Manchester City – these are the days for us to remember

This is not really much more than a picture post marking the remarkable achievement of Manchester City wining ‘the treble’.

Completing The Treble means winning the domestic league (The Premier League), the FA Cup and The Champions League. It’s a difficult and rare achievement.

It’s a little different than what is known as The Domestic Treble which means winning the three domestic trophies of League, FA Cup and League Cup – a feat only ever archieved by one club … Manchester City

It’s all a bit different between then and now

Having spent my formative years watching a level of football that at times was frequently below mediocre and often much worse and at a stadium (Maine Road) that although much loved, left a lot to be desired.

It’s been 20 years now since City moved to the magnificent Etihad stadium and the events of the last dozen or so years have been the stuff of football dreams.

Footballing records are broken quite literally almost every time the team play. The 2022/23 season culminating with the win in Istanbul against Inter Milan added to the record books on an almost weekly basis.

On the way to the Champions League final and football at a new level

Click any image to open a clickable/scrollable picture gallery from the game at the Etihad stadium between Manchester City and Real Madrid.

There wasn’t a scale that could measure the grace,beauty and power of the Manchester City performance. It was a performance that saw them crush the visitors from Milan and that sent them to the final in Istanbul.

Quite simply it was a stunning evening of football.

Trophy parade

Click this link to go the trophy parade in Manchester

Winning the league

On the one hand winning the League title has become something that has happened at City quite frequently – seven times in the last decade (five times in six years) and the last three on the run. – but despite it’s frequency I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it.

The league title will always be the top prize – of course it’s good to win cups and the prestige and status that goes with that but it’s the league that proves who really is the best over a prolonged period.

I think the random nature of a cup competition isn’t quite as pure a competition. If I had to pick just one trophy to win next year, or in any season then it would be the league title every time.

Click any image to open a clickable/scrollable picture gallery to see pictures from the ‘trophy lift’ game at the Etihad.

Winning the FA Cup and a different kettle of fish

City had strolled past Sheffield United at Wembley a few weeks earlier in a semi final that was something of a mismatch really (you can find some words and pictures from our semi final trip at this link).

The final though was a different kettle of fish as it was a game against Manchester United.

The Manchester Derby in an FA Cup final for the first time ever! In some respects it was probably the game that every City and United fan wanted at the same time as almost every City and United fan not wanting it at all.

The perfect result?

To beat your rivals in the final would be perfect and a result that would last for ever but to lose would be the absolute opposite, and in City’s case to lose the final and in doing so to lose the opportunity of the treble (only ever achieved once before … by United) meant the jeopardy levels were through the roof.

The level of jeopardy was increased by many United fans, players, pundits etc making it very very clear that they would do everything to stop City wining the treble, seemingly to the point of that being more important than actually winning the cup.

12 seconds – you’re having a laugh

Ultimately it came to nothing – City won 2-1 and remarkably scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history and at a stroke undoing the stated desire of making sure that City didn’t score an early goal!

In all fairness to United they didn’t collapse after such an early setback and although it wasn’t the best of games it was pretty close and (in my opinion) I would say City were the better team, however the reality is that on another day United could have won.

But they didn’t and the rest is history.

FA Cup final picture gallery

Clicking any image to open a clickable/scrollable picture gallery.