“He was leaning over the side of the bus, obviously trying to reach for this poster and begging the crowd to pass it to him,” said a City fan in the crowd.

City came out and apologised on his behalf immediately but Tevez has claimed today that he is not sorry.

“It seems that Ferguson is the president of England. Because each time that he speaks badly of a player or talks nonsense about me, no-one comes out to say that he has to apologise.”

You would think winning the league with City would help him get United out of his system. Obviously not. I suppose we can just be relieved that when we win the league, our players are more focussed on celebrating our club’s success than they are getting one over on their former club.

February 13th 2005
Scores the opening goal in a 2-0 win

December 9th 2006
Scores the opening goal in a 3-1 win

November 30 2008
Scores the only goal in a 1-0 win at their place

September 20 2009
Scores the opening goal in the brilliant 4-3 win

January 27 2010
Scores the goal that puts us through to the League Cup final in injury time

February 12 2011
Scores the winner in our 2-1 win at Old Trafford

January 8th 2012
Scores twice in our 3-2 win at the Etihad in the FA Cup

Lee Clayton – Head of Sport at The Daily Mail
Rooney to score. I’m loving his calmness and his focus. There’s no better player in England right now. This is his game to own. City to score first in 1-1 draw.

Nick Coppack – ManUtd.com journalist
The “biggest ever Manchester derby” surely can’t live up to the hype. A tense and turgid affair will end 0-0.

Steve Bartram – Contributing Editor for ManUtd.com, United Review and Inside United.
Midfield congestion. Nervous first hour, frantic last half-hour. Whoever has enough energy left or makes better subs will take the points. If City win, I’d be intrigued to see how they’d cope with having pressure and no margin for error in final two games, if United win both.

Mark Ogden – Northern Football Correspondent at The Telegraph
I fancy City because they have to win and that makes a difference. They also have better players in key positions. Being at home also helps. If United treat it like a Champions League game (not this season’s form, obviously!) it could go their way. Whatever, it’ll be massively tense!

Barney – Editor of Red News
The long drag over! Refuse to believe a Ferguson led side will let us down. He is the added factor. Players need to right themselves. It will all be good!

United Rant – United blog
City’s midfield superiority should tell. Neither Scholes not Carrick do well when out-manned or out-muscled. Both may happen on Monday. United have enough players to produce a moment in the game. It’s last chance saloon now – one of Fergie’s big players will grab a goal 1-1

Annie Eaves – Writer for Sport Witness
1-1. Both sides will be nervous. Perhaps an early goal for either side and the game slows, equaliser towards end.

James Maw – Writer/Online Features Editor for FourFourTwo
The pressure’s on City – how they handle that will be key. But on current form they should create chances, and I suspect they may just edge it 2-1.

Rob Dawson – Football writer at the Manchester Evening News
A lot depends on whether United set up with 2 or 3 in midfield. I think Fergie will go 4-4-2 which will make for a more open game. 2-2.

Sam Pilger – Sports Writer for FourFourTwo, The Times Magazine and Esquire.
In my worst nightmares Tevez gets a late winner, but I think it will probably be a nervy, tense affair in which we secure a 1-1 draw.

Howard Nurse – BBC Sport website Football Editor
Can’t make my mind up. 1-0 to United.

Mark Tattersall – City fan
Initially cagey with main battles being Agüero & Tévez v Ferdinand & Evans and Valencia v Clichy. Nasri or Welbeck to score winner in 2-1.

Lauren Wyke – United U15s
2-1 to United.

“Any other season we would have enough points to win the league,” said Richards. “But they always find a way. When you play United you always know it’s drilled into them: ‘We have to win.’ Even when I was playing against them in the under-14s they would always go right to the last minute. They just never wanted to lose. Just look at their game at Chelsea when they went 3-0 down. I was watching that and, seriously, if we go down 3-0 down, we’re not coming back. I think only Man United could have done that. It shows what they’re about. Once we get a little bit of that…”

It’s not just United’s desire and ability to win that Richards is jealous of but the mentality of our players too.

“Look at someone like Park,” he said. “When he doesn’t play, he doesn’t moan, does he? At City we’ve got 20 to 25 internationals, we all want to play and, when you don’t, you get upset and it’s hard to deal with sometimes. You don’t see players at United complaining to their manager when they are taken off. They have been doing it [rotation] for years and it’s Sir Alex Ferguson’s way or no way: ‘If you don’t like it, we’ll get someone else.’ It’s different here. It’s all new to us. If we are going to be a strong team, the players are going to have to accept we can’t play every week.”

Danny Pugsley from the excellent City blog, Bitter and Blue, has given his thoughts on the season.

Scott the Red: City were 8 points clear and are now 3 points behind. What went wrong?

Danny Pugsley: There is no doubt that City hit a sticky patch (where they took four points from four games) at an inopportune point in the season but far too much emphasis was placed on City’s perceived failings rather than giving due credit to United for what was a fantastic period of results where they barely dropped a point over a dozen or so games. For all the perception that this is far from a vintage United side they are undoubtedly still strong and the overall quality throughout the Premier League-wide is also lower. With the ability to consistently win game after game left no margin for error on City’s part and when they eventually did slip it was always going to prove so costly.

STR: Are you excited or anxious about next season, bearing in mind United are unlikely to have the same crippling injuries they’ve had this season?

DP: I fully expect both City and United to be the two challengers again for the title next year and it wouldn’t be a surprise if it is again as close as this season. I do think there will be a slightly different dynamic to the title race though. You mention the way United have been hit by injuries, which is true, but has this been countered by the fact there hasn’t been a deep Champions League run to contend with (and thus provide a distraction)? With both sides crashing out early in the Champions League (and Europa League for that matter) there will be added emphasis to their respective campaigns next season and the ability to manage this alongside the Premier League means we may not quite see the at times relentless pace we have from both sides in the League.

STR: What do you make of Roberto Mancini claiming both Tevez and Balotelli were finished at the club, only to go and play them again?

DP: I have followed Serie A closely over the years so any outbursts from Mancini are not quite the surprise to me as they are to most given his predilection for them during his time in Italy. With Balotelli I do think he is playing the role of exasperated father trying to deal with an errant son and this frustration boils over from time to time. The Tevez case is very different though as although it was said in the heat of the moment immediately after the game by a clearly upset Mancini (which was evident from the video clips) he did mean it and from that point the intention was that Tevez had indeed played his last game. If a move to Corinthians or one of the Milan clubs had materialised in January we’d still be praising Mancini from taking a stand and a tough stance against the scourge of egotistical footballes. The difficulty is that without a side coming in for him what do you do with Tevez? If Tevez then apologises and shows necessary contrition does it makes sense to bring him back or do you keep him ostracised, which ultimately benefits no-one. It is a far from ideal situation but clearly the pragmatic view (rather than one driven by emotion) has been taken. How this translates to the longer time I guess is something that still needs to be resolved.

STR: Would you like Tevez to stay?

DP: As I touched on above, this is a difficult one with no ideal resolution in many respects. He appears to have shown the necessary attitude and application to re-earn the trust of Mancini and – perhaps most crucially – the players. One of my concerns when he came back was what impact his return would have on the shape of the side and how Mancini likes to set up but what it has done is allowed him to make a couple of subtle changes in approach which have benefited the side and re-invigorated the likes of David Silva. What I could never understand was why he wanted to move: here you are, a player in the one of the top leagues in the world, feted by the fans, winning trophies and challenging on all frontsl whilst all the time having your ego and wallet stroked in equal measure. Why leave? And where to, as there are what, a handful of clubs who could in theory afford him?

From a pure footballing perspective the side is better with him in it but not only is there the baggage involved but the spectre of the next fall out is omnipresent so is it worth to risk that potentially destabilising effect again? I may be completely wrong on this but my view is that he does now stay at City and that at some point during his hiatus he has finally realised in his career that the grass isn’t always greener. His actions were such though that I don’t see any kind of relationship with the fans being re-established though; tolerated rather than accepted.

Maybe ask me again though when he fails to return for pre-season training…..

STR: Who has been your most important player this season?

DP: He had a very noticeable dip in form post-January, where the assists, chances and goals dried up but taking the season as a whole it would be David Silva. Sergio Aguero runs him a very close second though and his play and goalscoring record this season is superb for a young player in his debut season in the Premier League.

STR: Which player do you think has improved the most?

DP: A player who hasn’t really attracted the plaudits and has played pretty much in the shadow of Vincent Kompany is Joleon Lescott. Consistency wise, you can make a case that he has had a better season than Kompany and whilst he had struggled at times following his move from Everton he is now probably playing as well as he has ever done.

STR: Which United player would you most want in your team?

DP: Admittedly this is based on me seeing City’s players week in week out and United’s no more than a handful of times a season, and is probably testament to the collective will of United’s side, but I don’t see many players in key positions that I would necessarily consider swapping. In the important areas City now have very good players in place. One player who has always impressed me in all aspects of the game is Antonio Valencia and he would provide a real option wide for City, but if you were choosing one player it would have to be Wayne Rooney, surely?

STR: Will this season be classed as a failure if you win nothing?

DP: Yes, but with a caveat attached to it. After winning the FA Cup last season the knock-out competitions were a disappointment this year (particularly some of the naivety shown in the Champions League) but whilst not winning the Premier League would be a big disappointment given the position they have been in I still had City as finishing second heading into the season. What this season has done though is ramp up expectations for next season though when the title will be the expectation.

STR: Are you proud that Manchester is now dominating English football or would you quite happily see United fall below the London clubs?

DP: To be honest, I think far too much energy and emotion is wasted by fans concerning themselves with what goes on with other clubs and it isn’t something I’ve ever really bought into. Looking ahead I do think it is clear that there will be Manchester 1-2 placing in the league though. Based on this season at least they look a level ahead of the London clubs.

STR: Which player would you most like to see City sign this summer?

DP: This depends on who is likely to leave. The area where most is up in the air is the attack where one or all of Tevez, Balotelli and Dzeko could depart and when Tevez was absent it was shown to be difficult to carry just three strikers so to be utterly predictable I’ll say Robin van Persie.

STR: If you don’t win the league, I assume you still want Mancini to stay?

DP: Definitely. Mancini is certainly not without fault and there is room for improvement in some areas but if you sack him who realistically is a better candidate out there? Regardless of the outcome this season he will take a lot away from it: don’t forget this is his first title challenge in England so lessons will have been learnt and the mindset of the side has totally changed during his time in charge. It is a sign of the position City are now in that a trophy-less season is now a disappointment but I have no doubt that he will back next season. The long term concern I do have for him is his Champions League record. He was always likely to get a pass this season but as well as the demand for title challenges he now also needs to make a serious run at the Champions League.

STR: What are your predictions for Monday?

DP: I do think that we may see a fast start to the game rather than a cagey opening, with both sides looking to land an early blow. How vital will the first goal be? When scoring first United’s record is W26 D2 L0 and City’s is W23 D2 L1 and when leading at halftime both are unbeaten – United W21 D1 L0 and City W16 D1 L0 – which gives a good indication of how strong both sides are if they do get ahead. As to the result, I don’t see how anyone can predict the outcome with any great confidence but I’ll go so far as to say whoever tops the table on Monday night after the game will go on to win the title.

Whilst not at all scientific, given it was entirely dependent on who filled in the survey (I didn’t, did you?), it was interesting to note that almost 1,000 more reds took part in the Manchester Evening News poll.

The fact that only 30,000 City fans went to Eastlands for the League Cup semi-final against Liverpool earlier this season speaks volumes about how many fans they have. If Manchester was blue, surely they’d be able to sell out a game of such magnitude? It’s not as if semi-finals have been frequent occurrences for City over the past few decades.

Of all the Mancunian postcodes that are featured on the map (data for M4, M10, M11, M14, M15, M22, M23, M40, M90 and M99 isn’t shown), United support has the clear majority.

M1 – 56% red
M2 – 83% red
M3 – 73% red
M8 – 65% red
M9 – 55% red
M12 – 56% red
M13 – 45% red
M18 – 45% red
M19 – 42% red
M20 – 36% red
M21 – 46% red
M60 – 94% red

City fans were in the majority in every one of the Stockport postcodes and also in many areas of Tameside and Oldham. Blue strongholds include Hyde, Dukinfield, and Stockport town centre, where more than 70 per cent of those polled said they were City fans.

Over in Salford, central and south Manchester and parts of Trafford, the results were reversed. In Eccles, Worsley and central Salford, more than 70 per cent said they were Reds. The area around Old Trafford is also apparently a Red stronghold, with 71 per cent of those in the M16 postcodes supporting Manchester United.

It really shouldn’t matter this much. Usually it’s quite easy(ish) to be philosophical about football. You can’t win them all, it’s only a game, etc, etc. But this time it’s different. Because this time the joy of winning is counter-balanced by the potential catastrofuck of losing. A bit like a ravenous midget at the butchers, it’s as if the
stakes are just too high to bear.

Winning the league at the expense of your most bitter of rivals would be sweeter than Katherine Jenkins fashioned from candyfloss and coated by hundreds and thousands (behave). But losing, it’s just…aaarrgh. It would be insufferable. It would be literally impossible to suffer (student meaning of the word ‘literal’ there). Especially for those of us who have the misfortune to share classrooms, workplaces and favourite tweed retailers with that other lot.

How bloody exciting though.

Isn’t it fucking ace to feel such heightened emotions. Isn’t it special to have a thing or occasion in your life that matters so much. Of course it makes you feel a bit sick, or a lot sick even. It because it’s fucking visceral, man. It grabs you by the lapels like Eric Morecambe and shakes you awake. It’s the kind of thing that reminds you that you’re still properly alive and able to feel such feelings, when work and bills and work would have you slowly die.

So cherish this week. Cherish the hysteria that’s welling up inside you. Love it, love the crap out of it. Because some people never feel this. They just don’t. It’s great to be invested in something that makes you feel physically ill for caring. And it may sound dramatic, but you might not experience something like this ever again. So be
glad it’s happening.

The love of a football club is like any other love. It really isn’t a victory march. But you’ve got to be all in and be prepared to have your heart broken and smashed to bits, otherwise it’s no love at all. Enjoy the anticipation, and the potential beauty of what could be. Even if it could turn out shit. Because it’s what we endure all the
hours of blandness for. Stuff that truly matters.

October 23rd 2011: Terry is accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand after video footage appears of him apparently saying “Oi! Anton! You fucking black cunt!” After the game, Terry claimed he had resolved the issue with Anton, although the QPR defender didn’t find out about the incident until later that evening. Terry then conceded he did use the racial  slur but insists he said “Oi! Anton! Do you think I called you a fucking black cunt?” Make up your own mind.

December 20th 2009: Terry caught selling tours around Chelsea’s training ground, without the knowledge of the club, for £10,000 a pop. Investigated by the FA and Chelsea FC.

November 16th 2009: Terry’s dad is caught dealing cocaine by undercover reporters.

March 27th 2009: Terry’s mum is arrested and cautioned for shoplifting £800 worth of goods.

March 19th 2008: Terry fined for parking his Bentley in a disabled parking spot.

November 5th 2006: Terry was sent off in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and was accused of racially abusing Ledley King. He was rumoured to have said “shut up you lippy black monkey” which lead to the black players on the Spurs team, Chimbonda and Zakora, going mad. There appeared to be no offence from Terry yet he walked calmly off the pitch after being shown the red card. He was fined £10,000 for inappropriate conduct.

November 11th 2005: Got it off with a 17-year-old behind then fiancée Toni Poole’s back. Terry admitted this was one of eight women he had cheated on Poole with.

April 25th 2004: Got it off with a prozzie behind then girlfriend Toni Poole’s back.

February 2002: Terry was caught on camera pissing in a glass during a night out in a bar before throwing the glass on the floor.

January 5th 2002: Terry was charged with assault and affray after a confrontation with a nightclub bouncer. Terry was suspended from England duty and subsequently missed out on the 2002 World Cup. He was later cleared of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding, possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and affray.

September 12th 2001: Terry mocks American tourists about September 11th in a pub when drunk less than 24 hours after the tragedy occurred.

After several people pointed out to him that the picture was old he acknowledged his mistake. However, the strange thing about this was not the outdated picture, but that Nakrani would claim to take such offence after writing lies in The Guardian to defend Luis Suarez after he was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra.

What the report shows is that in deciding to ban Suárez for eight matches and fine the player £40,000 for racially abusing Evra, the panel judged that in a row which that boiled down to one man’s word against another, it was Evra who was telling the truth.

This article was published several hours after the FA published their report but directly contradicted what was actually written in the report. Luis Suarez’s chosen representative, Peter McCormick OBE, acknowledged that this case wasn’t “one man’s word against another”, as Nakrani claimed.

“215. It was accepted by both Mr Greaney and Mr McCormick in closing submissions that this is not simply a case of one person’s word against another.”

When on Twitter it was pointed out that him that is was fairly hypocritical for him to slam a random Chelsea fan for being racist six years ago, having written lies in defence of Suarez who was deemed guilty of racially abusing Evra, Nakrani went on to tell more lies.

Yes, this journalist claimed that he was receiving abuse from “Man Utd fans” because he had criticised Chelsea fans jeering during the minute’s silence for Hillsborough.

Of course, for those of you that aren’t familiar with Twitter, a simple search for someone’s username shows all the things that have been said to them, and not a single United fan had criticised him for the reason he claimed. All the criticism came because he is a lying hypocrite, slamming a racist fan at Chelsea whilst lying to defend Suarez in his article.

When asked to name and shame the people who had abused him, he obviously failed to do so, as there hadn’t been any United fans “abusing” him for the reason he claimed. Fancy lying again when it’s so easy to be found out.

Always the victim, it’s never your fault.