Prestwich_Blue
Well-Known Member
That's what we sing to the rags when they taunt us. We do that because it reminds them (and us) that we are true fans of our club. We love City unconditionally and would never dream of deserting our beloved Blues for a team that kept winning trophies. We followed them in the Premiership, in the Championship and even in League 1.
Unlike the glory hunters from Kent, Devon, Hampshire & Surrey, let alone Malaysia, Thailand & China, it didn't matter to us that we didn't win things. Of course we wanted to and it was painful seeing teams without even a tenth of our history get to cup finals and semi-finals but, at the end of the day, our club was our club, for better or worse.
What made our support even more remarkable was that for most of those 33 years, the only cups we won were the mythical ones for cock-ups. If there was a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory then we found it. If there were 99 ways to do things right and one way to do things wrong, we did it wrong. We even had the only billionaire chairman who was skint and did his best to reduce us to the same state. Yet many won't hear a bad word spoken about him or the crazy year we had under his ownership.
Yet somehow, nine months ago this bizarre and contrary club (which had seriously been looking at the possibility of administration) somehow found itself owned by one of the wealthiest men on the planet who was prepared to invest the money to turn us into a force in world football and so far has proved true to his word. And we've not even had a summer window (apart from that mad and wonderful September day last summer) to do our buying. We've had a great European run which culminated in that fantastic night at CoMS against Hamburg, where our owners sacrificed revenue for the opportunity to fill the stadium. £5 to watch a European quarter final - who else would do that for their fans?
We should be filled with excitement about the immediate summer ahead and our future in general yet I look around this board and see a tide of hostility and negativity. Talk of "Hughes Out" chants and protests next week, e-mails to Gary Cook, fans turning on fans. What the fuck has happened to us?
Before you all start on me, I know 9th or 10th is not what we expected.
I know we've been crap away from home (and I have come away from some of those games furious that I've wasted £60 or more).
I know we got dumped out of both cups by lower league opposition (and that's NEVER happened before has it?).
I know we have thrown away leads that we should have held onto.
I know that we've failed to rescue most games we've gone behind in.
I know that some of the manager's tactics and substitutions have been puzzling.
But I'll be there on Sunday to support them (though they may infuriate me yet again).
Whoever the manager is, I'll be back next season (although I might moan about some of his decisions). Whatever our owners do, I'll still support the club (although I might not agree with everything they do).
Whoever wears the shirt I'll still support them (even though they may be the bigggest, one footed donkey under the sun).
Wherever I find fellow blues I'll still feel part of a wonderful family (even though we may have totally opposing views)
There is a Chinese saying (wrongly attributed to Mao Tse Tung) that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Well we've taken that step. It may have been somewhat uncertain and doddery at times but we've taken it and the journey has started. I know it probably won't happen next season. Or the one after. But for once I believe that sometime in the next few seasons, that journey will end and we will win a trophy again and/or break into the top 4. And if we have faith in and support our owner and whoever our manager is, we will do it again and again and again. So let's all take a chill pill and a step back and think about what that day will be like, because it IS coming.
Don't forget; 33 years and we're still here...
Unlike the glory hunters from Kent, Devon, Hampshire & Surrey, let alone Malaysia, Thailand & China, it didn't matter to us that we didn't win things. Of course we wanted to and it was painful seeing teams without even a tenth of our history get to cup finals and semi-finals but, at the end of the day, our club was our club, for better or worse.
What made our support even more remarkable was that for most of those 33 years, the only cups we won were the mythical ones for cock-ups. If there was a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory then we found it. If there were 99 ways to do things right and one way to do things wrong, we did it wrong. We even had the only billionaire chairman who was skint and did his best to reduce us to the same state. Yet many won't hear a bad word spoken about him or the crazy year we had under his ownership.
Yet somehow, nine months ago this bizarre and contrary club (which had seriously been looking at the possibility of administration) somehow found itself owned by one of the wealthiest men on the planet who was prepared to invest the money to turn us into a force in world football and so far has proved true to his word. And we've not even had a summer window (apart from that mad and wonderful September day last summer) to do our buying. We've had a great European run which culminated in that fantastic night at CoMS against Hamburg, where our owners sacrificed revenue for the opportunity to fill the stadium. £5 to watch a European quarter final - who else would do that for their fans?
We should be filled with excitement about the immediate summer ahead and our future in general yet I look around this board and see a tide of hostility and negativity. Talk of "Hughes Out" chants and protests next week, e-mails to Gary Cook, fans turning on fans. What the fuck has happened to us?
Before you all start on me, I know 9th or 10th is not what we expected.
I know we've been crap away from home (and I have come away from some of those games furious that I've wasted £60 or more).
I know we got dumped out of both cups by lower league opposition (and that's NEVER happened before has it?).
I know we have thrown away leads that we should have held onto.
I know that we've failed to rescue most games we've gone behind in.
I know that some of the manager's tactics and substitutions have been puzzling.
But I'll be there on Sunday to support them (though they may infuriate me yet again).
Whoever the manager is, I'll be back next season (although I might moan about some of his decisions). Whatever our owners do, I'll still support the club (although I might not agree with everything they do).
Whoever wears the shirt I'll still support them (even though they may be the bigggest, one footed donkey under the sun).
Wherever I find fellow blues I'll still feel part of a wonderful family (even though we may have totally opposing views)
There is a Chinese saying (wrongly attributed to Mao Tse Tung) that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Well we've taken that step. It may have been somewhat uncertain and doddery at times but we've taken it and the journey has started. I know it probably won't happen next season. Or the one after. But for once I believe that sometime in the next few seasons, that journey will end and we will win a trophy again and/or break into the top 4. And if we have faith in and support our owner and whoever our manager is, we will do it again and again and again. So let's all take a chill pill and a step back and think about what that day will be like, because it IS coming.
Don't forget; 33 years and we're still here...