Why City's Aspirations for a Blue Moon Rising Across Manchester Is Unfound

Derby week in Manchester has taken a greater significance this week when United entertain their ever louder neighbours City on Saturday.

Fans of both United and City fans are looking to the Manchester derby with a nervous confidence, as a defeat for either club would put a dent in their goal to be Premier League champions come May.

United enter the game five points clear of City with a game in hand, but victory for the big spending Citizens at Old Trafford would see them right back in title contention.

The tension surrounding the game is a far cry from recent years when City were the laughing stock of Manchester; a decline to the third tier of English football in 2001 confounded the criticism labelled at City from United supporters and the national media.

A swift response to the top flight followed where City never threatened to upset the apple cart in Manchester as United went from strength to strength, culminating in the 2008 Champions League win.

As United’s success on the field grew City fans resorted to the fickle mocking of their more illustrious neighbours with the ‘more of our fans come from Manchester than yours’ boast. United fans simply laughed this off particularly as derby day wins were a seasonal occurrence.

Former United central defender David May has been forced this week to cancel a party in Manchester city centre pre match to celebrate/mock City's lack of achievement over the years due to safety concerns.

The myth that United's large British fan base only came about after 1993 is a unfounded. The Munich air crash cemented United in the hearts of many supporters as a band of young supporters began to follow the club in their hour of need. The air crash saw both halves of Manchester suffer loss. 

City fans will again come face to face with the Stretford End banner, which details the 35 years City have gone without winning a trophy. Their last success came in the 1976 League Cup.

City now lay claim to be the richest football club in the world which has seen them purchase players that not even the most optimistic of fans could have expected to see at Eastlands only a couple of years ago.

The £200m plus investment on players by owner Sheik Mansour has placed City as one of the front runners for this years Premier League title, but will any City title win ever allow them to eclipse their illustrious neighbours United?

City can now boast players of the calibre of Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez, David Silva and Nigel De Jong, but it was only a few seasons ago that the blue mooners were cheering the likes of Ben Thatcher, Kiki Musampa and Sun Jihai. History never lies and can tell a lot about the success of a club during that period.

Throughout United’s barren spell under Sir Alex Ferguson, they fielded players which bring a rye smile to the faces of United fans when they look back on what followed. The 30,329 who saw United defeat Newcastle 2-0 on the final day of the 1988-89 season, leaving United 11th in the league could only have dreamt of replacing the likes of Ralph Milne, Peter Davenport and Russell Beardsmore with Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona and Paul Scholes only a handful of years later.

The previous season had seen City beat United 5-1 at Maine Road as calls for Ferguson's head became more than a murmur.

Yet through this dark time for United supporters, they still maintained their place as Manchester’s biggest club with bigger crowds and trophies to follow.

United have the history, the prestige, the global brand and more importantly the on field success. Short term success on the field cannot buy a club this sort of acclaim, Chelsea can bear claim to that.

Their on-field success has brought the club new supporters across the globe but the two biggest teams in England continue to be Manchester United and their arch rivals Liverpool.

Liverpool are currently in their 20th season since last winning the English top division title. Yet their support across the UK and globally continues to grow as their history and name are recognised and acknowledged.

City will, no doubt, develop new fan bases in the Middle East, where Sheik Mansour originates and the exposure given to the Premier League through its global audience will enable City to become a household name in the Asian lucrative markets.

Yet their footballing history lacks success and restricts their ability to be Manchester’s number one.

United have the 18 league titles, the three European cups, 11 FA Cup wins and a World Club Championship to their name. They have the world's largest fan base and until this year made the biggest operating profit of any football club.

Only Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid come close to United.

City winning a Premier League title this year or next will be a massive achievement for the club and one to rightly be proud of and acknowledged, but the biggest club in Manchester?