Manchester Blue

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The only goal I can remember from that day was Mark Hughes' volley, as you can imagine. But the derby was very kind to us after that for a long time." In contrast, City fans struggled to find the funny side of their failure, instead fatalistically leaning into a long-standing belief about their club that can be captured in a simple two-word phrase. It wasn’t just the points deficit and that we kept going and going and they slipped up and so on. It was the fact they were away at Sunderland and had finished just before us. We hadn’t lost at home that season and QPR came and took the lead. What is going on? Having beaten United 1-0 on their own turf, City headed to United on 10 February 2008 for a contest overshadowed by the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster four days earlier.

Just two of a multitude of sides in the Manchester area at that time, there was no special significance or spite to encounters between them in those early days - the first of which came on 12 November 1881 and saw Newton Heath claim a 3-0 victory.

The recruitment of Summerbee, Colin Bell and then Lee to play with the likes of Young, Tony Book and Mike Doyle helped Mercer forge a side described by BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme as "the most exciting team in England". Law (second from right) won two league titles, an FA and European Cup with United before joining City in 1973 Post-Ferguson, with previous levels of success proving elusive, United's transfer strategy became more reactive and increasingly profligate under a series of differing managers. This season has seen the first green shoots of possible recovery, with Ten Hag delivering the club their first major trophy in six seasons in the League Cup, but their inconsistent league form shows there remains a long way to go.

When we ran a similar poll in 2018, more than 25,000 fans took part. It showed United’s strongholds were mainly around Trafford and Salford, while City saw their strongest support in Dukinfield and East Manchester. When Dzeko scored [to equalise late on] I didn’t even celebrate, it was just too late. And when that winner went in, I mean, I’ve spoken about losing it for the play-off final. It was just everything. You never know what to expect when these two play. It’ll either be an incredible game, loads of chances and goals, or very cagey with few opportunities. Given City’s last outing, I’m going for an open, end-to-end match which City will win. More often than not, Liverpool score at City, but I think the blues will get more.

An FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup were all delivered in a two-year period, but it was that title race of '68 that really lit a fire under the rivalry with United, at a time when fandom in England was becoming increasingly tribal.