It was interesting to see Roberto Mancini claim that United’s 15 point lead was down to being “lucky”.
“Until now, United have been really lucky with everything, they have won a lot of games in the last minute – like against us when they really didn’t deserve to win,” Mancini told reporters.
Of course, the irony isn’t lost on us, with City winning the league on goal difference following two late goals against QPR. We’ll assume Mancini doesn’t want to write off that title win as good fortune.
Still, Mancini’s comments took me by surprise because it’s probably been a few years since rivals claimed that Manchester United are simply “lucky”. Back in the 90′s you’d hear it a lot, after yet another injury time win, that the reason why we were successful had a lot to do with good fortune. As United continued to win games and trophies thanks to late goals people realised how ridiculous it was to claim that it was just down to good luck. We have scored 80 injury time goals in the Premier League era, over 5% of our total, which is an extraordinary amount when you consider what a tiny proportion of a game injury time is. Of course, all great teams rely on luck at times, situations have to work in your favour, but there’s got to be more to it than that. You can’t keep winning for this length of time just because you’re lucky.
United won their first trophy with Ferguson in 1990. Almost 23 years have gone by since then and we’ve not gone longer than one year without winning something (and I’m talking about proper silverware and not including the Charity Shield in that, as Roberto Mancini and Gael Clichy would). Some might point to the money we’ve spent, but as we showed on RoM recently, the money we spent was usually comparable with teams around us and we never blew others out of the water like Chelsea and City have done, yet we’re nearly always the team to beat.
When you look at what United have had consistently throughout Ferguson’s glory days, and it’s not a bag of a magic fairy dust to make us “lucky” whenever we require, the answer for our success, but more importantly, our sustained success, is clear. Manchester United players have a winning mentality which is instilled in them by the manager. What makes that winning mentality all the more powerful is that throughout Ferguson’s time at the club we have always had a core group of players who have made their way up through the youth team ranks, so have been surrounded by that mentality since they were children.
There was the likes of Giggs, the Nevilles, Butt, Scholes and Beckham in the 90s. Some left, some remained, but then the likes of Brown, O’Shea and then Fletcher made their way through. Some left, some remained, and now we have the likes of Evans, Cleverley and Welbeck. From one generation to the next, these players grow up idolising the winners in the team that came before them and then pass that down to the next batch. A 19-year-old Wes Brown was an unused sub in the European Cup final in 1999, then nine years later he was in the starting team for the 2008 final, assisting our only goal, having played more games for United than anyone else that season.
After Michael Owen scored a last minute winner against Manchester City in 2009, Gary Neville sprinted down the touchline towards the City fans going absolutely mental.
“That’s why United are where they are,” said Harry Redknapp afterwards. “They are a team and they are all together. Gary Neville has won everything there is to win but you look at the excitement he showed at his team winning, when he wasn’t even in the team. He wasn’t sitting on the bench with his arms folded. He was jumping higher than Fergie. When we played United at White Hart Lane the week before, my coaches, Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand, were in the stands along with the United boys who weren’t subs. They were jumping up and down at every decision and again when they scored their goals. That winning mentality goes right through the club. Gibson and all the other boys wanted to play but they also have those feelings that they showed. There are not many clubs where you get that. It’s something you’d like to develop. It’s hard to change some people but that’s what makes winning teams. I thought it was amazing to see Neville’s feelings show and the joy he had at winning.”
In every team Ferguson has turned in to title winners we have always had at least a couple of players who absolutely love the club. Players who have grown up supporting United and have always dreamed of being in our first team.
“I’m a Manchester lad and would love to play for United for the rest of my career,” Wes Brown said in 2001. He repeated these sentiments again in 2008: “To be part of a team I have supported all my life is a great honour.”
“I am a big Manchester United fan and have been all my life,” said Evans in 2009. “All my family are huge United fans. My dad hasn’t missed a game for five years at Old Trafford. He wouldn’t even miss a United match to come and watch me play at Sunderland. So it has always been a dream to play at Manchester United.”
“I have been a Manchester United fan all my life and fulfilled every dream I’ve ever had,” Neville said upon his retirement in 2011. “I am looking forward to new experiences and the club will always be a part of my life going forward however the most important thing now is for the club to continue with the success that is synonymous with Manchester United and I will be supporting them all the way, as a fan.”
Danny Welbeck, who scored our only goal at the Bernabeu a couple of weeks ago, recently reflected on watching United in the European Cup final in 1999, when he was just 8-years-old. “I was in the front room watching with my family,” he said. “The celebrations were mental. I think the whole street went wild!”
Leeds, Blackburn, Newcastle, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea have all come and gone as title rivals but United have remained. We’ve had dyed in the wool United fans in every team that has overturned the challenges of other clubs. Not just fans though, but fans that know the importance of winning and understand fully that success is what is expected from them.
We start today 15 points clear of Manchester City and if Chelsea beat them it will stay that way, with just a point separating those two. How has this happened? There was only goal difference separating us last year and we spent the season crippled by injuries, whilst they were largely unscathed, but how have they gone from champions to scrabbling about with Chelsea, who, despite being champions of Europe, have been poor under Rafa Benitez?
“A player of this quality could be one of the best players in Europe. But it’s not happening,” Mancini said of Samir Nasri in an interview with The Guardian this week. “Sometimes a player thinks it’s enough what they did the year before and doesn’t understand that every day they should improve. If you are a top player you know you can improve until the last day of your career but sometimes you get players who think it is not important to work and this is their worst mistake. Samir can do better than this year. He is a top player but he has not been playing at his level.”
Is this the difference between United and City this year? Only goal difference separated us a few months ago and then they spent more than us in the transfer window. But rather than ability or quality of squads, is the deciding factor our mental superiority?
Whilst I think Mancini deserves some credit for being honest, instead of defending all his players regardless like Arsene Wenger usually does, it surprises me that he is so forthcoming about the attitude of Nasri and possibly others in his squad. If Nasri believes he’s made it because he played a bit part role in City’s title win, why hasn’t Mancini addressed this? At United, our own players would sort out this kind of attitude, but if City don’t yet have players who care enough/are capable of getting their team mates in line, then it is Mancini’s job to do so. To admit he has players that think they’ve made it and don’t need to improve because they’ve won just one league title is for him to admit he hasn’t done a good enough job coaching them.
In his autobiography, Roy Keane spoke of a similar attitude at United following us winning the Treble in 1999. Granted, we were the first (and still only) English team to win all three major trophies in one season, which is very different to just winning the league as City did last season, but it still effected the mentality of some of our players. It angered our captain to see some of our players walking around as if they never needed to win a game again because they’d achieved it all. But the season after we won the Treble we still won the league by 18 points, won the Intercontinental Cup and were knocked out of the European Cup by eventual winners Real Madrid. If there were some players who weren’t up for the fight that season, we had enough who were, and we still went on to have a successful season.
It reminds me of something Darren Fletcher said about the reaction of our players to winning the European Cup in 2008 after beating Chelsea on penalties. Ryan Giggs, who broke Sir Bobby Charlton’s record for Manchester United appearances and scored our winning penalty that night, huddled the players together on the pitch.
“He said, ‘Lads, this is what it’s all about — let’s have it next year as well’, and we were looking at this trophy, which hadn’t even been presented to us, and there was Ryan already talking about next year,” said Fletcher. “It brought home to me what this club is about. Later, we were sitting in the dressing room and there were so many players already talking about winning it again. Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand marching around telling everybody, ‘I like this feeling, let’s keep it going’. That is why the club gets stronger and stronger. We always think we can achieve more.”
Next year they were in the final again, losing 2-0 to one of the best club sides in the history of the game, and Giggs had been laying the foundations for that game in the mind of his team mates a whole year earlier. Having a manager who is as good as Ferguson obviously helps set you apart from the rest, but it’s not just about him, it’s about how our players react to his influence. They help educate those younger than themselves, teach them what it means to be a United player and how to be a winner, and in turn, they grow up and do the same for the next generation.
We also have the most loyal players in Europe, with our players staying longer than players at any other club, meaning we have the opportunity to strengthen the winning mentality. In contrast, Micah Richards, who Oldham have a sell on clause for after a deal was agreed to allow him to join the blues, is City’s longest serving player, having joined the youth team in 2005, followed by Joe Hart who they bought from Shrewsbury Town in 2006. After them, Kompany and Zabeleta, who have both been at the club for just four full seasons, have been at the club the longest. Their players came when the money came, meaning Richards is their only player who has been playing for the first team for at least five seasons. It’s a far cry from United’s current set up. City just haven’t had the time to establish that yet but there are question marks over whether they ever will. As we have seen at Chelsea, the clubs who outspend others by ridiculous amounts tend to have a revolving door when it comes to transfers, so it will be harder for City to ever recreate the stability United has.
It would be ridiculous to expect Mancini to develop the winning mentality Ferguson has had almost 30 years to develop in just a few seasons, (although you think that with the money they spent they’d manage to be in a more respectable position than 15 points behind after winning the league last season) but City’s decline this season shows just how important it is to have players of the right mentality. Can you imagine Ferguson worrying about our players feeling as though they didn’t need to improve anymore? If there were any that fell in to that category, they would be shipped off sharpish.
During the most recent International break, Joe Hart spoke about the relationship between United and City players in the England camp. He said that they could all have a laugh together, but that Welbeck was the worst to give stick to, as “he is a mad, mad, mad Manchester United fan.” Our mad, mad, mad United fan, who grew up just four miles away from Old Trafford, scored our only goal at the Bernabeu a couple of weeks ago, showing our next crop of youngsters what is within their capabilities to achieve. When was the last time City had a “mad, mad City fan” in their starting team? Come to think of it, when was the last time they even had a Manc turning out for them on a regular basis, or even someone from the North West?
After last season, there’s no way I’ll start crowing about the title being in the bag until Nemanja Vidic is lifting the trophy above his head, but it’s hard to ignore that a contributing factor to United always being at the top or there abouts is the fact our first team squad always contains youth team products (going back to every single match day squad since 1937!) and our players are well accustomed to and hungry for success. It doesn’t guarantee you a trophy every year, but it does mean you never go longer than one year without winning something and you finish in the top 3 every season for over twenty years.
To finish, I’ll leave you with some words from Gary Neville which were in The Observer in 2010: “The idea was that you’ve never made it. With a young player sometimes you hear people saying: ‘He’s made it.’ Our idea was that you’ve never made it. You can perform well here and still be out if you don’t fit the plan. There are no passengers, it’s a conveyor belt, and if you’re not contributing to the success of the club in some way you won’t be here much longer.”
Our players are all too familiar with this lesson and that is why every season they strive to be the best. Whether it’s down to Mancini or the more experienced players at City, someone should be telling Nasri and co. that just winning one Premier League medal is barely scratching the surface. Thankfully, with that 20th title calling out to us, City are years behind when it comes to sustaining success, and long may that continue!
Man Utd News 24/7
United have the winning mentality and the Red Army goes mental when we win!
Probably the best article I have ever read on a United blog.
Wow. Fantastic piece Scott. City will never be like United. A flash in the fucking pan. Fergie will see this greasy snide cunt off like he has Keegan, Dogleash, Jose, Rafa, Wenger and Ancelotti. Accepts the challenge and fucks them off. Last season was a blessing in disguise as it has just fired Fergie and the lads up beyond belief. It isn’t just the signing of Van Persie. It’s lads like Danny, Evans, Rafael, Clevs and Jones coming of age. Coupled with the outstanding form of Carrick and Rio etc. Oh Dave in nets coming of age too. Richard Madely rested on his laurels and thought the league would be a piece of piss to retain. WRONG. Not to mention his dogshit summer signings. No United are a VERY different animal this time round. Just look at Fergie prowling the touchline. He loves a challenge and is putting City back in their rightful place. Fuck me City aren’t even that good!
fantastic article again……COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!
Probably the best article I’ve read here ever. So so proud of being a United fan, with players and manager like this.
When we are all old and grey we will be happy having lived during Fergusons years, that man and what he has achieved definetly make my life a happier one.
GGMU
Amazing piece Scott. Till today I still cant believe I am supporting MANCHESTER UNITED.
great post scott
Fredrik. Spot on pal. I always say if UnIted NEVER won another pot I have been fortunate to witness Uniteds greatest ever 26 year period. Fans of no other club dippers aside can say that.
The difference
history class prestige …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
no way to compare
Last season before we crumbled, there was that criminal relaxed attitude, coupled with Sir Alex showing too much respect to City. This season until now, you could sense that fire again. Even with a 15pt lead, nobody seems relaxed yet, which is a good sign. After what happened last season, nothing must be taken for granted. One game at a time
good post scott,nice words fredrik
Marq
yes it s not over yet
we will have some hard games away from home wba stoke west ham arsenal and sunderland+shitty and chelsk at home
it won t be easy we must stay focused and treat every game like a final
i think shity will beat chelski today i can t see theme doing us any favour
Redknapp also said some very nice things about Rio. His omission from england is a just racist.
Club announced that Rio will get a testimonial this year! Well deserved.
Best CB in england, arguably best United CB ever. This year has been a revelation!
Heads up, Rooney also in line for a testimonial! Amazing how time has flown.
Spot on Scott. Luck has absolutely nothing to do with it!
Hahaha that’s funny, I was just explaining to my wife about United’s mentality with comparisons to other clubs, primarily City. And as soon as I’m on RoM, this article is out. Haha thanks it’s gonna make my explanation to my wife much easier!
Good article Scott.
King Eric-Spot on the last 26 years has been a joy, i never thought we would win so much and it looks like its not stopping.
Great article!!!!!!!!!!!
I have just got to comment because that was a beautiful well written article!!
Don’t they know UNITED never dies!!!!!
This is one of the most brilliant pieces I’ve ever read here.
I cannot tell you how much I love one Alexander Chapman Ferguson.
If ever there was a Mr. Manchester United, he’d be favorite for that.
PS – was it just me or did anyone else have goosebumps by the time they finished reading the article???
Nice Scott. I am a proud Red and a member of Fergie’s Red and White Army
Brilliant article scott. I said this yesterday and I will repeat Mancini is losing it. He says we are lucky but forgets that his team also won the league in injury time. Refs tried their best to screw us at ethihad but we were professional enough to beat them.
Everyday I see something stupid said by Mancini. He knows he is managing a shit club who will be nowhere to be found in 5-7 years time. Mancini is keeping his excuses ready. How could a manager or anyone say we are lucky to be ahead of 15 points. We have thoroughly deserved it. From Day one of this season he just keeps in pointing how he missed the signing of RVP . They themselves have spend money on players like rodwell,Garcia and sinclair. Their team is filled with mercenaries. Aguero would fuck off from city if madrid or barca come calling. Tevez will leave to italy. Yaya toure is hardly interested now. Silva and kompany will be the only two players who remain a force. Rest are shit. Nasri is a overrated twat. Wenger knew how to use nasri but mancini has got no clue. Mancini is a arrogant cunt. Other day he said he would want to win a trophy with english national team and be given knighthood. Bloddy joker. 1 decent season and he thinks he is as good as our Sir Alex. He can fuck off with his arrogance. City can only win something if their players attitude improve. Honestly I can’t see them belong in the top league for a long time. City can fuck off.
City are kids growing up,there still a very very long way to go,mancini is also growing as a coach,up united,go on and don’t stop.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2283700/Ryan-Giggs-scores-999th-match-Manchester-United-team-mates-werent-born.html
So true KE and Daz,
It didn’t feel like it could get much better than when we won our first Premier title!
Every trophy success afterwards was just a bonus,
but as Utd fans we have been truly blessed year on year with magical moments to cherish; Doubles, a treble and countless last gasp squeaky-bum winners!
It’s not our team that are lucky,
It’s us reds who are fortunate to support the best club in the world!
A great article indeed. United’s winning mentality, the manager’s mentality, never-say-die attitude, willingness to sacrifice, the joy of rejoicing for your teammates success, the seniors’ roles modeling for the new generation, the commitments and dont forget, SAF’s super hairdryer session are all what makes the difference. Whether it is last minute goals or luck, this is part of football. That is what makes football so interesting because you never know what is gonna happen. Last year event, the final against Bayern are part of what makes football interesting.
Well, talking about luck, I recall Wenger’s les invincibles is also one of lucky team who managed to score a number of their goals at the last moment. Why no one talks about them?
This year if United can win a 20th. I wish that we have 20 points of gap (maybe 20 goals difference between top 2 teams) between the 1st and 2nd placing. Let it be a memorable and historical 20th moment for United.
This has without doubt been one of the best piece that I have read on this forum. Mancini thinks we are lucky. Ye gods!!!
so mr. moancini, you mean to say that if a team is winning all the times…that is called lucky??? wow so that is the definition of lucky!!!….. very funny guy!!!…
Excellent piece, very well written. I really enjoyed reading that.
I’ve said it for a long time: City have a squad. United have a team.
epic writing. thanks scott!!!
probably the best article I have read on this website in a long time!!
Outstanding article, Scott. Shrewd and insightful as always.
I always liked Mancini because as a player he was someone who could have played for United – he had that winning mentality. He’s a decent manager but not a world class one. I think any good manager would struggle with a team of selfish individuals that have no heart or loyalty.
The fact Mancini said those words about Nasri – who is a lazy asshole when he could be a decent player – says volumes of how despondent he must feel to manage a team of individuals who think they’ve made it because they have a new contract or win one trophy on goal difference. It must gall Mancini to defend these selfish brats in public as he has to. So of course you are going to end up saying really moronic things like saying United’s success is down to luck!!! I pity the fool….
Whether you believe you make your own luck or just in the hands of the Gods, you still have to see it before your eyes and take advantage of it.
But more than luck is the winning mentality. That as Scott rightly says is the DNA of this club for much of its history.
I would add it’s also winning ‘family’ mentality that has been instilled into United by Sir Alex Ferguson for the past 23 years or so. It has a multiplier effect. New players coming to United already know what is expected of them and it’s great to see them respond such as R van Persie or Hernandez or De Gea.
It started with Sir Matt of course but in my humble opinion Sir Alex had a tougher job because the game has changed in terms of players of all nationalities now a common sight in even the most humble of football teams. It’s one thing to instill a winning mentality into the likes of a Welbeck and a Brown or a Neville.
But Sir Alex’s man management genius is how he instilled the same winning mentality into his foreign players such as Ronaldo of course – his recent words about United being his family and where the boy became a man says it all – and many others who have gone to other clubs. Nani can’t be happy being out of the team but when he gets on he does his best to show why he should be in the First XI. But look at the development of young Rafael – it says it all.
Being part of United is being part of a family even if you speak Korean, French, Portuguese or Spanish or brogue Scots(!) or Mancunian
.
That isn’t just on the pitch but also reflected in its fans. Quite rightly we United fans have been spoiled for the past 23 years or so (especially those who remember the years before Ferguson) but a winning expectations have been instilled into us as well.
We demand winning excellence but also heart. Sometimes we unfairly pick on a player (such as Berbatov or a Carrick) who have the skills but not – seemingly – the heart or those who have the heart but not the talent excellence demanded to sustain a place in the team (Gibson – good but not good enough). We can see who has it and who doesn’t on the pitch. And the players know it too.
Mancini trying to play mind games with Sir Alex is like is like One Direction taking on the Beatles. Lucky my ass.
A fantastic read. The 2nd best article I’ve read on here. I cant help thinking mankini is just trying it on with the mind games saying United are lucky. Similar to when he said City are not favourites to win the league towards the end of last season before and after every game. But nobody is lucky for 23 years. Your players make money. Our players make history.
Spot on. What a great article. Reflect some of the views in my blog today, but I have to say you’ve done a better job. What has truly put United so far ahead this season is something no collection of mercenaries can ever have, and that certainly ain’t luck.
Wonderful article, thank you! Let’s try to transfer this team attitude into our private lives. That kind of discipline and love for something has to pay off.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/8521508
Absolutely FANTASTIC article. I need to bookmark this. Hopefully Chelsea are on top form and absolutely wreak havoc on City. SMASH THEM to pieces. Destroy their confidence.
Giggsy was at it again after the match yesterday. Could literally see him telling players that this isn’t in the bag yet and that they need to maintain their concentration. What a legend. Why isn’t he club captain?
Great article Scott
Lucky – fucking funny. You win once in extra time yes, you win twice maybe but how many times have we done it? Scott is spot on with the winning mentality – From top to bottom the club just does not give up.
This comes from SAF in no accepting were beaten. You can see teams shrink now if they are drawing or ahead in the last 10 mins, like they know its coming!
One more point on Mankini – He knows that if city dont win the title he is gone. In his mind he see’s himself as some kind of genius. I will say this, Last season they did well, his biggest mistake was not strengthening the squad in the summer. He falt that they won the league, patch a few gaps and they could do it again. United were always going to be better, youth improving etc. RVP was a big signing, influencial in the first half of the season!
We have already signed Zaha and I expect some movement in midfield as well, either exp to fill scholes or youth to develop along with clevs.
The scary thing for the rest of the league is that fact our team is young, hungry and will continue to improve over the next 3 – 5 years, They have not reached thier peak and city had thiers last year!
Good times ahead REDS
Youth is the key to all clubs, you cannot sustain buying 27 year olds for 20 – 30 million every season. Where as utd have always mix youth with exp and buy the odd established star. The exp is gained at the club (in the main) so the “winning mentatity” is passed on.
Chelsea are starting to get this now, Oscar, Mata etc.
Great article Scott.
King Eric: Hope you and your family are well and that young lad of yours is not that far from United Academy standard by now.(they’re never too young).
I’m at the other end of the supporters ladder like Giles Oakley and I wish that I could write as well as him.
I would like to tell everybody how proud I am as a Salford born supporter,to have witnessed everything that United have won since 1948 (F.A.Cup).I was born in 1942 the year after Sir Alex,and instead of rhyming of the dozens of trophies that we have won since then,it would be easier to tell everyone that the only 3 major wins I didn’t see were the old 1st Division Championship in 1908 and 1911,and the F.A.Cup in 1909. I only stopped going to Old Trafford a couple of years ago through ill-health,so I hope that modern day fans have as much pleasure in the future watching Man United as I have had.
jon evans”even when i was at sunderland dad watched united” quality
Brilliant article scott, you know it’s a great read when you never take your eye off it and i agree with your sentiments.
great to have a legend like yourself on here tommy taylor. u epitomise what united are all about…great history!!
Wow!! It just gave me goosebumps
Respect Scott…..great article. One day people will look back at this season and say it was probably SAF’s finest. When his defenders were out injured at the start he did not rush out and buy as most others would have done. He somehow managed the egos that bringing in RVP could have unsettled. Ever single member of his squad feels valued and important to the group’s success. It may not all end in the glory we want but its been an amazing journey and I am really proud to support this great club.
mankini has said that he’s the best manager in England and man united are lucky ! Deluded prick cracking up ! They only won it last year because united gave it away !
gave me goosebumps that did
Great share was that tommy taylor,
Shame you cant go anymore, but here’s hoping youre still able to celebrate many more future Utd successes!
f*ck.yeah.
Thomas Jefferson was a great believer in luck!
He found that the harder he worked, the luckier he got!
Chew on that Berto!
Already 13 comebacks i nthe bag with 12 wins and 1 draw i nthe FA-cup
LUCKY
LUCKY US
We are ManUtd and we’ll score when we want!
Wow!!… This game between the renties, and shitty is wank!!…. And how the fuck can that deluded thick mancini call us lucky… I think the word he was looking for in his english dictionary was ” clinical “….
Fantastic article Scott, but one minor observation. The statistic about the numbero of goals scored during injurty time is actually not extraordinary (or at least not out of proportion to the ffraction of a match that injurty time constitutes). I don’t know exact numbers, but if you think of an average match having say 4 minutes of second half injury time out of 95 total minutes in the matxch (assuming 1 minute of first half injurty time), then that 4 minutes would be 4.2% of total match time, which is pretty in line with your 5% figure (especially as better teams do tend to score towards the end of halfs). If the stat included all injury time (incxluding first half), then the 5% figute would actually be under the fraction of match time.
That being said, it would be interesting to see this stat for the other clubs.
SCOTT!!
great great great articel, if I didn’t come here for the comments, I would come for your articles and just to say, GOOD JOB!
Wow scott
Fans like you is what symbolise this club, this piece is probably one of your best works if not the best of them all
Shitty are just one disjointed club. We all know they’re only waiting for a fat pay check day, no one cares
Wow scott
Fans like you are what symbolise this club, this piece is probably one of your best works if not the best of them all
Shitty are just one disjointed club. We all know they’re only waiting for a fat pay check day, no one cares
as expected chelski is shit
12 points clear
Mancini’s next job will be as a foreman on the Sheikh’s oil rig. Benitez as Abromovich’s private butler and footrest.
How could the fool not play John Terry in this game? He is their best CB and can nick a goal and inspires and organises his team. He is a cunt, but he is their Pep. Fools. You can have tied the silly bastards at least. Two fingers to you Sir.
Please lets not talk 20 titles until its done. Last year was hard enough.
Follow SAF example… Win every game till theres none left.
Avoid complacency.
fuck benitez fuck lampard
who care we are 12 points clear
James7t7
agree
it s not over
we will fight till the end
we still have lot of hard games
The difference between United and City is that, unlike Mancini, SAF will still be in his job next season.
Bet there will be no “conspiracy” theories in the press tomorrow. Fat F rank Lumplard would never have missed than pen against us and how come Hart stayed on the pitch after denying Ba a goalscoring opportunity. Just got to be sure we bury Norwich next week.
Someone please pull some stats on Sideshow from that game. He is a fraud of a footballer. City can celebrate all they want, they are still 12 points behind us. Our job is just to give them no rope at all.
really mancini, do we really have to go into details over the game and previous ones.
The shitty v united game – united had gone 20 up, united are in, young scores the third goal, but it is offside, the replay’s show young’s goal should have been onside, a minute later, shitty get a goal and is 2 1.
The swansea game – RVP is fouled, less than a minute later, swansea equalize,
spurs game, -united are 1 0 ahead, and rooney is fouled inside the box,, and spurs get a point out of this
the newcasttle game – BA is clearly offside, yet the goal is given, and it almost cost united the 3 pts.
Yea united have been lucky, when 2 of these 4 games, almost cost united 6 pts
2-0 to City – Chelsea barely turned up. Bloody Lampard, just when you back him to score a penalty he misses.
12 points, 11 games. We need 22/33 points to win assuming City drop none.
Loved the quotes Scott, everyone from Harry to Gary.
However, I think the difference this season was also RVP as much as anything, City strikers just not on form so far and they lost Balotelli, also teams have worked them out a bit now and Toure at Africa Cup of Nations affected them, man is a beast of a player and a winner.
Time to count the games off, if we get past RM, we would have a CL match before we play City.
This was a Mindblowing ARTICLE….
Supperb…Really superb..
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but am writing this after shittys beats chelski (2 0)
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thats the only matter…only 12 pts…behind….
hope chelsea are as shite when we pay them.wank today.just need to look after ourselves though its more than in our hands just keep our concentration and keep vidic fit
Bet the bastard will play Terry in defence when he plays us, their defence was poor for both goals.
Gary Neville: ” You always need luck, but fundamentally, United have just been better! ”
Ha! Stick that in your ear Mancini!
Watched the Chelsea game today (well, between that and the scotland – ireland rugby game) and wow, either Rafa really wanted to avoid doing United a favor today or he is actually just a shit manager. How the fuck do you take off Hazard for Oscar and leave Ramires on the pitch? After Ramires squandered chances, gave the ball away constantly (they actually broke and scored after he squandered a huge chance) and then to take off lampard too, and throw Torres on so late in the game as if the team weren’t weak enough.
The defending for both goals was shocking. It reeked of a team who know they will limp over the line into the champions league next season, they couldn’t be arsed. It annoys me because we won’t have such an easy time with Chelsea when they come to OT… but I know we’re still win the game.
Still, the reaction after the game makes me smile. “We’ll snatch it again”… HAHAHA, really? United will blow 12 points in 11 games and City will win all their remaining 11 games? But hey, let them hope, let them go points counting when they look at the fixtures, let them believe they will win it, let them be crushed!! Fergie said it.. NEVER AGAIN.. and when he changed his team for Everton even though he had Madrid next, he showed the measure of his resolve in this matter.
BTW, great write up Scott. Mancini is a whining little cunt. He won an FA Cup, then last year sat there while United came along and handed him the trophy… and his job for another 12 months…. he’s an average manager, can’t hack it in Europe, can only use his attacking players to overcome the wigans of the league, all while embracing people like Tevez who spat in his face and he asked for more. Joke! Lucky? We should have beat you 5-0 at the Etihad but the officials decided to take Young’s goal off of us. And you call us lucky…. all the hype, all the hope in your favor from every ABU cunt in the world is masking how poor your club really is.
Great article!! I was turned on to United a by family member who loved George Best while growing up in Greece (i got see him play in NASL against the Rochester Lancers as a kid). I lived in England for a year in 1987 but never got to a game.I was lucky enough to be in England while the FA cup and champs league games in ’99 were on, which made them even more enjoyable. I have three young girls who I have taken to matches against Celtic in Toronto and Barcelona in Washington DC. I took the whole family to England this Christmas for a trip which included a game against WBA and a tour of Old Trafford the following day which was amazing!! I tell them the reason I love United is that they never give up and refuse to lose. It doesn’t always work but SAF won’t tolerate his players giving up. This is perseverance NOT luck or it wouldn’t happen so much as Scott points out. My middle daughter is the biggest fan and plays football. I was with her for an MRI during the city match last April as she was diagnosed with a tumor in her brainstem that friday before. Fortunately it has not grown and appears to be a benign tumor. This obviously has changed how I view the world and life now. We don’t take anything for granted and live for the moment. For this reason I’m am loving this season with my daughter and enjoying every twist and turn. I’ll be upset (?gutted) if there is a repeat of last season but I don’t see that happening. I hope you all can enjoy this moment instead of focusing on small errors and mistakes instead of the big picture. I have a feeling in a few years you all will fondly remember this team and year as one of the greater in United history!!!
When my daughter was diagnosed they gave her a support kit from a girl with a malignant tumor in the same area who passed away after 10 months. She created a charity with the initials NEGU which my daughter wears on a rubber bracelet and I bought one too. it means Never Ever Give Up, I like to think she would have loved United. So enjoy the run in and the season bc I I will!!
Sorry for such a long post- NEGU
Great fucking write up Scott how can anyone disagree Utd’s mentality is ingrained from one player to the next.
Dela nail on the head mate FSW is a shit manager and Bobby Manc not much better City chasing 15 pts and he’s playing 1 up front mindboggling.Rent Boys should’ve gone for it but not playing Terry and his substitutions just have to shake your head
Bobby Manc again having a go at Hart honestly what the fuck is with him,just a negative little cunt always taking shots at his players
BTW, what is this buzz in the media about City “cutting the gap”. Hold on… all the time I’ve been watching football, you only “reduce the gap” when you reduce the number of points in difference with the SAME amount of games played. So in this case… with 26 games gone each the gap was 12 points, now with 27 games played the gap is 12 points, its the same as it was before the weekend started, the only difference is its another match week where City FAILED to close the gap.
Let me point that out again, City did NOT close the gap. The match week ends with the same difference between us. I guess it’s just in the media’s best interest to make it appear like we’re neck in neck.
Articles like these are what keeps me coming back to the RoM. Very rousing, and very proud to a United fan.
Assuming City win all their games Utd need 7 wins and a tie,i know a lot of lads don’t like counting their chickens but imo by the time City come to OT Utd can put them out of their misery which would be fucking sweet.
Macini should be ashamed that Yaya Toure is the pillar of strength for the team both in confidence and winning games. Since he is back they look stronger and if the team relies on one player, well there is only one outcome to that. We have excelled even after legends like cantona, schmeichel and keane have left and these were strong willed players…like this article says we have players who are true supporters and not just playing for money.
Wayne – united for me need 3 more wins to wrap up the title, they beat norwich reading and shitty, its game over.
@Dela
these days journalism is quite remarkable
haha
they want to make it exiting so the league doesn’t suffer the reality that ManUtd kept their confident 12point lead.
I believe that from our outcomign games against Chelski Mankini and Arsenal, Mankini will keep us busy at our homeground, chelski we will beat at home and arsenal we could have a draw.
Hard to say, the main thing is, we are 4 wins ahead of City, so basically unless we lose all of those 3 big games, then we have nothing to worry about, we are looking compact and our every player are showing themselves and raising their games.
We have Nani back, Young back, Valencia started playing better and the defensive line is keeping clean sheets, DDG is saving oru asses and our 3 great strikers with a great goalratio are keeping us very tight, then we have the “underdogs” of Welbeck who turned great against Madrid and Kagawa and Buttner, who can change games even though they’re not getting that much gametime. Also a certain Legend has been playing like he was 25 again.
Fucking knew it.
Ramires isn’t a fucking Brazilian.
A stat for everyone, since 2013, united have concieded 3 goals in the pl
@WeAreUnited –> Ye man, quite a few times here earlier in the season I was telling some guys on here to wait until the second half of the season to see Giggsy in action, he hasn’t disappointed, and I think its just an injury to Scholes that is keeping him out? Golden oldies don’t come more golden than those two!
And ye, even if we lost to City, lost to Chelsea and lost to Arsenal, we’d still be 3 points better off even if City won all their games… which they won’t, I’m eyeing white hart lane and goodison as two very solid nails that will be hammered into their coffin this season. I don’t expect we’ll lose all three games… Arsenal are more than beatable and the Emirates has been wonderful hunting ground for us. We done City on their own turf, even after they have LUCK in their favor with Ashley Young’s goal ruled out, and we done Chelsea on their own turf too and they have a worse manager and their form is laughable. I’d seriously consider a bet of 9 points from those 3, but I know things don’t always go as they should on paper. That being said, one game at a time, Norwich next and then Madrid so that’s where my mind is.
@In David We Trust — Ye man, its quite noticeable how much stronger we have gotten in defence. Our back line is doing better, De Gea is awesome, and the midfielders are putting their bodies on the line all the time too.
Some websites linking us with Ashley “Almost Killed Rvp” Williams? With nothing much to write about the league, guess the reporters are desperate for some news about United. Why would we need a defender when we have Evans, Smalling & Jones waiting in the wings?
In other news, congrats to Swansea. A proper footballing side who plays better football than Chelsea & Liverpool put together. Except for the Rvp incident. And what a steal they got themselves with Michu. Classy manager as well
Marq – united will need another defender, with ferdinand’s uncertain future, and vidic’s fitness problems, but williams is not good enough for united.
Dela – united’s blip came when united were leaking goals for fun, problem for everyone else is? no one could stop united when the defense was in a mess, and the attack just did not let teams breath.
Now has much has the side has been great, big decisions need to be made at the back and midfield, does Rio sign on? how do we look to rebuild the backline, as ferdinand vidic and evra slowly need replacing. In the engine room, strength in depth is needed, because we are short of a midfielder, and does the club put pressure on Madrid, and look to make a move for ronaldo, because if he wont sign a new deal, its a signing the boss and the club cannot miss out on, it could be RVP all over again, contract is down to a dangerous time for Madrid
Thumbs up Scot. What a masterpiece!
@Dela
well I guess I am one of those that you told about Giggsy, cause Giggsy was awful in the first half of the season when he played as a midfield so you had to have a lot of patience, many didn’t, including me.
Then something happened, and SAF remembered that Giggsy is a legend on the left flank of the wings and Giggsy picked his form, from then on, Giggsy has played like a 25-old young man.
That being said, no matter what, I think, Scholes is done, but then, he’s a good back-up player, but he hasn’t played in a while and he only keeps the youngster of the game.
BUT I said in an earlier thread, that I think SAF is trying hard to get that 20th title, and after that make the final transition that we are on. So the transition after the #20, history will repeat itself and we will maybe play with more kids
With no pressure.
As for the rest, I agree completely!
Wonderful article Scott!! #goosebumps….
Damn Lucas Moura is a sick player can’t believe we missed out on him. Fucking cunts coming in an offering ridiculous fucking wages to players. Don’t these fucking dipshits know basic business? If you inflate the market it will come back to bite you in the ass like it did City
The explanation of why our players stay longer is simple really Scott, when you get to United you are at the top and the only way is down so it drives them on to stay there.
The mercs at Shitty and the Rent boys arent part of anything historic, part of the legend that is United.
In 20 years time we may have fallen by the wayside but people will remember what was achieved by SAF and his teams, it will be an obscure pub quiz question as to who won it the years we didn’t.
Not arrogant, simply better !
Tommy Taylor. Hello mate. You well? Not seen you on here for a while. Yeah Tom is 14 months now. Kips solid for 12 hours a night. Thanks alot for asking. Much appreciated.
Well done Swansea and Laudrup. A true legend of the game. Fucks me off Bradford get same allocation as United for a Wembley final when most weeks their ground is empty.
stan collymore asking united fans to lay off the personal abuse and stick to footballing matters yeah ok you’re right stanley you woman beating lovely fella . how did this piece of work get a column in the national press. who wants to invite him to their local to discuss the merits of this discussion.
Great article. “Winning mentality” … its sounds so simple but it’s so hard to create and even harder to maintain. Everything at the club has to be built around it.
Markg. What a fucking cunt Stan is. Only a week or two ago he asked a United fan via twatter to meet him outside OT for a fight! You couldn’t make it up. Tosser.
king eric -how does he get away with it, the national press in england is a joke liverpool chelsae west ham bias. at least we give our legends a job/ambassadors.
Yeah you don’t see any United greats on shit stations like Talk Sport. Stan is a prick mate. I listen to Call Collymore for a laugh sometimes and the opening intro to his show is ” Barnes to Rush, Collymore!!!” That’s his biggest achievement in football. A winner against the Geordies. Joker. Then when folk DO call in he fucking butts in all time and talks over the top of them. Cunt. I actually worked out roughly how long callers get a voice in a 2 hour show and its about 20 minutes tops. A joke of a man. Decent player in his day like. To be fair at times and actually quite often he is complimentary towards United.
King Eric, red joey and alfREDO, many thanks for your kind wishes and thoughtful replies and may you have many years of pleasure following the “Mighty Reds”
king eric – yeah i actually was quite fond of him when he was at forest and it looked like we were going to sign him but trust SAF he must have looked a little deeper.
Unitedyankee. No need to apologise for a long post mate. It was a great post and I am pleased to hear your daughter is well. /
I never post, but wanted to give a thanks to Scott for an amazing article.
Like Cantona got me here, I don’t comment usually but I have to say that this is the best article I have read on here in ages. Top work.
Chelski ain’t the team to beat their prototype version of club, its either Everton ot Tottenham who will knock them out of the title race;)
@Scott the red
Very emotional article, but at the same time very true article as if written through the blood of our legends.its absolutely amazing when we find emotion and passion always surpass money and lies.BTW Mancini is officially a city donkey not a coach, you see he is trying to rather provoke our team, than playing a mind games.I am happy to see such mature and catchy article like this.Thank you very much indeed Scott.now I am pretty comfortable going to my job.
It has been quite a long time since I read an article of this quality from you, Scott. Although your average articles are good, this is definitely one of the best. This article is like our Treble.
We are lucky to support a team that delivers for us season after season. As someone said on here even if our 20th is the last nobody will ever take away the last 25 odd years.
Rarely post a comment but I just see that some of us are a little carried away with the 20. Last year was a big lesson and hope that the lads wont forget the story soon. Think about this, in the next 7 games, if shit happens when we may lose 4 points which will make the situation become similar the last year’s (8 points lead with 6 games to play). And last year we had a presumably easier run in, plus no FA and UCL plus our winger i.e. Valencia was in astonishing forms and what happened happened.
This year we still have 3 big games left, plus away games at WBA and Stoke which have never been easy grounds to come back with 3 points. So, basically, those 5 games will cost points. Up to over 12 points or not? Not sure but certainly a possibility. Last year, I was counting on Shitty’s tough run in with newscastle away and some other tough places. They got 18 out of 18. So, Until it is mathematically over, shitty is still champions and we are still not crowned.
Remember that having 3 titles to run for will cost us a lot. Hope that we have learnt our story and wont get carried away so soon.
Great Article…Really proud to be a United Fan…….Superb…
http://www.google.co.za/gwt/x?gl=ZA&wsc=eb&u=http://community.manutd.com/forums/thread/2308679.aspx&ei=MCYrUardJ9TE1QbfooCQDg this thread is flying deservedly so
These fixtures may be the final straw.
Saturday 16 March 2013
12:45
Everton v Man City
Goodison Park
17:30
Man Utd v Reading.
Mancini is cracking up bobby manc is clueless
Mankini is cracking up, bobby manc is a douchbagb, mankini hahaha 12pts baby!!!
great article!
Another winner! Top quality journalism, written by a Red with a winning mentality.
We are all driven to success, by the carrot and the stick deftly wielded by Sir Alex. We are powered by an unquenchable thirst for victory, borne by incomparable stamina born from adversity. We are Manchester United. We will win. We will never die.
http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/bebe-blue-manchester-united-loan-star-faced-porto-what-happened
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2283882/Robin-van-Persie-fit-Manchester-Uniteds-match-Real-Madrid–EXCLUSIVE.html
Rafael on Giggs: “He is an unbelievable player. You can only say good words about him: He plays, he scores, he assists. He is the same in training, he just loves to play the game. He is one of the top players that I have played with. He gives us experience, confidence, and when you are feeling bad he comes and helps you, especially young players. Sometimes a young player finds it tough going and he helps them. He shows them how to do it. He knows it from playing 22 years. He pulls the player aside. He spoke to me a lot when I was young.”
Winning mentality.
Mancini reckons: “I think now it is not important to look at the table, only to continue to work like today, to play well, to improve because we can improve. And maybe look at the table in one month, 40 days.”
Ha! In 40 days the only table Mancini will need to look at is the bus departure time-table.
Carrick’s response to claim the song “Hard to believe it is not Scholes”
“Scholesy is a legend, so I don’t know whether it is tongue-in-cheek but it is a nice song and I will take that. It is always good to be compared to players like that. Paul is as good as it gets and has been throughout his career. To train alongside him and have the chance to learn every day has been something I have tried to make the most of. It has helped me bring my own game on whether he knows it or not and that has been a big help.”
Scholes recently described Carrick as “Rolls Royce” of a player. Carrick’s humble response:
“It shows the respect there is within the squad for each other’s game. We all have different qualities and we all want to help each other to be successful.”
Winning mentality.
Morning Reds! 12pts clear with 11 to play.
Impressive to think, City are numerically closer to 5th place Arsenal then they are to us. A gap of 4 wins with 11 to play. Can’t recall the last time we were in such impressive form in the league at the end of February.
1st half of the season 19 LWWWWLWWWWWLWWWWWDW (15W, 1D, 3L)
2nd half of the season 8 WWWDWWWW (7W, 1D)
Total 27 games 22W, 2D, 3L 68 points
We can’t let our guard down in the league, but surely can make sure we stay focused in the Champions league and FA Cup. All we need is 7 wins in the last 11 games to make anything City does irrelevant.
And the Reds go marching on on on!!!
You’ve got to laugh at Mancini haven’t you?
Remember a few weeks ago, he promised that the gap at the top would be ‘very small’ at the end of February. At the time 5 points separated United and City. That gap has now been stretched to 12 points. There are just 4 days left in February, and no league games to be played in that time. So unless the FA decide to charge Van Persie for falling down that hole at Loftus Road, and deduct points from United, the gap will still be a very small 12 points at the end of February.
At the end of the season, Mancini will probably be handing back his club bicycle, and heading the same way as Mark Hughes, Sven Goran Eriksson, Stuart Pearce, Kevin Keegan, Joe Royle, Frank Clark, Phil Neal, Steve Coppell (32 days), Asa Hartford, Alan Ball, Brian Horton, Tony Book and Peter Reid, who’ve all paid the price for trying to take on Fergie, who will no doubt allow himself a wry smile at having seen off the 14th City Manager, during his time at United.
Dreaded, Nice quotes about Carrick.
Scholes: “Rolls Royce” of a player, wow, that’s some compliment.
Just hope we can keep our blue chip players healthy for the run in. Gutted that Scholes is having knee issues again. But with Rio, Vidic, Carrick and Giggs all in the form of their recent lives one has to be very very pleased. Every game our youngsters get with these premium chip players is a god send.
Long may it continue!
City’s player with the deepest roots is Micah Richards, who joined them in 2005? I wonder if the staff at the Etihad run rich with the blood of those close to the club? At United, it seems like half the staff played in the youth team. Most ex-players keep up with the Club, if not seek direct involvement.
Check out this 4 minute video on the Official website, of Giggs being shown the Trophy Room mural; a photo of a youth team he was a part of. Another sample of our rich history, through the the eyes of a humble legend with a winning mentality
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Features/2013/Feb/ryan-giggs-museum-video-youth.aspx
Minh – Will NOT happen again pal. United are a different beast this year, as are City.
Minh – Plus thats the difference right there. “We had no FA Cup or Champions League” . No and thats why we didn’t see the job out. United players LOVE being in all competitions and playing twice a week, it keeps momentum up.
Top Top article Scott.
Great read. You say it how it is. This site is great. Thank you Scott for another great article and thanks to every 1 that comments and makes for great reading aswel. 1 love 1 United!
Good article, I’d also add the mentality of the fans to that as well. Not the day trippers / half’n'halfs / shirters / well-off customers, but the actual lads who get behind the team.
Using just this past year (among many) as an example, there’s a huge difference in the attitude of the fans. At the start of this season, having only recently lost out last term in the most excruciating of circumstances, we found ourselves 3-1 down to Spurs at Old Trafford, and, although we didn’t quite manage it that day, it was the loudest I’ve heard the ground all season, the Stretford Ending literally bouncing with everyone seemingly convinced we were firing the lads on to the inevitable equaliser.
Similarly at Villa Park this season, going 0-2 down only seemed to encourage our end to sing even louder. We were fucking bouncing all over the place, and I remember saying to a lady behind me after Villa’s second that we’ll win it, and so it happened. Bedlam.
The City lads on the other hand, who to be fair have followed their team through thick and thin just like our hardcore, when their team were 2-0 and then 3-1 down at Southampton, were absolutely silent. It’s not just their players who can’t lift themselves with self-belief and a winning mentality, it’s in the stands too. We all saw them leaving when QPR were 2-1 up, and crying at Swansea.
The entire club is infected (probably on historical grounds of being a bit of a laughing stock) with an inbuilt negativity, and their mercenary acquisitions could’t give a shit about their club. In a strange way I’ve started feeling a tad sorry for them. So maybe we can’t even blame them for sulking when they fall behind.
Matt. Top post pal.
Great read