A while ago I posted on a thread about match day attending Blues and those on Bluemoon match day forum who give grief to our own players.
My view has always been 'Never boo a Blue', especially when the game is on, no matter how badly a player might be performing. We should be there to enjoy the football (especially under Pep's management) and support the squad through thick and thin.
I wrote about a herbert who used to sit near us in the North Stand and who was forever railing at Yaya, claiming he was 'lazy' and (yes!) wouldn't track back for the team. Said herbert was clearly an aficionado of all things to do with pies, judging by the size of him.
I remembered one game in particular, in injury time when Yaya (who'd controlled the game we were about to win from minute-one) broke up an opposition attack on the edge of our box, went on one of his lung busting charges on the opposition goal, players bouncing off him until he got a shot away which narrowly missed, then collapsed in a heap. As he pulled himself up, said corpulent, sweaty herbert by us was going mental.. 'Get up and get back you lazy f**ker!' and so on.. the irony!
The same guy was always calling Gundogan too. 'What does he do for us?', 'Get it forward Gundogan!', 'He's always going sideways.. get it in the box!' and so on and so on..
And anything good that Ilkay did was met with grudging comments, such 'Why doesn't he do it more often then?' Thank goodness he moved elsewhere. I wonder what the fat herbert thinks now after Ilkay's contribution over the past few years.
Pep's first signing. Five Premier League titles. A Champions League title. Numerous other trophies. His form during the run-in to the title in 2021. Aston Villa at home. United at Wembley. His social conscience and awareness of others less fortunate than him. His thoughtfulness. His philanthropy.
What a player, what a person. One of the greatest I've ever seen. I wish him all the best.