The Fixer
Well-Known Member
[size=150[b]]Are fans who left Everton defeat early turning Man City into the Chelsea of the north?[/b][/size]
Roberto Mancini-Manchester-City-Everton-Premier-League cropped
Manchester City fans sing ’34 years and we’re still here’ as a riposte to the jibes about how long it’s been since the Blues last lifted a trophy.
Well, before the end of Wednesday night’s game against Everton they most certainly weren’t there.
After Mikel Arteta’s classy strike had put the visitors 2-0 up, Eastlands emptied quicker than an alcopop in the hands of a chav.
I was sat next to a high-ranking City official during the game and let’s just say the mass exodus was met with much more than a disbelieving shake of the head.
It would be interesting to know what kind of message was relayed back to Sheikh Mansour in Abu Dhabi – not about the result, but about the reaction of fans that are supposed to be above reproach.
In the last two years he has spent £200million building a team good enough to transform the club into big hitters.
This was City’s first home defeat of the season, bringing to an end the last unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Roberto Mancini’s team had not played on home soil for more than a month, during which time they had won at Chelsea and Fulham and drawn at Sunderland.
This was the game that could have put them into fourth place.
Now City supporters won’t be the first fans to opt for an early exit when the game seems up for their team - and they won’t be the last.
But as thousands headed into the east Manchester night, it was as if they had given up on their team.
Remember, these were the same fans that used to fill Maine Road when City were playing in the old third division.
Almost 50,000 of them went to Wembley for a play-off final.
They have cheered the likes of Gerry Creaney and Lee Bradbury and endured the football played by the teams of Alan Ball, Frank Clark and Stuart Pearce.
And they have always done it with good grace.
City are still the third-best supported team in the Premier League, with only Manchester United and Arsenal boasting higher average attendances.
But the atmosphere at most games is muted. Supporters now seem to wait for the team to give them something to shout about rather than being the 12th man they used to be.
The moans and groan for a misplaced pass are louder and more widespread than they’ve ever been.
One chant aimed at opposition fans – ‘we’ll buy your club and burn it down’ – was funny at first. Now it only illustrates how humility has turned into arrogance.
These should heady days. City haven’t been here since the mid-1970s and now the future is theirs for the taking.
But it seems some fans aren’t happy unless they’ve got something to moan about.
The last thing we need is a northern version of Chelsea.
By Simon Mullock
Roberto Mancini-Manchester-City-Everton-Premier-League cropped
Manchester City fans sing ’34 years and we’re still here’ as a riposte to the jibes about how long it’s been since the Blues last lifted a trophy.
Well, before the end of Wednesday night’s game against Everton they most certainly weren’t there.
After Mikel Arteta’s classy strike had put the visitors 2-0 up, Eastlands emptied quicker than an alcopop in the hands of a chav.
I was sat next to a high-ranking City official during the game and let’s just say the mass exodus was met with much more than a disbelieving shake of the head.
It would be interesting to know what kind of message was relayed back to Sheikh Mansour in Abu Dhabi – not about the result, but about the reaction of fans that are supposed to be above reproach.
In the last two years he has spent £200million building a team good enough to transform the club into big hitters.
This was City’s first home defeat of the season, bringing to an end the last unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Roberto Mancini’s team had not played on home soil for more than a month, during which time they had won at Chelsea and Fulham and drawn at Sunderland.
This was the game that could have put them into fourth place.
Now City supporters won’t be the first fans to opt for an early exit when the game seems up for their team - and they won’t be the last.
But as thousands headed into the east Manchester night, it was as if they had given up on their team.
Remember, these were the same fans that used to fill Maine Road when City were playing in the old third division.
Almost 50,000 of them went to Wembley for a play-off final.
They have cheered the likes of Gerry Creaney and Lee Bradbury and endured the football played by the teams of Alan Ball, Frank Clark and Stuart Pearce.
And they have always done it with good grace.
City are still the third-best supported team in the Premier League, with only Manchester United and Arsenal boasting higher average attendances.
But the atmosphere at most games is muted. Supporters now seem to wait for the team to give them something to shout about rather than being the 12th man they used to be.
The moans and groan for a misplaced pass are louder and more widespread than they’ve ever been.
One chant aimed at opposition fans – ‘we’ll buy your club and burn it down’ – was funny at first. Now it only illustrates how humility has turned into arrogance.
These should heady days. City haven’t been here since the mid-1970s and now the future is theirs for the taking.
But it seems some fans aren’t happy unless they’ve got something to moan about.
The last thing we need is a northern version of Chelsea.
By Simon Mullock