Skip to main content

City win Premier League but the real winner is...FOOTBALL

Mancini with his reward

This is why we love Football and this is why we love the English Premiership!


Manchester City have been crowned champions of England after an unbelievable afternoon of high drama.


Back in August 2011 many pundits backed the title race to be a contest between United and City but no one could have imagined how close that contest would have been. 






For years the Premiership has been labelled as predictable and  boring and when fans look back at 2012 they'll just see the headline: League Champions Manchester City but the days events, the twists and turns and the knife edge outcome should not be forgotten. 


Anyone who tuned into the TV or radio broadcasts will have sat riveted as Football gave us the very best it has to offer. At the start of the day most opinions were clear cut. QPR were woeful away from home and City awesome at the Etihad Stadium. A home win was assured. So with that result sorted we also knew were the league was going. To the Blue half of Manchester. With QPR beaten, it also meant Bolton just needed a result to stay up and consign Rangers to the Championship.


United's part in the story was to mean little having put the title into City's hands with a number of uncharacteristic dropped points with the finishing line in sight.


However, United struck first with Rooney stooping to nod in what ended up being the winner in their game at Sunderland. 


City had to wait nearly all of the first half before Zabaleta scored and moved City back into top spot.


With the second half under way, we all waited for the glut of goals that would seal City's destiny. We waited and waited and were shocked when Cisse scored to put United back in the driving seat. Barton was sent off and again, we thought a hiding was coming QPR's way. Then out of nowhere, Mackie scored in the 66th minute with United still in front. This left City needing 2 goals or Sunderland to equalise.


Frantic pressure, attacking substitutions and a fantastic defensive effort from QPR cranked up the pressure and the tension even in living rooms was unbearable. City fans thought "typical" and fell largely silent. 


As extra time was announced City looked doomed. To their credit, they continued to attack relentlessly and got their rewards. Dzeko headed home unmarked and the Etihad erupted in rapture. 


United's game finished and they found themselves strangely impotent. There was nothing they could do but wait. The ball was quickly retrieved and off City went again. The ball was worked well into the QPR box where Aguero skipped a challenge, didn't go down and finished beautifully into the corner. 


Seconds later, the game was over and we were left to witness the strange sight of both teams celebrating wildly with their fans. City as Champions and QPR as survivors. Bolton had lost and been relegated in their place.


44 years of frustration melted away into jubilation and stewards were helpless to stop the City masses from partying on the pitch. The party will go on well into the night.


United have only themselves to blame but should probably feel happy with second place. Their team is largely transitional and lacking quality. Manchester City have played the better football all season and fully deserve their seat at the top table.


No doubt, they will improve the squad again ready for next season and it remains to be seen if they can be matched.


Football has many issues but today, we were reminded why we love the Beautiful Game.



ClubPldPts
Man City3889
Man Utd3889
Arsenal3870
Tottenham3869
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coaching For The Brave

Over the years football has become more and more commercial. At its highest levels the game is now so professional and scientific it bears little resemblance to that played just a generation ago. This has brought great benefits for players, supporters and TV audiences around the world. A whole industry has erupted to support the game, spawning Directors of Football, Sports Psychologists, Performance Analysts and even Sleep Advisers. Clubs have poured millions into Elite Academies for those identified as having a chance of reaching the top and reaping the rewards. Young Starlets that graduate from these Centres of Excellence are paid thousands of pounds per week despite never having done anything of merit in the game. Coaches are trained and can't wait to get into the talent factories as a "first step on the rung" to a dream full time job with a club. Kids as young as nine and ten have a Golden ticket dangled in front of them and doting, eager parents hapi...
9 comments
Read more

Futsal and Youth Development

Futsal and Youth Football I've hesitated in writing this for a few months now but after spending sometime mulling the subject over, I thought I'd bite the bullet and suffer the flak that will inevitably find itself my way. Twitter is my University of choice. It's where I find ideas and swap opinions with like minded fellow Football Coaches. It's amazing, I am constantly surprised at the level of resources out there and more importantly the generosity of many of the people I come across. It's also chock full of people determined to see every exchange as a battle that must be won. This is why I've hesitated. For months now I've been engaged in exchanges about Futsal and in particular why it's a great development tool. Throughout these discussions, I've asked one simple question: Why? Now some have taken this innocuous enquiry at face value and tried to explain the reasons why they feel it works so well, some have just trotted well us...
6 comments
Read more

Can City eat at the Top Table?

After a packed, hectic weekend of football we now look closer to having to place a new chair at the Top Table. Manchester United's noisy neighbours are one game away from crashing the party. Worryingly, they also have the means to stay there for years.  City looked to have blown the title race a month ago but after United's very own wobble the Blues have taken charge and could seal a famous victory over their local rivals on Sunday. City fans will revel in their victory and rightly so. Fans elsewhere will bemoan the unfairness that money brings to the game.  Michel Platini will use the win as vindication of his quest to "level the playing field"  Something he never cared about when he played for the most successful and wealthiest clubs on the continent.  This is a modern, regular gripe that raises it's head at times like this. The argument goes something like this: "Out of touch Sugar Daddy, usually foreign, invests heavily in team that i...
5 comments
Read more