User:Freddifanakerpan

Freddifanakerpan is a Manchester United supporter and always has been. Freddie was born and bred in Stretford and has developed a hatred of ciddy and the spasticated fans who follow them. The following brief but accurate account of ciddy's history and their bitter existence in the shadows of their bitterest rivals, the Mighty Manchester United.

"Once a highlight of British football, the rivalry of Manchester's two teams in the 1990s became ludicrously one-sided as United won everything in sight and City plummeted to the old Second Division. United made a mockery of the phrase "Anything can happen in a derby game", with the consistent stuffing of City on every occasion the teams met. City's return to the top flight has not altered the fact they are still MASSIVE underdogs when the two teams meet.

It's always a good occasion for Manchester on derby day but it's nothing like the occasion it once was in previous decades. It may surprise you to know that from the 1920's to late 1950's many people in Manchester would often support both clubs and attend games at both Old Trafford and Maine Road. Travel to away games was too expensive so fans made up for it watching both!!! City weren't always total rubbish though. In the 1930's City won the League and FA Cup whilst United were relegated. However the 1937 League triumph is notable for the fact that City became the only team in football history to be Champions one season and get relegated the following season, in 1938!!!

In the 1970's the sky blues were sometimes title challengers while United plumbed the murky depths of under-achievement. In 1968 on the final day of the season City pipped United to the League title - but the television and media virtually ignored it as United's European Cup final was the next week. The City fans bitterness at being overlooked by the press forms a long history of being overshadowed, thus they are known by United fans as "The bitter blues". No matter what City did everybody was always more interested in the more exciting, glamorous rivals in red.

Man City are Manchester's second team by a long way, in fact Bolton could claim to be United's biggest Mancunian rivals. In countries like Italy, France and Spain, United are usually referred to as simply "Manchester", they are the only team foreigners recognise who come from the city. If you asked them about Man City they wouldn't have a monkeys. Contrary to their fans belief City are not a massive club, I mean, if they're massive what does that make United, Barcelona and co? City fans always go on about how they are Manchester's true team and no United fans come from Manchester, however the one million+ people that filled the city's streets to see United's treble winners homecoming, shoots that argument down. Truth is, most people you ever meet who come from Manchester support UNITED not City.

City fans slag United off by calling us the "rags" - an ever so slightly outdated term from the 1930's when United had no money and were in financial trouble. Manchester United fans have their own slang term for City fan's - "Bertie Magoo, Bitter Blue". Their old stadium, Maine Road was just like the team - a badly thought out mess. It was known by United fans as "Theatre of Comedy". City fans used to boast it had the tallest floodlights in Britain!!! This obsession with height meant the daft Kippax Stand built in 1996 was also the tallest stand in the UK (for a while) yet it somehow held only 11,000 seats - less than half the Old Trafford North Stand.

Fittingly City's last ever game at Maine Road was a 1-0 defeat to Southampton with Michael Svensson scoring the stadium's last goal. In 2003 Reds were quick to christen the City of Manchester Stadium with the title "The Council house" given that City are renting it off Manchester City Council in a long term hire purchase agreement. It also features a stand named after their most cherished hero Colin Bell (Who? Exactly!!!!) and has since been declared as "The Bell-End". Many bluenose's still to this day genuinely, in all honesty, believe "King of the Kippax" Bell was a better player than......George Best!!!!!

But even in this brand new home the problems of old have followed the club like a bad smell as Kevin Keegan led the club into debt ridden underachievement and Stuart Pearce has done even worse. It's now a massive 32 years since City's last trophy, the 1976 League Cup - here's a toast to another glorious 32 years!!!! It must be hard to cope being a City fan, most live in denial, cursing the mighty Red's exploits at every opportunity and never missing a chance to sing songs about the Munich Air Disaster (even though the crash also claimed the life of ex-City hero Frank Swift). United fans don't hate City as much as they used to, we're bigger than that and have bigger fish to fry. Manchester City are a joke, and lets face it, who doesn't enjoy a good laugh?"