I thought this was worth posting. Don't agree with all of the reflections (esp the bit re the midfield) but largely these are good stuff.
The letters are included for comedy, outrage and actually some sense from a few reds.....most are just cunts tho (fancy that). A couple of good ones from Blues though
* Those Man United fans claiming today that Carlos Tevez 'only' scored a penalty and a header either have their heads buried in red sand or know nothing about football. The Argentine led the line magnificently - harrying energetically, running tirelessly and urging his teammates to do the same. They loved him for those qualities - to deride him for the same now is churlish, to say the least.
* Talking of churlish, Gary Neville reacted exactly like a Manchester United fan when Tevez made his 'chatty hand' gestures in his direction. Unfortunately, Neville is a 34-year-old footballer and captain. Childish, petulant and cowardly - my word, we're going to miss The Neviller.
* Neville was almost as embarrassing off the pitch on Tuesday night as he was on the pitch against Leeds and then Burnley this season. It's time to hang up the boots and concentrate on the shop stewardship, Gary.
* The FA should probably save themselves a disciplinary process because we think Neville has probably suffered enough in the past few weeks.
* United have some basis for argument about Manchester City's penalty but not on the grounds that the first offence happened outside the area. The laws of the game clearly state than an offence perpetrated outside the box that continues/re-occurs into the box should be a penalty rather than a free-kick outside the area. Referee Mike Dean made his decision based on that law - as indicated by his clear 'the second offence' hand gesture.
* The real issue is that Rafael had let go of Bellamy's shirt by the time they were inside the box, but that was only clear when viewing the replay. At full speed, it looked like a penalty and Dean did not have the benefit of either a perfect angle or a slow-motion replay.
* The way Craig Bellamy was tormenting the Brazilian full-back, it was really only a matter of time before Rafael did something stupid. Switching Bellamy to the left of a five-man midfield was Roberto Mancini's finest moment so far in English football. With that decision, the game changed.
* Rooney should probably refrain from trying to put players off before they take penalties. He said "watch the post", Tevez grinned, and hit the ball so hard the goal nearly lifted clean off the ground.
* United's defending for Tevez' second was laughable. The sight of Wes Brown and Jonny Evans both lurching towards Vincent Kompany and leaving two City players unmarked in front of goal should have given Sir Alex Ferguson a long sleepless night.
* Nigel De Jong's display will have been lost in all the furore about Tevez, but the Dutchman was excellent. A lesson in how to play the holding role, De Jong pulled off a couple of crunching challenges that could be filed under the word 'reducers', and yet he never crossed over the line into foul play until a blatant professional pull late in the game.
* On paper, a trio of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Anderson should have dominated Pablo Zabaleta, De Jong and Gareth Barry. The truth was that United's trio were woefully ineffective, and once again you could be forgiven for forgetting Carrick was on the pitch.
* On the bright side, Wayne Rooney was at his rampaging best (minus the goals), while Luis Antonio Valencia now truly looks like a Manchester United player.
* How much do City need to invest in a new left-back? If they could play all three - Wayne Bridge, Sylvinho and Javier Garrido - they might, just might, be able to stop a few crosses from the right.
* Tevez was lucky not to end up in the book for his robust attitude but a pernickety referee would also have booked Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra for persistent fouling. Dean allowed both teams to get away with a few borderline challenges because of the occasion.
* Sir Alex might believe (or at least want us to believe) they dominated the game and some United fans may agree, but neutrals saw a far more even contest. Yes, United had more of the ball, but the 'attempts on goal' statistic is only 13-9 in United's favour. That's hardly what we would call domination.
* Saying that, any other goalkeeper would probably have conceded in that final ten minutes as Given once again showed that he is Mark Hughes' most valuable legacy.
* The BBC pundits derided Mancini for his typically Italian tactics in the opening phase of the game, but these were the first ten minutes of 180 - which manager would give his players license to commit hari-kari so early in a very long game? And for all United's possession, they scored with their only real chance of the first half.
* How chuffed must the BBC be that they opted to take the live rights to the Carling Cup semi-finals? An absolutely cracking match with a whole raft of undercurrents - we can't remember the Carling Cup ever being this good.
* Someone landing in Eastlands from the 1970s would have struggled to tell you which team had won three consecutive Premier League titles and were highly fancied for another. Talk of City usurping United is massively premature, but the gap on the pitch really doesn't look that wide.
* United have now lost to Leeds, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City this season. Do they have any big-game players anymore?
Sarah Winterburn
Bring On The Rivalry
As a United fan, I was suitably gutted by Tuesday night's result. However, I have to say that this whole City-United thing has the makings of a great rivalry. Yeah, I know that they have always been rivals, but not like this. It was always a lopsided thing (it was always more Real-Atletico than Real-Barca). City would celebrate the odd win, but their ambitions were never more than that. United hated City, but in a kind of abstract, because it was the right thing to do, kind of way. No United fan felt seriously threatened by City. That seems to be changing. Now United fans have a real hate figure (I never liked the little t***, even when he was playing up to the United fans last year) and City look to have the makings of a serious team.
United will crush them in the second leg by the way. City can only go so far this year based on hatred of former clubs.
Jim, Galway
It's Only Half-Time
Three points on the match...
1) I'm confident United will still go through seeing as Mike Dean won't be there to assist City to victory again.
2) United need to play with two forwards in the second leg. They did everything but score in the final 20 mins.
3) Tevez is a c*nt and has no class. Hopefully Little 'nobody loves me at United' Carlos will win bugger all at City. What a T*at he is.
Paul, MUFC, Toronto, Canada
Fergie Must Go, Apparently
I wrote in a few weeks ago discussing how poor Utd have been all season, and that we were in desperate need of new players, but Fergie should stay. However, after yet another joke of a display tonight, my opinion now is the blame should lie firmly with Ferguson, and the time for him to go has come.
He doesn't seem to have a clue anymore what team and formation to play, and constantly out-thought by other managers. This isn't a new thing I guess, he's never been a 'tactical' manager. He's always been able to buy the best players out there as we've always been the most glamorous and richest club to play for in England. But unfortunately for him, we aren't anymore, and as such we need to get the best out of what we have got, and he simply isn't able to do that anymore. His team selections are mistifying to say the least, why persist with players who are clearly not performing, and never give others a try? And his constant bitching about the refs is just tiresome now.
Fortunately for him, the whole ownership thing has reared its head again, so all the attention has been deflected away from him, and of course it's all the Glazers' fault. Let's forget about the £100m he's blown on players clearly not up to the job over the last four years. The only one I would give a chance to is Anderson, and every time he plays him he gets subbed off, yet the completely incompetant Carrick stays on! To be fair to the Glazers, I wouldnt trust Fergie with a fiver nowadays.
Would love to see Mourinho, but if there is no money I can't see it happening. A great choice would be Moyes - spends his money very wisely, and more often that not gets the best out of fairly average players. Which sounds like just what this Utd team needs.
Jonathan Oldfield, Cheshire
Class? Who Needs Class?
All this chatter about class makes me laugh my head off.
Why is it idiots who don't go to matches that bring it up all thie time?
As a City fan - who was there last night - I'd be seriously very happy for no City players to ever display this mythical (and painfully boring) class thing if we can finally win a trophy after a million years.
Class? Who cares?
And how can a set of fans that has Gary Neville in their team even use the word 'class' without feeling very, very stupid.
United fans, you bore me. Grow some and be magnanimous for once in your lives; you were beaten by the better team on the night and you need to get over it.
Cal Loftus
P.S. Rooney is an amazing player, it was great to watch him in action. Ace.
To All United Fans...
You've had unprecedented success over the past 20 years, something which, as a City fan, has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, but never have I heard such drivel spewing out of a mailbox from so many ungrateful fans of a football club. There are a few things in life that you can rely on, death, taxes blah, blah, blah...and in footballing terms, ex players will always return to haunt you and most importantly...you win some, you lose some.
This is something that City fans have learnt to live with, and it's something that Utd fans will have to learn to live with. You can't win every game, so just accept that sometimes, you will be beaten by a team that plays better than you on the night. So please, FFS, stop this moaning and bitching about how key decisions didn't go your way, how it was never a penalty, how Bellamy remained on the pitch, etc. etc. Get over it and stop wallowing in your own stinking, self pity!
Most fans of other teams would literally kill to have a club history that you have and all your fans seem to do is call for the head of the most successful club manager in history after one defeat in a two-leg cup tie...Actually, thinking about it, carry on, get rid of Old Red Nose, you might actually realise the old adage then...You never realize what you have until it's gone!
Andy West, CTID
And To These United Fans
As a United fan I have to say I'm gobsmacked by the reaction to both our performance and the referee's performance by my so-called fellow United supporters.
All I have read this morning is people blaming our defeat on the referee (in particular the penalty). Whilst it clearly wasn't a penalty i have two things to say. Firstly in real time I and many others in the pub last night saw it as a penalty with how fast it all happened and only realized the first bit of shirt tugging was CLEARLY outside the box after 2/3 replays. Also if Mr. Da Silva hadn't been throwing his arms all about Bellamy's business Mike Dean wouldn't have had a decision to make. I agree on the whole the refereeing wasn't the greatest in parts but to blame him for the loss is clutching at straws.
I have also read with horror the comments about the performance. I'm surprised by people's reaction as I can count on one hand a typical 'United performance' that we have seen this season (Spurs, Chelsea amd Wigan) and now last night. I thought last night we played with both width and drive through the middle and by the end of the game we reverted to United of old by pinning City into there own half and throwing everything we had at them, unsuccessfully but it was good to see.
So instead of becoming as bitter as our noisy neighbors down the road have been for 33 years lets unite and get behind United and overcome this set back like we all know deep down Fergie's teams can do. I personally can't wait to take my seat next Wednesday in the Stretford End and get behind the boys to create a European atmosphere and come out victorious making it now even sweeter denying them a chance of a Wembley visit since 1981.
Adam **Its a new decade, i hope this means a debut in the mailbox** Doherty (Manchester)
...First off I'm a United fan! Anyone moaning about the penalty last night needs to wind their neck in... Rafael tries to grab him not once but twice and it ain't the first time he's done it either. If he learns from it and stops doing it, all the better for us. He quite simply got caught ball watching and didn't react in time to cut the pass out. If he had been doing his job and keeping an eye on Bellamy he'd have been fine. He's going to be an outstanding right-back in the future and he just got caught by probably the quickest player in the league and there's no shame in that.
Thought the ref was a bit picky early on but once he let a few things go, things got a bit tasty and it was a far better game to watch.
Tevez is a quality player and anyone who has a go at his abilities is a buffoon. By all means have a go at him for going to play for that blue shower of sh**e at Wastelands but we loved his energy and enthusiasm when he played for us.
Tim (really looking forward to the 2nd leg) Collins
Best Quote Of The Night
BBC commentator about 10 minutes after ManYoo scored at Eastlands last night: It sounds like Old Trafford here tonight...there is no noise coming from the home fans. Quality.
Michael Briody
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