City Versus United: Mind The Gap
The gap continues to close between Manchester City and Manchester united both on and off the park. The red dominance that City are now challenging has been stunning.
Like it or not, united’s position as a footballing super power will always be the benchmark for the new Manchester City, but under Roberto Mancini’s shrewd guidance, The Blues are showing threatening signs of setting their own standards.
Since the Premier League was founded on the 20th February 1992, The Blues have played in 14 of it’s 19 seasons.
For the vast majority of those campaigns united ruled England with an unrivalled, globalised spending power that enabled them to build a squad which has maintained a grip on major honours right up to the present day. Indeed, the Stretford club have been crowned champions in 9 of City’s 14 Premier League seasons.
Anyone who questioned this month’s explosions of joy and relief at Wembley and Eastlands or was in any doubt of the pain Manchester City supporters have had to endure at the hands of their out of town neighbours need only scan the history of the past three decades to realise that but for a brief renaissance under Howard Kendall and Peter Reid, united have lorded it over City in the modern era’s top flight.
Yet despite repeated setbacks, even dropping down to the third tier of English football, The Citizens have kept on coming back and it’s those hard fought battles back from near extinction that gave the club the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time when foreign ownership came to town.
The majority of the figures below are a case of look back and wince for Planet Blue but the quickening resurgence that has taken place over the past three years gives every Blue the right to some serious optimism whilst preparing for the club’s first ever Champions League season.
City Versus United: Mind The Gap
Season, points gap, City manager and final Mancunian league positions.
Premier League:
2010/11: 9 points gap, Roberto Mancini
– Rags 1st, City 3rd
2009/10: 18, Mark Hughes / Roberto Mancini
– Rags 2nd, City 5th
2008/09: 40, Mark Hughes
– Rags 1st, City 10th
2007/08: 32, Sven-Göran Eriksson
– Rags 1st, City 9th
2006/07: 47, Stuart Pearce
– Rags 1st, City 14th
2005/06: 48, Stuart Pearce
– Rags 2nd, City 15th
2004/05: 35, Kevin Keegan / Stuart Pearce
– Rags 3rd, City 8th
2003/04: 34, Kevin Keegan
– Rags 3rd, City 16th
2002/03: 32, Kevin Keegan
– Rags 1st, City 9th
2000/01: 46, Joe Royle
– Rags 1st, City 18th Relegated
1995/96: 44, Alan Ball
– Rags 1st, City 18th Relegated
1994/95: 48, Brian Horton
– Rags 2nd, City 17th
1993/94: 47, Brian Horton
– Rags 1st, City 16th
1992/93: 27, Peter Reid
– Rags 1st, City 9th
Old First Division:
1990/91: +3 Howard Kendall / Peter Reid
– City 5th, Rags 6th
1989/90: 0 Mel Machin / Howard Kendall
– Rags 13th, City 14th
Johnny Marr once composed and jangled the instrumental track ‘Money Changes Everything.’ Money spent heavily at Old Trafford from the late eighties onwards had a major impact that realised a tidal wave of domestic honours.
It could be that history is about to repeat itself, but this time, inside the city walls.
NEXT SILVERWARE FIXTURE:
The Community Shield, Wembley, Sunday 7th August 2011 – City v the rags.
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