The Debate... United vs. Yankees

As a fan of Manchester United I am constantly told that they are the "Yankees of soccer." Nothing gets my blood boiling as quickly as this. I guess you could compare them in the sense that when the Yankees win "World Series" they are considered World champions, although the obvious fact that Bud Selig has not let any "world" teams in yet (unless you count the Blue Jays), and since Manchester United are the current FIFA World Club Cup champions I guess we both share a "world" dominance.

I think I just get defensive because of the whole "band wagon" thing. I started watching United in the 95-96 season (oh no, the Yankees won the world series that year...) with my dad with the Premier League Review Show. That year United edged out Newcastle (who is Newcastle?) by four points to take the title. This was the year of Le King, Eric Cantona. Who wore their soccer jersey collars up? Well you did it because Eric Cantona was cold one night and did it! Trend started. I have tried to kick the habit and support other teams, but I have enjoyed Manchester United for close to 15 years. Granted, it is has been relatively easy on the field to support them, there are furious times when I could coach better than SAF... Monday Morning ___ syndrome (what would a soccer equivalent to Monday Morning Quarterback be? I guess striker...). I have picked painfully woeful teams in other leagues to follow... Kansas City (MISSOURI!!) Wizards, and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.

How about a brief (just Sir Alex Ferguson) MUFC history:

In the early 90s SAF did something that few other top managers did, dropped his stars and played the kids. Everyone gets on about Manchester United and transfer fees, and yes they have broken the transfer record in England 4 times (1981 Bryan Robson,1,500,000 (pounds); 1995 Andy Cole, 7,000,000; 2001 Juan Veron, 28,100,000; 2002 Rio Ferdinand, 29,100,000). The current British holders for highest transfer is Man City at 32.5 for Robinho who sucks his thumb when he scores a goal... Come on, really?

The fact is SAF went back to the glory days, and the philosphy of MUFC legend Matt Busby and created his own Busby Babes... The Ferguson Babes (Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and David Beckham) stepped up and played with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Andy Cole, and Le King. The changing of the guard occurred and Ferguson replaced the likes of Paul Ince and Mark Hughes with YOUNG UNPROVEN TALENT. That is what won him the Double, and the eventual treble in 99.

"The Kids are Alright"

Manchester United continue to win because they adapt, apart from that onslaught on a certain Rome May evening. Manchester United broke free from the traditional English 4-4-2 formation and won in Europe. The boring, yet pragmatic 4-5-1 was used with variations like 4-4-1-1.

There is no real point to this post. Manchester United win, the Yankees win. Manchester United fans reside in basically everywhere but Manchester, as the cliche goes... How many Yankees hats are seen in places outside the Boroughs? A lot.

My fantasy baseball team has the Ryan Giggs of Baseball on it - Mariano Rivera, and I would kill to have Derek Jeter, another loyal/professional Ryan Giggsesque player, in my opinion.

Is it bad to stick with a team that is deemed the Yankees of Soccer?

Hell no, it is a compliment!

Think about the FA Cup Final in 2008 between Cardiff City and Portsmouth... Utter dross. It had one of the lowest viewer rating in history, and was described by BBC pundit Caroline Cheese as "a game that won't live long in the memory," and she is British! They will always punt their own teams!

We need big teams! There is some romance for the little guy, but two little guys? Come on! What is the story line about Cardiff? I don't care about them, and I love this game. Wales, really... come on! I guess Wizards ultimate D-bag Eddie Johnson went there after he failed at Fulham, but he has a grill so I do not rate him.

I encourage Nike to put pinstripes on a Manchester United shirt. Lets live it up! If they ever tear down Old Trafford - celebrating its centenary - I will truly call us the Yankees of Baseball, until then I am going to continue to support my team.