Roy Law
Well-Known Member
This was ;posted prior to the Man U Man City game - The police and the FA chose that day to issue appeals for calm at tonights derby showdown between City and Manchester United. And you know what I thought when I heard those appeals? I thought I dont want calm. I dont want morons throwing golf balls or darts. But I dont want calm, either. I dont want polite applause. I dont want an emasculated atmosphere. I dont want fans or players to be silenced. I dont want supporters to be worried theyre going to be chucked out by a steward if they stand up to cheer on their team. This game means a lot to a lot of people. It's part of a rich seam that runs through people's lives. Don't patronise them by telling them to calm down. Thats all part of the reason why so many people are raging against what football in this country is becoming. Its not just the greed of the Premier League and the mismanagement of so many club owners. Its the way the authorities are scared of passion in football now. Its true. Theyre scared. Theyre alarmed that this tie between City and United has ignited so many emotions. It makes them feel uncomfortable. They want football to be airbrushed and choreographed. They want it to be a product. They dont want anything that might hurt the brand or put off the corporates. I dont want that. I want tonight to be tribal and fiery and controversial. I want it to be crackling with tension and nerves and hostility. I want it to be bedlam at Old Trafford. I hope Gary Neville and Carlos Tevez go at it again. At least they care about the game. At least they feel some of the same passion the fans feel. Weve got enough players who are afraid to say boo to a goose already. Enough of them who wont say anything in case it scares off a sponsor. Whats the problem with one man giving a mild opinion about the others worth and the other telling him to shut his trap? And so what if Neville gave Tevez the finger? Is that really so bad? How prudish, how controlling and constricting some observers of the sport have become. The city of Manchester has waited more than a generation for this rivalry to become real again. Its been a long time since City have been genuine challengers to United. But now the rivalrys back, lets not dilute it. Lets revel in it. This may come as an unpleasant surprise to the men in suits who have been trying for many years now to rip football away from its traditional base. But the game in this country is still about more than how much gear you can sell in the club superstore and how high you can raise the season ticket price. The fans that football used to belong to arent ready to let it go yet. For them, its not a fad or a fashion. Its with them in their living and its with them in their dying. Thats why tonight is not a night to be calm. Its a night to lose yourself in the visceral joy football can bring, the kind of joy that can stay with you for 34 years.
I have highlighted some areas that pertain to the Gold Coast stoush and football in general in this country
I have highlighted some areas that pertain to the Gold Coast stoush and football in general in this country