Was trying to see if there was somewhere appropriate to insert this rather than starting a new thread, but nowhere seemed especially appropriate. Mods, feel free to move if I'm wrong.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/08/manch...e-premier-league-title-not-liverpool-4721884/
Earlier in the season, I made a mistake. I laughed at those who were saying Liverpool were title challengers. I forgot to factor in the impact not playing in Europe would have and, as a result, their surge to the top wasn’t all that unpredictable.
But, more than that; I didn’t want to face what it might mean should they end their 24-year wait for a title - the unbearable smugness of their fans and the delight of a media so desperate to laud them more than they tended to do already.
No one who supports another team wants to have to pick between Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to who they want to win the league. Liverpool, we were told repeatedly, were the neutrals’ favourites, the team who ‘deserved’ to win in a sport which owes nothing to anyone.
The events of this week have shown what utter rubbish that assertion was.
Celebrating as if they’d won the league already, their fans had moved past beyond merely wanting to dream and in to the realms of fantasy.
If there was any doubt that the neutrals would prefer City to win, then those doubts were shattered on Monday night as the entire Internet laughed hysterically when Liverpool choked at Crystal Palace. On Wednesday night it wasn’t just the City fans who felt the relief which accompanied Edin Dzeko’s opener.
If you strip away City’s money, there isn’t really much to dislike about them. Their fans can almost seem apologetic at times regarding the massive luck which has befallen their club.
They are the complete opposite of Chelsea fans who consistently demonstrate how not to behave when you’ve been presented with a not-so-little gilded gift horse.
The media also don’t seem to have much affection for them, not in the same way they do United, Liverpool and Jose Mourinho, if not Chelsea themselves.
When it comes to evils, City, even for all their ridiculous spending and disregard for FFP, are by far the lesser of the lot.
City now just need one point to spare us all the nightmare of a Liverpool title win. Even Manchester United fans want them to get it. Should they fail, they will have let down all of us who have urged them on despite how wrong it feels.
Many in the media desperately wanted us to believe that a Liverpool win would be something for us all to celebrate. When Stevie G fell over, a nation spoke.
Liverpool were never the neutrals’ favourites and for as long as their fans and the media keep telling us how they ‘deserve’ a title more than anyone else, they never will be.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/08/manch...e-premier-league-title-not-liverpool-4721884/
Earlier in the season, I made a mistake. I laughed at those who were saying Liverpool were title challengers. I forgot to factor in the impact not playing in Europe would have and, as a result, their surge to the top wasn’t all that unpredictable.
But, more than that; I didn’t want to face what it might mean should they end their 24-year wait for a title - the unbearable smugness of their fans and the delight of a media so desperate to laud them more than they tended to do already.
No one who supports another team wants to have to pick between Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to who they want to win the league. Liverpool, we were told repeatedly, were the neutrals’ favourites, the team who ‘deserved’ to win in a sport which owes nothing to anyone.
The events of this week have shown what utter rubbish that assertion was.
Celebrating as if they’d won the league already, their fans had moved past beyond merely wanting to dream and in to the realms of fantasy.
If there was any doubt that the neutrals would prefer City to win, then those doubts were shattered on Monday night as the entire Internet laughed hysterically when Liverpool choked at Crystal Palace. On Wednesday night it wasn’t just the City fans who felt the relief which accompanied Edin Dzeko’s opener.
If you strip away City’s money, there isn’t really much to dislike about them. Their fans can almost seem apologetic at times regarding the massive luck which has befallen their club.
They are the complete opposite of Chelsea fans who consistently demonstrate how not to behave when you’ve been presented with a not-so-little gilded gift horse.
The media also don’t seem to have much affection for them, not in the same way they do United, Liverpool and Jose Mourinho, if not Chelsea themselves.
When it comes to evils, City, even for all their ridiculous spending and disregard for FFP, are by far the lesser of the lot.
City now just need one point to spare us all the nightmare of a Liverpool title win. Even Manchester United fans want them to get it. Should they fail, they will have let down all of us who have urged them on despite how wrong it feels.
Many in the media desperately wanted us to believe that a Liverpool win would be something for us all to celebrate. When Stevie G fell over, a nation spoke.
Liverpool were never the neutrals’ favourites and for as long as their fans and the media keep telling us how they ‘deserve’ a title more than anyone else, they never will be.