Watching bitter rivals through gritted teeth
IT MUST be a strange time to be a Manchester United fan, an age when grey hairs become more plentiful and fingernails will be bitten down to the quick.
There’s no doubting that with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the wheel they have seen an upturn in fortunes and there’s more of a feelgood factor at the club, although a bit of air has started to seep slowly from the tyres in recent weeks.
However, the most galling thing for the Red Devils faithful doesn’t involve their own club, it’s watching through gritted teeth as their traditionally most bitter rivals, Liverpool, and their annoying neighbours, Manchester City, who have completely usurped them in recent years, battle it out for honours.
The Merseysiders showed in their gritty win over Southampton on Friday evening that they’re in the Premier League title race for the long haul and it’s obvious that United fans, more than anything else, want Liverpool to fall flat on their face, even if it means that City will be left celebrating another title win.
They may now be playing second fiddle to their local rivals, but there’s no denying that United dominated the Premier League in the Alex Ferguson era and the fact that Liverpool have yet to lift the trophy is a constant stick to beat the Anfield brigade with.
The other thing that would really concern Red Devils fans though is if City close in on the quadruple, a feat that would certainly see the Sky Blues surpass the United class of 1999 as the greatest team of the Premier League era, or any other for that matter.
They already have the League Cup in the bag, and with one hand on the FA Cup, should they outstay Liverpool in the title race for an unprecedented domestic treble, the Champions League would be the only thing standing in their way of etching their names in history in the brightest and boldest of lights.
They may have huffed and puffed to an ultimately comfortable 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion in their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, but considering their current winning streak, landing Europe’s biggest prize is well within their capabilities.
Manager Pep Guardiola said the four-trophy haul would be ‘almost impossible’ after watching his side reach the cup final, but the glint in his eyes showed that it is now a dream that he has firmly in his sights.
With most teams that have their eyes on the biggest prizes, you hear talk of taking things one game at a time and not looking beyond the next fixture, but with the talent and poise in this Manchester City squad they can really dare to dream.
All known form would suggest that they should come out on top in their two-legged Champions League quarter-final match-ups with Tottenham Hotspur, and should they clear that hurdle they will fancy their chances of overcoming either Juventus or Ajax in the final four.
Should they reach the showpiece in Madrid on Saturday, June 1, the quadruple could be within touching distance, and given the general calm in the camp you wouldn’t expect the weight of history to drag them down.
As for Liverpool, who also have Champions League ambitions of their own, whether they capture the much-coveted Premier League title or not, they have done remarkably well to stay in the hunt. Of course, some will throw out the usual lazy accusations of them being bottlers and mention meltdowns and the like, given that they held a seven-point advantage before they lost 2-1 to their title-rivals in the Etihad in early January.
However, despite suffering one or two minor blips, the truth is Manchester City have built up the momentum of a juggernaut, reeling off a succession of wins, and whoever finishes as runners-up will have amassed a points tally that would normally guarantee them being crowned champions.
There’s bound to be plenty more twists and turns before all the silverware is handed out, but Manchester United supporters, as well as followers of Liverpool and Manchester City, are sure to feel every bone-shaking bump in the road.