Community Shield thoughts…

I don’t really care much for the Community Shield. I enjoy the spectacle as it is after all billed, and rightly so, as the season ‘Curtain Raiser’ but really it is just a glorified friendly.

Players aren’t yet fully fit, they’re not really planning on getting stuck in to the extent that could mean missing the start of the campaign and none of the managers really want to reveal their full hand before the title chase gets under way. The most exciting bit for me is seeing the new signings in their new strips, seeing how they appear to fit in, looking if they’ve got a spark about them, looking for a new hero. This of course has been dramatically watered down in recent seasons as most of the pre-season friendlies are broadcast in there entirety.

This Community Shield does have the potential for a little more of an edge for all the obvious reasons that don’t need endlessly repeating (We can leave that in the very capable hands of Sky and the tabloids). But I would be very surprised if anything particularly exciting happens. City play very negatively and I can’t imagine we’re going to be set up to attack relentlessly, so it will hardly get stretched. The game will rely on an individual incident (doesn’t every game), either skill based or possibly a rush of blood, to truly get it going. Both teams have players capable of both, so here’s hoping, cos despite all I’ve said I’d love it to turn out to be a humdinger and really set the tone for the season.

If City win, it doesn’t matter it’s just a friendly…If we win it’s putting them in their place. That’s how it works isn’t it?

I’m going 1-0 United and Giggs to score.