FEEDING THE GOAT ACROSS THE CITY

'One Moment In Time'

'One Moment In Time' is a nostalgic look back at events and occasions in City's past that will no doubt resurrect many impassioned memories for most City fans. Written from my personal point of view, I am hoping that reliving these moments, whether they were good or bad, will prove to be an enjoyable read for all. This month...a visit to Old Trafford under the guidance of Kevin Keegan.

Our bounce back to the Premier League was showing City to be a lot more than just a mediocre team. Results were consistent and we hovered mid-table for the duration of the season. Undoubtedly, our best result had been against our Derby team, United, and we all hoped for a repeat of this success when we booked our tickets for the clash at Old Trafford.

Simon, Spenny and I were all really psyched up for the showdown. Obviously we thought that the game could swing one of two ways: Fergie would view it as a perfect opportunity for revenge and it could end up a mauling, or City could seize the chance of taking the maximum six points off the former treble-winners. Either way it would be a cracker.

Personally I cannot stand Old Trafford. It’s more of a tourist attraction than a football stadium, with Japanese tourists pointing their Nikon cameras in every direction and residents from down south travelling four hours to make up the majority of the numbers. All the oohing and ahhing outside and inside the ground makes me sick- that isn’t what football is about. Football is about supporting your local team- not just saying that you support them because of the glory.

As always, the travelling City contingency provided the majority of the noise. With it being a Derby, the atmosphere was intensified, even more so when City fuelled the fire by singing Blue Moon over their ‘Flowers of Manchester’ song (a song sung in memory to the victims of the 1958 Munich aeroplane disaster).

Spenny had smuggled himself in, minus a ticket, and was stood up throughout the game at the back of the stand. Our mate Andy Tolley worked on the United turnstiles and had let him pass through for free. But Simon and I were sat right next to the home fans, with only a small metal fence to separate us. The jibes between both sets of fans were relentless- and erupted when Ruud Van Nistelrooy netted to break the deadlock.

Oh no. The forecast of revenge looked set to be the correct prediction. Van Nistelrooy was celebrating like he had won a cup and the home fans next to us bombarded us with their goading and boasting. I didn’t even look at them though; I simply raised my fingers to indicate our previous score-line against them. My heart sunk though- City had to dig deep to fight for a result.

Fight they did. United pressed on more to attempt to consolidate their lead, piling on the pressure in the hope that City’s back-line would buckle. But it didn’t. Then- the masterstroke. Activity on the bench. With City’s manager Kevin Keegan sensing the possibility of a late equaliser, Shaun ‘goal machine’ Goater was brought on to penetrate the Reds defence, along with Ali Benarbia. Straight away the Blues won a free-kick; Benarbia’s first touch sent the ball into the area- and onto Goater’s head.

The net bulged- we had the equaliser. Within nine seconds of being on the pitch, Goater had brought City level and sent the travelling army of blues into a frenzy. Not it was our turn to taunt the somewhat solemn home fans. After a manic two minutes of jumping around, thousands of City fans raised their arms and sung Blue Moon to a crestfallen Old Trafford. But it wasn’t over just yet.

As we celebrated our potential point, Nicolas Anelka threaded the ball through to Goater, who did what he does best- he scored! My heart missed five beats and just as I began to scream with joy, I was promptly brought back down to earth. The goal had been disallowed, apparently due to handball by Anelka. Three points would have been incredible, but a point was still good for me. There had been absolutely no shame in how we performed, with Carlo Nash being a late replacement for Peter Schmeichel due to a calf injury.

Referee Alan Wiley’s whistle was met with a wall of noise from us- and boos from Fergie’s fans. We had pulled off a result yet again. Being in a Derby atmosphere is a unique experience- it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Your heart beats faster constantly and the 90 minutes are spent either perched on the edge of your seat or stood up shouting and singing. Proving your loyalty. Engaging in the banter that can only happen between two teams fuelled with so much bitter rivalry. Where a result divides not only a city but work colleagues, family, friends and even partners.

That Sunday afternoon, City had won the battle but not the war. Sergeant Keegan had marshalled his troops to securing a point- of course he loved it, just loved it.

TEVEZ HAMMERS HOME CITY INTENT

It was cool, it was calm and it was definitely collected. I could be talking about Carlos Tevez’s first goal celebration or City’s overall performance during the 90 minutes. But surely the time is now to take the Eastlands outfit seriously after the sides’ comprehensive 3-1 victory against West Ham.

In fact it was far easier than perhaps had been forecast. Mark Hughes’ blues were looking to bounce straight back from their heartbreaking last-gasp Derby day defeat, Gianfranco Zola’s Hammers looking for only their second Premier League victory this season. City striker Tevez was facing a former team for the second league game in a row- and return to haunt them he most definitely did with a brace, sandwiched around a classy free kick from Martin Petrov.

The 3-1 score-line didn’t reflect City’s dominance throughout the 90 minutes. Tevez’s first goal, set up well by Petrov, was met by the Argentinian apologising to the travelling West Ham fans who had been so grateful of his goals that had saved them from relegation. That goal should have proved to be the precedent for City to move on and storm the match, but Carlton Cole had different ideas. A ball through from Radoslav Kovac set Cole up for a simple equaliser. The Irons then had a chance to take the lead but Scott Parker’s goal was disallowed after the referee had blown for a foul by Cole on Joleon Lescott.

It was all City from that moment on. A foul on the in-form Nigel De Jong gave Petrov a chance to find the net- an opportunity that proved too tempting to resist. The Bulgarian, disheartened at a lack of first-team football, seemed to channel his frustration and anger through his shot and drilled the ball low to give City the lead. He ran straight over to the dug-out and pointed vigorously at the back of his shirt. Point made.

Tevez, Lescott and Bellamy all had chances to extend the lead and it was Tevez who scored City’s third on the hour mark with a simple header. The one-way traffic continued with Gareth Barry and Petrov enjoying shooting practise. With 15 minutes to go, Hughes introduced Roque Santa Cruz to the City faithful for his debut. Michael Johnson, another graduate of City’s youth academy, was also brought on as a substitute as the minutes ticked away.

Although West Ham aren’t a club that are at a level that City see themselves competing at, it was a sublimely confident and assured performance by the Eastlands club. With Emmanuel Adebayor coming back from his suspension and Santa Cruz gaining match fitness, the current top four have every reason to be wary and afraid. The new-look City are shaking up the status quo and bringing a different dimension to the somewhat stale and predictable order of the Premier League. Next up is another test and one that should provide a more realistic challenge- Aston Villa away.

BLUE TUESDAY: SHAUN GOATER

This week on Blue Tuesday sees the return of another City legend- yes, the mighty Shaun Goater will be appearing as a live guest all the way from sunny Bermuda. He will be chatting about City and answering questions from both fans and the studio guests. The show also has David Clayton and Steve Redmond on, it's unmissable as always. Tune into 95.1FM BBC Radio Manchester at 6pm to hear more.

CAN I HAVE A WORD?

So the Derby game has been and gone and wow, what an astounding tie it really was. As soon as city went a goal down after two minutes, I immediately had a terrible feeling they could be on the end of a whipping from Ferguson’s men. But it was a testament to our character and belief that we bounced back and got back into the game.

It was no real surprise to see Carlos Tevez wanting to make a point against his old side and the initial equaliser was all down to his tenacity and then Gareth Barry’s cool finish. Craig Bellamy played out of his skin and scored two superb goals- he gave Rio Ferdiand the run-around from start to finish and his blistering pace left Ferdinand trailing in his wake. Nigel De Jong and Barry were , once again, both excellent in the centre of midfield and Shay Given kept the score-line respectable with a flurry of outstanding saves from Dimitar Berbatov.

The question mark did hang over our defence- Kolo Toure and Micah Richards looked out-of-sorts and struggled throughout the 96 minutes. It was City’s incapability of dealing with set pieces appropriately that allowed United to pile the pressure on and force the breakthroughs. But we have come a long, long way and our resolve never faltered. Ferguson described us as 'noisy neighbours'- the threat from City will soon be deafening.

All of the post-match talk was surrounding the decision of Alan Wiley, the fourth official, to add time onto the game and then the referee to add more time on after that. I will not moan. We should we played until the final whistle and not allowed Ryan Giggs to play that exquisite through-ball to Michael Owen. What I will say though, is that the fourth official added four minutes of extra time on AFTER Bellamy had scored and subsequently celebrated. It’s questionable where those four minutes came from (yes there was a substitution ), but I will question whether time should now be added onto the game for EVERY goal celebration. Why did the referee deem Bellamy’s celebration excessive? It was no more than any of the other celebrations?

The media has been saturated with people speaking out positively and negatively in light of Ferguson’s so-called ‘magic watch’. I do think that referees are afraid of Ferguson and his ‘hairdryer’ treatment and I remain adamant that, if that would have been City scoring in the dying seconds of the game, the Scottish manager would have been up in arms, demanding an immediate F.A. inquiry. One rule for one…

In contrast, City’s Carling Cup third round home tie against Fulham was a…dull and quite tedious affair. For me there was two highlights during the game: Zoltan Gera’s goal (incredible) and the performance from Carlos Tevez. Fulham have proved to be a tricky side on more than one occasion recently (their 3-1 victory at Eastlands last season was testament to their ability) and it was no great surprise that City needed extra time to overcome the Cottagers. Scunthorpe in the fourth round…here’s hoping…

BLUE TUESDAY: UWE ROSLER

Former Manchester City striker Uwe Rosler will be on 'Blue Tuesday' this evening as our live interview. Rosler, who is currently managing Norwegian side Viking FK, has said that he is 'very excited' to have the opportunity of appearing on our show and that he still has a very special place in his heart for City and their fans.

Not only that, but we also have an interview with Ricky Hatton lined up and we will be dissecting everything about one the most amazing Derby games to date. Tune in and get involved- it's your show!

ADEBAYOR CHARGE IGNORES FANS' INCITEMENT

Has the furore over the Adebayor saga overlooked the issue of racist abuse from fans?

After a big-spending summer, Manchester City could always expect to be this season's big talking point. But few can argue that one of those signings, Emmanuel Adebayor, has grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The FA has now charged Adebayor with violent conduct for aiming a kick at Robin van Persie's face in City's 4-2 win over Arsenal.

He's also been charged with improper conduct after running the length of the pitch to celebrate his goal in front of the Arsenal supporters.

The penalty means an immediate three-game ban ruling the Togo striker out of City's derby clash with United on Sunday (19 September 2009).

"I just want to say sorry to everyone," Adebayor said after the game, describing his actions as 'silly'. "People who know me know how I behave and what happened today was emotion. I was over-emotional."

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes was quick to attempt to douse the enraging flames of the situation.

"You need to cut him a bit of slack," he said. "He's an over-emotional guy and he was just caught up in the moment. He was just trying to share the moment with the fans in the corner.

"He's got a special affinity with the guys in that corner of the field and the Arsenal fans just happen to be close to that area too."

Racist abuse

Yet some are asking whether Adebayor deserves the punishment issued to him. The player claimed that he'd been insulted by the away fans throughout the game. So do the Arsenal supporters have any part to play in the furore?

Let's not forget the Kick Racism Out Of Football campaign: if the alleged racist abuse and banana-throwing is true, does that make Arsenal fans just as guilty of incitement as Adebayor?

Also, what part does Robin van Persie have to play in the saga? His initial tackle on Adebayor was also aggressive and he allegedly gesticulated at home fans in an offensive manner.
Take a step back and some of these claims and counter-claims read like a playground squabble. Violence and racism have no place in the game, but surely both players and supporters have a responsibility to at least act their age...

And if there is racist language being directed at players, it would be good to see stewards take action and, with police support, get them out and ban them.

It was always going to be an emotional day for Adebayor: facing his former side for the first time and allegedly enduring torrents of abuse.

Whatever the provocation, he's a highly-paid professional footballer. If he has emotional 'baggage', then surely he should leave that in the dressing room and conduct himself appropriately.

If he'd done that, City wouldn't be without their top striker for what could be three crucial games.

Published on the BBC Manchester website. Check the site weekly for articles related to 'Blue Tuesday'

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