The damage done by 20 year's inferiority to Man United

[whp.blue]

There are a lot of people on here who go way over the top but I genuinely believe that the likes of Sky, the Sun, etc will show/write/print more pro-United articles because they know there are more United fans than fans of any other English club and realise their products/services will sell better with a pro-United slant. This isn't to say United are exempt from criticism or negative press though.

sorry are you saying that more than 50% of football fans in England support the rags ?

if not you do not have an argument as the majority don't support the rags so the papers should be anti rag

 

[ibennett63]

They're not just like Chelsea though are they? If it was Chelsea who had dominated for the past 20 years we wouldn't have the same "paranoia", but because they're our local rivals, our derby game, we focus on what's happening with them nearly as much as we do with City, and that's got nothing to do with their status or the way they've dominated English football for 20 years, we do it in the same way that Sheffield Wednesday fans look at Sheffield United and Newcastle look at Sunderland.

There are a lot of people on here who go way over the top but I genuinely believe that the likes of Sky, the Sun, etc will show/write/print more pro-United articles because they know there are more United fans than fans of any other English club and realise their products/services will sell better with a pro-United slant. This isn't to say United are exempt from criticism or negative press though.

This is spot on.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Through spending far too much time on here I honestly think that a large section of our younger fanbase have become permanently damaged by the club spending the last 20 years playing second fiddle to Man United. Us older fans remember City being more or less equals to United in terms of success and fanbase. We remember when City had legions of fans in Manchester, and were acknowledged nationally as one of the country's biggest clubs.

But for fans under about 30 there are a large section who are totally and utterly insecure. Totally paranoid. They see bias in everything. Everyone is accused of being "a rag". Now City have become successful they have become obsessively concerned with comparing the club to United. They are frightened to death that even though we have a better team, United might continue to dominate the headlines.

So you get these "Reds Under The Bed" paranoid blues sitting with the remote control in their hand, counting the number of City goals on the Match of The Day credits and going mad if there aren't more than United. You get people watching Sunday Supplement purely so they can get outraged at a bunch of professional journalists being paid to give a contraversial opinion. You get accusations of pro-United agendas everywhere from the MEN to the BBC to Sky to FIFA to the referees. You get every signing, or non signing, looked at in regards to how it will be perceived by Man United fans.

I can't blame you I suppose. For twenty years in Manchester the majority of kids are United. Most of them are fucking wankers brought up on gloating about a team they only have a passing interest in. It can't have been easy being a blue in a school full of these shallow tossbags.

But can't you hold your heads up and be proper champions? All they are now are an equal footing rival, like Chelsea. Nothing more, nothing less. Stop comparing everything we do with them because the days of City fans needing to do that are gone. They have no Sheikh, they have a Yank parasite. They have no Silva, they have an ageing liar. They have a silent stadium full of tools and are supported around the world by idiots.

We are fucking City. We are fucking champions. It's time some of you young blues got your heads up and acted like it. Stop looking over your shoulders all the time. Stop fretting and feeling insecure about stuff that really doesn't matter.

Whilst I broadly share your sentiments on this, I am slightly more towards the centre, so to speak.

Whilst I agree that some of the paranoia is beyond parody there is no doubt that the media favour united, albeit unconsciously a lot of the time.

This is mainly a function of them being at the top table for so long, rather than anything more especially sinister. A particular case in point is their manager. He is allowed to get away with far more than any other manager in the game. He is allowed to misrepresent ("united teams always try and win"); be petulant and downright rude (refusing to speak to the BBC); hypocritical ("I wouldn't sell them a virus"); make outlandish and wholly incorrect predictions ("not in my lifetime"); insult other clubs in a disrespectful way ("a small club with a small mentality") ; and bring destruction down upon his own club (the Coolmore fiasco).

He can do all these things without fear of the widespread ridicule and derision from the media that would be visited upon any other manager for the same things - Benitez's 'list' being a case in point.

He manages this through a combination of his longevity and success in the job - which granted should give him a degree of leeway; his ability to bully and impose his will upon the press - often resulting in many journalists being banned from the club; and a desire for the media to retain a degree of favour and influence within the one of the most powerful sporting brands on the planet.

Against that backdrop it is understandable that City fans feel there is an agenda of sorts. To what degree depends on each individual's view of how the world works I guess, but it is unreasonable of you to expect fans not to resent the way their local rivals (and by implication their own club) are perceived (and treated) , being dictated by a bully.

I agree with both of you, however this isn't something exclusive to City. For every football club, there is a large element of fans who believe the media, UEFA, Sky, MOTD, etc, have it in for their team. I've found United fans are the worst for this paranoia, and its an attitude fueled by Ferguson. Its far worse than what you'll see on here, because its an unpleasant, "we win too much, and they want to give someone else a chance", "no one likes us because we're the best" mentality, that just reeks off arrogance and self entitlement. Arsenal fans complain there is a media agenda, because they don't have many English players, and UEFA don't like them because of Wenger's fines, Chelsea because of Abramovich's money, and so on. If you look at Liverpool forums, Suarez is what Balotelli is on here, the media are always deliberately looking to pick on him, they don't like him because he's foreign and has an attitude, etc. This feeling isn't restricted to the big teams. Fans of smaller teams complain their side gets hardly any media coverage or credit, and is always last on MOTD. Football is a very one-eyed sport. Fans are usually very defensive about their teams, and often can't see the wood for the trees. Its just the tribal nature of it all.

I totally agree that an element of all football fans in all countries believe the world is conspiring against them. And forums give an outlet to the most extreme of these. The blinkered, the biased and the bullshitters...all can be heard on forums everywhrere. And of course all clubs have their rivals as a pantomime villain, especially two club cities.

But I can't think of another club anywhere who has had such a period of failure transposed against such a period of worldwide success across town. And this summer sections of Bluemoon appears to have 'jumped the shark' with a total obsession with the way the club is perceived externally. Its because we've finally toppled them.

 

[Deleted member 14625]

They're not just like Chelsea though are they? If it was Chelsea who had dominated for the past 20 years we wouldn't have the same "paranoia", but because they're our local rivals, our derby game, we focus on what's happening with them nearly as much as we do with City, and that's got nothing to do with their status or the way they've dominated English football for 20 years, we do it in the same way that Sheffield Wednesday fans look at Sheffield United and Newcastle look at Sunderland.

There are a lot of people on here who go way over the top but I genuinely believe that the likes of Sky, the Sun, etc will show/write/print more pro-United articles because they know there are more United fans than fans of any other English club and realise their products/services will sell better with a pro-United slant. This isn't to say United are exempt from criticism or negative press though.

Bang on the money. People clearly can't see what rivalry is. Go to Galsgow and take in how Cerltif and Rangers view each other, go to the North East and view how Geordies and Mackems view each other, go to Istanbul and view how Galataseray and Fenebahce view each other, go to Rio and view how Flumenense and Flamengo view each other... People of all ages, from kids to great grandads, fucking hate their rivals. That's football. It's part of what makes football great.

I'd rather see rivalry like this than see fans want a manager sacked after five minutes. That truly is a juvenile way to act!