– Life along the Slaney

This week saw a strange parallel occur in Manchester and Liverpool. Sections of the fans of both United and the Scousers called for the heads of their respective managers.
This, however, is where the comparison ends.
In Scouseland, Rafa is under pressure from an increasing majority of fans, former players and managers to go quietly into the night and step down at Anfield. Fergie on the other hand is subject of a ridiculous rant of a small minority of United fans, whose aim is to get the Glazers out of Manchester.
What Johnny Flack and his pals at the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust believe they will achieve by asking the most successful manager in the history of club football to resign in protest is beyond me.
On the other hand it is quite clear what the Scousers want to achieve by calling for the head of their portly manager. Another week in the life of Rafa sees another series of blunders and cock-ups.
From Babel tweeting his head off about being dropped from the squad to his side’s capitulation at Reading and Stoke, it is surely only a matter of time before the Spaniard bows to the pressure and leaves Liverpool.
Although it may not be that simple. Rafa knows that he is on a good thing at Anfield and for his employers to sack him would cost a fortune, as he signed a five-year deal only last March.
Up the M6 in Manchester, Flack & Co. seem to believe ousting Fergie will make the Glazers suddenly decide they will pay back the £700million debt and leave the club in trust to the supporters – with Flack as the new CEO.
This is a ludicrous idea and even if Fergie lost the run of himself and agreed to step down in a show of support to the fans, the Glazers wouldn’t bat an eyelid before installing another manager as if nothing happened.
The Glazers are not in it for the love of United. They are in football for money and the sooner United fans come to accept this – however painful – the better.
It is a new world and we have to face facts. Football is run by the money men and whether it is tycoons from America, oil-billionaires from Russia or a property consortium from the Middle East it is a fact and has been for some time.
The only thing that United fans can console themselves with is that at least they don’t have Rafa in charge and a squad of incompetent fools playing for them every week.