As the week leading up to this derby runs out, the amount of speculation and anxiety over whether the silence will be properly observed is growing, and the respective martyr/lout archetypes of United and City propagated in the language of most media. Words like “idiots”, “thugs”, and “mindless morons” are being used to effectively tar City fans in advance.
City supporters tend to view United as pompous, arrogant, and hypocritical. United, from a City perspective, are the rich kid bullies of the Premiership League. City, on the other hand, are looked down by their powerful rivals as being poor, losers, and under-achievers.
United’s website described City’s victory in August at the last derby as a “smash and grab”, likening the team to thieves robbing a shop window. A banner at United’s Old Trafford stadium, where Sunday’s match will take place, mocks City’s “lack of silverware”, or modest success in recent decades. Every year that City fails to win the league or FA Cup, the number on the banner goes up. Of course this breeds resentment, and resentment breeds trouble.
Already the similarly planned minute’s of silence at the international match between England and Switzerland on Wednesday was “spoiled” by “raised voiced from the Wembley (Stadium) crowd.” The referee, fearing that the situation could only get worse, blew his whistle, cutting the minute of silence down to about thirty seconds. Many see the disruption at Wembley as a kind of preview of what will happen at Old Trafford on Sunday, except, should it happen there, severe repercussions could ensue, perhaps even a riot.
Some of the concern about City’s conduct is coming from within. Kevin Parker, president of the Manchester City Supporters Club, has written to United, urging them to mark the commemoration with a minute’s applause instead of silence.
Said Parker, “Although there is some friendly rivalry between supporters of the two clubs, there is also a great deal of hatred and there will be some City fans who will not want to go along with the recognition of the disaster.” United’s rejection of this plea, for many City fans, indicates that they secretly want the silence to be disrupted in order to generate sympathy, pr, and sales. Furthermore, the potential media backlash against Man City would be immense, psychologically pushing them farther away from the top half of the league table.
Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Erikkson and captain Richard Dunne have co-signed a letter to be distributed among supporters at Sunday’s derby. “Many supporters will already be aware that Manchester City lost one of our own in the tragedy, (former) goalkeeper Frank Swift.
Twenty-two other players, staff and journalists also lost their lives. We ask that all supporters uphold the good name of Manchester City and respectfully support the commemorations which will also be attended by the friends and family of the victims including Frank Swift’s family.” In addition, City players on derby day will wear special uniforms sans corporate logos and branded with a black armband of remembrance. These kits will not be available for sale after the game.
There are subtle indications that United, on the other hand, intends to cash in on the anniversary of the disaster. A memorial billboard to Munich at OT has already caused controversy by the inclusion of the AIG logo, one of United’s corporate sponsors. The billboard was paint-balled last week by vandals. Also this week, United also told the BBC that they would have to pay five thousand pounds for the right to broadcast coverage of a pre-derby memorial event at OT. Could a wealth of commemorative Munich merchandise be unveiled in the weeks to come?
One poster on a City message board articulated his feelings surrounding what he sees as shameless opportunism on the part of United: “Think of the three United players whose contracts were terminated when they returned injured (not dead) from Munich and never played again and were cast out by the club. One died in poverty as a baker working 18 hours a day, one had to sell his medals to pay for home help and one was told by Matt Busby that he was no longer welcome at United. The three were Albert Scanlon, Johnnie Berry, and Jackie Blanchflower.”
Another supporter, writing about the infamous (anti-United) Munich chants, had this to add: “The trouble is that all the media think (or want to think) is that the morons from Liverpool, Leeds or Man City who do chant are making fun of the dead. I can't speak for Liverpool or Leeds fans but us City fans know that the chanting has to do with the tasteless manner in which the (United) club, corporation, PLC, franchise has profited in terms of PR sympathy from the tragedy for 50 years and canonized the organization into sainthood.”
The vast majority of City fans will choose to go along with the commemoration, but they will likely want to do so in their own way, rather than be dictated to by their bitterest rivals. One thread on another message board, generating much agreement and comment, suggested that City fans observe the silence while at the same time turning their backs to United.
