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How would it be if we could make Uwes goal at Old Trafford stand, or if we hadnt been robbed in the semi-final against Liverpool, or if someone anyone had got a tackle in against Ricky Villa? How would it be if Alan Ball hadnt told the lads to keep po se sion, Robbie Grossman Jersey if the best goal of the FA Cup Final replay had actually won it, if Robbie Fowler hadnt mi sed that penalty?But well take what we have, wont we? Well take Georgi splintering the Southampton defence, Paul Dickov falling to his knees, Nicky Weaver calling the boys on, Jon Macken making it 4-3 from 0-3 while Joey soaks in the tub. Well take these things in the first place because, as I said, theyre what we have, but in the second place because theyre all that we need.Theres no hidden agenda to supporting Manchester City. There is hope, to be sure. Theres even a conviction that one day, and I think we all believe one day in the not too distant future, well have a real succe s to call our own. But it wont matter, really, whether we do or we dont.If you follow Manchester United, or to a le ser degree Chelsea, youve become accustomed. It doesnt really matter much if youve carried the shirt close to your heart since God was a lad, you still know that every season will bring you something, even if that something is only a tilt at one of the big prizes. If you follow Liverpool or Arsenal, the burden of history isnt really all that heavy, and you believe, truly believe, that next season will be your season. Everton, Villa, Spurs dotted succe s, honourable support but as much with the head as with the heart. For the rest of the Premiership, and some of the Championship the Birminghams, the Wolverhamptons well, the feeling of honour is that much more important big Kennys Vargas Jersey clubs, places in history, acceptance of change. And the smaller clubs? Well, more often than not, you support Doncaster, or Yeovil, or Peterborough, because you were born there, because your identity is tied there, because you want to show the world what you are.What makes a Manchester City fan?Im lucky enough that 41 years Zach Duke Jersey ago I saw us win the old First Division (Premiership) title. Forty years ago I saw us win the FA Cup. 39 years ago, a European trophy. Im luckier than most. But when I first went to the ground, in 1966, it had been a long time since wed glimpsed anything silver. Not as long as now, I admit, but we were down and out, in the shadow of the reds. Even then, the media thought we should have an inferiority complex.But City supporters dont have an inferiority complex. They really dont. Thats part of the secret. Its one of the things that outsiders can never grasp.When we won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1970, we featured in the only European trophy final involving an English club not to be shown on live television. That same year (and my memory betrays me it might have been the semi-final of the same competition when we hammered Schalke 5-1 or it might not) we were squeezed off the back page of the MEN by a fitne s report on key Manchester United players following a reserve game on the same night. Now well, weve Martin Perez Jersey gone from being the nations favourite second team (If there were cups for cock-ups.) to the unwelcome new rich kids on the block. The le son is that well never be loved by anyone but ourselves. But we dont care. And thats not the Millwall, Everybody hates us but we dont care mantra. Its the simple truth. We really dont care. And weve had forty years, or more, of not caring. Because when you support Manchester City..You support not with the brain, not exclusively with the heart. You support from deep within, with the sinew, with the bone, with an e sential commitment which, for want of a better word, might come from the soul. A Peter Swales cant change it, a Thaksin Shinawatra cant change it, even an Alan Ball cant change it. Its a love, a pure love, not fuelled by benefit of trophies, not birthed in tragedy, not conditional on prospects, not a badge of honour, not a habit. Precisely, its a life. Eddie Rosario Jersey It may be moulded by media disrespect, but that doesnt explain it. Its strong enough to carry 30,000 of us through League One, to bear eight goals at the Riverside with a smile, to watch Keegan implode in the dugout at Oldham. And its rewarded by Kinkladze, Robinho, Berkovic, Bernarbia, Goater and Bell. By Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Tiatto, Doyle, Summerbee, Quinn and Rosler. Its the strength of true support the ability to live with the club as it is at any given moment and feel privileged to do so.Well show it in Istanbul.(A parting gift to SGE) |
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發表於 2023-3-10 14:29:11
