USUAL PRE-DERBY B*LL*CKS
Clive Tyldesley comments:
"They are the most divided of neighbours. Glasgow derbies may take the prize for bad blood and bigotry, local rivalries run just as deep by the Tyne and Wear and Mersey, while annual pockets of hatred break out in the most unlikely corners of the country. But in Manchester, it's personal. City and United fans are just different [TOO RIGHT AND DON'T WE KNOW IT]. You don't need to see their colours in order to segregate them on derby day.
"Visit the most popular fans' web sites today and you will find little in the way of banter. The humour is caustic and concussive. There have been seasons in recent years when the two clubs have been almost too far apart to tease and taunt one another. Almost. Even such a deep-seated division as the Old Firm conflict must be diluted by the familiarity of five or six meetings a year. City and United have met twice since 1996.
"Visit the most popular fans' web sites today and you will find little in the way of banter. The humour is caustic and concussive. There have been seasons in recent years when the two clubs have been almost too far apart to tease and taunt one another. Almost. Even such a deep-seated division as the Old Firm conflict must be diluted by the familiarity of five or six meetings a year. City and United have met twice since 1996.
"Maine Road stages its last Manchester derby tomorrow. City are packing up all the cares and woes they have survived in Moss Side, and preparing to move to the stadium used for the Commonwealth Games across town. They will leave behind a theatre of largely broken dreams, but a ground that has always been full of warm welcomes and rousing atmospheres.
"The theory is that United's idea of rivalry is now a game against Arsenal or Liverpool or even clubs beyond these shores. The reality will be heard when the players run out tomorrow. A glance at the League table places the game in a bigger picture where both teams need points to catch up with expectations, but in Manchester it will be viewed only through a narrow crack in the wall that divides a city. The victors will just love it."
Onto the bland offerings, Phil Neville:
"Ruud and Seba will sense in the build-up this is something totally different. Seba will have played in Rome derbies, but Ruud has probably never played in a derby as big as this.
"If they haven't got the message via the newspapers and the atmosphere in the dressing room this week, they will when they go out for the warm-up.
"Whatever side we put out at, we expect to win and so do the fans. But if we we don't got the right result, you won't hear anybody complaining we didn't have Beckham, Keane or Butt."
"Whatever side we put out at, we expect to win and so do the fans. But if we we don't got the right result, you won't hear anybody complaining we didn't have Beckham, Keane or Butt."
Gary Neville:
"A big part of the game for us is to quieten their crowd, and that's done by either scoring early or keeping the ball.
"Their fans will be out of their seats from the moment we run out for the warm-up and they'll be at us. And rightly so. We expect nothing less. It's the biggest game of their season and it's massive for us as well.
"Knowing Kevin Keegan from our England days, he'll have them revved up and made them aware of what's at stake. The rewards for them for winning are massive - it could make their season.
"They still talk about the last time they beat us, 5-1, all those years ago. Our fans still talk about it too. It was humiliation. In that sense it's always a 'must-win' game for both sides.
"It's all about the result. We can't afford to let the gap at the top grow. There is no way we can go into the games against Liverpool and Arsenal next month further behind. More important than the derby itself is the three points. We've lost two games already and they say you can't lose six and win the title. It doesn't matter how we get the three points on Saturday.
"We should have enough quality to win, come what may. And we will have enough - if we play to our ability. They'll want to make it a battle and get the crowd up as it's the last derby at Maine Road. So we have to make sure we're ready for whatever they throw at us. And we will be."
Ruud:
"The next five or six games are very important to us. We are eight points behind Liverpool, which is a lot, and we have to start catching up.
"We need to add that bit extra to our performances and show the talents which make us special. We must start to dominate games and create more, especially at Old Trafford.
"Teams have started to dig in against us and make it hard but we have the quality to break them down and we need to do it."
From the MEN:
Police have warned fans not to buy forged tickets for tomorrow's derby game.
Senior officers say that around 200 counterfeit tickets are in circulation for the last ever league game between City and United at Maine Road.
Police say the forgeries are of high quality but they will be able to spot them.
A major police operation will swing into action for the game, which is the first derby match for two years.
Extra officers will also be on duty in the city centre after the match to prevent trouble.
Surveillance teams, mounted police and the force helicopter will be part of the security operation for the game which kicks off at 12.15pm.
Chief Supt Adrian Lee said:
"We have information that these forgeries are of a very high quality but I can assure people who are thinking of buying them that we will have a number of officers accompanying staff from the club in carrying out random ticket searches."
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