Can Tevez do a Law and devastate the Red Devils?

A certain brewery don’t do derby games but if they did this Mondays would probably still out do theirs! Certainly no one can think of a more important Manchester derby game for some time with City spanning the 1980’s and 1990’s in relative oblivion while their neighbours prospered. 

Manchester City, until recently, were never thought of by United as serious contenders but this season in particular has awakened them to the serious threat that is City. United bailed out of the Champions League and the the Europa in order to concentrate on the league but City will not back down and going into Mondays game are only a win away from overtaking the ‘mighty’ reds. 

The media have always had their favorite team throughout this whole process with reporters glowing when United caught up and then overtook City in the league only for there to be a relative and collective mute now that City have clawed back from 8pts behind to set up the biggest derby game in living memory.

Certainly for City to lose would be a set back but the fans and players will be comforted by the fact that City had pushed their neighbors hard and this may be the first time a team has done this to United for some years. Make no mistake, if United do not win this title it will be devastating to them. No trophy’s to put in the cabinet, poor European challenge, pulling an aging Scholes out of his retirement home and all the falling about of Ashley Young would have counted for nothing. 

It could be written that Carlos Tevez could be the one to put the final nail in Uniteds Title challenge and I think if that happen he will celebrate it more than the ex United stay to last devistate them while playing for City.

38 years ago today saw that famous Denis Law backheel which relegated United. That saw scenes of United ‘fans’ running on to the pitch not once but several times in order to try to get the game abandoned maybe?  

Before and after he spent over a decade for Manchester United the man, famous to all City fans as the one scoring that backheel that relegated United, was a Blue. He will always be more famous for wearing the Manchester red but his two spells at City were not without their notable points either.

Of course in his second spell, as mentioned earlier, he backheeled his beloved United to relegation but I want to concentrate on his first spell for this article. In March 1960 the then City manager, Les McDowall, signed the Scot from Huddersfield for a then British transfer record of 55k.

Fifty two years ago today, the twenty year old took the field in an away game to relegation bound Leeds United. City were on the wrong end of a seven goal thriller and slumped to their 17th defeat of what was to be a regular season of struggling in the top flight. Despite this, Law did get on the scoresheet and then again in his home debut against West Ham.

In his seven starts of his first partial season he scored twice but it would be the next season, his last of the first installment that would have the talking point. Starting 43 times in all league and cup games he scored 23 times but in truth he should have had much more.

The point of contentions came in the FA Cup Fourth Round with City leading opponents Luton by a scoreline of 6-2 when the game was abandoned due to fog. Denis Law had scored all six of City’s goals that day but once the match was abandoned they were wiped from the records. He did get to score in the re-scheduled match but that ended in a 3-1 win for Luton and City’s FA Cup run was halted.

The Manchester United manager Matt Busby had tried to sign Law while he was at Huddersfield but the offer, less than a fifth of what City paid, was turned down by then manager Bill Shankley. When Shankley made the move to Liverpool a year before Laws move to City the plan was to take him to Liverpool also. However it was not to be and he moved to City as Busby once again tried, and failed, to sign him. 

He would eventually sign for United in 1962 for 115k but not from City. Law had tried his hand in Italy but lasted less than a year before returning to England, claiming he wanted to be in a more successful side he went to Torino, failed and then sold his soul to the Red Devils in pursuit of trophies. 

Ironically he would appear in only one FA Cup Final with United and win two League titles. He is credited with the European winners medal in 1968 but in truth he missed both the Semi Final and the Final. Then decades before Tevez and Rooney did the same thing he went to the United manager and demanded for a pay raise. He was immediately placed on the transfer list as Busby exclaimed that no player was bigger than the club.

The incident was as shady as anything that has gone on at United and at this point the ‘unsuccesful’ Manchester had welcomed Mercer and Allison to the helm of the good ship City and while United were declining with in fighting City won trophy after trophy as players like Glyn Pardoe, Alan Oakes, Mike Doyle and Neil Young who were at City when Law came and went were repaid in silverware for their loyalty.

PA Cityboy

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