These were the words of the first verse of a chant Man United fans sang at Maine Road in the Manchester derby in the late seventies and eighties if United won. The chant was:
Oh Dear What Can the Matter be, Manchester City got Hammered on Saturday.
Unfortunately the modern generation of football fans lack the imagination to conjure up such lyrics but nevertheless on Saturday 25th May that song was as applicable as ever. In the 143rd FA Cup Final played at Wembley Stadium in front of over 84,000 spectators Man Utd, against the odds, destroyed and humiliated neighbours Man City and with it their domestic double. Goals from Garnacho in the 30th minute and young Mainoo in the 39th was sufficient to bring the Cup back to Old Trafford and the glory of the occasion belonged to the red half of Manchester. Both goal scorers, Alejandro Garnacho Ferreya and Kobbie Boateng Mainoo are just 19 years of age and are products of United’s youth policy. Mainoo was Man of the Match according to some, which I would agree with, while others reckon Bruno Fernandes took the honour. Either way it doesn’t matter as the result was all that counted.
City came with their now familiar arrogant attitude, trying to play their ‘possession football’ which did not work this time. Manchester United came with a plan to close the Blues down and did so magnificently, easily outplaying our “noisy neighbours” as they were once coined by Alex Ferguson.
City came with their now familiar arrogant attitude, trying to play their ‘possession football’ which did not work this time. Manchester United came with a plan to close the Blues down and did so magnificently, easily outplaying our “noisy neighbours” as they were once coined by Alex Ferguson.
Early in the first half City had a penalty appeal rightly turned down by referee Andrew Madley. Blue nose manager, Pep Guardiola, was fuming as he watched his team being dismantled by a superior Manchester United outfit on the day. United had done their homework and it paid off. We got revenge for last years defeat at the hands of the Blues and that revenge was done in style, no question. The better team won by a country mile, though City did have their moments with Erling Harland hitting the crossbar with a deadly strike. United keeper, Andre Onana. not for the first time in recent weeks revealing himself by producing saves former Soviet keeper Lev Yashin would have been proud of.
It was a great day to be a Red, not so good for the Blue Noses. City’s open top bus drive around Manchester with no trophy to show was conducted at 3am Sunday morning when the streets were empty!
United were brilliant on the day but despite this our manager, Erik Ten Hag, is not secure in his employment according to reports. He masterminded United’s tactics for the day but will it be enough to satisfy the parasite bastard owners of the club? My own view is keep Ten Hag as it is my understanding he accepted the job of MUFC Manager on the basis he would be given time to rebuild the team. His record in the two seasons he has been in charge is impressive, two cups in as many seasons so why all this talk of sacking him? Even if they do terminate his services who in their right mind would take the job! I can remember when Matt Busby retired the Board kept changing managers until Tommy Docherty brought success at Wembley in 1977 when we defeated Liverpool 2-1.
United were brilliant on the day but despite this our manager, Erik Ten Hag, is not secure in his employment according to reports. He masterminded United’s tactics for the day but will it be enough to satisfy the parasite bastard owners of the club? My own view is keep Ten Hag as it is my understanding he accepted the job of MUFC Manager on the basis he would be given time to rebuild the team. His record in the two seasons he has been in charge is impressive, two cups in as many seasons so why all this talk of sacking him? Even if they do terminate his services who in their right mind would take the job! I can remember when Matt Busby retired the Board kept changing managers until Tommy Docherty brought success at Wembley in 1977 when we defeated Liverpool 2-1.
The game on Saturday felt like 1977 all over again but shortly after ‘The Doc’ was sacked albeit with mitigating circumstances involved. In 2016 United beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final of that year but this did not stop the Glazers from sacking manager, Louis Van Gall which was ridiculous and shows how little this gang of parasites, the Glazers, know about football. Erik Ten Hag has every reason to be proud of his team last Saturday and when asked about his future he replied, with dignity, “if they do not want me I’ll go somewhere else and win trophies because that is what I do”. It would be a huge mistake sacking Ten Hag: his “project” is incomplete and he must be given more time. If our performance against City at Wembley is anything to go by that “project” when fully furnished will produce a formidable team. The MUFC Manager also stated; “we are better than when I took over, but not yet where we want to be.” So, for fucks sake, if the owners, including Jim Ratcliffe, have any understanding of football or if they are interested in the team at all outside making money they must keep Erik Ten Hag as manager.
For the time being I’ll just continue celebrating this great victory and destruction of Man City by a superior team on the day. City have won one trophy this term as have Liverpool and so have Man Utd. That means on the trophy scale we are equal to both our rivals on one trophy each.
To paraphrase City’s one and only song, Blue Moon, an alternative version might be; “Blue Moon, you started singing too soon, you thought you win the cup, but Man Utd fucked you up.” Saturdays performance by the Reds was comparable to any United team I can remember including the ‘Holy Trinity’ and Docs attacking side of the mid to late seventies. Even the team which beat Everton in the 1985 FA Cup Final would be marginally in the shadow to last Saturday’s performance.
Just to put the icing on the football cake last weekend Celtic overturned Rangers at Hamden Park making it, for me, a perfect weekend in football terms. Man United, English FA Cup winners, Celtic, Scottish Cup winners. I rest my case but in that order.
For the time being I’ll just continue celebrating this great victory and destruction of Man City by a superior team on the day. City have won one trophy this term as have Liverpool and so have Man Utd. That means on the trophy scale we are equal to both our rivals on one trophy each.
To paraphrase City’s one and only song, Blue Moon, an alternative version might be; “Blue Moon, you started singing too soon, you thought you win the cup, but Man Utd fucked you up.” Saturdays performance by the Reds was comparable to any United team I can remember including the ‘Holy Trinity’ and Docs attacking side of the mid to late seventies. Even the team which beat Everton in the 1985 FA Cup Final would be marginally in the shadow to last Saturday’s performance.
Just to put the icing on the football cake last weekend Celtic overturned Rangers at Hamden Park making it, for me, a perfect weekend in football terms. Man United, English FA Cup winners, Celtic, Scottish Cup winners. I rest my case but in that order.
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
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