Manchester City: 10 Reasons Blues Fans Hate Manchester United

The rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United runs deep.

Sets of fans grow up hating one another right from the start and the local Manchester derby is always a sight to behold.

But, it's not just the rivalry of proximity. The hatred is so substantial that fans invent new reasons and methods to hate their rivals.

Here are just 10 of the reasons Manchester City fans hate Manchester United.

Enjoy the slideshow! 

Old Trafford

It's not exactly a haven in the eyes of the Manchester City faithful.

Old Trafford is hated for several reasons. It is the home of City fans' bitter rivals, and it has the unfortunate nickname of The Theatre of Dreams. As a neutral, I think that nickname is just slightly ridiculous.

In addition to this, there's penalty controversies every year, and it has remained difficult to be awarded one when playing as the away team at Old Trafford. To add insult to injury, it's quite likely United will be awarded one for potentially no reason. (link)

Manchester Is Blue

It is a well established fact that Manchester United is a global brand with support from all over the world.

Manchester City is fast heading that way too, but they can at least take solace in the fact that the core support for the Blues resides in Manchester.

United is heavily criticised for having armchair fans but, the thing that angers them the most is that even most season ticket holders at Old Trafford travel in from outside Manchester.

Manchester is blue.

Sir Alex Ferguson

The hate for Sir Alex Ferguson is only natural.

He's been the manager of Manchester City's biggest rivals since 1986, giving City fans plenty of time to brew up some distaste for him.

Regardless of the rivalry, he is a very hate-able figure. Whether its boycotting the BBC or chewing far, far too much, football fans worldwide can usually find a reason to hate this man.

Gary Neville

Gary Neville is one of a number of players who stayed with Manchester United for far, far too long in Manchester City fans' eyes.

He was a servant to the club and he is loved by United fans, therefore he is a figure of ridicule for City fans.

His outspoken efforts against Manchester City do him no favours, such as insulting Carlos Tevez or publicly stating his hate for City has surpassed his hate for Liverpool.

Can't wait to see the next Manchester City Monday Night Football game on Sky Sports!.

Glory Hunting Fans

This is something Manchester United can't avoid, but Manchester City fans hate them all the same for it.

Along the same lines as the argument Manchester is blue, United regularly pick up batches of new fans all over England despite the fact they may well be located in Cornwall, Norwich, Birmingham or anywhere else.

In my age group, when we got introduced to football and picked a team, nearly everyone chose whoever was in first place in the table at the time—which was invariably Manchester United.

This has led to Manchester United fans being universally branded as glory hunters.

Cristiano Ronaldo

While there are many Manchester United players Manchester City fans hate, like Gary Nevile, Cristiano Ronaldo deserves a mention.

The much maligned, much criticised and incredibly arrogant £80million forward made his career at Manchester United and launched himself as one of the worlds best players.

City fans will always apply Manchester United as a reason to hate Cristiano Ronaldo and if things carry on the way they are, the Blues will probably face Ronaldo's Real Madrid in a European Competition soon.

There's certainly scope to revisit this hatred in the near future.

'Fergie Time'

So annoying it gets it's own slide.

'Fergie time' has become a universal phrase measuring the extensive stoppage time Manchester United are invariably awarded if they are in need of a goal, especially at Old Trafford.

Anything less than a completely unreasonable five minutes and Sir Alex Ferguson goes mad at the fourth official, and it is often thought Ferguson directly influences referees in gaining more minutes.

One thing is for sure, 'Fergie time' is both ridiculed and dreaded. Michael Owen scoring the winner in the Manchester derby two seasons ago very, very late on allowed the intolerance to be reborn.

Taking Trophies for Granted

It is a really disturbing sight when fans dismiss the possibility of winning a trophy.

Fans of clubs other than a select few are all desperate for their club to win just one trophy, so for Manchester United fans to disregard the Carling Cup is a disgrace.

I've seen it first hand, when Aston Villa played United in the Carling Cup, as United fans were saying they don't care if they win or not. Shocking.

Manchester City have just won their first major trophy for a long time in the FA Cup and too right their fans celebrated it in style. If and when they bring home their next success, I would hope City fans do not succumb to the arrogance United fans do.

Lack of Atmosphere

A theme of criticism running throughout Manchester United is the lack of atmosphere.

Not only has the atmosphere at their stadium been likened to a funeral, but due to the fan base being so divided, there is a lack of togetherness within the ranks.

Starkly contrast this to Manchester City, who's fan base largely resides in Manchester, where the fans are concentrated, together and passionate.

Jealousy?

Is there an element of jealousy in there?

Manchester United have had the limelight for a long, long time and football in Manchester is associated with United, not City.

This will frustrate City fans no end due to the fact that Manchester is in fact largely blue.

Times are changing and Manchester City appear to be near level to United in terms of the talent in the squad and beyond them in squad depth.

The gulf in financial backing has switched and this potential jealousy could vanish soon enough, being replace with glee.