Morrissey may have grown up a mile from Old Trafford, but when he wrote: ‘We hate it when our friends become successful. And if they’re Northern, that makes it even worse,’ he didn’t have football in mind. The lyrics have rung true for United over the last two decades though, not that City fans would ever describe United as friends. City had few friends among fans of other clubs, but lots of sympathisers who loathed United more, who were the top dogs, the team to beat, the club everyone loved to hate. United’s success created millions of haters – the rise of the internet and blanket TV coverage gave them a platform and rubbed their noses in it. Their team couldn’t beat United, so they jibed that all United fans were glory hunters from Surrey who’d never been to Manchester, let alone Old Trafford. Twenty years on, some people still repeat this, still think it’s funny. City’s success will continue to bring changes for match-going blues. I met a Blue relative (by marriage, not blood) outside the Etihad before the derby. He was enjoying City winning, but explained it came at a price. He’d looked around City’s away end at Arsenal and Chelsea and cringed as he saw hundreds of people he’s never seen at the match before – gloryhunters and tourists. Rich ones who go and see United (or now City) in London but never venture north of Tottenham. Tourists who’ll happily pay £300 on the black market for a one-off match in London, thus inflating the price for any genuine fans without tickets. And City are now classed as a category ‘A’ opponent, which means higher tickets prices for home – and away fans. So while your opinion of Fulham may not have changed in five years, theirs certainly has of you and they will sting you for the privilege. For capital ‘Cat A’ games £56 tickets are the norm. Don’t expect the hosts to roll out the carpet either. They won’t laugh along with the ‘typical City’ or the ‘cups for cock ups’ comments any more. And what is typical City these days? Winning every week, boasting that you buy anyone you choose. Click here to sign up to our new free Fantasy Football game where £100,000 is up for grabs Success brings increased expectations – and they can bring out a less edifying aspect of fandom, one where nothing is ever good enough. I listened to one Red moaning the day after United won the treble. It’s a new dawn for City. Being called a ‘noisy neighbour’ by Sir Alex Ferguson will seem like a compliment compared to the abuse at away grounds where everyone wants you to fail. Will you be ‘ABC’ to United’s ABU – (Anyone But United)? Away fans may begrudgingly admire David Silva’s brilliance or Vincent Kompany’s peerless authority, but they’ll seldom show it. Players will be labelled mercenaries and worse, but the fans will bear the brunt of the changes, the price rises, the hangers on, the constant shifting of games for TV. Reliving City winning the league at United’s expense is not something I’ll make a habit of, but I saw a photo a few weeks after that mind-numbing afternoon which remains vivid. It was a Facebook image of a Wythenshawe Blue celebrating with his brother in a Barcelona pub. The lad has been going to City for years and had waited a long time for that title. There was more emotion in that lad’s face in that single photo than any celebrations I saw on television. You could see that it meant the world to him. On his way home that night, the Blue saw a man in a City shirt across the street. He went up to him thinking they’d have much in common and perhaps an impromptu celebration. After all, they were both Blues. Except the lad in the City shirt wasn’t even a fan, just someone who ‘liked’ the shirt. The Blue was befuddled. Welcome to your new world, where more people than ever like you, and even more hate you.
