Manchester
is a curious place. As a result of its rebuilding following the bombing in
1996, the centre is typical of a modern, prosperous city full of cafes and bars
and high end shops.
But, drive
a short distance in any direction it appears to be surrounded by a ring of
depravation. The roads become rutted, the houses look run down, there are shops
clinging to dear life and people wandering around who look desperate. Less claustrophobic
than London, you can see the stratification; the centre, the depravation, then
places like Media City, Old Trafford, the Etihad and the Trafford Centre punctuating
the skyline. Suddenly, you’re in the countryside and we’re back into prosperity
again. As a result, it is very difficult to work out whether Manchester is
thriving, struggling or whether it simply has a unique culture all of its own.
League 1 is
much the same, last week we were at MK Dons, on Saturday it was Charlton, next is
Bolton Wanderers. All teams with large stadiums and fans, and in the case of
Charlton and Bolton, bigger reputations. But all three are on a downward
trajectory.
And yet,
League 1 remains ‘lower leagues’ like a big team graveyard. Next month we play
Coventry, 1987 FA Cup winners playing in a stadium with over 32,500 seats, but they
haven’t finished in the top six of any division for 46 years. It looks very
likely they will be playing League 2 football next year; a big team with an
abject history; very League 1.
In such a
situation it is difficult to know quite where we fit. Before the game against
Charlton, radio played a clip of the last time we beat them fourteen years ago.
Jefferson Louis scored the decisive penalty in a League Cup shoot-out. Jerome
Sale makes a comment about Louis having been in prison and earning £90 a week.
Charlton, at the time, were the envy of most teams; successful, but grounded. The
difference between us and them was obvious, now less so.
On Saturday
we were pretty evenly matched. Their penalty looked far less controversial than
the radio seemed to imply afterwards. The impact of Kane Hemmings was
encouraging given that he has looked under-powered this season. I’m not sure,
however, if people appreciate the role that Ryan Taylor made in softening up
their defence to allow the game to open up a bit more when he went off. As
usual, the phone-in simplified the issue – Hemmings should play in place of
Taylor because he looked a goal threat and Taylor didn’t. It’s not a wholly
unfair point, but I think Hemmings is a threat, in part, because Taylor did a
lot of groundwork for him.
Tuesday,
and Southend, came very suddenly and Edwards got grabby again. He must be a
nightmare on a packed dancefloor – all hands. People have started talking about
Southend being a bogey team and a curse, which is, of course, completely
irrational. The main issue is that if you begin to believe it, then the likely
response is not to re-focus and go again, but to believe that there is some
sort of higher power at work and give up.
It all
comes back to mind set – League 1, like Manchester, is probably best not
compared to other places, but simply that it is a netherworld in itself. We
will face a whole range of teams; big ones heading downwards, small ones
heading up and others simply stuck in the division’s orbit. It is what it is,
and we are what we are, the more we become comfortable with that idea, the more
successful we’re likely to be.
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