The local police have already issued warnings to both clubs (and Carlos Tevez in particular) ahead of this weekend's Manchester derby. Despite that, former Manchester United defender David May has been touting a party in the city center the night before the match that he jokingly described as a celebration of Man City's 35th year without a trophy.
It will cost £20 to attend and seems to be open to the public as it's part of the United Nights program, which brings fans and former players together ahead of matches. The Manchester Evening News explains:
The M.E.N. understands the Stretford End ‘ticker’ banner, which celebrates City’s barren spell, will be ‘turned’ from 34 to 35 during the party.
Advertising the event on his blog, May, 40, wrote: “The next United Night has landed perfectly, it is before the biggest game of the season, A TITLE DECIDER WITH CITY AT OLD TRAFFORD IN FEB. Hundreds of Reds getting together for a night they will never forget.
“WE ARE ALSO CELEBRATING CITY NOT WINNING A TROPHY IN 35 YEARS!!! HA HA. SEE YOU THERE!!!!”
After the M.E.N. contacted May, the final sentence and a picture of the ‘ticker’ banner were taken down. He said the event was part of the traditional ‘banter’ between fans and was not meant to offend.
He added: “It’s one of the biggest derbies in a long time and I’m sure the fans will be singing about it and the players will be asked about it. It’s friendly banter.”
And I'm sure all City fans will take it as such. Just as all Man Utd fans took City's Carlos Tevez "Welcome to Manchester" billboard as silly and not at all antagonizing.
When asked about it, Man City goalkeeper Joe Hart had a decent retort, though. From the Telegraph:
"It's not false because we haven't won anything for 35 years," he said.
"But I assume they are doing it because there won't be many more of them."
Though this match probably won't be a title decider, it should be fun with both clubs at the top of the table and Gary Neville no longer on the pitch to make everyone watch him kiss Paul Scholes.
UPDATE: As the guys from Stretford-End.com and Stretford Flags have pointed out to me, the MEN article is apparently wrong in saying that the ticker banner will be turned to 35 during the United Nights event, nor will it even make an appearance. So, nice try, Manchester Evening News.
UPDATE II: And now the event has been canceled. May reportedly received abusive phone calls and the bar where it was to be held was also threatened. It's a bit of a shame since the proceeds were allegedly to go to charity and these United Nights events have gone off without incident many times before. But when a rivalry gets this heated, the sense of humor is usually the first thing to go.
Photo: Getty Images
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