guess we’re at a point where nobody can actually compete with City anymore. Everyone needs a miracle or City to have a stinker. It barely ever happens though and even if it did, they are so relentless they will still make up any lost points. In 1999, United won ‘The Treble’, but there was luck along the way (Bergkamp penalty saved from Schmeichel, Munich hitting the woodwork twice in the UCL Final) and there was also immense true grit and merit from United. They kept grinding out results, winning F.A. Cup replays against Chelsea and Arsenal on route to the final. Late, late goals in the F.A. Cup 3rd round against Liverpool, the UCL Final itself and also against Charlton away; a game Fergie noted as key at the start of 1999. How many times out of 10 would Ryan Giggs skip past Adams, Keown and Dixon before rifling the ball past Seaman? How many times does Vieira hit a hugely wayward pass straight to Giggs? But United kept finding a way, kept finding a goal (“Can they score, they always score!” – Tyldesley again). To quote Fergie post-match at the Camp Nou “They never give in”. This was a season of graft, ability and shear will to win from United. A ‘back stronger’ response to Wenger’ Arsenal who had won the domestic double a year earlier in 1998. The start of ‘squad rotation’ and having 2-players for each position. This was still some years before ‘new money’ arrived and clubs were owned by States and people with more money than some Countries. 24-years later though and City are on the cusp of that same feat yet are doing so almost at a canter.

I know people will compare United and City’s ‘Treble’ but you can’t or shouldn’t really. Football was different back then and although you could argue ‘it’s all relevant’, the fact it’s taken 24-years for anyone to even come close (or 23 if you include Liverpool’s effort in 2023) is impressive. United should have actually achieved another ‘Treble’ themselves in 2008 and/or 2009, but for some unlucky F.A. Cup exits and playing Pep’s first Barca side in the 2009 final, even with prime Ronaldo.

Another notable fact from the 2023 Cup Final game was City’s bench, which included Mahrez, Foden and Alvarez to name a few. Those players walk into any other team and would be guaranteed starters. Pep also let one of his marquee Defenders (Cancelo) leave in January for Bayern. No bother it seemed as other ‘squad players’ interchanged and bridged that gap. City have often been able to bench De Bruyne, Haaland and Grealish. They’ve also decided to switch out their mainstay Keeper Ederson for Ortega mid-way through the season, as you do.

Saturdays Cup Final led me to feel more depressed than angry and feeling sorry for not only my Team but the rest of football. That this is how it is now. It’s this superior Footballing Force, a huge gap, then the rest of us. I know many will say, it was ok for United fans during our era of dominance but this feels different. Arsenal and Chelsea also had eras of success, but it always felt like there was a level playing field, that football was somehow competitive. Saturday felt like one last chance that the underdog could do a job on Footballs elite, but it wasn’t to be. This is the moment when the ‘115’ breaches really hit home. A moment of clarity if you like, that gone are the days of organic development. If you have the money, you can actually buy a seat at Footballs top table. A rich person can just buy a club, throw money at it (in the case of the Abu Dhabi United Group, for the means of sportswashing) and become unrivalled. We can’t deny that the money spent isn’t clever or shrewd, it’s a great model, but if the toothless Financial Fair Play (FFP) really works, questions (115 of them) need answers. This isn’t a City team who play only for the money, but it’s not a team of players who play for the badge either. Haaland is very much aware of his value earning a whopping £900k a week. Only a year into his contract and City are already trying to renew the terms of the famous ‘Haaland buyout’ clause he vehemently has in all his contracts. His entire career is road-mapped out. He will join Madrid at some point, it’s inevitable and it’s been that way since his time at Red Bull Leipzig. Although City’s wage bill is likely aligned with United’s, or likely was before Ronaldo and Pogba departed, United’s revenues have always outreached City’s. They are and likely always will be the bigger club. We have the history, culture and fan base that City will likely never have. City were not supported in the Middle East pre-2008, they were likely not supported far beyond the realms of the North West of England. That’s not a put-down, it’s fact. Maybe in 30-40 years they will be, as kids are now supporting City. Many adults support United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs as they had periods of success when they were kids and kids tend to support the successful team when they get into football.

From the moment the Abu Dhabi bunch acquired City in 2008, (which United fans joke is the year they were established, as it literally is a ‘new’ club), they had a vision and a relentless drive to make City the biggest club in the world. When you have a team of people as relentless as this, you can only keep them at bay for so long. This is of course people who would stone homosexuals, oppress Women and still engage in slavery. These are some of the most ruthless and unforgiving people walking the planet and combined with an endless excess of wealth, will stop at nothing to achieve their aim. Rules, regulations, humanity, empathy are not factored into any decisions. This is what we want and nothing gets in our way. I hear the words of Rocky IV’ Ivan Drago in my head at this point “If he dies, he dies”. When you have an Ownership like this, you can’t compete. We all know City have ‘cooked their books’ to circumvent the rules of FFP but of course it just needs to be proved. They could have gone the organic route the United’s, Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s went but Abu Dhabi, like many areas in the Middle East don’t do well with the concept of ‘good things come to those who wait’. Take a photo of Abu Dhabi in the 1990’s and compare it with today. It’s clear the place has (at least physically) developed almost overnight, too fast even for the natural evolution of mankind. They want it all and they want it now. It’s obvious if City’s Owner’s walked away tomorrow, City would plummet right into the red (of all colours). United aren’t much better, given they’re virtually owned by the Banks but it’s still legal and revenues aren’t gleaned from fake companies or the slave trade, something Manchester proudly abolished well before anyone else. Ironically, if United’s Owners walked out tomorrow, we’d be better off! It is this FFP rule though that is City’s kryptonite. Pep, the players, the fans all know it’s there but they turn a blind eye for the benefit of their pay packets and trophy cabinet. If you strike a line from the Owner’s pocket to Haalands, the ‘front companies’ will be endless. They’ll be such a long winded detachment from the 2 book-ends – but there is a line (albeit a very long and articulated one).

Steven Gerrard wrote about this in his book, whereby but for the illustrious wealth of Chelsea and City’s ‘bought success’, he’d likely have a Premier League medal or 2. Let’s face it, as good as Suarez was in 2013/14, Liverpool had no place in a title race given the gulf in talent they had versus City, but that’s how good their mentality was. Yes, many will blame Gerrards Predators for not winning the title but like Arsenal this season, Liverpool in 2020 and United on 3rd June, 2023, they had to blow a gasket to challenge City, whereas City just took a stroll. I get this will all sound very sour grapes, and I take nothing away from what Pep has done and the footballing ethos he has engineered into his players, but equally we all have to put in the hard yards. If we’re simply enabling Owners and Clubs to circumvent rules, then where does football really go from here? How soul destroying is Ligue 1, whereby PSG win the title year after year? Will relevant punishment prevail along with the truth or will City settle for another fine, which in the grand scheme of their wealth won’t create too much of a ripple anywhere. City will only learn if they encounter points deductions or trophy rescindment, like Juventus in 2005/06 when they were stripped of their Serie A title due to the infamous match fixing scandal. The same happens in Formula 1. Red Bull were in breach of their financial cap and got a slap on the wrist in the form of reduced wind tunnel testing…oooh. Now it’s inevitable that even when Verstappen starts in 10th on the grid, he will still make P1.

You only have to look at clubs like Derby County, Bolton, Bury, Rangers, who when they got into financial difficulties (by owning up), were either deducted points, removed from their current league and placed in a lower division or in Bury’s case now cease to exist. Derby were relegated due to their 15pt deduction. Bolton nearly went out of business and Rangers were sent to the bottom tier of Scottish football. Middlesbrough were deducted 3pts in the 1996/97 season for postponing a game against Blackburn Rovers due to too many injuries rendering them unable to field a full matchday squad, which ultimately cost them their place in the league, as they were relegated. A Lesser crime but harsher punishment than City have ever received. Leicester City, relegated this season, weren’t able to sign many new players, as they work on a sell before you buy concept to comply with FFP. Out goes £85m Maguire and £60m Mahrez, incomes new players.

Newcastle United, now owned by Abu Dhabi’s rivals Saudi Arabia, will hopefully learn from City’s mistakes and play a fair game (although the atrocious human rights issues are still present and arguable worse - Jamal Khashoggi, as a prime example). Yes, we know Owner’s can be ridiculously rich, but they still have to play within the parameters of the games rules. We love sport for it’s competitiveness, it’s what makes sport magical. We love that a team like Southend United could beat a Man United team containing Ronaldo and Rooney and knock them out of a cup (2006/07 League Cup). What really irks sports fans though is when they know a Team has cheated, achieved success via immoral means. Whether it be performance enhancing drugs, FFP breaches or good ol’ s***housery.

Ultimately, we can all do what City have done if we had unlimited money and didn’t have to comply with rules. This is what the rich do. They buy their way to success, rules are for other people to abide by. But everyone knows the truth, whether City will ever be penalized appropriately or not. It lives there next to their name, that skeleton in the closet, that paranoia that one day the authorities will come knocking at their door and that will forever be City’s Asterix.