It's not about them anymore.

I'm pretty sure that I speak for all Blues when I say that the league title is THE priority this year.  At the time of writing City are 5 points clear, by the time you read this it could be 2 or it might be 8.

Giddy heights for us small time berties but it did make me think.

In the past my priorities have been a little embarrassing and they mainly involved Manchester United.

Loosely they evolved like this.

Ambition 1. 1985- 2002 During the dark days of relegation. To play against Manchester United.

Ambition 2. From 2002 To beat Manchester United in any given derby.

Ambition 3. From 2008 To take that banner at Manchester United down.

Our club has been scraping through one huge and drawn out disaster. 

United fans knew it, City fans didn't. We'd pretend that everything was rosy or at worst 'not far from falling into place' , but it's taken Paul Lake's autobiography to highlight how bad things were at our club.  

Their ticking banner was a masterpiece, we were small-time because there was nothing that could be done about stopping it each year. We had become their little cousin looking up at their bag of sweets on a mantelpiece that we couldn't reach.  They were mean and beastly and claimed that Liverpool / Leeds were their bessie mates. That annoyed the bejaysus out of me.

Then we had a growth spurt.

Of course things changed on the 31st August 2008 , from day one, there wasn't a Blue who doubted that eventually Sheikh Mansour's purchase was going to revolutionise things. (We're stupidly optimistic like that).

For me since 2008, the removal of the ticking banner was City's first priority , that boil needed to be lanced before we could begin to have real ambition.  It was significant to me that we achieved it by beating them in the Semi-Final.  After that cup win for the first time in 30 years we were actually able to look at them and think, "it isn't about them anymore". 

2011-12 is now about City, Manchester City.  We want to win the league because that's what a football club does.  Never again should our target be "just finish above them".

The team in 2nd place could go unbeaten in everyone of their 29 remaining games and still have to form a guard of honour at the Etihad stadium for us. 


<- Okay Okay... Sorry.

I'm not saying City are now better than United.

I'm not saying United are set for 30 years of misery. 

But what I am saying is that from this point on the sweets on the mantelpiece are fair game.  Bar the Champions League (2 yrs) we have as much chance as them in any competition and we'll probably match them pot for pot. (Until the Oil runs out).

Over to you City! 

-

P.s. I know penning this article shows deep down I'm still obsessed with them. Sue me.