Same. I've been a nervous wreck all week. I just have this complete sense of inevitability that we're gonna lose this.
I'm not in the slightest bit confident.
Manchester City vs. Manchester United
- Thread starter Raoul
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Same. I've been a nervous wreck all week. I just have this complete sense of inevitability that we're gonna lose this.
I'm not in the slightest bit confident.
It's not Sky's fault.
The date was confirmed on 22nd Ferbuary when both teams were still in Europa League (there had been no chance to play it on Saturday, as Thursday had been reserved for possible Europa League semi-final) and Sunday had been ruled out due to Greater Manchester Marathon.
This is on ESPN...not ESPN2 as it was originally stated here in the US.
Fergie and the players are apparently at Swansea to watch their game against Wolves.
I just read that we have not won a game this season after conceding first, 2 draws 4 losses 
Also when we used Rooney and welbeck together this season, we have won 17 of the 19 games they have played together, compared to 9 of 15 with one missing.
Anyways I seriously hope nani is fit, we need him at his best with other wingers losing form and him being such a good player when fit and on form,he would cause them so many problems. Getting really nervy though, especially because we have to wait until Monday for this.
Also when we used Rooney and welbeck together this season, we have won 17 of the 19 games they have played together, compared to 9 of 15 with one missing.
Anyways I seriously hope nani is fit, we need him at his best with other wingers losing form and him being such a good player when fit and on form,he would cause them so many problems. Getting really nervy though, especially because we have to wait until Monday for this.
Tevez and Aguero worry me greatly.
I'm not a nervous wreck because I have this complete sense of inevitability that we're gonna lose this.
The build-up in the press is making it worse. The biggest derby match ever, an unprecedented 16 overseas broadcasters coming over, pubs selling out of tickets to watch it in a ph, fans gathering in the city cetre to watch, people flying in from California, Singapore, Ireland etc just to be in M/C - it's just like the CL Final. United are much more used to such a big game build-up so hopefully City players will be more nervous.
It does feel like a final, and it pretty much is. If we lose there is basically no chance city will slip up in the next 2 games, if we win or draw we are practically champions. Let's just hope our boys are more confident then theirs.
Thinking about how nervous I am now. By about 4pm on Monday I'm going to be in a padded cell.
Well we were losing 2 0 to City at Wembley on the first game of the season and went on to win that one! So I shouldn't get too worried.I just read that we have not won a game this season after conceding first, 2 draws 4 losses
Doom and gloom merchants' thread. Don't forget we put 4 past one of the tightest defences in the league last week.
We just need to start with the same team, tell Rafael to buck his feckin ideas up, and jobs a good'n.
We just need to start with the same team, tell Rafael to buck his feckin ideas up, and jobs a good'n.
So did Everton.
we cant have some of you on here with all doom and gloom and the world is going to end bullshit,Hold your head up high think of the history behind our great club and cheer them on with every breath you can muster and when we score and when we win, Enjoy it, its what United always do the wigan game and the Everton game are all part of the master plan to put you through the mill then delight you when we spank the unwashed!
Sit down put your feet up we're gonna win...
Sit down put your feet up we're gonna win...
... you missed my point. We can score against any defence, we just need to tighten ours by slapping Rafael around abit before the match and telling him espada and rimaldo are holding his brother hostage in case he fecks us up again.
Same here! what a coincidence. That would be a nice scoreline indeed.
City are red hot favorite to win this game. Playing at home, in form and an amazing home record. So a 0-0 draw is the obvious result.
Win, lose or draw. I just can't wait for Monday, looking forward to fast and intense game with a lot at stake. City's rise as a force in football has been, and will be nothing but good for United, even if it means we win less trophies
We haven't have a proper rival that's been on a equal playing field since the late 60's. Even when Liverpool were good, we were shit.....and their demise over the last 20 years meant we never really had that proper intense title rivalry except for circa 2009 for a short period. .
Now we have a proper traditional and competitive rival. It has transformed the City of Manchester now making it the unquestionable football capital of Britian. Who cares if they were given a helping hand by a rich Arab?
We will lose trophies to them and win some over them in the coming years. There will be total heartbreak but the victories will also be that much sweeter.
The real winner on Monday will be football - no matter the result. I will enjoy the game with a few cold beers in the company of family, some whom support City (My grandfather was a United supporter who constantly attended City home games in the 50's and 60's. Meaning some of uncles became City fans). Yes, I will be devastated if we lose...but at least it will be a proper fealing of devastation, not a token feeling of dread like when we have lost titles to clubs like Arsenal or Chelsea. Ferguson and everyone at the club will feel the same and it will keep them driven.
We haven't have a proper rival that's been on a equal playing field since the late 60's. Even when Liverpool were good, we were shit.....and their demise over the last 20 years meant we never really had that proper intense title rivalry except for circa 2009 for a short period. .
Now we have a proper traditional and competitive rival. It has transformed the City of Manchester now making it the unquestionable football capital of Britian. Who cares if they were given a helping hand by a rich Arab?
We will lose trophies to them and win some over them in the coming years. There will be total heartbreak but the victories will also be that much sweeter.
The real winner on Monday will be football - no matter the result. I will enjoy the game with a few cold beers in the company of family, some whom support City (My grandfather was a United supporter who constantly attended City home games in the 50's and 60's. Meaning some of uncles became City fans). Yes, I will be devastated if we lose...but at least it will be a proper fealing of devastation, not a token feeling of dread like when we have lost titles to clubs like Arsenal or Chelsea. Ferguson and everyone at the club will feel the same and it will keep them driven.
I'll have to miss this. Got the most important exams of my life starting on Thursday. Will record and fit it in piece by piece in my breaks next day
Agree completely with The Hairdryer.
Close thread until kickoff IMO.
Close thread until kickoff IMO.
City 0 - 2 United
Rooney,Welbeck
Rooney,Welbeck
Gary Neville in the Daily Mail.
This Manchester derby could impact on the clubs' next three years
Authority: a person or a group of people holding power; confidence resulting from great expertise and experience; the ability to influence and control others.
On Monday night a football match takes place. It is a fixture that has taken place 162 times before. It is a fixture that has always had local pride at stake. But on Monday night this fixture is about an awful lot more than that. This can be more than a match.
I was a United player for 18 years but I never took part in a domestic game of this magnitude. Yes, I played in title deciders many times but never in one that was a derby game.
This is the most intense Manchester derby there has been and possibly the biggest Premier League match in its 20-year history.
On one level, it is the title decider. This is the game that people will look back on in 20 years when they talk about the extraordinary 2011-2012 Premier League season. There have been many twists and turns but this is the game that will define the destination of the title.
There might still be big matches to play but surely, even in this craziest season, the winner of this match will go on and win the title?
But I wonder if it’s even more important than that. Because for me it’s all about authority: authority in Manchester, authority in the Premier League and authority in English football.
Imagine what it would mean to Manchester City if they could win and go on to win the league? It would give the club and their players the sense of entitlement, confidence and belief that only comes with winning a title. Doing so against United would only add to that renewed sense of authority in the city and in the Premier League.
They would have a hardness and toughness from staying the course over 38 games that would be added to their undoubted ability. And that would serve them well in the future.
We’ve seen it with Arsenal and then Chelsea. Once you win one title, you often go on to win another.
But imagine if they lost. Imagine if, having got back into the title race, they see United win the title at their own ground. That would only reinforce United’s sense of superiority and City’s feeling that they might never get one over their old rivals.
With the financial backing they have, City will keep coming at United, of course. But psychologically it could be a telling blow.
How will that group of players react? How will City’s owner react if they don’t win? Will the owner feel he has to change the manager? Will the club feel they have to make major changes to the squad? Will this group of players even be around to have another go at United? And for those who do stay, do they have the will to start all over again next season?
They might feel the chance will never come their way again. That’s how I felt in 1994-95, when United couldn’t win at West Ham and lost the title to Blackburn. I remember thinking: ‘I might never be here again.’ I was devastated.
There’s nothing worse in your professional life than regrets. I was lucky to have experienced players and a manager around me who had been there and who could tell me we could be back.
I know the clubs are playing for three points on Monday but the effect of the result could impact on the clubs for the next three years.
It is difficult to explain the magnitude of the occasion within Manchester. Speaking to people in the city this week, it is clear that Manchester, collectively, has lost its nerve.
Sir Alex Ferguson spoke about it being a game for masochists and one City fan said to me: ‘I’m a wreck, I’m a wreck, I’m really a wreck.’
I’ve never known United fans so excited yet so anxious about a game. City fans are the same. The thought of beating United and wresting the title from them is something that was unthinkable a few years ago and now is in touching distance. But the thought of their greatest rivals winning the league at their ground is almost too much to bear.
For United fans, the thought of Carlos Tevez scoring the winner in the last minute or, the alternative, the thought of seeing Paul Scholes crash one in from 30 yards, means that as a fan, you veer in your mind from the unthinkable to the wonderful.
It has been made worse by the big run-up to this game, with eight days of worrying time. If you ’re United, you’ll be thinking: ‘What if we’d beaten Blackburn at home, what if we’d kept our 4-2 lead against Everton?’ If you’re City it will be: ‘What if we had just beaten Sunderland at home, or not dropped stupid points at Swansea and Stoke?’
As a player, you have to remove all those thoughts from your mind but as a fan it’s impossible.
United have taken the players away to Wales for a few days before the game, to get them out of the city, away from families, to prepare and relax quietly and in a focused way, like they did before the recent Blackburn game at Ewood Park, when they went to St Andrews in Scotland. City have stayed in Manchester with their normal routine.
Which is the best way? We won’t know until after the game but we do know there won’t be a minute that passes when the players, managers and coaching staff aren’t thinking about this game.
Preparing for a match like this is almost like an out-of-body experience. You don’t remember whether your wife has told you that the washing machine has broken or whether your kid has a cold. All you’re thinking is about your job, the match, the outcome. And trying to make sure the positive thoughts - the goal, the reward, the success - outweigh the negative.
Because of the long build-up, tactically both teams will be prepared to the last detail of where they should be at all times. It means the ultimate result will come down to authority on the pitch. That’s what I’ll be looking for.
By that I mean which players bring down the ball out of the sky with their first touch early on? Which players head it back to the keeper rather than panic and head it out for a corner? Which players take an extra touch to compose themselves, rather than hooking it forward? Which players look as though they believe it’s their moment? Perhaps, most of all, which players keep their discipline?
We’ve seen the two most recent Manchester derbies massively affected by sending-offs this season, with Jonny Evans at Old Trafford and Vincent Kompany in the FA Cup. Whatever you do, do not lose your discipline.
John Terry might have got away with it on Tuesday night, in that his team still went through, but, believe me, that is a freak of nature. Get sent off early on in this game and you’ll probably cost your team the title.
Lastly , players: do not let this moment pass you by. You have to grab opportunities like this with both hands. There will be casualties. If you cannot be trusted in these matches, you don’t belong at this level and will be released.
That’s why these players earn the money they do and play for their countries and the biggest clubs: to deliver in these moments, under pressure. That’s how you become considered a great player.
When the talking has finished and the worrying about what might happen is over, which players will seize control of the game? Which players will have the willpower, the determination and the nerve to demonstrate their authority tomorrow night?
That will be the key to the outcome of the match, the destination of the title and the immediate future of these clubs.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ry-Neville-Manchester-derby-impact-years.html
Authority: a person or a group of people holding power; confidence resulting from great expertise and experience; the ability to influence and control others.
On Monday night a football match takes place. It is a fixture that has taken place 162 times before. It is a fixture that has always had local pride at stake. But on Monday night this fixture is about an awful lot more than that. This can be more than a match.
I was a United player for 18 years but I never took part in a domestic game of this magnitude. Yes, I played in title deciders many times but never in one that was a derby game.
This is the most intense Manchester derby there has been and possibly the biggest Premier League match in its 20-year history.
On one level, it is the title decider. This is the game that people will look back on in 20 years when they talk about the extraordinary 2011-2012 Premier League season. There have been many twists and turns but this is the game that will define the destination of the title.
There might still be big matches to play but surely, even in this craziest season, the winner of this match will go on and win the title?
But I wonder if it’s even more important than that. Because for me it’s all about authority: authority in Manchester, authority in the Premier League and authority in English football.
Imagine what it would mean to Manchester City if they could win and go on to win the league? It would give the club and their players the sense of entitlement, confidence and belief that only comes with winning a title. Doing so against United would only add to that renewed sense of authority in the city and in the Premier League.
They would have a hardness and toughness from staying the course over 38 games that would be added to their undoubted ability. And that would serve them well in the future.
We’ve seen it with Arsenal and then Chelsea. Once you win one title, you often go on to win another.
But imagine if they lost. Imagine if, having got back into the title race, they see United win the title at their own ground. That would only reinforce United’s sense of superiority and City’s feeling that they might never get one over their old rivals.
With the financial backing they have, City will keep coming at United, of course. But psychologically it could be a telling blow.
How will that group of players react? How will City’s owner react if they don’t win? Will the owner feel he has to change the manager? Will the club feel they have to make major changes to the squad? Will this group of players even be around to have another go at United? And for those who do stay, do they have the will to start all over again next season?
They might feel the chance will never come their way again. That’s how I felt in 1994-95, when United couldn’t win at West Ham and lost the title to Blackburn. I remember thinking: ‘I might never be here again.’ I was devastated.
There’s nothing worse in your professional life than regrets. I was lucky to have experienced players and a manager around me who had been there and who could tell me we could be back.
I know the clubs are playing for three points on Monday but the effect of the result could impact on the clubs for the next three years.
It is difficult to explain the magnitude of the occasion within Manchester. Speaking to people in the city this week, it is clear that Manchester, collectively, has lost its nerve.
Sir Alex Ferguson spoke about it being a game for masochists and one City fan said to me: ‘I’m a wreck, I’m a wreck, I’m really a wreck.’
I’ve never known United fans so excited yet so anxious about a game. City fans are the same. The thought of beating United and wresting the title from them is something that was unthinkable a few years ago and now is in touching distance. But the thought of their greatest rivals winning the league at their ground is almost too much to bear.
For United fans, the thought of Carlos Tevez scoring the winner in the last minute or, the alternative, the thought of seeing Paul Scholes crash one in from 30 yards, means that as a fan, you veer in your mind from the unthinkable to the wonderful.
It has been made worse by the big run-up to this game, with eight days of worrying time. If you ’re United, you’ll be thinking: ‘What if we’d beaten Blackburn at home, what if we’d kept our 4-2 lead against Everton?’ If you’re City it will be: ‘What if we had just beaten Sunderland at home, or not dropped stupid points at Swansea and Stoke?’
As a player, you have to remove all those thoughts from your mind but as a fan it’s impossible.
United have taken the players away to Wales for a few days before the game, to get them out of the city, away from families, to prepare and relax quietly and in a focused way, like they did before the recent Blackburn game at Ewood Park, when they went to St Andrews in Scotland. City have stayed in Manchester with their normal routine.
Which is the best way? We won’t know until after the game but we do know there won’t be a minute that passes when the players, managers and coaching staff aren’t thinking about this game.
Preparing for a match like this is almost like an out-of-body experience. You don’t remember whether your wife has told you that the washing machine has broken or whether your kid has a cold. All you’re thinking is about your job, the match, the outcome. And trying to make sure the positive thoughts - the goal, the reward, the success - outweigh the negative.
Because of the long build-up, tactically both teams will be prepared to the last detail of where they should be at all times. It means the ultimate result will come down to authority on the pitch. That’s what I’ll be looking for.
By that I mean which players bring down the ball out of the sky with their first touch early on? Which players head it back to the keeper rather than panic and head it out for a corner? Which players take an extra touch to compose themselves, rather than hooking it forward? Which players look as though they believe it’s their moment? Perhaps, most of all, which players keep their discipline?
We’ve seen the two most recent Manchester derbies massively affected by sending-offs this season, with Jonny Evans at Old Trafford and Vincent Kompany in the FA Cup. Whatever you do, do not lose your discipline.
John Terry might have got away with it on Tuesday night, in that his team still went through, but, believe me, that is a freak of nature. Get sent off early on in this game and you’ll probably cost your team the title.
Lastly , players: do not let this moment pass you by. You have to grab opportunities like this with both hands. There will be casualties. If you cannot be trusted in these matches, you don’t belong at this level and will be released.
That’s why these players earn the money they do and play for their countries and the biggest clubs: to deliver in these moments, under pressure. That’s how you become considered a great player.
When the talking has finished and the worrying about what might happen is over, which players will seize control of the game? Which players will have the willpower, the determination and the nerve to demonstrate their authority tomorrow night?
That will be the key to the outcome of the match, the destination of the title and the immediate future of these clubs.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ry-Neville-Manchester-derby-impact-years.html
The pressure is going to be nuts. The city fans will up for this like they haven't in ages. But we've let ourselves fall into this position so its up to the players to find their own way out. It really is a huge test for our players. More of character than anything else. For me, the defense is what holds the key. Vidic would have been ideal for such a game.
Guardian says Nani limped out of training and is a doubt
Guardian says Nani limped out of training and is a doubt
We're more fluid without him and Evra links up better with Young. Hope he's fit for the bench.
Think we'll go for it and start Welbeck now.
Fancying Rooney and Scholes to score, but I can see Tevez/Aguero scoring too.
2-1. 1-2. 0-2. 0-0. 1-1. 2-2. 3-3.
This game could be any score and I can never make my mind up on it.. 0-0 is probably a good bet since there's been 17 goals between the two teams in the three games we've had this season. The games at wastelands tend to be less exciting IIRC.
If it's already written in the stars that we lose this game, I hope it's a cracking match at the very least.
Fancying Rooney and Scholes to score, but I can see Tevez/Aguero scoring too.
2-1. 1-2. 0-2. 0-0. 1-1. 2-2. 3-3.
This game could be any score and I can never make my mind up on it.. 0-0 is probably a good bet since there's been 17 goals between the two teams in the three games we've had this season. The games at wastelands tend to be less exciting IIRC.
If it's already written in the stars that we lose this game, I hope it's a cracking match at the very least.
So it's the eve of what has to be the most anticipated and greatest premier league games of our time and I am feeling the nerves already, working today and then off tomorrow. Gonna be a fecking long day tomorrow methinks!
from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...ni-injury-city
looks like Evans should be ok and Nani limped out of traiining, which could mean anything
Guardian says Nani limped out of training and is a doubt
he limped out of training and that's all we know. he might not be in the slightest doubt - the club are just not saying
most of our failings this season have been complacency or whatever you wish to call it. Surely, we're not likely to get complacent in a match with so much riding on it? Usually, a couple of bad results focus their minds. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.
Except that we present so much more of an attacking force with Nani.
Maybe if Young concentrated on scoring the great goals he was scoring at the start of the season rather than falling about all over the place I'd have a different view, he's been average at best this year, for me. Nani came back from injury & had an immediate impact, if we are going to beat Shitty, we're going to need Nani.
Been trying as hard as possible not to think about this game, but with its proximity now that's become increasingly difficult.
Will throw myself into La Liga and the other PL games today but tomorrow at work is going to be dreadful...
Will throw myself into La Liga and the other PL games today but tomorrow at work is going to be dreadful...
woke myself up from a dream I had last night, dreamt it was 0-0 until we scored in the 89th minute from a headed corner. It seemed so real too, until I realized it was Sheringham that scored it
This actually can't come quickly enough, it's been hellish, every other game has been a reminder of what is just around the corner
Right now, I feel like I have felt just before a Champions League Final. Its a great feeling.
Yes, full of nerves, of hope, trying not to expect, but willing the team on with every energy into the cosmos I can summon.
Win or lose (and I just hope the best team win, the match and by definition as the league table never lies we will find out soon who the best team of the year has been), you just have to savor the run up to games like these and thank your lucky stars that for whatever reason, you luckily became a supporter of Manchester United Football Club.
Yes, full of nerves, of hope, trying not to expect, but willing the team on with every energy into the cosmos I can summon.
Win or lose (and I just hope the best team win, the match and by definition as the league table never lies we will find out soon who the best team of the year has been), you just have to savor the run up to games like these and thank your lucky stars that for whatever reason, you luckily became a supporter of Manchester United Football Club.
Yep. Gaz has hit the nail on the head with this... I keep trying to stop thinking about it but can't quite manage it!