I am not the only one who agonised myself through the last Premier League matches of the season. It looked grim. We were up against Sunderland in a match we were expected to win. Little would it matter though, if City – this season’s greatest home team – were to beat QPR, who had been an utter disaster away from home and were battling relegation. We got the lead with a header from Rooney after a terrific cross from Jones. At the moment, we were top of the league. News came from Etihad. City were 1-0 up, and the dream was crushed yet again. Then, out of nothing, QPR equalised. Hope started welling up in me, despite me trying to fight it. United pushed on for more goals without luck, and as we did the news of Barton being sent off spread. Surely this was the end. And then it happened. Mackie put QPR 1-2 up and jolts of joy shot through the away fans at Stadium of Light. I was shell-shocked. I was shaking and hyperventilating, and I couldn’t think clearly. I downed my glass of Jack Daniels and tried to calm myself. “Is this happening? Are we really doing it?” Those were some of the many thoughts rushing through my head. Just before our match ended, news came forth of Dzeko equalising, and just as our match came to an end there were silence all over the Stadium of Light. Then the home fans started cheering and we knew what had happened. You could see the desperation in the players’ eyes, as they also knew. Fergie quickly gathered the team to go applaud the travelling away fans. He looked calm and gathered, but I can only imagine what went through his head. Disappointment? Anger? Hunger?
In extra time the title had slipped from our hands, and we had to accept City as the new champions of England. They had been our noisy and bitter neighbours, our rivals and the last team we’d want to see lift the trophy. Now they were going crazy over their first league title in 44 years. And they deserved it. In four weeks we had thrown away an 8 point lead, and we paid the price. With the title seemingly within our reach even in the last minutes, the disappointment was gripping. I had given up on the title even before the match, but when it was finally over, I couldn’t help but feel the disappointment washing over me. Should we feel resigned? Should this defeat hurt as much as it does?
No. In fact, I am proud of what our team have accomplished in the Premier League. This season we have been looking at what have been called our weakest squad in a long time. Even when our captain and rock in defence went out injured in December, we managed. Vidic was out for the rest of the season, but Evans stepped up excellently in his absence. When Anderson and Cleverley, who were brilliant together for the start of the season, went out injured, Carrick stepped up with one of his greatest seasons so far to claim the MF spot as his. We’ve had a horrendous amount of injuries, but in the end we were all the way up there - with 89 points - losing the title on goal difference. And this is our strength; an incredible depth in our squad. A winner's culture few other clubs are able to match. A desire to never say die, even when everything turns against us. Of course, we’ve been disappointing in cup games this season, losing out on the FA cup, Carling cup, Champions League and the Europa League. The players simply seemed uninterested and out of focus, and we stand back with only the Community Shield to show for. This is something to work on for the coming season, but with this season’s letdown, I can’t see the players eager to repeat the failure. I believe there are positives to be taken from this season. Our younger players have tasted the bitter taste of proper defeat for the first time, and I bet Fergie has told them to remember that feeling well. It’s from moments like these we grow and become stronger. That being said, investing in reinforcements is needed and inevitable, and I am certain Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson will do so.
Let’s just hope that signings will be wrapped up early, so that new players will have time to settle and integrate through training and pre-season. Much have been written, said and reported about players on their way to Old Trafford. Usually it turns out to be bollocks, but it's hard not to give thoughts to recurring rumours. It's quite impossible to forget last summer's Sneijder saga, when a mate of mine literally was an inch away from buying a shirt with "Sneijder" on the back. That's how close we were. Or at least that's how close the media told us we were. I can only presume that our main focus will be an attacking midfielder with the ability to connect deeper midfielders and our strikers. A player that can always be available for passes and pinpoint passes out of nothing himself. Someone who can also bag a goal or two when needed. A player that can fill the hole Rooney has been forced to play in this season. I don’t intend to speculate in who might come, as I will trust our gaffer to bring in competent players. I am confident that money will be well spent this summer and that the boys will return in August with a renewed fire.
For now, let City enjoy their moment of glory. Let them just have a small taste of how it feels to be us. They better keep our trophy shiny, because we will be back hungrier than ever to reclaim it come May ’13!
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