Upon signing for his new club, Edin Džeko had a pop at Manchester United’s fan base inciting that the majority of supporters within Manchester are City fans.
Everyone knows that there will always be a bitter rat race to see which Manchester club controls the mass majority of fans within the city limits, but, honestly, what does that really matter anymore? The point of whether the city of Manchester has more Blues than Reds has become mute since the massive marketing plan by the Barclays Premier League, and this argument is only something that a club with a small mentality should be concerned about.
The comments from the Bosnian, who just signed for Manchester City for a measly £27million from VfL Wolfsburg, were clearly unfounded and really underlines the glaring difference between the two local rivals. There is no questioning Dzeko’s ability, but it shows that he really is at the right club, because of how quarantined their mentality still is.
What he failed to recognize is that before he played against United in the UEFA Champions League last season, Džeko probably did not know that there were two clubs in Manchester, so all he was trying to do was to stir the pot for the next Manchester Derby. Let’s be honest, City has only featured in European competitions – the less of the two – in the last couple of years, because of their laughable teetering between the first and second tier of English football for years leading up to the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.
Difference
The City of Manchester Stadium is less than four miles from Old Trafford, but that is the closest they are to United in any shape of the imagination. The Blues’ Stadium could hold a maximum of 47,826 supporters, which is nearly 30,000 seats less than Old Trafford’s capacity of 75,957, but yet it is the Citizens who are still unable to fill their ground for every match.
Their highest gate this year to date has been unsurprisingly the Manchester Derby – 47,679 – and despite the well-documented protests by a lot of the true United supporters, the Reds are still averaging well over 75,000 for their home games. Manchester has an estimated population of 483,800, which is a microscopic portion of the world’s population of 6,892,900,000, and difference between the two is also the approximate distance of worth between the two clubs.
With all of the money that Abu Dhabi princes have splashed on City’s squad, which is full of international players, they are still forced to see that their club miles behind United in terms of not only trophies and class, but a dedicated fan base as well. In spite of being submerged in massive debts of just over £500 million, the club under the guidance of the Glazer’s massive global strategy, has set out embed the Manchester United brand in every single one of the world’s major markets.
The United crest, by and far, is one of the most widely-recognized logos on the four corners of the globe, and it said that the club has an impressive 333-million fan base, which, for obvious reasons, stretches well outside of the city of Manchester. Those who actually care about the Blues that live in city will always try to cast negative remarks towards the red half of Manchester, but all they are really doing is showcasing their ignorant ways.
Manchester may be divided on who controls the upper hand in terms of local support, but there is no question that Manchester United is the model club in the city.
Submitted by The United Religion
